Trump cancels Oregon visitor slush fund

By Taxpayers Association of Oregon
OregonWatchdog.com

The Oregonian reports, “International exchange programs that brought up-and-coming leaders from around the world to Oregon are on hold indefinitely, as grant funding from the U.S. State Department remains frozen weeks after it was supposed to resume.   Portland nonprofit WorldOregon already had to cancel a planned visit to the state this spring by Latin American entrepreneurs who were selected as fellows in a State Department leadership program … The funding freeze has also halted visits to Oregon by international participants in the State Department’s “premier professional exchange program,” which is an international visitor leadership program designed to help current and emerging leaders better understand the United States and support its foreign policy goals.”

Bringing in international visitors to learn about America is great … but the Federal government is not the vehicle and is most removed from the people it is serving.

This should be a local activity with private sponsorship.   If airlines donated seats to a local charity they could help fill their flights while receiving a charitable deduction.   Hotels could donate unused rooms for the same.  By diminishing local help and instead asking for federal funds thousands of miles away you lose accountability and connection to the project.  No wonder people in Oregon have never heard of this program.  No one here had to sell it, promote and showcase it.  It was because it has been behind-the-scenes activity with free taxpayer money.

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