The concept of foreign aid is laudable in some situations, but is there is tipping point or a stopping point to “how much is too much?”
Tech tycoon Elon Musk’s plans for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) include taking a hard look at the assistance the United States provides to foreign countries.
From Epoch News:
On Dec. 6, former Rep. Ron Paul proposed an end to all foreign aid.
Paul accompanied his comments with a chart from Statista showing that the United States was by far the largest donor of humanitarian aid worldwide in 2023, shelling out nearly $9.5 billion to other countries. That’s more than four times the $2.1 billion donated by the second largest donor, the European Commission.
Sharing the former congressman’s post, Musk wrote that DOGE “will address this with full transparency for the American people.”
Ramaswamy also weighed in, saying that “Much of U.S. foreign aid isn’t even authorized by Congress.”
Granted that while I do not understand the ins-and-outs of foreign aid, I do have some pertinent questions.
First, are the specifics of our foreign aid reviewed every year? Is the foreign aid given to each country reviewed and voted upon annually? Or are different components of our foreign aid packages voted on in one comprehensive foreign aid bill? Or is foreign aid to some countries hidden in other spending bills, so as to go almost unnoticed? Who reviews and votes on the many foreign aid packages. Is Ramaswamy right when he says that, “Much of U.S. foreign aid isn’t even authorized by Congress.”
Can lame-duck Joe Biden just go to Angola and give away billions in foreign aid to that African nation … or does this largesse need to be voted on by Congress?
Sooo many questions. To me it seems reasonable to have Congress authorize every penny of foreign aid every year. Do some countries that are not so friendly to our policies get some? If so, why?
It also seems to me that our foreign aid should not be limitless. Common sense would dictate that some, if not most, of our foreign aid should be curtailed as long as our deficit remains more than a certain amount.
One of the tasks of DOGE is to review and cut back on certain things, and hopefully our foreign aid giveaways should be on the top of its list.
12/16/24