Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that the US is not entirely out of foreign aid, but rather “silly” foreign aid.
“We're not separated from foreign aid,” Rubio said in an interview with guest host Scott Jennings on SiriusXM's “David Webbshaw.” “We're away from stupid foreign aid. It's stupid and wasting the money of American taxpayers.
“We're not going to continue with them,” Rubio continued.
Rubio considers US foreign aid commitment in accordance with the State Department freezes President Trump's executive order for three months, so that the government can determine whether programming is consistent with Trump's foreign policy. He said he is doing so.
Rubio said that the US said, “Are people hungry for death? Are we going to have hunger? We're destabilizing the country in ways that are negative to our national interests, radical jihadists and others Will they open a door for people to make use of it?”
“We'll continue with them,” Rubio said.
Rubio said the State Department is considering aid where the definition of “humanitarian aid” has become too broad. He said these programs should not be borne by US taxpayers.
“The problem is that the definition of humanitarians has expanded beyond that to all sorts of things that make no sense. That doesn't mean they're bad ideas. Someone should do that. You shouldn't be just an American taxpayer,” he said.
Trump's executive order allowed the State Department to issue exemptions that would exempt certain programs from funding freezes. Rubio did so, and announced a few days later that life-saving treatments and drugs would not be subject to freezing. The exemptions did not specify which programs would be exempt from freezing, and reportedly caused some confusion in clinics overseas.
Some people have raised particular concerns about the AIDS Relief Relief Emergency Program (PEPFAR) program, which has saved more than 25 million lives since its launch in 2003.
Asked about Pepfer in an interview Monday, Rubio said he supports the program but hopes he will have questions about it. He said that if the program is effective, the program should be smaller.
“I'm a Pepfer supporter. I was in Congress. I'm now as Secretary of State. That's a program we want to continue. Obviously, we're going to ask questions about it,” he said. I said that. “Look, if Pepfall works well, it's a program that should get smaller over time. You're preventing HIV, so it prevents the spread of HIV. Therefore, the virus load is the best Because it decreases, people aren't testing positive and don't tell their kids that.”
“Ideally, it's a program that doesn't expand over time. As the goal was always an AIDS-free generation, there were no children born with HIV,” Rubio continued.
“But it's a program I supported and we want to continue doing it,” he added.
