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.
By Tyler O’Neil
