Photo curtesy Stub's Office Facebook: U.S. Rep. Greg Steube, R-Sarasota.

As a freeze and review of USAID makes headlines in Washington, U.S. Rep. Greg Steube, R-Sarasota, said he’s ready to get rid of the foreign aid program altogether.

Steube filed legislation to abolish the United States Agency for International Development program completely, saying the program for too long has acted without effective oversight while spending public fund.

“For too long, USAID has funneled billions of American tax dollars into bloated, inefficient foreign aid programs that are riddled with waste, corruption and ideological bias,” Steube said.

“Instead of benefitting American taxpayers who fund these programs, USAID’s initiatives often push progressive social agendas that are out of touch with the values and interests of our nation. Worse yet, these dollars frequently end up in the hands of bad actors who do not have America’s interests in mind and misuse the funds for purposes far removed from their original intent.”

Over the last week, Steube took issue with several programs focused on LGBTQ rights on other countries. He criticized a “Rainbow Migration” program that provides legal costs for LGBTQ people to make asylum claims in the United Kingdom, a HIAS program in Peru providing for social and economic protections for women, girls and LGBTQ individuals, a Center for Population Health Initiatives program in Nigeria funding sensitivity for police dealing with LGBTQ and vulnerable populations, and an Africa Regional Democracy Fund urging greater social acceptance of LGBTQ people in Botswana.

“American taxpayers deserve better than unelected bureaucrats burning their hard-earned dollars on far-left vanity projects,” Steube posted on X. “We will not rest until we restore sanity to federal spending.”

Steube’s bill would halt all federal funding to USAID and redirect it to the State Department. He said this would create oversight and accountability for the funding. 

“American taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize misguided globalist experiments that do nothing to strengthen our country or protect our interests aboard,” he said.

Photo curtesy Stub's Office Facebook: U.S. Rep. Greg Steube, R-Sarasota.