By Pacific Island Times News Staff
Washington’s multimillion-dollar pledge to the Pacific island nations is at risk of being canceled following the Trump administration’s move to reassess the United States Agency for International Development’s foreign aid programs.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has been appointed USAID’s acting administrator, notified the U.S. Congress that the department is set to review the agency’s foreign assistance activities “with an eye toward potential reorganization.”
The USAID “has long strayed from its original mission of responsibly advancing American interests abroad, and it is now abundantly clear that significant portions of USAID funding are not aligned with the core national interests of the United States,” states a press release from the State Department’s Office of the Spokesperson.
Previous contents have been scrubbed from USAID's website, which now contains only an announcement placing all USAID direct hire personnel on administrative leave globally on Feb. 7 at 11:59 p.m. (Est), except for designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs.
"Essential personnel expected to continue working will be informed by agency leadership by Thursday, Feb. 6, at 3 p.m. (Est)," the announcement reads. "For USAID personnel currently posted outside the United States, the agency, in coordination with missions and the Department of State, is currently preparing a plan, in accordance with all applicable requirements and laws, under which the Agency would arrange and pay for return travel to the United States within 30 days and provide for the termination of PSC and ISC contracts that are not determined to be essential.
In August last year, the Biden administration announced more than $10 million in fresh USAID funding for the Pacific American Fund designed to assist 12 Pacific island countries in developing and implementing “innovative solutions” for their “development challenges.” The grants were supposed to be awarded this year.
The Pacific American Fund, according to USAID’s announcement last year, was earmarked for community-identified priorities “that advance economic opportunity, human development, climate resilience, and improved natural resource management” in the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
The Biden administration had offered more assistance to Pacific island nations as part of its increased engagements in a bid to neutralize China’s growing influence in the region.
“As we evaluate USAID and ensure it is in alignment with an America First agenda and the efforts of the State Department, we will continue to protect the American people’s interests and ensure their tax dollars are not wasted,” the State Department said.
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