GOP-led House panel to hold hearing on USAID

[mystery-ak]

 GOP-led House panel to hold hearing on USAID
by Laura Kelly - 02/07/25 9:12 AM ET

The GOP-led House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on the U.S. Agency for International Development on Feb. 13, as the Trump administration moved to effectively shut down the agency and institute a mass foreign aid freeze.

Committee Chair Brian Mast (R-Fl.) announced the hearing and the first Republican-chosen witnesses, who include William Steiger, the former chief of staff at USAID during the first Trump administration. During his time at the agency and as a public policy fellow for the Wilson Center, Steiger worked on outlining reforms to USAID and strategies for aid recipients to move to self-reliance.

Former Republican Rep. Ted Yoho (Fl.) is also scheduled to be a witness. Yoho served as chairman of the Asia-Pacific Foreign Affairs Subcommittee.

Committee Democrats had urged Mast to hold an “urgent” hearing to address Trump’s actions at USAID, his freeze on foreign assistance and tech billionaire Elon Musk’s involvement.

USAID staff on Thursday were reportedly reduced to about 300 employees from a workforce that had been estimated to be around 10,000.

Democrats called for Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who says he is now the acting head of USAID, to appear before the committee.

more
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5132374-gop-house-hearing-usaids-frozen-aid/

[IsailedawayfromFR]

This should be bumped up way beyond the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Its end result should be the permanent eradication of any type of continuing resolution for the federal budget, and the permanent implementation of a budget process that examines funding of each of the hundreds and thousands of departments and agencies.

You don't just audit expenditures afterwards, you examine before what expenditures are requested, and ensure they are in conformance with government priorities, including whether constitutional, before any money is approved.

It is what Congress is required to do as per Art I sec 9
No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.

[mountaineer]

Ian Miles Cheong
@stillgray
USAID and the US State Department funneled roughly $500 million of US tax dollars into the pockets of Internews Network, an NGO that claims to train journalists and combat "disinformation."
In reality, they're working with 4,000+ outlets to shape narratives. This is nothing short of a government-funded propaganda machine designed to control the narrative and manipulate public perception.
DOGE needs to take a look at it.
6:54 AM · Feb 8, 2025


WikiLeaks
@wikileaks
USAID (and State) funneled nearly half a billion dollars through this building which is at "876 7th St Arcata, CA 95521-6358". The IRS and IN government contracts list this address as the current registered address for IN although it was clearly abandoned by December 2024. Shot taken four months ago.
11:20 PM · Feb 7, 2025

https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/1888095415100141582

[Bigun]

Ian Miles Cheong
@stillgray
USAID and the US State Department funneled roughly $500 million of US tax dollars into the pockets of Internews Network, an NGO that claims to train journalists and combat "disinformation."
In reality, they're working with 4,000+ outlets to shape narratives. This is nothing short of a government-funded propaganda machine designed to control the narrative and manipulate public perception.
DOGE needs to take a look at it.
6:54 AM · Feb 8, 2025


WikiLeaks
@wikileaks
USAID (and State) funneled nearly half a billion dollars through this building which is at "876 7th St Arcata, CA 95521-6358". The IRS and IN government contracts list this address as the current registered address for IN although it was clearly abandoned by December 2024. Shot taken four months ago.
11:20 PM · Feb 7, 2025

https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/1888095415100141582

Light being shined in some very dark corners. Finally!!!

[Bigun]

This should be bumped up way beyond the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Its end result should be the permanent eradication of any type of continuing resolution for the federal budget, and the permanent implementation of a budget process that examines funding of each of the hundreds and thousands of departments and agencies.

You don't just audit expenditures afterwards, you examine before what expenditures are requested, and ensure they are in conformance with government priorities, including whether constitutional, before any money is approved.

It is what Congress is required to do as per Art I sec 9
No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.

  

[mountaineer]

More on Internews Network:

Geiger Capital
@Geiger_Capital
USAID took ~$500M in taxes from Americans, and sent it to an NGO called Internews Network. They work with 4,000+ outlets to “train journalists” and “tackle disinformation”. It’s led by Jeanne Bourgault, who makes ~$500k a year.
A literal state propaganda network.
11:34 PM · Feb 7, 2025

[Hoodat]

The only question this panel needs to ask is why the heck Congress has been funding this all these years?  Get back to the Constitution you took an oath to uphold, and you won't have these problems.

[Hoodat]

Ian Miles Cheong
@stillgray
USAID and the US State Department funneled roughly $500 million of US tax dollars into the pockets of Internews Network .  .  .

$500 million.  That's the same amount of our tax dollars that goes to Planned Parenthood.  Every year.