What Rubio told U.S. diplomats about the future of foreign aid, as most programs paused
CBSN
The United States does not plan to stop distributing foreign aid around the world but needs to do a better job explaining and defending programs receiving assistance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told U.S. diplomats behind closed doors Wednesday.
"The United States is not walking away from foreign aid. It's not. We're going to continue to provide foreign aid and to be involved in programs, but it has to be programs that we can defend. It has to be programs that we can explain. It has to be programs that we can justify. Otherwise, we do endanger foreign aid," Rubio told about 200 staffers at the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City, according to a partial transcript of his remarks obtained Wednesday by CBS News.
"This is not about politics, but foreign aid is the least popular thing government spends money on," Rubio added. "And I spent a lot of time in my career defending it and explaining it, but it's harder and harder to do across the board – it really is. But for those of us in charge of doing the work of foreign policy, we understand it is essential."
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Brian D. Taylor is a professor of urban planning and public policy at the University of California, Los Angeles, Eric Morris is a professor of city and regional planning at Clemson University and Sam Speroni is a PhD Student in urban planning at the University of California, Los Angeles.