House Panel Cuts Foreign Aid Request $2.4B

[Eugene]

House Panel Cuts Foreign Aid Request $2.4B


Friday May 19, 2006 11:16 PM

By LIZ SIDOTI

Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - The administration's signature foreign aid program and Iraq reconstruction
would get less money than President Bush sought in a bill a House subcommittee approved Friday.

On a unanimous voice vote, the House Appropriations Committee's foreign operations panel
approved a $21.3 billion measure that would pay for foreign assistance programs for the budget
year that begins Oct. 1. Overall, the measure is $2.4 billion less than the $23.7 billion
the administration wanted.

<snip>

The measure slices funding in two key areas.

Bush would get $1 billion less for the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the administration's
hallmark program designed to reward developing nations for good governance and a commitment
to democracy. The president wanted $3 billion, but the House - as it has in previous years -
cut his request, this time to $2 billion.

<snip>

On Iraq, the president would get $522 million in the House bill to promote stabilization and
reconstruction of Iraq, roughly $227 million below the $749 million he wanted. However, $1.6
billion for the effort is included in a separate war-spending bill making its way through
Congress.

<snip>

Full article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-5833274,00.html

[jody]

1. We should cut all aid to Israel. Israeli Finance Minister

Binyamin Netanyahu said recently his country is among the 20 wealthiest countries in the world and by 2015 will be in the top 10. Israel can obviously pay its own bills and should stop begging from a bankrupt U.S..

[Poll_Blind]

2. "$2.3 billion for the military in Israel" secured though. Whew!

I don't get the reason behind any foreign aid. We're so in the hole we borrow all this money from places like China to give to other countries.

PB

[acmejack]

3. It is the most incredibly ignorant thing I have ever heard of!

I propose a mobilization of the DU Activist team for LTTEs, if we get a bunch of tonight we probably can get them in Sunday all over the place! We have some killer writers on here! Lets try to get some of these people to explain to their constituents why the expletive! they do this sort of thing.

What do you think?