How much did the U.S. spend on foreign aid in 2022?

Starters

Feb 7

Critical Analysis

Find answers to the following questions using the visual above, any links below, your big brain, and your knowledge of American government and politics:

Last year, the he United States Agency for International Development, USAID for short, disbursed almost $44 billion in foreign aid in the fiscal year of 2023 (latest available), with $16 billion going to Ukraine. According to the data from the visual above, what portion of the federal budget did the US spend on international development and humanitarian assistance (foreign aid) in 2022?
According to the data from the visual above, what portion of the 2022 U.S. budget was spent on health care?
Why do you think the U.S. spends this portion of its budget on foreign aid?
What is one consequence of spending this portion of our budget on foreign aid?
Foreign aid is money, technical assistance, and commodities that the United States provides to other countries in support of a common interest of the U.S. and that country. According to the visual below,* what country got the most of this foreign aid in 2023?*
According to the visual below* the average American believes the U.S. spends 26 %of our budget on foreign aid? Why do you think Americans are so very wrong about how much we spend on foreign aid?
Most American foreign aid goes through USAID, an independent agency created when John Kennedy signed Congress’ Foreign Assistance Act in 1961. transforms. USAID transforms families, communities, and countries – so they can thrive and prosper. Whether by preventing the next global epidemic, responding to a devastating earthquake, or helping a farmer access tools to grow her business. What is one consequence of the U.S. spending money on aid to people who live in other countries?
According to the Associated Press, this week the website of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) went dark over the weekend and dozens of senior officials were put on leave, hundreds of employees were put on leave, thousands of contractors were laid off, and a freeze put on billions of dollars in humanitarian assistance to other countries. Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, has launched a sweeping effort empowered by Trump to fire government workers and cut trillions in government spending. USAID is one of his prime targets. Musk alleges USAID funding been used to launch deadly programs and called it a “criminal organization.” Congress has already approporiated funds for USAID that the president is now impounding (not spending). How does this illustrate the concept of checks and balances?
The Trump administration announced plans to retain only about 290 of the more than 10,000 employees worldwide at the U.S. Agency for International Development. How effective will USAID be at delivering aid if it is reduced to a skeleton staff?
The Constitution gives Congress the power of the purse. But the president is in charge of executing the law. Impoundment occurs when Congress appropriates money that the president then declines to spend. While the U.S. Constitution broadly grants Congress the power of the purse (spending), the President – through the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and executive agencies – is responsible for the actual spending of funds. When President Nixon’s administration refused to release Congressionally appropriated funds for certain programs he opposed the congress passed The Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (ICA) reasserting Congress' power of the purse. Specifically, Title X of the Act – "Impoundment Control" – established procedures to prevent the President and other government officials from unilaterally substituting their own funding decisions for those of the Congress. After the ICA passed, the Supreme Court unanimously held in Train v. City of New York that even without the ICA, the President does not have unilateral authority to impound funds. Congress has the power of the purse. President Trump has uses impoundments to unilaterally do by fiat what he can’t pass in Congress and the Supreme Court will have to decide if he is acting constitutional. Do you think the Supreme Court will allow President Trump to impound USAID’s budget?

Write and Discuss

Take ten minutes to write about the question at the top of the page and then discuss with your classmates.

Act on your Learning

Do you think USAID should be shut down? Contact your congress member to let them know what you think.

Get Creative

You will find a chart below* that shows the relative amount American spend on jewelry, candy, and sporting goods compared to how much the U.S. government spends on foreign aid. Find some other items Americans spend money on to compare to our spending on foreign aid.