Congress passes spending bill with $297 million for Peace Corps
Read and comment on this story from the US Department of State on the spending bill that Congress has overwhelmingly approved for the remainder of the fiscal year ending September 30 (FY03). Passed February 13 by votes of 338-83 in the House of Representatives and 76-20 in the Senate, the package financing all non-military programs has been sent to President Bush for signature. Bush said he intends to sign the bill, ending four months of the government's operating through a series of temporary stop-gap bills. The Peace Corps is provided $297 million, a $22 million increase over the FY02 level but $20 million less than requested. Read the story at:
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Congress Passes $397,400 Million Spending Bill
($16,300 million to go to foreign affairs, down from year earlier) (1220)
By Kathryn McConnell
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- Congress has overwhelmingly approved a $397,400 million spending bill for the remainder of the fiscal year ending September 30 (FY03).
Passed February 13 by votes of 338-83 in the House of Representatives and 76-20 in the Senate, the package financing all non-military programs has been sent to President Bush for signature. Bush said he intends to sign the bill, ending four months of the government's operating through a series of temporary stop-gap bills.
The package came in at $12,000 million more than the spending limit originally requested by Bush, but most of the additions were made at the administration's request, according to news reports.
The bill includes approximately $16,300 million for foreign aid and export assistance, $170 million less than the president's request and slightly less than the previous fiscal year (FY02) level. Although the foreign aid component was slightly down from the previous level, funding for general international development, food aid, and disaster and refugee assistance increased.
Funding for aid to Egypt decreased but increased for aid to Jordan. Spending for South American anti-drug efforts also received a boost.
The measure appropriates $7,400 million for the State Department, 3 percent less than Bush's request and the FY02 level. Funding for the international broadcasting agencies at $262 million also is down 3 percent from the previous level.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) receives a $23 million boost from its FY02 operations appropriation to the requested $572 million. The Peace Corps is provided $297 million, a $22 million increase over the FY02 level but $20 million less than requested.
The funding package includes $1,300 million for Food for Peace aid for developing countries, a jump of $345 million from the previous level and $29 million more than Bush's request.
About $1,400 million allocated for general development assistance -- $211 million more than the previous level -- will support agriculture, rural development, population, education, environment, energy and technology programs related to long-term development. The bill provides $1,800 million for a separate Child Survival and Disease Fund and $800 million for AIDS prevention and control, with funding coming from various parts of the aid budget. The child health funding is $403 million over the previous level.
Disaster assistance is allocated $290 million, $55 million more than the previous level and $5 million more than the administration's request.
The bill provides non-proliferation, anti-terrorism and de-mining programs with $306 million, down $66 million from the president's request and $7 million from the previous level. It appropriates $115 million for voluntary contributions for international peacekeeping, $20 million less than the previous level but $7 million more than requested. It meets the president's request for $80 million for the International Military Education and Training program, up by $10 million from the previous level.
The agreement provides $2,800 million in military and economic aid for Israel. Its $600 million in economic assistance is equal to the administration's request and the FY02 level.
Egypt is provided $1,900 million in aid -- $615 million of that for economic assistance, $40 million less than the previous level. Palestine is allocated approximately $75 million, but the bill prohibits the money from going directly to the Palestinian Liberation Authority unless the president determines that doing so is in the national interest.
Jordan is to receive $250 million in economic and $198 million in military aid, an overall boost of $223 million over the current level. The agreement appropriates $35 million for Lebanon.
The measure appropriates $295 million for humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan of which $50 million is to be for child survival and health programs. It includes $200 million for debt restructuring in neighboring Pakistan.
It increases by $82 million to $787 million the president's request for migration and refugee assistance and allocates $197 million for international drug control, a $20 million reduction from the amount requested.
Funding for anti-drug assistance for Andean countries is $700 million, most to go to Colombia, down $31 million from Bush's request but $75 million more than the FY02 level. The bill continues to require the secretary of state to certify that certain human rights conditions have been met before any money is made available to support Colombia's military.
Former Soviet states are appropriated $760 million, a decrease of $24 million from the current level but $5 million more than the administration's request. The bill provides $60 million from the Child Survival and Disease account for the region. It requires that 60 percent of Russia's assistance be withheld until the government stops state-owned companies from helping Iran develop long-range missiles and nuclear technology and demonstrates it is providing full access to relief groups helping refugees in Chechnya.
The bill also bars assistance to Ukraine's government unless the secretary of state certifies that the government has not facilitated, sold or transferred arms to Iraq after September 11, 2001. The measure renews the one-year partial ban on military and economic sanctions imposed on Azerbaijan, which continues to blockade Armenia because of a dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region claimed by both countries. The eight-year ban authorized by the Freedom Support Act restricts aid to countries that interfere with U.S. humanitarian assistance.
Central and Eastern Europe are allocated $525 million, $96 million less than the previous level but $30 million more than the administration's request. The bill approves $25 million to support reconciliation efforts in Northern Ireland.
The measure provides $85 million for Indonesia and East Timor and reinstates military ties between the United States and Indonesia cut in 1999 because of alleged human rights abuses by Indonesia's armed forces.
It includes $465 million for international population planning assistance and bars spending money on any program involved in coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization. It reinstates $34 million for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA); Bush blocked such spending the previous year over concerns that funds were being diverted to China for forced abortions or unwanted sterilization.
The measure appropriates $1,300 million to international financial institutions, $133 million less than the president's request but up $129 million from FY02. Of that amount $850 million goes to the International Development Association, the World Bank's agency for the world's poorest countries. The Bank's Global Environment Facility receives $148 million, up $47 million from the FY02 level but $30 million less than the president's request.
The Inter-American Investment Corporation is allocated $18 million, $12 million less than requested; the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) $36 million, as requested; the African Development Fund $108 million, $10 million less than requested; the African Development Bank $5 million; and the Asian Development Fund $98 million, $50 million less than the president's request.
The measure appropriates $195 million -- $115 million less than requested and a $13 million decrease from the FY02 level -- to a group of other international organizations including the United Nations and its agencies, the Organization of American States and other inter-American groups, and various regional, legal, research and commodity groups in the United States involved in foreign policy activities.
The measure appropriates $130 million for Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS), which helps increase foreign markets for U.S. agricultural products.
(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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