REBUILDING USAID

On 2026-09-02, Representative James P. McGovern (D-MA-2) delivered a floor speech titled "REBUILDING USAID" in the House.

REBUILDING USAID

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 139 (Wednesday, September 2, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 139 (Wednesday, September 2, 2026)] [House] [Pages H5473-H5476] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] REBUILDING USAID (Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2025, Mr. Beyer of Virginia was recognized for 30 minutes.) General Leave Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material in the Record. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Stutzman). Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Virginia? There was no objection. Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to open this Special Order to discuss the destructive, counterproductive, and tragic choice by the Trump administration to disband the U.S. Agency for International Development and to dramatically cut U.S. international assistance. I thank the many Members who will be joining me this evening to raise this important topic and for their leadership in fighting back against this senseless decision. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Lois Frankel). Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Beyer for yielding and for bringing us together on this very urgent and important issue. This is very personal to me because after college, my son, Ben, was commissioned as an officer in the United States Marine Corps. He served overseas in two war zones, first in Afghanistan and then in Iraq. Like so many military parents, I lived with the fear of getting that knock on the door. My family was blessed. Ben came home safely, and later he returned overseas, this time working for USAID, America's civilian development and humanitarian agency. Ben taught me something I have never forgotten. That is because he said when he came home: Mom, the way to peace is not just through bombs and bullets. It is through soft power, such as helping people, building relationships, creating opportunity, and preventing conflict before it starts. That lesson changed the way I looked at America's role in the world. When I came to Congress, one of my missions was to help keep our sons and daughters out of harm's way by strengthening American soft power. Never has this mission been more urgent. For 6 months, we have been in a costly war with Iran with no clear end in sight. It is a stark reminder that real security requires not only military strength but diplomacy, development, and humanitarian leadership. I diverge because when Mr. Trump was elected, then came DOGE, and then USAID was eliminated. Programs were canceled, and thousands of experienced professionals were shown the door. Decades of experience and relationships were torn apart. The Trump administration dismantled one of America's most important national security tools. Let me tell you, Mr. Speaker, what USAID looked like to Fatima, a mother in northeastern Nigeria. For most of her life, Fatima walked long distances to collect water from a stream shared with cattle, or she bought water from vendors when her family could afford it. She worried whether the water was safe for her children. Then a USAID-funded project drilled a borehole and brought clean water directly to a tap at her home. There was clean water for her children. There were no more long walks just to meet one of life's most basic needs. That is soft power. Then there is Apsana, a 16-year-old girl in Nepal who had never attended a formal school. Her brothers went to school while she stayed home. Then a USAID-funded program brought teachers directly to girls like Apsana. For the first time, she was getting an education and a chance at a future beyond early marriage. Then the U.S. funding stopped. All over the world, teachers stopped coming. The classrooms disappeared. Here in Washington, we canceled programs. For Apsana and millions more, we closed the doors to classrooms with brighter futures. May I add, I think we went from 500 programs to 2. I know what Americans are asking. Why should we care? Why should American taxpayers care about a mother in Nigeria or a girl in Nepal? It is because helping them helps us. Clean water prevents disease. Educating girls creates stronger economies and more stable communities. Of course, we should reform programs that don't work. We should demand results and accountability. Demolition is not reform. Foreign assistance is not simply a charity. It is national security. It stops disease before it reaches our shores. It restores and creates stability before the instability allows extremists to exploit it. It creates friends, allies, and future trading partners. It builds good will toward the United States without firing a shot. {time} 1850 For Fatima, American soft power meant clean water. For Apsana, it meant a chance to choose her own future. For America, it means fewer costly crises, fewer wars, and fewer of our sons and daughters sent into harm's way. That is what my son, Ben, learned after serving in war. Sometimes, Mr. Speaker, a well, a vaccine, a bag of food, or a schoolbook could do more for American security than a bomb ever could. To the thousands of USAID professionals who spent their careers preventing disease, fighting against hunger, educating children, empowering women, responding to disasters, and representing the very best in America, I want to say thank you. Thank you for your service, the lives you saved, the communities you strengthened, and the good will you built for our country because your work mattered, and your mission still matters. We may have lost an agency, but we will not abandon the mission. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues who are here, and I know they agree with me when I say we must work to restore America's humanitarian and development leadership, rebuild the expertise and partnership that were lost, and make sure that America leads not just through military might but through the power of our generosity, humanity, and diplomacy. I know that is what my son taught me, and the mission stays ahead. Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), the Democratic leader of the Rules Committee. Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Virginia for organizing this Special Order. Mr. Speaker, Donald Trump calls himself the President of peace. He has failed spectacularly to live up to that self-proclaimed title. I am not just talking about his illegal intervention in Venezuela, or his campaign of extrajudicial killings in the Caribbean, or his disastrous, costly, and illegal war with Iran. I am talking about the seeds of conflict his administration helped to sow by destroying USAID and firing some of the most dedicated public servants that have ever served in any government in the world. USAID saved lives, fought hunger, and strengthened democracy. It prevented problems that started overseas from finding their way back to us. It wasn't a perfect institution--none are--but through its work, the American people tried to make life better for our neighbors. Let me give you an example. In Colombia, where 50 years of conflict left hundreds of thousands dead and millions more displaced, USAID was helping implement the historic 2016 peace accords. The Colombian people staked their lives on the success of the accords. Helping them keep the peace is the moral and smart thing to do. By helping campesinos stop growing coca and transition to planting legal crops, USAID reduced the supply of illicit drugs in our hemisphere. By helping strengthen Colombian institutions, USAID helped to stabilize a major U.S. partner. By helping tens of thousands of Venezuelans find refuge in Colombia, [[Page H5474]] USAID reduced the number of migrants seeking assistance at our own borders. Mr. Speaker, USAID accomplished all of that for a fraction of a percent of the Federal budget. Not long ago, Members on both sides of the aisle willingly recognized the benefits of investing in foreign aid. Then-Senator Rubio was among them. In 2021, he sent a letter to the Biden administration urging them to robustly support the Colombian peace process through the State Department and USAID. He said that the investment in the security and rights of the Colombian people ``must continue to transcend party affiliation and political philosophy.'' Last week, Colombia's new President, who is backed by Marco Rubio and Donald Trump, declared an end to the peace process--an end to the peace process. He envisions a future of mega prisons and mass incarceration in his country. That is not peace or security. That is tyranny. Mr. Speaker, true peace--peace in which all people can enjoy the fundamental rights they are guaranteed--is difficult to achieve, but it is worth the investment. Mr. Speaker, we must dedicate the power of our government to building a future where we can live as good neighbors. Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the distinguished gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Amo). Mr. AMO. Mr. Speaker, 19 months ago, President Trump took an axe to our foreign assistance, illegally freezing aid and demolishing the United States Agency for International Development. Thirteen days later, he ranted that USAID was ``run by a bunch of radical lunatics.'' The very next day, Elon Musk bragged that DOGE had ``spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper.'' Well, the chips fell, and kids died. When I asked Secretary Rubio about the consequences, he told me: No children are dying on my watch. A year later, the hatchet men were still lying. Children are still dying. Elon Musk recently proclaimed that he cannot cite a single name of someone who died because of aid cuts. Just because Elon can't name one of the 700,000 people killed by his cruelty doesn't mean they didn't exist. We know their names. Abdullahi Ibrahim was 10 years old when USAID-supported asthma treatment disappeared from his cl