Foreign aid

Foreign Aid

On foreign aid - what we're giving, and what might be done

The tsunami disaster in South Asia has given new urgency to questions of foreign aid, both governmental and non-governmental, both for disaster relief and for long-term development. [1-18-05]

First, know what we give and how we give it

A recent editorial article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune compares the rates of giving per day, per person for 14 of the world's wealthiest nations.

Norway ranks first, with $1.02 per person being given in government aid, and another $.24 in private giving. The United States comes in 13^th of the 14, giving $.13 in government funds and another $.05 per person in private contributions.

Click here for the article.

NOTE: The print version of this article includes a graphic depiction of the rates of giving per day, per person in each of the 14 nations. If you're really interested in seeing that, click here. The reproduction isn't perfect, but it may give you some idea of the list and the comparison.

UN study says world poverty can be halved by 2015

The Independent (U.K.) gathers a number of very good articles on questions of foreign aid and development, highlighting a report by the United Nations Millennium Project which which suggests that, if it chose to, the West could reduce world poverty by half by 2015, and thus prevent millions of unnecessary and premature deaths.

Another article shows how the needed increase in aid might be achieved.

UCC Justice and Peace Action Network urges action to support increased spending on foreign aid

[4-3-02]

INCREASE SPENDING ON FOREIGN AID

Weekly Message 2002, #11 From the UCC Justice and Peace Action Network

Despite the fact that the federal budget has been put into deficit spending because of the huge tax cuts in 2001, and despite the great increases in military spending that have broad support, there is still an opportunity for a significant increase in foreign aid that is directed to humanitarian and development purposes.

On March 14, President Bush called for increasing spending on foreign aid by $5 billion over 3 years. On March 19, Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill said in a speech that the White House wants to incrementally increase spending so that spending in the 3rd year (FY 2005) would be $5 billion more than is currently spent. The additional aid is intended to serve as a reward to those nations that are observing human rights, that are fighting corruption, and that are spending a reasonable percentage of their funds on education and health. Such aid might be thought of as the constructive side of the "war against terrorism."

Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND), Chair of the Senate Budget Committee, has proposed adding $500 million beyond what the president has proposed to the fiscal year 2003 budget that is currently under debate. Key senators who are supporting this increase in the FY 2003 budget include Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR), Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI), and Sen. Paul Sarbanes (D-MD).

The United States has been cutting back or restricting spending on foreign aid for decades. The total foreign aid spending has been less than $25 billion in a total federal budget that is now close to $2 trillion. A large proportion of foreign aid spending is devoted to military related assistance or anti-drug programs, or to other activities than humanitarian aid and economic development aid. The good news is that in 2000 the United States did buy into the effort to reduce the bilateral debt of poor countries and has made some effort to reduce the multilateral debt owed to organizations like the World Bank. However, it is widely recognized that many poor countries lack the infrastructure to take advantage of large loans and need the kind of direct grants that are envisioned by the president and the senators mentioned above.

Advocates are urged to contact their senators and support an expansion of foreign aid for humanitarian and development purposes.

The Capitol Switchboard is 202-224-3121.

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This weekly message is sent by email each week for use in church news- letters and bulletins the following Sunday when Congress is in session. To add names to this weekly advocacy service, for more information, or to remove your name from the list, reply to JPAnet@ucc.org. For additional information on the UCC Justice and Peace Action Network, log on to the UCC website at www.ucc.org.