Unintended effects of USAID cuts

The impact of budget cuts ordered by the US Department of Government Efficiency has been well documented in C&EN and elsewhere. And no funding agency has been more decimated than the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which on Feb. 23 was effectively shuttered. The loss of programs to fight diseases like mpox and Ebola will likely weaken human health across the globe. But a recent comment from a chemical company executive brought to light a less appreciated benefit of such international US aid: economic development, right at home. The comment came from James Y. Chao, senior chairman of the board of Westlake, one of the largest US producers of polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, and vinyl construction products. Chao and his brother, Albert Y. Chao, were at New York City’s Plaza Hotel on March 4 to accept the 92nd Chemical Industry Medal from the Society of Chemical Industry’s America Section. Attendees