She and her husband, Fred, retired in 2017 and moved to Durham. She has taught an annual course in foreign assistance at Duke University’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.

 

President John F. Kennedy created USAID through an executive order in 1961, she reported, noting the agency filled one part of the nation’s “Three Ds” security strategy — defense, covered by the U.S. Department of Defense; diplomacy, managed by the State Department; and development, fulfilled by USAID. Congress then codified USAID in statute in 1998.

 

The United States relies upon three kinds of international power — hard, soft and smart, she said. Hard power utilizes military strength.

 

Soft power, in which USAID has played a key role, reflects “the ability to shape the preferences of others through appeal and attraction rather than coercion,” she said, citing political scientist Joseph Nye.

 

And USAID also contributed to smart power, which “is neither hard nor soft,” she added, quoting Nye and longtime ambassador Richard Armitage. “It is the skillful combination of both. Smart power means developing an integrated strategy, resource base and toolkit to achieve American objectives.”

 

“We need all three strategies,” Brems stressed.

 

Aside from the Defense Department, USAID has worked alongside five other federal agencies in foreign relations — the State Department, Foreign Commercial Service, Foreign Agricultural Service, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, and the U.S. Agency for Global Media.

 

Prior to the cutbacks, USAID employed 13,000 people based in 106 countries, with programs in 30 other countries. Of those employees, 5,000 were foreign service nationals, or citizens of other countries who worked for the agency.

 

Many of the participating countries have had formal USAID missions: 44 in Africa, 26 in Asia, 12 in Europe/Eurasia, 13 in Latin America and the Caribbean, and 11 in the Middle East.

 

Historically, the purpose of USAID’s development work has been to:

• Create markets for U.S. companies by reducing poverty and increasing production in developing countries

• Diminish the threat of communism by helping countries prosper under capitalism

• Provide grant aid to stimulate economic growth

 

“The idea is to help foster development of countries so they can be valuable trading partners with the U.S. for the benefit of their own people and for us,” she said.

 

That makes sense when economic factors are considered. For example, “95% of the world’s consumers live outside the United States, and seven of the 10 fastest-growing economies are in the developing world,” she noted. “More than one in five U.S. jobs are tied to international trade, one in three manufacturing jobs are tied to U.S. exports, and 43 of the 50 top nations that consume U.S. agriculture products once received U.S. foreign aid.

 

So, USAID has contributed to economic growth by bolstering the competitiveness of U.S. companies and opening markets for U.S. firms, she said. This increased two-way trade between the United States and other countries.

 

Quoting Samantha Power, USAID’s administrator until this year, Brems noted, “USAID — with our deep network of partnerships in communities, businesses and governments — is America’s foreign policy ground game (which is) invaluable to advancing the security and prosperity of the United States and our partners.”

 

Labels on packages of food, medicine and other supplies — reading “from the American people” — provided a good illustration of the United States’ soft and smart power, Brems said. Supplies were “branded everywhere” around the world, and “people knew it was from the American people.”

 

Supporting the nation’s foreign policy, USAID led the government’s international development and disaster assistance programs, she said. The programs’ mission statement read: “On behalf of the American people, the U.S Agency for International Development promotes and demonstrates democratic values abroad and advances a free, peaceful and prosperous world.”

 

 

The current administration has moved away from commenting on the forms of government that other nations adopt, she said. For this reason, any future programs under the Department of State will not include democracy promotion. USAID traditionally has promoted a strong civil society, and some governments do not want that.

 

Although political opponents cite cost as a reason to do away with USAID, facts do not support that assertion, she reported. For example, polls show most Americans believe international affairs comprises about 25% of the federal budget and think it should take up only 10 percent of the budget. But in reality, international affairs comprises less than 1% of the country’s budget.

 

USAID accounts for only half of that amount. And an estimated 65% of the USAID budget is spent in this country, whether to farmers for food supplies, vehicles, technical experts or other commodities.

 

Moreover, Congress controls the budget, Brems said. “Congress tells us how much money we get. They tell us how to spend the money. … We have to be good stewards and make sure there is no corruption.”

 

USAID takes the lead in providing disaster relief and humanitarian assistance in other countries, she said. The mission of this program is to save lives, alleviate suffering and help people in need become more self-reliant.

 

The agency also heads up the international sustainable development program, leading initiatives to promote economic development, health, education, democracy and the environment.

 

USAID programs combat poverty, foster food security, seek to prevent child and maternal deaths, control the HIV/AIDS epidemic, combat infectious diseases and support family planning. But despite claims to the contrary, “USAID has never funded abortion. Never,” she said.

 

Though a court battle to reverse the dismantling of USAID is ongoing, the State Department has absorbed the few remaining functions of USAID as of July 1.    

 

The consequences will be dire, Brems warned. She cited an article published in The Lancet this spring that estimated the impact of discontinuing USAID’s health program over the coming 15 years:

• 15.2 million additional AIDS-related deaths

• 2.2 million additional Tuberculosis-related deaths

• 7.9 million additional child deaths from other causes

• 40 million to 55 million additional unplanned pregnancies

• 12 million to 16 million abortions, most of them unsafe

• 1 million additional maternal deaths

• 1.8 million additional stillbirths