Legislation may require USAID to carry out changes to reduce costs.
The legislation, spearheaded by Sen. Joni Ernst ( R., Iowa ) and set to be unveiled later Thursday, would force the U. S. Agency for International Development ( USAID ) to implement a series of reforms to drive down the cost of projects and stop it from spending taxpayer dollars on high price items like hotels, lobbying services, and luxury airfares, according to a copy of the measure obtained by the Free Beacon.
USAID has been in the news as it plays a leading role in providing humanitarian aid to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, including pressuring Israel to open border crossings that ultimately aid the Iran-backed terror group in scheming goods from civilians. This effort has included pressuring Israel to do so in an effort to aid the Iran-backed terror group.
Ernst’s bill—which is backed by Sens. Chris Coons ( D., Del. ), Pete Ricketts ( R., Neb. ), and Tim Kaine ( D., Va. ) —comes as USAID stonewalls a congressional probe into its spending habits, which have largely gone unchecked. Ernst has been pressing the organization to disclose its global expenditures for nearly two years because government oversight reports show that 43 percent of USAID’s awards were “on average, about half of award expectations.”
Since President Joe Biden took office, USAID’s budget has grown by at least 10 %, and it is now leading efforts to send humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip as Israel fights to put an end to Hamas in the wake of the terror attacks of October. USAID’s spending in the region has long drawn congressional scrutiny due to the agency ‘s , history , of supporting groups that are  , affiliated with terror outfits such as Hamas.
By requiring the agency to submit thorough annual reports on its allocations, the legislation would increase congressional oversight of USAID’s spending. Additionally, it would require partner organizations from around the world to raise more money each year to fund joint projects, thereby lowering overhead costs that the US taxpayers pay.
Additionally, the legislation would require USAID to accept applications submitted in a nation’s native language.
Organizations that receive American aid frequently use up a sizable portion of the funds for unrelated services-related activities. These costs, which can include lobbyists, hotel stays, and even first- class airfares, have swelled in recent years and are the subject of a congressional investigation into USAID’s ballooning budget.
In Ernst’s bill, the issue is addressed by shifting a portion of the cost to grantees and making sure they are accountable for covering the rest. As of last year, just 7 federal employees were responsible for reviewing nearly 6, 000 transactions to more than 300 organizations, making it more likely that frivolous items are funded, the lawmakers say.
In a statement to the Free Beacon, Ernst said,” I have been tirelessly working to ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent judiciously and effectively. While USAID has previously refrained from my previous oversight, I’m taking bipartisan steps to clarify USAID’s policies to make sure they are localizing needs and ending taxpayer-funded abuses so that developing nations can lessen their reliance on American dollars.
Other provisions of the bill would enact restrictions on competition on projects to local businesses rather than large, international nonprofits, which the lawmakers claim are significant cost savings.
Ernst made the disclosure last year during her investigation into USAID that indirect costs paid by the taxpayer can include costs for a grantee’s corporate headquarters, as well as other unrelated costs. The cost” can easily exceed 25 percent of an organization’s total award”, resulting in a significantly increased cost for the American taxpayer.
