The U.S. Agency for International Development funded a pet tracking app, fashion companies, specialty food companies, and firms making designer furniture, according to records reviewed by Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa.
“USAID was wasting tax dollars like it was going out of style,” Ernst, who chairs the Senate DOGE Caucus focused on rooting out waste and abuse from the federal government, told The Daily Signal in a statement Tuesday. “Rogue agencies like USAID should not be allowed to cloak themselves in secrecy from public scrutiny.”
“The fact that I uncovered millions for custom carpet manufacturers and pet tracking apps is exactly why we need a full accounting of every cent spent,” she added.
Ernst’s office provided The Daily Signal a copy of the grants her office discovered. Her staff found grants flowing to Ukrainian companies through two USAID programs: the Competitive Economy Project and the Investment for Business Resilience program.
The Competitive Economy Project sent $300,000 to support Animal ID, a pet tracking app using digital QR codes that aims to provide the app in the U.S. market, and $300,000 to a dog collar manufacturer.
The project also awarded $150,000 to a modern women’s attire company; $128,000 to a trade mission for a fashion design house; $126,000 to a photographer for fashion design publications; $161,000 to a purveyor of contemporary knitwear (helping her find new customers overseas); $84,000 to a luxury bridal brand; and $84,000 to a marketplace for designer artisanal pieces inspired by folk crafts.
The project awarded $94,000 to a trade mission for a condiment manufacturer; $255,000 to a producer of organic tea and coffee; $148,000 to a pickle maker; $89,000 to a Ukrainian vineyard; and $104,000 to an artisanal fruit tea company.
It also funneled U.S. taxpayer dollars to designer furniture companies, including $114,000 to a premium, limited-edition furniture line that “aims to increase its sales in the United States,” and $91,000 to a trade mission for a Scandinavian-style furniture line.
USAID’s Investment for Business Resilience also awarded grants to Ukrainian companies, including $2 million to a custom carpet manufacturer; $678,000 to a specialty biscuit and confectionary company; $319,000 to a meatpacking plant; and $109,000 to a pet food packaging producer.
USAID Ukraine Waste From Ernst OfficeDownload
Ernst’s efforts to investigate USAID spending trace back before April 2023, when she and Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, sent a letter demanding answers from USAID Administrator Samantha Power on how much money the agency spends on “indirect costs.”
In November 2023, she demanded information on how much money USAID funnels to small businesses in Ukraine and she faulted USAID for hiding records.
“My support for providing weapons and munitions to Ukrainian fighters as they counter Putin’s regime on the battlefield is steadfast,” she wrote in a letter demanding answers. “But I’m weary of doling out nearly $25 billion in hardworking Americans’ tax dollars for so-called economic aid to Ukraine, including subsidies for overseas businesses such as a luxury ‘contemporary knitwear couture’ company in Kyiv.”
Ernst USAID Letter Nov 2024Download
Earlier this month, Ernst accused USAID of repeatedly stonewalling her investigations. She claimed USAID falsely told her its aid data was classified. Her staff entered a sensitive compartmented information facility to access the data only to discover it was not classified.
“After accepting the requested accommodations and waiting weeks for available SCIF space at USAID’s headquarters, my staff discovered the documents were not classified,” Ernst wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. “The documents my staff reviewed, on their face, failed to comply with standard classifications protocols.”
“Only after demanding to speak to your USAID Office of Security, my staff uncovered that this data was, in fact, unclassified,” she wrote. “In a desperate attempt to limit congressional oversight of public information, USAID demonstrated intentional abuse of a system designed to keep our nation’s secret information secure.”
Ernst to Rubio Feb 4 LetterDownload
USAID has received renewed scrutiny after President Donald Trump froze all foreign aid on his first day in office and after the Department of Government Efficiency uncovered how USAID funded left-leaning projects.
USAID announced that all “USAID direct-hire personnel” except “designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership, and/or specially designated programs” had been placed on administrative leave on Sunday amid a reduction in force affecting approximately 1,600 USAID personnel. Staff designated essential had been notified Sunday that they will continue working.
USAID is offering a return travel program and other benefits for staff working overseas.
The administrative leave comes after a federal judge refused to extend a temporary stay blocking the firings. Federal employee unions filed the lawsuit trying to block the policy.
Monday marked the three-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.