Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Wall Street Journal - July 25, 2003
David Rogers, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal
Early Thursday morning, after a long night of debate, the House approved a $17.1 billion foreign-aid bill that would cut almost $1.8 billion from the president's request for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.
The debate pitted two Africa-related proposals against each other: the high-profile AIDS war overseas, and Mr. Bush's evolving Millennium Challenge initiative to reward poor countries that shed corrupt one-party governments and move toward democracy and free-market economies.
The president promoted both on his trip to Africa two weeks ago. But given the reduced funding at home, African-American lawmakers say the Millennium Challenge has become an indulgence in futuristic changes when compared with the AIDS crisis. "It is now," said Rep. Carolyn Kilpatrick (D., Mich.), and Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D., Ill.) complained of being forced into "a position of robbing Peter to pay Paul."
On a 228-192 vote, the House upheld $800 million for the Millennium Challenge initiative, which is still substantially less than the president requested. While Mr. Bush got the AIDS funding he requested, he will have less discretion than he wanted over how it will be spent. Also, the total is $1 billion less than Congress had authorized this spring for fiscal 2004.
Just how much African nations might benefit from any Millennium Challenge funds is uncertain, given the program's standards. When touring the continent, Mr. Bush held out the hope the funds would be a boon to poor nations there. Prior to the House debate, however, Secretary of State Colin Powell cautioned, "It should not be seen just as an African program." While he expressed confidence that "many of the nations in Africa will meet the criteria," he declined to name them; lawmakers in both parties say they expect only a few to qualify.
Though most attention focused on Africa, the cuts required to meet the Republican budget bill touch nearly every corner of the president's foreign-aid budget. Contributions to international financial organizations such as the World Bank would be effectively frozen at $1.3 billion, $253 million less than Mr. Bush sought. The Peace Corps would get $314 million, about $45 million less than the administration proposed, and assistance for overseas family-planning programs was held to $425 million.
Write to David Rogers at david.rogers@wsj.com
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