To answer the question, where does the money for foreign assistance really go, think about these facts.

Barely 1% of the total U.S. government budget is allocated to foreign assistance. That is a rounding error for our billionaire class. The U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, last year purchased $2 billion in U.S.-grown crops from corn and soybeans to wheat, sorghum, vegetable oil and peas for its Food for Peace and other programs. Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin farmers were among those selling their crops to the program. Not to mention the Georgia farmers that make lifesaving peanut paste for children around the world!

Food aid must be purchased in the U.S. and shipped overseas on American carriers. Our own economy will also suffer as a result of the ongoing illegal rapid destruction of an independent, congressionally mandated agency that has a U.S. footprint and handshake recognizable in 120 countries around the world.

Chris Fowles

Southampton