Rajiv Shah, chief of the US Agency for International Development, last week told Congress that Republican-proposed cuts in foreign aid would be downright deadly:

“I believe these are very conservative estimates: that [reduced funding] would lead to 70,000 kids dying.”

Never mind that the assertion can’t be proven. Shah doesn’t care about truth — just turf protection. And politics.

The GOP wants to visit a tough but reasonable 16 percent cut on Shah’s budget.

Sounds good to us.

But Shah argues development aid is “critical to our national security” — and President Obama clearly buys into it.

He wants Congress to hand USAID a 22 percent increase in its bloated budget.

So it’s not enough to spend America into the poorhouse to support Obama’s a-borning welfare state.

Let’s borrow a few more quintillion to support the rest of the world, as well.