Rubio Despairs Just 12 Cents of Every Dollar from USAID Reached the Needy

Rubio directly targeted the organization, adding the time has come for root-and-branch change.

“At USAID, 12 cents of every dollar was reaching the recipient. That means that in order for us to get aid to somebody, we had to spend all this other money supporting this foreign aid industrial complex,” Rubio said.

“We’re going to find more efficient ways to deliver aid to people directly. It’s going to be directed by our regional bureaus. It’s going to sponsor programs that make a difference. And it’s going to be part of a holistic approach to our foreign policy.”

Rubio made clear the funds would not stop but added the proviso the bureaucratic mechanisms that deliver them will have to change.

“We still will provide more foreign aid, more humanitarian support, than the next 10 countries combined… and far more than China,” he said, disputing the argument the U.S. is handing over soft power to China by cutting foreign aid. “China doesn’t do humanitarian aid. China does predatory lending.”

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