WEBVTT - Government Layoffs: What Now? | Angela Rye SoloPod 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:03.640 Native Land Pod is a production of iHeartRadio in partnership 0:00:03.640 --> 0:00:11.400 with Reason Choice Media. Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, Hello everybody, 0:00:12.000 --> 0:00:15.240 Welcome home, y'all. This is Angela Raie with Native Lamppod. 0:00:15.840 --> 0:00:20.239 Every Tuesday, I do a solo podcast, and that is 0:00:20.239 --> 0:00:21.120 what we're doing today. 0:00:21.200 --> 0:00:21.320 Now. 0:00:21.360 --> 0:00:24.320 I wish I were coming to you on better terms, 0:00:24.360 --> 0:00:27.840 but as you all know, there is so so much 0:00:27.920 --> 0:00:31.320 going on throughout the world and of course on these 0:00:31.560 --> 0:00:34.440 shores of these United States, and so what we're talking 0:00:34.479 --> 0:00:36.400 about today is I know many of you all were 0:00:36.440 --> 0:00:38.280 recalled just a few weeks ago we talked about the 0:00:38.320 --> 0:00:42.200 federal funding freeze. We know that there was a temporary 0:00:42.240 --> 0:00:46.960 pause of agency grants, loans and other financial assistance programs, 0:00:47.600 --> 0:00:52.040 as issued in a January twenty seventh memo from OMB 0:00:52.120 --> 0:00:54.720 from the acting director at the time. Since then, the 0:00:54.800 --> 0:00:59.280 man who wrote the OMB portion of the memo in 0:00:59.560 --> 0:01:02.080 Project twenty five has been sworn in. His name is 0:01:02.160 --> 0:01:05.480 Russell Balt. He is now the director of O and 0:01:05.560 --> 0:01:09.720 B and he has not stopped on these temporary pausings 0:01:09.880 --> 0:01:14.959 of grants, loans and federal funds, including firing and laying 0:01:15.000 --> 0:01:18.520 off federal workers who work every single day with our 0:01:18.560 --> 0:01:22.440 taxpayer dollars right to make life much easier for us 0:01:22.480 --> 0:01:26.200 here on these shores and those abroad. And so I 0:01:26.319 --> 0:01:29.920 wanted to just dive into the many ways in which 0:01:30.000 --> 0:01:33.240 folks have been hurt so far. You guys, we are 0:01:33.280 --> 0:01:36.360 twenty eight days into this administration and it feels like 0:01:36.520 --> 0:01:39.440 a month of Sundays. It feels like it is a 0:01:39.520 --> 0:01:44.839 NonStop flow of trauma, of tragedy, and we are still 0:01:44.840 --> 0:01:46.959 looking for the triumph, but we're gonna hold on to hope. 0:01:47.040 --> 0:01:50.680 So today we're gonna talk to three people who are 0:01:50.720 --> 0:01:56.840 either government employees, have been funded through government by contracts, 0:01:57.040 --> 0:01:59.960 or from grants. And I want you all to hear 0:02:00.160 --> 0:02:04.040 these very human stories so that you understand what is 0:02:04.080 --> 0:02:06.840 at stake. I think what we have gotten accustomed to 0:02:07.280 --> 0:02:11.360 is hearing stories on the gram, seeing people do an 0:02:11.400 --> 0:02:15.760 instructional on TikTok, and we divorce ourselves from the empathy 0:02:15.840 --> 0:02:20.120 and the compassion needed as humans to really ensure policy change. 0:02:20.320 --> 0:02:22.440 So today I want you to hear from folks who 0:02:22.440 --> 0:02:25.440 are directly impacted. First, I'm going to bring into this 0:02:25.480 --> 0:02:29.800 conversation Miss User, who is in the DMV area. She 0:02:30.120 --> 0:02:34.639 is the former Operations Assistant at International Organization for Migration 0:02:35.440 --> 0:02:39.680 under the United States Refugee Admissions Program also known as 0:02:39.760 --> 0:02:43.640 us RAP, which is an inter agency entity that was 0:02:44.520 --> 0:02:49.359 supported by HHS, State and so many others in its 0:02:49.400 --> 0:02:51.280 work with United Nations. So we're going to bring in 0:02:51.320 --> 0:02:53.600 misuser first and let's have this conversation. 0:02:54.720 --> 0:02:56.040 Hi, thank you for having me. 0:02:56.280 --> 0:02:58.520 Thank you so much for being here. I am so 0:02:58.680 --> 0:03:01.880 sorry about what you've ex experience. I want our listeners 0:03:01.880 --> 0:03:04.520 and the folks who are tuned into YouTube today just 0:03:04.560 --> 0:03:08.119 to hear from you about what your experience was. When 0:03:08.120 --> 0:03:11.760 did you learn of the funding for your program being cut? 0:03:11.960 --> 0:03:15.080 How many people were impacted, and how are you feeling now. 0:03:17.600 --> 0:03:21.160 I think I actually kind of knew when Trump got 0:03:21.160 --> 0:03:24.519 elected that there was a possibility that my program was 0:03:24.560 --> 0:03:26.919 going to be downsized, But I don't think any of 0:03:27.000 --> 0:03:29.320 us imagined for him to completely cut it. I think 0:03:29.320 --> 0:03:33.760 we all knew downsizing was coming across all US funding 0:03:33.760 --> 0:03:36.520 because that is what happened last time, but we none 0:03:36.560 --> 0:03:38.840 of us expected him to come in and just stop 0:03:38.880 --> 0:03:43.200 the funding. So and I think it makes it worse 0:03:43.240 --> 0:03:45.480 because it's like he's not stopping the funding for my program, 0:03:45.520 --> 0:03:49.400 only he just he paused, everything humanitarian world is in 0:03:49.480 --> 0:03:52.960 shambles right now. The only way to find a job 0:03:53.000 --> 0:03:54.960 is for me to switch careers. And I think for 0:03:55.040 --> 0:03:57.640 me that's really challenging because it's like, I don't do 0:03:57.680 --> 0:03:59.160 this for the money. I love the work I do. 0:03:59.240 --> 0:04:01.640 I love working with people. I love working with the refugees. 0:04:02.160 --> 0:04:05.520 So to have this person come in and just take 0:04:05.560 --> 0:04:08.840 it away. I've spent so long just trying to get 0:04:08.840 --> 0:04:12.720 into this field and getting into the federal workforce or 0:04:13.160 --> 0:04:16.680 international development or humanitan world. It's already hard as it is, 0:04:17.320 --> 0:04:19.680 so for somebody to make it in, especially somebody like 0:04:19.720 --> 0:04:22.920 me who's like Muslim, black and I'm a woman, it's 0:04:22.960 --> 0:04:27.080 just it's like really saddening, and I'm also really angry 0:04:27.120 --> 0:04:28.479 at the same time because I feel like it's just 0:04:28.520 --> 0:04:30.120 been taken away from under me. 0:04:31.000 --> 0:04:33.720 And can you take a step back and talk a 0:04:33.760 --> 0:04:35.960 little bit about you said it was hard for you 0:04:36.000 --> 0:04:39.080 to break into this work. Give us an example of 0:04:39.120 --> 0:04:41.599 your day to day or one of the highlights from 0:04:41.800 --> 0:04:44.000 the type of work you were doing before the funding 0:04:44.040 --> 0:04:46.120 stream was cut off by the Trump administration. 0:04:47.800 --> 0:04:50.520 I think just working with the refugees and also my colleagues, 0:04:51.680 --> 0:04:54.120 the office that I work in is very, very diverse, 0:04:54.120 --> 0:04:57.520 which I love. So usually, like in other spaces that 0:04:57.560 --> 0:04:59.680 I've worked in, I'm usually either the only black girl, 0:05:00.040 --> 0:05:02.479 usually the only Muslim, or sometimes even the only girl. 0:05:03.040 --> 0:05:04.599 So this was the one place where I felt like 0:05:05.360 --> 0:05:07.880 all parts of me were accepted. And it's like I 0:05:07.960 --> 0:05:10.600 work with people who enjoy the work they're doing. I'm 0:05:10.640 --> 0:05:13.880 meeting new people every day. But also I think hearing 0:05:13.920 --> 0:05:17.920 these refugee stories kind of helps me connect. I love 0:05:17.920 --> 0:05:19.360 connecting with me and it helps me connect with them 0:05:19.360 --> 0:05:22.280 because my parents immigrated here, so it's like I understand 0:05:22.320 --> 0:05:24.559 the challenges of coming to a new world and having 0:05:24.600 --> 0:05:27.880 to relearn everything and like being torn away from your family. 0:05:28.080 --> 0:05:30.520 And I think having this funding taken away, I think 0:05:30.560 --> 0:05:33.280 it breaks my heart because it's like these families are 0:05:33.279 --> 0:05:37.960 now being torn apart, and it's just like we can't 0:05:37.960 --> 0:05:40.320 do anything. We're not allowed to like answer the phones, 0:05:40.360 --> 0:05:43.720 we can't answer emails. And at the same time as 0:05:43.760 --> 0:05:46.039 I'm worrying for these refugees, I have to worry about 0:05:46.080 --> 0:05:48.560 finding a job right and it's like I think I 0:05:48.600 --> 0:05:51.920 struggle every day because it's like the workforce right. 0:05:51.839 --> 0:05:54.800 Now is terrible, so it's on a snap just for 0:05:54.880 --> 0:05:58.680 a moment. You're talking about receiving emails that you're not 0:05:58.760 --> 0:06:01.040 able to respond to. Can you give us an example 0:06:01.080 --> 0:06:04.240 of something that's come up where it's breaking your heart 0:06:04.320 --> 0:06:06.080 to not be able to respond to the need of 0:06:06.120 --> 0:06:07.120 a refugee family. 0:06:08.520 --> 0:06:11.200 I think getting calls on the hotline. For the first 0:06:11.240 --> 0:06:13.359 couple of days, we were receiving calls on the hot line. 0:06:13.760 --> 0:06:16.000 And we do work with multiple agencies, and one of 0:06:16.040 --> 0:06:17.720 the agencies, a lot of the agentries we work with, 0:06:17.720 --> 0:06:20.760 our resettlement agencies, and the people that we work with, 0:06:20.920 --> 0:06:24.320 they're all they were all fired within they order. When 0:06:24.320 --> 0:06:26.120 in Friday Monday all of them are gone. 0:06:26.320 --> 0:06:27.200 How many so. 0:06:29.120 --> 0:06:32.240 There we work with about seven agencies and they think 0:06:32.279 --> 0:06:34.680 about one thousand to two thousand people got fired there. 0:06:35.680 --> 0:06:38.960 That was Monday. And I think I started to worry 0:06:38.960 --> 0:06:42.599 because I'm like, I'm gonna get I'm gonna get cut. 0:06:42.640 --> 0:06:45.880 It's just a matter of time of win. And you know, 0:06:45.920 --> 0:06:48.320 I knew cuts were gonna come, but I didn't expect 0:06:48.839 --> 0:06:51.400 all of us to get cut. Yeah, my company alone 0:06:51.400 --> 0:06:54.960 fired three thousand people and we don't get we don't 0:06:55.000 --> 0:06:57.000 really get severance. A lot of us don't get severance, 0:06:57.200 --> 0:07:00.000 and because we work for the international organization, we all 0:07:00.040 --> 0:07:04.680 so don'tet unemployment. So it's like once we got let go, 0:07:05.839 --> 0:07:08.600 money stopped coming in, and obviously you need money to survive. 0:07:09.560 --> 0:07:12.440 And it's already hard enough to see. And I think 0:07:12.480 --> 0:07:14.440 every day I'm walking into apply for jobs, I'm also 0:07:14.480 --> 0:07:16.360 seeing people say I got for a load, I got 0:07:16.440 --> 0:07:19.640 let go, And it's so challenging because the workforce is 0:07:19.640 --> 0:07:22.480 already terrible. So now I'm going against not only the 0:07:22.520 --> 0:07:24.680 people who've let go under US RAP, but the people 0:07:24.720 --> 0:07:29.400 who let go of USAID, Department of Education, people, government 0:07:29.400 --> 0:07:31.840 workers who were on probation. And I think it just 0:07:31.880 --> 0:07:35.280 really breaks my heart because it's like I'm questioning where 0:07:35.280 --> 0:07:38.400 are our leaders? Because I see everybody coming together, all 0:07:38.440 --> 0:07:40.200 of us are coming together, we're trying to help each other, 0:07:41.120 --> 0:07:41.760 But where are. 0:07:41.680 --> 0:07:44.560 Leaders When you're saying where are your leaders? What are 0:07:44.640 --> 0:07:47.920 you asking leadership to do? And where are you looking 0:07:47.960 --> 0:07:49.520 for leadership in this moment. 0:07:50.320 --> 0:07:52.040 To step up to do something? 0:07:52.200 --> 0:07:54.520 But who I called? Who are who do you want 0:07:54.520 --> 0:07:54.920 to do that? 0:07:55.000 --> 0:07:55.080 Like? 0:07:55.080 --> 0:07:57.840 Who are the people that Congress? Congress? Congress? 0:07:57.880 --> 0:07:59.760 They need to step it up because this isn't just 0:07:59.800 --> 0:08:04.440 affect us in the US, this affects people globally. The 0:08:04.480 --> 0:08:06.520 companies that we work with have people all over there 0:08:06.560 --> 0:08:08.760 in the world. So these people are being let go 0:08:08.840 --> 0:08:12.240 all around the world. And as an American, I think 0:08:12.240 --> 0:08:14.880 a part of me feels guilty because eventually I will 0:08:14.880 --> 0:08:17.160 find a job and I will be okay. But that's 0:08:17.200 --> 0:08:19.200 not the same thing for other people who might live 0:08:19.320 --> 0:08:24.440 in Ghana or Sudan or Palestine or anywhere around the world. 0:08:24.600 --> 0:08:28.680 And it's like these fundings they do save people's lives. 0:08:29.320 --> 0:08:32.480 They provide medicine for people, they give educate access to education. 0:08:33.080 --> 0:08:35.400 And I'm a big education advocate because I know I 0:08:35.400 --> 0:08:38.040 wouldn't be here without my education, and so I think 0:08:38.040 --> 0:08:42.600 it's really heartbreaking to see these people struggling and not 0:08:42.679 --> 0:08:45.480 having access to their medicine. A lot of them potentially 0:08:45.480 --> 0:08:48.240 could die. And I just feel like Congress is not 0:08:48.280 --> 0:08:52.120 doing enough. They're not standing up, They're not doing anything, 0:08:52.960 --> 0:08:54.560 and I just don't understand why. 0:08:55.160 --> 0:08:58.320 Yeah, I thank you so much for your time and 0:08:58.360 --> 0:09:01.480 for your story. I agree with you. We do need 0:09:01.520 --> 0:09:03.600 Congress to step it up, but we also need to 0:09:03.640 --> 0:09:06.640 make sure that we got the same heat for folks 0:09:06.640 --> 0:09:08.559 on both sides of the aisle. The Republicans are in 0:09:08.600 --> 0:09:12.480 the majority, and they are just being a rubber stamp 0:09:12.480 --> 0:09:15.520 for everything that Trump administration is doing. So I'm hopeful 0:09:15.760 --> 0:09:18.160 that there will be change and that somebody in the 0:09:18.160 --> 0:09:20.680 Trump administration will comply with the corridor. But thank you 0:09:20.679 --> 0:09:23.240 so much, mister, use your fair time, thank you for 0:09:23.280 --> 0:09:35.800 having me, making me absolutely I want you all to 0:09:35.840 --> 0:09:37.840 hear some of these stories some of us are reading 0:09:37.880 --> 0:09:43.120 about different people, how they're being impacted, their families, who 0:09:43.120 --> 0:09:46.480 they're responsible for financially, the kinds of work they did 0:09:46.559 --> 0:09:50.960 within the federal government. We have our tentacles, the American people. 0:09:51.080 --> 0:09:54.600 The American government has its tentacles in so many different 0:09:54.600 --> 0:09:59.520 spaces across the globe. And I don't even really, I 0:09:59.520 --> 0:10:03.440 don't know if we realize yet just how impactful these cuts, 0:10:03.720 --> 0:10:06.920 these funding freezes really are. And so I want to 0:10:06.920 --> 0:10:10.679 bring another person in who is a government contractor. His 0:10:10.760 --> 0:10:12.160 name is Justin Rogers. 0:10:12.360 --> 0:10:12.920 He is. 0:10:14.520 --> 0:10:18.839 A former project associate with RTI International, and that work 0:10:18.920 --> 0:10:22.320 they were doing fell within USA. I D and you 0:10:22.400 --> 0:10:26.559 all have mostly probably heard about everything that was happening 0:10:26.600 --> 0:10:30.400 at us AID and how expansive those cuts have been. 0:10:30.880 --> 0:10:33.560 The lives that have been already lost in this short 0:10:33.559 --> 0:10:37.560 time frame from cutting off the fundings figot, you know, 0:10:37.679 --> 0:10:40.160 in places like the Philippines and others. So we're going 0:10:40.200 --> 0:10:44.960 to bring in Justin now to talk about his story. Hi, Justin, 0:10:45.000 --> 0:10:45.480 how are you? 0:10:46.440 --> 0:10:47.480 Haianzel? Good? 0:10:47.600 --> 0:10:47.840 Well? 0:10:47.920 --> 0:10:48.760 Thanks for having me. 0:10:48.840 --> 0:10:50.720 Thank you so much for being here. I know that 0:10:50.760 --> 0:10:54.800 it takes courage. We're asking you all to step forward 0:10:54.880 --> 0:10:57.880 and talk about what is happening in your world. When 0:10:57.880 --> 0:11:01.640 did you learn about your fund's being cut off? And 0:11:02.360 --> 0:11:04.959 what is the impact at your company and for you personally. 0:11:06.559 --> 0:11:12.440 So our work started being impacted day one, honestly, January, 0:11:12.960 --> 0:11:16.160 Martin Luther King day in the day after that, we 0:11:16.200 --> 0:11:19.920 started receiving stock work orders, we started receiving notice that 0:11:20.000 --> 0:11:21.960 we were not going to be able to pay certain 0:11:22.080 --> 0:11:26.800 costs from a subcontractor. And then recently a few days ago, 0:11:27.080 --> 0:11:30.160 I got a termination notice on one of my projects. 0:11:30.880 --> 0:11:34.360 And so on Friday, we've been having these ongoing leadership 0:11:34.400 --> 0:11:37.360 meetings in our leadership at first said we might reduce 0:11:37.920 --> 0:11:40.360 hours that staff work, some of you will be for 0:11:40.480 --> 0:11:42.320 load and come back. They were just looking at all 0:11:42.400 --> 0:11:45.920 kinds of different options, and so on Friday, I received 0:11:45.920 --> 0:11:47.880 the news that I was one of the three hundred 0:11:47.920 --> 0:11:49.959 people for my department to be for load. 0:11:52.800 --> 0:11:56.120 Were you surprised that you were for load? 0:11:57.640 --> 0:12:01.680 I wasn't surprised at all. I had seen it coming 0:12:01.960 --> 0:12:04.880 and hearing. I think what surprised me the most how 0:12:04.920 --> 0:12:07.400 faster king and when they said this was going to 0:12:07.400 --> 0:12:10.160 be an aggressive one hundred days. It has been a 0:12:10.160 --> 0:12:13.360 month of Sundays already and it hasn't been one hundred days. 0:12:13.400 --> 0:12:16.480 So I can only imagine what they might be getting 0:12:16.520 --> 0:12:19.720 to by day one hundred and what law or book 0:12:19.800 --> 0:12:23.480 they're back there unraveling. I was very surprised that how 0:12:23.520 --> 0:12:26.240 fast it came. I think it moved very quick. I 0:12:26.240 --> 0:12:29.640 didn't expect it to come this quick. I thought to myself, Okay, 0:12:29.679 --> 0:12:32.440 you have a good two maybe three months before things 0:12:32.440 --> 0:12:36.240 start working its way through the judiciary system. But Trump 0:12:36.320 --> 0:12:39.199 Trump worked fast and his administration they worked very quick. 0:12:40.880 --> 0:12:42.920 But I was not surprised that my work was going 0:12:42.960 --> 0:12:46.199 to come to it. And I felt like with Project 0:12:46.200 --> 0:12:48.760 twenty twenty five being out there and the rhetoric that's 0:12:48.800 --> 0:12:51.400 been out there about international development in the field I 0:12:51.480 --> 0:12:55.800 work in, I saw shifts coming. And I know Republicans 0:12:55.880 --> 0:12:59.640 are very big on localization, which is problematic in and 0:12:59.679 --> 0:13:04.120 of its off because you can't have local organizations competing 0:13:04.120 --> 0:13:07.720 when they don't even have the resources to compete. So again, 0:13:07.880 --> 0:13:09.520 I definitely do see this trend coming. 0:13:09.679 --> 0:13:14.360 When you describe the work that you were doing, how 0:13:14.400 --> 0:13:16.280 would you describe it? What was the nature of the 0:13:16.320 --> 0:13:18.120 work you all did with USAID? 0:13:20.520 --> 0:13:23.600 The nature of the work was very It was very 0:13:23.679 --> 0:13:26.439 much business like. So although I worked for a nonprofit, 0:13:26.880 --> 0:13:29.840 USAID was our client and they were paying us to 0:13:29.840 --> 0:13:32.280 go implement a project, So we had to abide by 0:13:32.320 --> 0:13:36.080 their regulations, their stipulations, and we had different types of 0:13:36.120 --> 0:13:39.400 contracts that we would work with them. Certain things on 0:13:39.440 --> 0:13:42.240 a project we could build USA for, we couldn't build 0:13:42.280 --> 0:13:45.360 them for. I will say we had a very decent 0:13:45.400 --> 0:13:47.199 relationship to company with a client. We had a good 0:13:47.240 --> 0:13:50.760 relationship because we we get tons of USA funded projects 0:13:51.120 --> 0:13:54.080 via our organization versus other competitors. 0:13:54.760 --> 0:13:57.000 But when you think about the type of work that 0:13:57.040 --> 0:13:59.880 you were doing, if you were to describe your impact 0:14:00.200 --> 0:14:04.480 at your organization, what is the nature of the work, like, 0:14:04.520 --> 0:14:06.800 what do you all do for USAID or did you 0:14:06.840 --> 0:14:07.800 do for USAID? 0:14:08.640 --> 0:14:11.679 Okay, right, so we do the whole vertical of what 0:14:11.720 --> 0:14:15.240 it takes to implement a project. So I worked closely 0:14:15.280 --> 0:14:18.160 in the operations and logistics. I worked on procurement, and 0:14:18.240 --> 0:14:21.440 so if we were looking for a new subcontractors to 0:14:21.520 --> 0:14:26.920 carry out capacity building or dissemination or stakeholder engagement in 0:14:26.960 --> 0:14:30.920 a certain country, we would go with a local partner. 0:14:30.960 --> 0:14:33.600 We go through the procurement process, we on board them, 0:14:33.960 --> 0:14:35.800 and then they would kind of carry out some of 0:14:35.840 --> 0:14:39.200 that work and they'd check in with the technical team 0:14:39.200 --> 0:14:41.200 and country. And so our team was split. I worked 0:14:41.200 --> 0:14:44.040 on the home office side in a project management unit, 0:14:44.120 --> 0:14:46.160 and then you have the technical side who worked in 0:14:46.200 --> 0:14:48.680 the field or in the country in these projects. And 0:14:48.760 --> 0:14:51.200 so people who worked on the technical side more so 0:14:51.240 --> 0:14:54.720 had more expertise. But I think to answer your question, 0:14:55.800 --> 0:14:58.240 I felt very wholesome, and I would say everyone that 0:14:58.280 --> 0:15:01.320 we did we put to other large scale projects. 0:15:01.400 --> 0:15:04.760 We changed curriculums, suggestin what I'm trying to do here, 0:15:04.800 --> 0:15:06.640 and I know is hard. I can tell like I 0:15:06.680 --> 0:15:08.760 love this conversation with you because I can tell your 0:15:08.920 --> 0:15:12.640 very logistics focus. There are people at home that one 0:15:13.280 --> 0:15:17.160 don't know what USAID does and two when you're talking 0:15:17.160 --> 0:15:22.960 about technical assistance and stakeholder engagement. What does that look 0:15:23.040 --> 0:15:27.320 like for you know, a project surrounding HIV AIDS in 0:15:27.360 --> 0:15:30.760 South Africa, or like, what are the types of projects 0:15:30.760 --> 0:15:33.440 that you all were working on. One thing that I 0:15:33.480 --> 0:15:36.120 hear that is really significant about what you said kind 0:15:36.120 --> 0:15:39.440 of shifting shifting through a little bit is you all 0:15:39.480 --> 0:15:44.720 would find local businesses that could do the work for 0:15:44.920 --> 0:15:47.760 you all on the ground, and that's ensuring that you're 0:15:48.160 --> 0:15:52.000 supporting economic development in certain regions. But give me an 0:15:52.040 --> 0:15:54.720 example of something that is going to be hit really 0:15:54.760 --> 0:15:58.240 hard because you all are no longer funded and able 0:15:58.640 --> 0:16:01.600 to see a project through to fruition. Like, what is 0:16:01.640 --> 0:16:03.520 an example of one of those projects. 0:16:04.160 --> 0:16:06.560 So there's a project in Senegal that I actually worked 0:16:06.560 --> 0:16:09.280 closely on and it was an international education and we 0:16:09.320 --> 0:16:13.240 worked in health, international education, we worked in governance, we 0:16:13.280 --> 0:16:16.640 helped girls, we helped the disabled, We did every sort 0:16:16.640 --> 0:16:20.200 of scope of work here. And so with this project 0:16:20.240 --> 0:16:22.880 in Senegal, we were working with the ministry and we 0:16:22.880 --> 0:16:26.760 were working on bringing bilinguisms, so French and then whichever 0:16:26.920 --> 0:16:30.200 was the most locally spoken second spoken language in Senegal, 0:16:30.480 --> 0:16:33.440 and those were going to be the leading languages in curriculum. 0:16:33.680 --> 0:16:37.680 And we were piloting in five regions at first in Senegal, 0:16:37.760 --> 0:16:39.480 and we were going to expand to the whole country, 0:16:39.960 --> 0:16:42.800 and so we were working with organizations site the Gates 0:16:42.800 --> 0:16:46.320 Foundation to change this curriculum. We're working with teachers on 0:16:46.360 --> 0:16:50.960 the ground, principles ministers, and we're working with the education department. 0:16:51.080 --> 0:16:54.880 So it was this holistic development of not just coming 0:16:54.880 --> 0:16:58.280 in and building the water pipe, but actually telling people, 0:16:58.640 --> 0:17:00.720 you know, this is where you get the this is 0:17:00.720 --> 0:17:02.600 how you form the plastic, this is how you drove 0:17:02.600 --> 0:17:06.159 for the water, and really helping people foster community amongst 0:17:06.240 --> 0:17:06.679 one another. 0:17:07.240 --> 0:17:09.639 I love that. I think it's so important and I 0:17:09.720 --> 0:17:12.479 was asking you even when we before we started today. 0:17:13.000 --> 0:17:15.800 There are certain things when we work in environments where 0:17:15.800 --> 0:17:17.520 we're in the weeds on it, and we do it 0:17:17.560 --> 0:17:19.760 all the time on the podcast. For throwing out acronyms, 0:17:19.760 --> 0:17:22.720 I say today OPM or omb and people don't know 0:17:22.880 --> 0:17:25.040 what that is, and so we have to bring them 0:17:25.040 --> 0:17:27.919 into our world so they understand this. You know, the 0:17:28.000 --> 0:17:31.240 far reaching impact of and the devastation that will come 0:17:31.280 --> 0:17:34.399 because of these cuts. So justin I'm so grateful for 0:17:34.440 --> 0:17:37.479 your time. I hope that you will continue to spread 0:17:37.520 --> 0:17:41.040 the word on this and that you find philanthropic entities 0:17:41.040 --> 0:17:43.200 like you talked about the Gates Foundation that will continue 0:17:43.200 --> 0:17:48.000 this work because it is so important. We just you know, 0:17:48.040 --> 0:17:52.200 we're up against an entity and administration that talks about 0:17:52.240 --> 0:17:55.720 America first, but they don't understand what it means to 0:17:55.760 --> 0:18:00.119 be a global partner and a global citizen. So if 0:18:00.160 --> 0:18:01.639 you would for a minute, what would you say to 0:18:01.680 --> 0:18:04.120 folks who may be in the comments and say, hey, 0:18:04.160 --> 0:18:08.000 I don't care about this stuff about anybody's clean water overseas. 0:18:08.040 --> 0:18:09.919 We don't even have clean water here. What do you 0:18:10.000 --> 0:18:10.560 say to them? 0:18:12.840 --> 0:18:15.560 I studied this in school, and so immediately I'll say 0:18:16.240 --> 0:18:19.919 realism as a realist, cool, you don't care about it 0:18:19.960 --> 0:18:24.840 as an American? The Chinese do, the Russians do, our 0:18:24.880 --> 0:18:28.199 competitors do. So then what then America is not this 0:18:28.359 --> 0:18:31.919 leading military superpower that it paints itself to be and 0:18:31.920 --> 0:18:35.400 that it wants to be. So, I mean, we don't 0:18:35.440 --> 0:18:38.400 have clean water in Michigan. They still have that issue 0:18:38.960 --> 0:18:42.840 up there, and so I hear people's problems with that. 0:18:43.240 --> 0:18:46.479 But I think when you set up a hegemony and 0:18:46.520 --> 0:18:49.840 you set up a national state like America, you have 0:18:49.920 --> 0:18:51.840 to sort of be involved just like you said, you 0:18:51.920 --> 0:18:55.240 got to have a little tentacles everywhere because everything comes 0:18:55.320 --> 0:18:58.280 back to you, and you are sad to say, controlling 0:18:58.720 --> 0:19:02.000 that master role. And again if America does not control it. 0:19:02.080 --> 0:19:04.520 Just like I read an article or they were contemplating 0:19:04.520 --> 0:19:07.040 if America was going to leave the World Bank, America 0:19:07.119 --> 0:19:10.560 left the World Bank, China was just coming by their shares. 0:19:10.600 --> 0:19:13.640 And so now you have kind of China moving onto 0:19:13.640 --> 0:19:16.040 the global stage. And I don't think that's what America wants. 0:19:16.080 --> 0:19:19.080 So I think a lot of these things will be reevaluated. 0:19:19.600 --> 0:19:22.080 I really appreciate your time justin thank you so much 0:19:22.080 --> 0:19:27.800 for being here. Thank you, thank you. Wow. So again, 0:19:28.119 --> 0:19:32.280 I think it is so important. Initially I really wanted 0:19:32.400 --> 0:19:35.280 you all to hear from folks who only work for 0:19:35.320 --> 0:19:37.920 the FEDS. But I think what is so significant about 0:19:37.920 --> 0:19:42.040 what we've heard so far is that this has this 0:19:42.280 --> 0:19:47.120 broad sweeping impact. It has this broad sweeping impact. If 0:19:47.160 --> 0:19:49.720 you work for the FEDS, work for a contractor that 0:19:49.800 --> 0:19:52.879 has federal grants, you work for a small business that 0:19:53.040 --> 0:19:58.560 has a small business loan, you work for an intergovernmental 0:19:58.600 --> 0:20:02.919 agency on the state, local level, you are impacted by this. 0:20:03.640 --> 0:20:05.960 So I think one of the things that we can 0:20:06.040 --> 0:20:11.080 note is that sometimes changes happen and we are hit 0:20:11.880 --> 0:20:16.000 regardless of who's in charge. We know that programs are eliminated, 0:20:16.040 --> 0:20:19.119 they're cut, they're revamped, they're redone. But I think that 0:20:19.160 --> 0:20:23.720 the way that the Donald Trump administration, Elon Musk administration, 0:20:23.840 --> 0:20:27.960 the Department of Government Efficiency has moved is with reckless 0:20:28.000 --> 0:20:32.760 abandon without doing any real due diligence, and it's causing 0:20:32.920 --> 0:20:37.080 so much more harm than good. And so I think 0:20:37.080 --> 0:20:38.960 it is important for us to take note of the 0:20:39.080 --> 0:20:41.600 number of people who have been impacted by these cuts. 0:20:42.600 --> 0:20:45.760 I am hopeful that we will continue to press on 0:20:46.000 --> 0:20:50.160 to fight. As we heard from Misuser earlier, Congress, we're 0:20:50.160 --> 0:20:53.000 calling on you, right. We need to be calling our 0:20:53.040 --> 0:20:55.280 members of Congress at two zero two two two four 0:20:55.440 --> 0:20:58.640 three one two one. Let them know how a program 0:20:58.720 --> 0:21:00.840 being cut impacts you. Let let them know that you've 0:21:00.840 --> 0:21:04.800 lost your job. Go onto these different committee websites, whether 0:21:04.840 --> 0:21:09.520 it's financial services or education, or the budget or appropriations 0:21:09.640 --> 0:21:14.679 or Government Oversight and government Reform, all of these different 0:21:14.720 --> 0:21:18.280 sites to the judiciary, complain, send in your whistleblow or complaint, 0:21:18.359 --> 0:21:21.560 and let folks know how you've been impacted and how 0:21:21.560 --> 0:21:25.000 they must help you. That is our most reasonable service. 0:21:25.320 --> 0:21:28.399 So I don't know if we have any questions today, 0:21:28.840 --> 0:21:31.560 but if not, we will go ahead and in early 0:21:31.600 --> 0:21:33.200 and we're going to keep this going. We want to 0:21:33.280 --> 0:21:36.520 keep these conversations moving. We want to hear from folks 0:21:36.800 --> 0:21:40.479 who have been impacted directly or indirectly by the federal 0:21:40.480 --> 0:21:43.560 funding freeze, by these layoffs, by the mass firings and 0:21:43.600 --> 0:21:46.720