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Lawmakers clash over humanitarian cuts as committee hears that U.S. food, vaccines and contraceptives were destroyed or held in warehouses
Summary
Democrats and multiple witnesses during the markup said that emergency food, vaccines and family planning commodities purchased with U.S. funds were left in warehouses or incinerated amid agency reorganization and a freeze on foreign assistance; Republicans argued logistics, expiry, and the need to reform programs.
Lawmakers sparred repeatedly over what several Democratic members described as a ‘‘humanitarian emergency of our own making’’ after testimony and committee discussion alleged that U.S.-purchased emergency food and medical supplies have been left unused, expired, or destroyed since the administration’s reorganization of foreign assistance.
Ranking Members and Democrats said the destruction and non‑distribution followed the Trump administration’s dismantling of USAID, mass layoffs at the State Department, and a freeze on foreign assistance. Representative Lois Frankel, the subcommittee ranking member, said thousands of development and humanitarian professionals were dismissed and “5,000…
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