Waste of the Day: Unscrupulous NGOs Rake in Billions for Foreign Assistance

Topline: Between 2013 and 2022, 15 nonprofits each received over $1 billion from the federal government for foreign, nonmilitary projects, according to a new report from the Congressional Research Service.

One-fifth of money for foreign aid goes to 10 groups

Key facts: Six thousand non-governmental organizations, or NGOS, received grants and contracts from the U.S. Agency for International Development, but 20% of the money went to just 10 groups. Four of them are for-profit enterprises.

Almost $7 billion went to two particularly unworthy organizations.

Non-profit research group RTI International accepted $2.3 billion for humanitarian projects around the world, even though past reports have warned of issues with RTI’s spending.

Various audits from 2006 to 2014 claimed that RTI invented “fictional beneficiaries” to make an anti-malaria campaign seem more effective than it really was. They also sent computers to a Nicaraguan school that didn’t have electricity and billed the federal government for teacher salaries in Senegal that had already been paid, according to the audits.

Catholic Relief Services was the top recipient of federal money — $4.6 billion — singlehandedly accounting for more than half of the funds sent to faith-based organizations.

Six of their former board members were named by a Pennsylvania grand jury in 2019 for allowing sex abuse in the Catholic Church. Catholic Relief Services was also found guilty in 2022 of discriminating against a gay employee.

The federal government also sent $50 billion in foreign aid to groups whose names are redacted from public databases, according to the report. In total, Congress gave $66 billion in foreign assistance in FY2023.

Money to the Middle East

Background: A significant portion of USAID’s funds go toward the Middle East, amounting to almost $21 billion from 2021 to 2023, according to OpenTheBooks.

That included $1.4 billion in cash transfers to Jordan, more than any other foreign nation received. The Congressional Research Service quantified over $5 billion in budget assistance to Jordan from 2013 to 2022; no other country received more than $2 billion.

OpenTheBooks also identified some odd initiatives funded in the Middle East. The U.S. spent $3.3 million on “women entrepreneurship development” in Gaza and $339,000 to convince Saudi Arabians to stop keeping cheetahs as pets.

Summary: It’s vital for the U.S. to help its allies, but spending should be limited to legitimate entities with proven records of being good stewards of taxpayer money.

The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com

This article was originally published by RealClearInvestigations and made available via RealClearWire.