WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th May, 2023) Development and aid budget cuts proposed by Republicans in Congress would undermine Washington's ability to combat China's and Russia's influence around the world, US Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Samantha Power said at a House Foreign Affairs committee hearing.
When asked at the hearing on Wednesday if USAID budget cuts would hurt the United States' ability to combat Chinese and Russian influence, Powell responded, "yes."
Powell said Washington has seen a drop in support for China in regions where USAID operates like Latin America and Africa as she warned against the reductions.
China, she added, has begun shifting the method for delivering aid from loans to grants after seeing the "buyer's remorse" that comes when countries in need are left with too much debt.
She also expressed confidence that budget cuts would decrease the US's ability to support civil society in other countries and would lead to democratic back-sliding there.
