Thoughts on USAID

To whom it may concern:

I was hoping to compliment the recent column in the Daily Democrat by Jim Smith with some additional details around the attacks on USAID.

Here are some key updates from these past two weeks:

1. Secretary Rubio’s (who went on the record several times as a Senator for USAID’s importance) so-called life-saving waivers still don’t work, and the Trump Administration continues to fire any whistleblowers who report otherwise.

USAID’s acting Assistant Administrator for Global Health was placed on administrative leave after he shared a memo with USAID staff describing how political leadership’s actions have prevented the bureau from delivering life-saving assistance under the waivers.

2. UN and NGO leaders express alarm over catastrophic impacts worldwide from the Trump Administration’s cancellation of thousands of USAID programs last week in an attempt to skirt its legal obligations. As of the release of today’s updates, one USAID Community also learned that UNICEF is in the process of laying off 300 employees as a direct result of the cuts.

My request is to keep calling, emailing, and visiting with your elected officials (senators and representatives included), pick one of the programs that has been cut, and ask them to demand a specific explanation for why it has been cut. Members of Congress are reacting in large part to concerns by their constituents over the chaos and cuts unleashed by DOGE in the federal government.

Yolo County has too much to lose if the cuts stay permanent.

Thank you.

— By Anthony (A.J.) Perry