Funding in House-Passed Foreign Aid Bill Less than Bush Sought
Members vote to block Ex-Im Bank loans for China nuclear energy project
By Bruce Odessey
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- The House of Representatives has passed a foreign aid spending bill that would authorize less spending than the Bush administration has requested.
By a 393-32 vote late June 28, House members approved spending $20.3 billion on foreign programs in the fiscal year beginning October 1, less than President Bush's $22.8 billion request but more than the $19.5 billion approved for fiscal year 2005.
In order for the bill to become law, a final version must be passed by both the House and Senate and then signed by the president. A subcommittee met June 29 to begin work on the Senate version.
Toward the end of House consideration, members passed 313-114 an amendment opposed by the administration that would prevent the Export-Import Bank of the United States from making a $5 billion loan to Westinghouse Electric Company to construct nuclear power plants in China. The company is owned by British National Fuels.
"It is not only absurd, but it is dangerous for the taxpayers of this country to be subsidizing the construction of nuclear power plants in China," said Representative Bernard Sanders, an independent who sponsored the amendment.
"Is it really in the best interest of the United States of America to provide advanced nuclear technology to China?" he asked.
Representative Jim Kolbe, Republican chairman of an appropriations subcommittee, opposed the amendment, citing administration support for such exports. He said the exports would create or sustain about 5,000 jobs in the United States.
"Prohibiting the Export-Import Bank from supporting this and future transactions is going to have a tremendously negative impact on U.S. exporters and U.S. employment," Kolbe said. "And it is going to send a signal to businesses that they better not be doing business in China. Nothing could be worse for us."
The bill would provide $1.75 billion for the Millennium Challenge Account, $262 million above the level of spending in fiscal year 2005 but less than the $3 billion requested by the Bush administration for its foreign aid program aimed at developing countries that rule justly, invest in their people and promote economic freedom.
It would provide $2.7 billion in global assistance to fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, $131 million above the president's request and $502 million more than fiscal year 2005spending.
It would provide $4.7 billion for military assistance, including $2.3 billion for Israel, $1.3 billion for Egypt, $456 million for Jordan and $220 million for Pakistan. House members defeated 326-87 an amendment that would have decreased military aid to Egypt by $750 million.
The bill would provide $14 billion total in bilateral and regional economic assistance including $535 million for Egypt.
Several members expressed dismay with what they view as human-rights abuses and political repression by Egypt's government. Representative David Obey, senior Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said that dismay was reflected in a provision that was attached to the bill that would earmark $50 million of the economic assistance for democracy and $50 million for education.
"We were looking for a way to send a clear signal to Egypt that we find their human-rights record to be an embarrassment," Obey said, "without thoroughly upsetting the administration's ability to continue to negotiate in that region to try to move what is left of the peace process forward."
Other highlights of bilateral and regional spending include:
-- $240 million in economic development aid for Israel and $150 million for the West Bank and Gaza. The money for the Palestinians would be paid only through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) subject to receiving detailed plans for each project.
-- $430 million for Afghanistan, $205 million above the level for fiscal 2005. The bill would withhold spending $225 million of that amount, however, until the U.S. secretary of state certifies that Afghanistan's national and local governments are cooperating on narcotics eradication and interdiction.
-- $734 million for the Andean Counterdrug Initiative. The House rejected an amendment that would have cut $100 million in aid to Colombia for fighting drug trafficking.
-- No additional spending for Iraq. The administration had requested $459 million, but the committee said the administration should use some of the $5 billion approved in 2003 for Iraqi reconstruction but not yet spent.
The bill would provide $1.55 billion for multilateral economic assistance including $951 million for the World Bank. It would restrict spending 25 percent of the money for the World Bank's International Development Agency (IDA), which makes concessionary loans to the poorest countries, until IDA reforms its contracting and procurement procedures.
It would provide no money for the Global Environment Facility (GEF) although the administration has requested $107 million. Republicans have argued that the GEF, established to help poor countries implement international conventions on conservation and pollution, should stop resisting reforms for measuring performance of grants.
Separately, a Senate Appropriations subcommittee approved a version of a foreign spending bill June 29 but plans to release few details until after full committee consideration, scheduled for June 30.
The Senate subcommittee bill would provide $2.9 billion for fighting HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, compared with $2.7 billion in the House bill. It would provide $1.8 billion for the MCA, slightly more than the House bill.
A Senate subcommittee press release and a House committee press release are available on congressional committee Web sites.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)