National Endowment for Democracy: Policy and Funding Issues (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
Aug. 16, 1999 |
| Report Number |
96-222 |
| Authors |
Susan B. Epstein, Foreign Affairs and National Defense Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
The National Endowment for Democracy (NED), a private, nonprofit organization established
during
the Reagan Administration, provides grants to private organizations to promote democracy in more
than 90 countries around the world. Throughout its 16-year history, NED's budget has ranged from
a low of $15 million in FY1987 and FY1989 to a high of $35 million in FY1994. During the 1990s,
NED has come under attack from a few Members of Congress for several reasons: its cost; its
distribution of noncompetitive grants to four core political, business, and labor grantees; its reliance
on government rather than private funding; and its possible duplication with other U.S. government
programs.
The President's FY2000 request for NED is $32 million. The House version of the Commerce,
Justice, State (CJS) appropriations bill ( H.R. 2670 ) recommends $31 million for NED's
FY2000 budget; the Senate Appropriation Committee recommended no government funding for NED
in its version of the CJS FY2000 appropriation bill ( S. 1217 ). Senate floor action on
this issue later restored NED funding to $30 million by reducing that amount from the State
Department technology account. Opponents are likely to continue to raise debate on federal versus
private funding for NED. This report will be updated as legislation occurs.
