Chairman McCaul Delivers Remarks at Hearing with USAID Administrator Power

Washington, D.C. - Yesterday, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul delivered the following remarks at a hearing with U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Samantha Power. The Chairman's opening remarks highlighted the need for American foreign assistance to promote American leadership abroad and lifesaving humanitarian programs. In his questioning, Chairman McCaul asked about a range of topics including combatting the Chinese Communist Party's debt trap diplomacy and allegations of U.S. assistance being diverted to the Taliban.

"The budget you have submitted to our committee has some good provisions to project American leadership. However, much of this budget reads more like a wish list than a strategic document to promote American leadership… the president's budget seems to place a higher priority on [diversity, equity, and inclusion] programs than combatting [Chinese Communist Party] malign influence. His budget includes three billion dollars earmarked for, 'inclusive gender equity' and another 200 million dollars for a, 'gender equity and equality action fund.' Imposing these political ideologies is not aid in my judgement."

Watch his opening statement here.

During his questioning, Chairman McCaul asked Administrator Power, "Now the Taliban is in control of [Afghanistan], and I talked about the impact on the women and girls in that country. We have provided two billion dollars since August 2021… U.S. cash shipments do, in fact, benefit the Taliban. My question is: How do you plan to revise this program to ensure the Taliban is not benefitting from this assistance? … I just want to ensure that U.S. taxpayer dollars are not directly funding the Taliban. I know you can't completely assure that. And it's troubling."

Watch his questioning here.

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