FACTBOX-US foreign aid would rise sharply under Bush plan
Source: Reuters
WASHINGTON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - U.S. foreign aid would rise by more than 12 percent to $20.27 billion in fiscal year 2008 under a White House budget request released on Monday. The rise reflects a more than doubling of money to fight HIV/AIDS as well as higher funding for strategically important countries like Afghanistan and Pakistan. While the Bush administration is also seeking more aid money for Iraq, U.S. officials said much of this would fall in separate supplemental budget requests. Following are some key facts on the U.S. foreign aid request for fiscal 2008, which begins Oct. 1, 2007. Because Congress did not pass a full budget for fiscal 2007, it is difficult to estimate spending levels for the current fiscal year. As a result, officials provided only fiscal 2006 comparisons in some cases. * The White House requested $20.27 billion in foreign aid funds for the State Department and the Agency for International Development (USAID), up from an estimated $17.71 billion in fiscal 2007 and $18.07 billion in fiscal 2006. * The request includes $4.15 billion for the U.S. Global HIV/AIDS Initiative, up from an estimated $1.85 billion in fiscal 2007 and $1.98 billion in fiscal 2006. * Israel and Egypt, perennially among the top U.S. aid recipients since they made peace in 1979, would see their funding trimmed in line with previous agreements, said USAID Administrator Randall Tobias. Israel would get $2.4 billion and Egypt $1.72 billion in fiscal 2008, he said. * The White House is requesting $1.4 billion in foreign aid for Iraq in fiscal 2008, said State Department official who asked not to be identified. * In addition, the White House is requesting $2.34 billion in foreign aid for Iraq as part of a supplemental funding request for fiscal 2007, this official said. * Fiscal 2008 funding for Afghanistan would rise to $1.07 billion from $968 million in fiscal 2006, Tobias said. Among other things, this would seek to combat the narcotics trade and improve local and federal government operations, Tobias said. * In addition, the White House will seek $704 million for Afghanistan in a supplemental fiscal 2007 request and a further $355 million in a fiscal 2008 emergency request, said the State Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity. * Fiscal 2008 funding for Pakistan would rise to $785 million from $707 million in fiscal 2006, Tobias said. This would finance health, education and police training programs as well as other items, he said.
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