2 Decades Ago, a Senator’s Probe of USAID Funding Led to Government Transparency Reform

Public disclosure of federal spending today is thanks largely to a Republican senator from Oklahoma.

U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on March 9, 2011. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

News Analysis

Revelations that USAID officials are spending hundreds of millions of U.S. tax dollars overseas for controversial projects such as advancing atheism in Nepal and funding “transgender opera” in Columbia are nothing new.