A U.S. congressman is criticizing $30 million in funding to help increase imports of mangoes from Pakistan.
Rep. Tom Reed, Republican of New York, said in a statement that U.S. Agency for International Development funds for Pakistani mango imports is an “example of egregious and wasteful government spending.”
“This is ridiculous,” Reed said in the April 25 statement. “While domestic fruit farmers struggle to get by, we aid Pakistani farmers? Our national debt stands at more than $15.3 trillion, yet we borrow money that our children and grandchildren will have to pay back in order to boost Pakistani mangoes.”
Reed said he would look very closely at future funding for USAID.
“This just demonstrates how dysfunctional our government has become when $30 million can be wasted without anyone stopping the expense.”
In 2010, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service gave the green light for Pakistani mango imports.
The first shipments arrived in the U.S. in July 2011. Quantities were limited — three shipments totaling less than 15,000 pounds.
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