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| ON THE HILL I IA Appropriations Highlights | ||
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FOREIGN OPERATIONS BILL HIGHLIGHTS • Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC): President’s Request: $3 billion, + $500 million from FY05 request House Bill: $1.75 billion Senate Bill: $1.8 billion Conference Report: $1.77 billion Current Status: The MCC, the funding mechanism for the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA), enjoyed the largest single program increase in the President’s budget request. However, the Administration’s request of $3 billion faced significant cuts from Congress which funded the MCC $1.23 billion below the President’s request. Description of Account: The MCA provides development aid to impoverished nations in an effort to reduce poverty through economic growth. However, only countries that pass a series of “measurable indicators” are permitted to apply for assistance. According to the State Department, these criteria are meant to gauge a government’s performance with respect to good governance, investing in the health and education of its people and promoting economic freedom. An effective MCA will enable support of more results-oriented assistance programs to countries that have taken responsibility for their own development through the adoption of sound policies. But the MCA needs both the necessary resources and the legislative support to really make a difference. President Bush, when first announcing the MCA in 2002, set an ambitious goal of funding the MCA at $5 billion by 2006. Congress’ recent slashing of this account therefore represents a serious challenge to this goal. Either Congress needs further convincing on the benefits of the MCA program or the President needs to devote more political capitol toward ensuring he gets the tools needed to properly implement his initiatives. • International Organizations & Programs (IO&P): President Bush’s request: $282 million, - $44 million from FY05 request House Bill: $328.958 million Senate Bill: $330 million Conference Report: $329. 458 million Current Status: IO&P funding was cut $44 million from FY05 in the President’s budget request, but, Congress raised the bar, appropriating $47.46 million more than the amount requested. Included in this is a $15 million increase for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the primary development agency in the UN system working to alleviate poverty, solve environmental problems, and fight HIV/AIDs, and a $13 million increase to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) which provides goods and services directly to the world’s neediest children. President Bush had proposed cutting U.S. contributions to the UNDP and UNICEF in his budget request, by $13 million and $11 million, respectively. Description of Account: IO&P spending covers U.S. voluntary contributions to UN agencies and other International Organizations. According to the State Department IO&P funds address issues of global concern that “require international consultation and coordination”, where, “solutions cannot be effective unless problems are addressed globally.” • Non-UN Peacekeeping Operations (PKO) President Bush’s Request: $196 million, + $18 million from FY05 request House Bill: $177.8 million Senate Bill: $195.8 million Conference Report: $175 million Current Status: The majority of the $196 million requested by the President for non-UN peacekeeping was for two multinational efforts aimed at resolving conflicts in Africa; $41 million for Africa Regional PKOs, and $114 million for training and equipping the Global Peace Operation Initiative (GPOI). Congress allocated $175 million in funding for the PKO account, far less than the President’s request and below even the minimal level set by House lawmakers. In addition, the Conference Report fails to earmark the specific allocation of these funds. The amount of funds given to GPOI and African Regional PKO programs is therefore unclear, however, the low number makes the House’s divisions – of $96.5 and $78.8 respectively – a much more likely outcome. Description of Account: In contrast to the U.S. share of U.N-assessed peacekeeping operations, which is financed in the CIPA account (see below), PKO funds provide voluntary support for international peacekeeping activities. African Regional PKO: Funding African regional peacekeeping operations is a critical stage in our effort to end destructive conflicts and ensure viable peace in Liberia, Sudan, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Uganda and Rwanda. Funds will support programs which enhance African capabilities to respond to regional crises, especially in conjunction with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). GPOI: Begun in 2005, GPOI is a bold initiative that would double the number of peacekeepers world wide over the next five years. This presidential initiative provides financial and technical assistance, primarily to African countries, with the understanding that, by 2010, they will be able to effectively respond to or prevent violent conflicts on their own continent. Armed with such a capacity, these countries will become more effective partners in UN peacekeeping missions around the globe. In conjunction with other G8 nations, GPOI focuses on military training which will increase and improve African peacekeeping forces, as well as the equipment, transport and logistical support for necessary for successful peace operations. • Conflict Response Fund: $100 million (new initiative) President Bush’s Request: $100 million House Bill: $0 Senate Bill: $74 million Conference Report: $0 Current Status: Congress completely eliminated funding for the Conflict Response Fund (CRF), erasing a new initiative first outlined in the President’s 2006 budget request. Senators had agreed to fund the CRF at $74 million but these funds were cut during the Conference Committee with House lawmakers. Instead of providing the funds, Conferees asked for a “comprehensive, disciplined and coherent strategy” from the Secretary of State detailing how the Office of the Coordinator for Reconstructions and Stabilization (S/CRS) -the office that would administer the CRF – will coordinate U.S. Government-wide efforts to respond to international post-conflict contingences. It should be noted that the Administration made a similar budget request in FY 2005 for $100 million for an “Emergency Fund for Complex Foreign crises” that was not funded by Congress. Description of Account: The Conflict Response Fund (CRF) was designed to allow the State Department’s Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization (S/CRS) to fulfill its mission of responding rapidly and effectively to conflicts around the world. It would provide resources for stabilizing and reconstructing regions after conflicts have erupted, and lend assistance to security, governance and humanitarian operations in order to prevent conflicts from escalating or even occurring. + TAKE ACTION |
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