The human toll of USAID cuts

Summary

Marketplace Morning Report: The Human Toll of USAID Cuts
Release Date: March 27, 2025
Host: David Brancaccio

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I. Introduction: The Impact of USAID Budget Cuts

In the March 27, 2025 episode of Marketplace Morning Report, host David Brancaccio delves into the profound consequences of recent budget cuts to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Highlighting the urgent need for continued international aid, Brancaccio sets the stage for an in-depth exploration of how these fiscal reductions are jeopardizing critical humanitarian programs worldwide.

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II. The Plight of Manna Nutrition: A Direct Consequence of Funding Cuts

Mark Moore’s Struggle to Deliver Aid

Mark Moore, CEO of Manna Nutrition—a nonprofit dedicated to producing a peanut-based nutritional paste for children in famine-stricken regions like Africa—shares his firsthand experiences battling the instability caused by USAID's fluctuating support.

• Initial Uncertainty: In January, Moore received an unsettling email from USAID indicating that his contracts were paused, prompting him to halt operations temporarily. However, just a week later, he was instructed to resume work, only to face abrupt cancellation of his contracts again a few weeks thereafter.

  Mark Moore [01:42]: "USAID said Manna's life-sustaining packets weren't in the national interest."

• Financial Strain: Despite the chaos, Moore managed to restart operations, even as the federal government owed his organization between $20 to $25 million.

  Mark Moore [02:12]: "All this time, Moore was thinking about the children in places like Sudan and Chad who depend on Manna's nutritional paste."

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III. Humanitarian Crisis Escalates: Expert Perspectives

Consequences for Vulnerable Populations

The erratic funding from USAID has dire implications for millions relying on these aid programs:

• Immediate Risk to Children: Moore emphasizes the lethal stakes, stating that malnourished children could perish within a week without access to Manna’s nutritional paste.

  Mark Moore [02:23]: "If these malnourished kids go for a week without food for a, child under six, especially these children, it'll cost them their lives."

• Systemic Disruptions: The potential for significant supply chain disruptions looms large, threatening the delivery of not just food aid but also critical medical treatments.

Insights from Charles Kenney

Charles Kenney, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development, provides a broader analysis of USAID's financial struggles, noting that the agency is largely incapacitated in making payments or issuing new contracts.

Charles Kenney [03:02]: "USAID still isn't able to make payments or issue new contracts. And not just for food aid. Kenny says the US also paid for antiviral drugs for HIV and AIDS patients across the globe."

• Potential Loss of Lives: Kenney warns of a catastrophic increase in mortality rates, projecting up to 4 million deaths within a year if the funding issues persist.

  Charles Kenney [03:26]: "If those babies don't get antivirals right away, around half of them could die within a year."

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IV. Public Media Funding Under Scrutiny on Capitol Hill

Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Push to Cut Federal Funding

Shifting focus to domestic policy, Brancaccio reports on the contentious debate surrounding federal funding for public television and radio. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has been vocal in her criticism, arguing that contributions from the federal government to public media lack transparency and contribute to national debt.

Marjorie Taylor Greene [05:22]: "The United States is $36 trillion in debt. In fiscal year 2024, the government spent over 1.8 trillion more than it took in, and in fiscal year 2025, the interest on our debt is expected to exceed $1 trillion."

• Accusations of Bias and Commercialization: Greene alleges that public media organizations like NPR and PBS are biased and that their underwriting announcements have morphed into unauthorized commercials, potentially violating federal regulations.

Expert Analysis from Victor Picard

Victor Picard, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication, provides context on the funding mechanisms for public broadcasting.

Victor Picard [04:59]: "Most of the funding for public broadcasting comes actually from donations, sponsorships, grants, you know, from foundations and indeed from corporations."

He explains that regulatory changes in the early 1980s loosened restrictions, encouraging public broadcasters to seek corporate sponsorships as a significant revenue source.

Victor Picard [05:22]: "There were rule changes, especially in the early 1980s at the FCC, that actually made it easier and loosened restrictions on how public broadcasting stations could announce sponsorship on the air."

Funding Disparities Across States

Brancaccio highlights the uneven distribution of funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), noting significant variation depending on the state.

• Per Capita Funding: For example, Texas and Georgia receive only about $0.50 per person annually, whereas Alaskans receive more than $11 per person each year.

  David Brancaccio [06:34]: "In 2023, for instance, corporation for Public Broadcasting grants the main vehicle for public media funding was $336 million. The industry newspaper called Current looked at how that breaks down state by state and found it to be $1.52 per person in the US but varying by state, 50 cents a year per person in Texas and Georgia, for instance, more than $11 a year for Alaskans."

Furthermore, Marketplace discloses its dependency on CPB funding, as federal subsidies facilitate the acquisition of programming from American Public Media.

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V. Conclusion: The Far-Reaching Implications of Funding Cuts

The episode underscores the critical importance of sustained funding for both international aid agencies like USAID and public media organizations. Budget cuts and financial instability not only hamper life-saving humanitarian efforts but also threaten the integrity and operation of public broadcasting—both vital components of a functioning and compassionate society.

Marketplace Morning Report effectively highlights the interconnectedness of policy decisions and their tangible impacts on vulnerable populations and informed public discourse.

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This summary is based on the transcript provided and aims to encapsulate the key discussions and insights presented in the episode.

Transcript

[David Brancaccio]

Hi, it's David Brancaccio. Marketplace's March fundraiser is ending on Friday at midnight and we need your help. We can't afford to fall short of this goal. Every dollar you give comes back to you in the form of trustworthy, grounded journalism that helps you understand the economy. We're in this together. Whether it's your first time donating or you're a longtime Marketplace investor, please help us [e-mail] donate and thank you. We continue to track the on the ground effects of budget cuts in US International aid. I'm David Brancaccio in Los Angeles. Supporters of the U.S. agency for International Development are heading to Capitol Hill today to lobby lawmakers and staffers. The cutting of budgets and jobs at USAID has derailed aid programs around the world. The State Department says It's terminating about 80% of USAID's grants and contracts. Aid groups say even less. Life saving humanitarian programs that the department had promised to protect are faltering and children especially could suffer. Marketplace's Nancy Marshall Genzer explains.

[Mark Moore]

Mark Moore is racing to make up for lost time. He's CEO of Manna Nutrition, a nonprofit that makes a nutritional paste from peanuts for starving children. He's talking to me from a Manna office in Charlotte, North Carolina, over zoom. He points to a pallet of food.

[Nancy Marshall Genzer]

And you can see that USAID logo there.

[Mark Moore]

I see it. Most of Moore's packets of nutritional paste are sent to Africa. Earlier this year, Moore got a series of emails from his main client, usaid.

[Nancy Marshall Genzer]

It's been a kind of a yo yo effect. First it was an email in January.

[Mark Moore]

The emails said Moore's contracts were paused, he should stop work. But a week later he was told to resume operations. But then a few weeks after that, never mind, Moore's contracts were abruptly canceled. Canceled. USAID said Manna's life sustaining packets weren't in the national interest. Then the yo yo bounced up a final time when a week later, Moore was told to restart. He did, even though the federal government still owes him a lot of money.

[Nancy Marshall Genzer]

Somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 to 25 million dollars.

[Mark Moore]

All this time, Moore was thinking about the children in places like Sudan and Chad who depend on Manna's nutritional paste. He says if these malnourished kids go for a week without food for a.

[Nancy Marshall Genzer]

Child under six, especially these children, it'll cost him their life.

[Mark Moore]

Moore says it's all well and good for him to be producing his packets again, but they still have to get to these children. And he says there could be big supply disruptions this summer because of other contract cancellations and payment disruptions for shippers and nonprofits that run feeding centers. If they're not able to restart their work, the outlook is grim, Moore says children will die.

[Nancy Marshall Genzer]

We may not even be able to count them. They will have nowhere to go. So it would probably look like tens of thousands of children dying quietly at home.

[Mark Moore]

In an email, the State Department told me critical USAID program awards remain active. But Charles Kenney, senior fellow at the center for Global Development, says for the most part, USAID still isn't able to make payments or issue new contracts. And not just for food aid. Kenny says the US Also paid for antiviral drugs for HIV and AIDS patients across the globe.

[Nancy Marshall Genzer]

Without all of that being fixed, we have an emergency of just an awesome scale. I mean, we are talking 3, maybe 4 million deaths over the course of a year.

[Mark Moore]

Kenny says the first victims of any AIDS crisis will be children born to HIV positive mothers who weren't taking antiviral drugs. He says if those babies don't get antivirals right away, around half of them could die within a year. I'm Nancy Marshall Genser for Marketplace.

[David Brancaccio]

On Capitol Hill. Yesterday, executives from our industry public media faced calls to end market the federal government's contribution to funding for public television and public radio. The heads of PBS and NPR appeared at a House hearing with Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, alleging bias in NPR coverage and inappropriate content on PBS television. There was also a focus on funding beyond the government piece, namely the underwriting announcements companies buy. The Trump administration has opened an investigation into whether those have become fully fledged commercials that might break federal rules. Now public television and public radio organizations say funding models comply with the law. For context, here we spoke to Victor Picard, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication.

[Victor Picard]

Most of the funding for public broadcasting comes actually from donations, sponsorships, grants, you know, from foundations and indeed from corporations. And what has become euphemistically known as underwriting or enhanced underwriting often comes in the form of corporate sponsorship of particular programs.

[David Brancaccio]

Picard says government rules evolved over decades with less federal subsidy available.

[Victor Picard]

There were rule changes, especially in the early 1980s at the FCC, that actually made it easier and loosened restrictions on how public broadcasting stations could announce sponsorship on the air, for example, and just kind of incentivized almost, you might say, public broadcasters, to seek out this kind of corporate sponsorship.

[David Brancaccio]

Congresswoman Taylor Greene argued yesterday that eliminating federal funding for public media is a matter of economic priorities.

[Marjorie Taylor Greene]

The United States is $36 trillion in debt. In fiscal year 2024, the government spent over 1.8 trillion more than it took in, and in fiscal year 2025, the interest on our debt is expected to exceed $1 trillion. As we continue investigating waste, fraud and abuse, we can look no further than the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Georgia.

[David Brancaccio]

Congresswoman went on to conclude, because the.

[Marjorie Taylor Greene]

Reality is the United States of America is broke and can't afford it.

[David Brancaccio]

In 2023, for instance, corporation for Public Broadcasting grants the main vehicle for public media funding was $336 million. The industry newspaper called Current looked at how that breaks down state by state and found it to be $1.52 per person in the US but varying by state, 50 cents a year per person in Texas and Georgia, for instance, more than $11 a year for Alaskans. Disclosure this program Marketplace benefits from Corporation for Public Broadcasting funding since the federal subsidy can help local public media stations buy our programming. I'm David Brancaccio, Marketplace Morning Report from apm, American Public Media.

[Janeli Espinal]

If there's one thing we know about social media, it's that misinformation is everywhere, especially when it comes to personal finance. Financially Inclined from Marketplace is a podcast you can trust to to help you get serious about your money so you can build a life you've always dreamed of. I'm the host, Janeli Espinal, and each week I ask experts important money questions, like how to negotiate job offers, how to choose a college that you can afford, and how to talk about money with friends and family. Listen to Financially Inclined wherever you get your podcasts.