The Ugly Politics of Foreign Aid

I just read a pertinent article called, “The Foreign Aid Crusade: Overdue for a Makeover”.   In it, Adam Graham-Silverman explains the current status of foreign aid.  I can't link to the article at the moment, so here's a run down in my own words:

 

Ever since the end of the Cold War in 1991, foreign aid has slipped down to mere pennies (relatively speaking.)  At the height of the Cold War, the U.S.’s concern for its social and political image around the world was paramount.  Sending monies overseas to countries that were dealing with huge humanitarian crises (such as extreme hunger, disease, and poverty) encouraged most of the world to see the U.S. as generous benefactors -- worthy of praise and support.

 

When the Cold War ended, less priority was placed on the U.S.image around the world and foreign aid precipitously dropped.

Congress has not passed a foreign aid bill since 1961.  The bill has been amended numerous times – but these have only been stop-gap measures that attempt to make the legislation relevant to our current time.  And now it looks like an overused day planner – half scratched out, additions throughout the document – to the point where it makes little to no sense and is extremely confusing.  It has over 140 goals, over a dozen agencies working on the same thing, redundant policy, etc. 

 

Everyone in Washington– foreign aid advocates and politicians alike-- knows that the bill in its current state is a mess, must be scrapped, and written anew.  And most agree that the U.S. needs to provide more foreign aid.  "What?" you ask!  "Polticians agree on something good for the world?" "Time to you dance a jig!" you say?  Well hold on to your britches.

Unforuntately -- just because the politiians agree -- doesn’t mean the political process to pass a new bill will be easy.   Now that so many agencies have a piece of the foreign aid pie (including the pentagon for goodness sakes) there are disagreements on who should take charge. As you might imagine -- very few agencies want to give up their control.  The idea of completely revamping the system that has been in place for decades will take a great deal of committment from both Congress and the Administration.  With everything the Obama administration is already dealing with, it is likely no one will have the time to dedicate to this cause.

Having said that, Rep. Howard Burman has boldly introduced the Initiating Foreign Assistance Reform Act (HR 2139) in  the House and Sen. John Kerry plans to do the same in the Senate.  “The whole point of this is to get past dealing with each crisis as it comes up,” Berman said, reflecting Outreach International’s practice in sustainable good rather than short-term fixes.  “Isn’t it about time we lay a long-term foundation for trying to alleviate poverty and change the economic conditions in much of the world?”

 

In short, politicians, including President Obama, need to know that there are people in the United States who care about this issue and are expectantly waiting for something to get done.  If they felt that American citizens were genuinely concerned about U.S. foreign aid, they would be much more tempted to do something about it.

Please contact your representatives -- and be an advocate for the poor.  It's easier than it seems.

-Karyn Wingard-Manuel

Comments

[karyn]

It's probably not proper etiquette to comment on my own blog first -- but I just wanted to mention that while I thought the article by Graham-Silverman mentioned above was very interesting, I hate the title,"The Foreign Aid Crusade: Overdue for a Makeover". The first part makes it seem like there are people carring swords and Christian flags, and will blindly sacrfice their lives for foreign aid -- which is not true, even if you leave out the swords. The second part is just too much of an understatement -- even to be ironic.

And then putting them together?

oh well...

[free lance writer]

i know its ugly hella fugly..... so try it again!