Icymi: President Mast discusses review of foreign aid, dei about “face the nation”

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Washington, DC – Yesterday, House Foreign Committee Chairman Brian Mast joined Margaret Brennan at CBS ‘Face the Nation “to discuss the review of foreign aid and the Biden State Department’s fixation on DEI.

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-Transcript-

Margaret Brennan: And we are now together with Florida Republican Congress Member Brian Mast, who is chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, who oversees the state department and its programs.

He joins us from Fort Pierce, Florida.

Good morning to you.

Chairman Brian Mast (R-Florida): Good morning.

Brennan: I will first start with the tariffs announced overnight by President Trump. You know there is a free trade agreement with Mexico and Canada. President Trump negotiated it during his first period.

The tariffs can violate this agreement. If he invokes duty on a national security basis can you explain the threat that Canada pose?

Chairman Mast: Yes, and he was – President Trump, that is, was very specific in his executive order, outlined that it is specifically related to Fentanyl. It is specifically related to human trafficking.

And there is a trust but verify the situation that must continue here.

Brennan: Through Canada?

Chairman Mast: Also through Canada, absolute fentanyl through Canada, human trafficking through Canada, also with China in that mix also for Fentanyl.

It was specifically described in it. And until it comes to an end, that’s what will be on the table. And also remember that USMCA approval will come up in the coming months and years.

Brennan: So you don’t think this is in violation of the trade agreement, the treaty?

Chairman Mast: The violation has been in the United States of America. It has been to our sovereignty. It’s been for our people. We have been taken for granted.

Brennan: Right, but Congress votes on these things. So…

Chairman Mast: And I will certainly make sure, as Foreign President, we give every single authority when we review the approval of the Foreign Ministry agencies where we freeze help.

This is all very important and necessary steps to ensure that we secure America. And we will support it.

Brennan: I’m sorry. Can I follow up on what you just said there?

Chairman Mast: Please do.

Brennan: Want to approve the cleaning of staff in the state department? What exactly does that mean?

Chairman Mast: Well, if you want to look at the state department, where DEI has been a priority over, let’s say, diplomacy in many accounts, I can give you hundreds of examples of where they approve …

Brennan: What proof do you have of it?

Chairman Mast: Sure, let’s list them from, half a million dollars to expand atheism in Nepal, $ 50,000 to do, let’s see, a transgender opera in Colombia, $ 47,000 to make an LGBTQ Trans Cartoon in Peru, $ 20,000 a pop to make drag shows in Ecuador.

Should I continue with more examples of where DEI was a priority?

Brennan: Oh, it looks like there could be a review of things. Foreign aid is like you know less than 1 percent of the entire federal budget. So we speak for small amounts of money for comparison. But when …

Chairman Mast: We are still talking about tens of thousands and tens of thousands of billions of dollars.

And if you want to go to another, on the other side of the time, Samantha Power, she had a worthy goal, even if it was a stupid goal. She said she was hoping to get the amount of foreign aid, US dollars that go to actually help up to 30 cents on the dollar from 10 cents on the dollar. It is a big problem that we have this agency that it is all that travels abroad …

Brennan: I think you’re talking about …

Chairman Mast: … when it was supposed to be the dollar of the American worker.

Brennan: I think now you are talking about USAID, Aid Agency …

Chairman Mast: Yes.

Brennan: … which is one – separated from the Ministry of State at the moment and has about $ 40 billion worth …

Chairman Mast: Which is likely to be rolled closer under Secretary Rubio.

Brennan: Tell – yes, tell me about it, because that’s where I should.

Has the Trump administration informed you of plans to dismantle or significantly shrink this agency?

Chairman Mast: This is something I work on very specifically with secretary Rubio to make sure there is the appropriate command and control of these agencies, where again to do the same point right now, maybe 10 to 30 cents …

Brennan: They are already reporting to the Secretary of State.

Chairman Mast: But 10 to 30 cents on the dollar is what is actually going to help. So there is not the right amount of command and control that is going on with the way it is currently created.

And let’s also do another point on this.

Brennan: Congress – Congress authorizes and earmarks funding.

Chairman Mast: Most of these dollars those most of these dollars that go out of USAID, 70-plus percentage does not come from US growers, US farmers, US farmers or go through US ports. And that’s another big problem for America.

Brennan: So – I’m sorry. If Congress already approves and earmarks the funding just to be very clear, you do not support getting rid of USAID as a separate department that is already reporting to the State Secretary, are you?

Chairman Mast: I would be absolutely for, if it is the path we go down, Removes USAD as a separate department and causes it to fall under one of the other parts of the US state duty because of its failure.

I just went over the numbers twice with you in the amount of help that actually do it in my hands. I mean, you could almost say – this is a bit hyperbole – but there are probably more dollars going against state dinners around DC Beltway than what actually goes in rice and prayers abroad.

That’s the state of what’s going on with USAID. And Samantha Power didn’t say himself less.

Brennan: Well, I think every single administration approves reviews can increase efficiency. There are plenty of people suggesting to bring it more under the authority of the state department. Madeleine Albright tried to do that. It’s not a new maga idea.

However, I think the question here is about how you do it. Do you still believe that in the law signed in the 1960s, should Congress sign any changes to USAID? Or do you think President Trump can just make all this happen through executive order?

Chairman Mast: So all the examples you have just given of these historical figures is the difference now that the job is being done.

It will be 99.99 percent of Cent on the dollar that actually goes towards what it is intended for, instead of people around Beltway.

Brennan: OK, so you’re talking about – you’re talking about …

Chairman Mast: That’s what will happen. That’s the change.

Brennan:… Efficiency in AIDS versus restructuring.

So let me ask you that. As I said …

Chairman Mast: Well, it requires restructuring, 100 percent. You cannot create this effectiveness just by wishing for existence.

Brennan: Sure.

Chairman Mast: You have to restructure where the errors are and put the right things in place.

Brennan: Of course.

But what we hear from many of these aid organizations and officials are, can you restructure when you finish the review and not freeze the financing now, right away? I talked to former USAID Global Health Head Atul Gawande yesterday. He told me this is not a break in foreign aid. It’s a demolition of USAID.

As he expressed it, you can’t pause a flight in Midair. That’s what happens.

Chairman Mast: Let’s …

Brennan: This instant freezer in the financing prevents agencies in the field from being able to do the work they are doing.

Chairman Mast: Let’s say why it’s so important. And let’s talk about the real facts on earth.

Trump administration comes in or representatives like myself who are monitoring. The agencies will literally not tell us what they write grants to literally or they will lie about it, or they will tell the new political appointed under the Trump administration, I just don’t want to tell you. These are real things that have happened.

So the way you make them come and answer where they actually send dollars is to say we freeze it. We put it on wait. You have to come to us and explain what you are doing, why you do it and where it actually saves life. And guess what?

Brennan: But …

Chairman Mast: When they don’t come, something explains something that raises the question as well, why did they do it in the first place?

Brennan: But the way these things work is that the contractors have to front the cash and then go to the US government for refund.

So when you put an immediate freezer, it means that drugs are not delivered. This means they are not distributed. This means that bombing units don’t get going out there in places like Cambodia and removing ordnance or providing assistance to people receiving it.

It is pushback from aid organizations that say they will have to perform redundancies in the thousands in the coming week. Does it worry you at all?

Chairman Mast: They want an opportunity. It does not concern me because of the wry that has been the US taxpayer, the US worker.

That’s what needs to be answered. And then you look at this. Let’s use pepar as an example. You talked about medicine that was going to individuals. There was a release of the grip that was set – that was authorized. But it should not be the case for the American people to finance HIV and help medications to 20 million people throughout Africa, with many of these countries working very directly with our opponents like China.

It is an example of taking us for granted. We have to ask the question, should they wean this? Should we pay it for these very expensive HIV and AIDS substances?

Brennan: Yes.

Chairman Mast: Should the US worker feed the bill for it? These are real questions.

Brennan: Yes, real questions, but in the meantime people need their drugs while asking these questions. So this is where the disagreement is with the relief organizations.

But let me ask you about air traffic controllers and what happens here at home.

Chairman Mast: Not with all leaders in other countries. I think I saw the leader of Kenya as one step up and says, hello, this is an example where we have to step up for ourselves and show how we can look after ourselves. And I think it was the president there.

Brennan: I would like to ask you, as I said, about another committee you are sitting on, transport committees.

Few -employment policy for air traffic controllers, including during the first Trump administration, offered equal opportunities for those with targeted disabilities, including, as the president read, hearing, vision, lack of extremities, partial paralysis, complete paralysis, severe intellectual weakness -disability. Excuse me.

The president appointed this, this policy, as a contributor may have to the crash. Do you agree with the diversity policy or do you agree with the president? I know you lost two limbs serving this country in Afghanistan. Do you hear these words and offend them or …

Chairman Mast: No, no violation. Let’s unpack it.

Number one, I want to use myself as an example, right? There are things that I am suitable to do, no doubt. But flying a plane, to stick to the current item, would not be one of them. I could fly a personal – a personal flight.

Brennan: This is air traffic controllers.

Chairman Mast: But to put me responsible for traffic or 150 lives, that would not be the right case for me personally considering my physical disabilities and foot pedals on an aircraft.

To go to the diversity side of it and the actual crash, yes, there were very real errors that occurred both in the air traffic control tower and with the helicopter pilots, it seems. But more systemically, there is a major employment problem across all federal agencies that include few, where they prioritized diversity and inclusion …

Brennan: Yes.

Chairman Mast: … Instead of expertise and performance? Yes, that’s the case. They made priority appearance and lifestyle and not the big thing.

Brennan: Congress member, thanks for your time today.

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