Durbin Criticizes Trump And Musk For Dismantling Of USAID And Harming American Farmers In Senate Floor Speech
In his remarks, Durbin also debunked Kremlin-fostered falsehoods about USAID that have been circulated by Trump, Musk, and foreign adversaries and called on Republicans to speak up
WASHINGTON – In a speech on the Senate floor today, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) criticized President Trump and Elon Musk’s ill-advised mission to dismantle the U.S. Agency forInternational Development (USAID)—the largest distributor of humanitarian aid in the world. Consequently, programs that provide clean drinking water, treat debilitating disease, and advance human rights have been shut down, recklessly gutting American soft power and providing a huge strategic opening to China.
“This month, President Trump and Elon Musk attempted to dismantle USAID, the largest distributor of humanitarian aid on this earth. Musk was gleeful when he said we are ‘feeding USAID to the wood chipper,’” Durbin began.
Durbin then listed the critical programs housed under USAID, which have since shuttered. USAID has provided clean water in Haiti and Jordan, helped fight malaria and tuberculosis in Kenya and Uganda, and supported human rights programs in countries such as Burma, China, Iran, North Korea, and Sudan. The agency has also provided economic assistance to Central America to address the root causes of migration and counter the flow of fentanyl in to the U.S., in addition to leading campaigns to counter disinformation from Russia and China to protect U.S. national security interests.
Despite blatantly inaccurate claims from President Trump and Musk, USAID funding makes up only one percent of the federal budget and billions of those aid dollars flow back into the American economy. Furthermore, these programs have a long history of broad bipartisan support in Congress. In Illinois, these cuts have forced the closure of the Soybean Innovation Lab at the University of Illinois. As a result, 30 experts will lose jobs that were dedicated to expanding international soybean markets, at a time when Illinois ranks number one in the U.S. for soybean production, and new markets are critical foraddressing low soybean prices.
“Not only are these cuts to USAID a betrayal of American values to satisfy the narcissism of Elon Musk, but they hurt innocent people, and they hurt American farmers… who, for decades, have helped provide such critical and strategic food aid,” Durbin continued. “Not only is this sweeping aid cut illegal and counterproductive, but it hurts American farmer in Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, Iowa, Texas, Wisconsin, and many other states. American farms supply more than 40 percent of the food aid that USAID distributes around the world. And now, hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of such commodities are stranded in ports, rotting away at the direction of the new administration.”
In addition to hurting the U.S. economy, halting foreign aid has endangered global programs that have helped stem pandemics and supported clean water and sanitation programs.
“Programs like PEPFAR have been a key example of humanitarian success abroad. It was started by President George W. Bush, a Republican president, who wanted to curtail the AIDS epidemic ravaging many parts of the world, including Africa. PEPFAR and the Global Fund have saved more than 25 million lives so far,” Durbin said. “But because of President Trump’s directive, it’s been halted… People will die as a result of this political decision.”
“In the last decade, USAID clean water and sanitation programs have provided more than 70 million people with first-time sustainable access to clean water... These programs that have a six-to-one return in dollars saved in health, economic, and education,” Durbin continued. “But because of the President’s directive, innocent people across the world will suffer, and America’s reputation will be weakened, not made stronger.”
Durbin concluded his remarks by debunking lies about foreign aid, including falsehoods amplified by Russia, China, and other adversaries. Durbin referred to a fabricated video created by a private company with links to the Kremlin, which falsely claimed that celebrities were paid by USAID to visit Ukraine.
“The Russian influence campaign was reposted on Twitter by Elon Musk, no surprise, and became a viral disinformation rallying cry against USAID. But it was false—like so many of the allegations of supposed outrages by USAID,” Durbin said. “And yet, this kind of nonsense is used by Mr. Musk to justify gutting entire congressionally-appropriated American soft power programs, while many of my Republican colleagues, virtually all of them, sit silently.”
“This Senate, Republicans and Democrats, cannot afford to roll over, play dead, and hand over congressional authority on these bipartisan programs and on larger constitutionally-designated Congressional appropriations powers,” Durbin concluded.
Video of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
Footage of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.
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