Sen. Merkley Accuses Sen. Rubio of Causing Mass Child Deaths via USAID Cuts

Allegations of USAID Restructuring

• 💡 Sen. Merkley questions Sec. Rubio regarding the restructuring of USAID, referencing a statement by Elon Musk about "tossing USAID into the wood chipper."
• 🎯 Merkley asserts that this action, taken on February 3rd, lacked consultation with Congress and did not involve a legal rewriting of laws or discussion of fund implications.

Estimated Child Mortality Figures

• 💔 Merkley cites estimates from the Boston School of Public Health, suggesting significant increases in child deaths due to the actions taken to dismantle USAID.
• 📈 Specific figures mentioned include 53,500 more deaths from child malnutrition, 45,400 from child diarrhea, 59,200 from child pneumonia, and 25,100 from malaria, totaling hundreds of thousands of children.
• ⚠️ These deaths are attributed to the cancellation and freezing of contracts and funds without proper legal process.

Rubio's Defense and Counterarguments

• 🚫 Sec. Rubio refutes the figures, calling them "false" and "fake," stating they are based on a hypothetical worst-case scenario of a permanent freeze.
• 🗣️ Rubio clarifies that there has not been a total freeze, with 85% of PEPFAR recipients still receiving care.
• 📉 He argues that the presented numbers are exaggerated and not representative of the actual situation.

Further Studies and Disputed Impacts

• 🔬 Merkley references a study published in Nature, which allegedly predicts 15 million additional deaths over 15 years from HIV, AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and other diseases due to the shutdown.
• 🌍 The study also reportedly estimates 14 million orphans and 10 million additional deaths from various diseases.
• ⚖️ Merkley criticizes the "rash shutdown without due process of law" as having exacted enormous harm globally.
• ❓ Rubio counters that the premise of the US needing to fund foreign aid in perpetuity to prevent such deaths is unrealistic and that other countries should also contribute.