EXCLUSIVE – Sen. Joni Ernst (R‑IA) is escalating her call for transparency in foreign aid by urging the Inspector General to examine how taxpayer dollars are being spent to help support small businesses in Ukraine.
The Iowa senator sent a follow-up letter to the Inspector General overseeing the United States Agency for International Development, pushing for more information about assistance provided to small businesses in Ukraine. Ernst, who is the ranking member of the Senate Small Business Committee, sent an initial inquiry in November that has yet to be addressed.
“USAID Administrator Power has refused to provide clear or substantive responses to my requests for more information on USAID assistance to SMEs in Ukraine despite repeated inquiries,” Ernst wrote in the letter. “There is no doubt about it: the American people deserve transparency.”
“Unfortunately, USAID is unwilling to allow for transparency and so the job falls to you, the watchdog tasked with ensuring the agency spends taxpayer money prudently,” she added.
In the letter, Ernst highlights projects that USAID has …