FOREIGN AID AUTHORIZATION: THE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, TRADE PROMOTION, AND ANTI-CORRUPTION ACT OF 2000 (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Oct. 12, 2000 |
| Report Number |
RL30530 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Larry Nowels, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
For one of the few times during the past 15 years, legislation was reported in the Senate
authorizing
broad portions of U.S. foreign assistance programs. In the absence of foreign aid authorizations,
Congress has overseen and funded the program through annual Foreign Operations appropriations
bills. S. 2382 , the Technical Assistance, Trade Promotion, and Anti-Corruption Act of
2000, as reported by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on April 7, selectively authorizes a
range of foreign aid activities, updates permanent foreign assistance laws, expands several aid
initiatives such as those to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, launches new initiatives,
and repeals obsolete legislation. S. 2382 incorporates a number of provisions previously
approved by the Senate or some that have been enacted annually within appropriation bills, but never
in permanent statute. Although S. 2382 is not a comprehensive foreign assistance
authorization bill addressing each aid program, it represents the first broad foreign aid measure
reported by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee since 1995, and would be the first of this type
of legislation debated by the full Senate in a decade.
S. 2382 is selective in its approach. It authorizes amounts for HIV/AIDS,
tuberculosis, and microenterprise programs for FY2001, but does not set funding ceilings for overall
development assistance spending out of which these three programs will be drawn. It provides no
authorizations for several other major economic aid accounts. S. 2382 provides a more
comprehensive authorization for military assistance than for other foreign aid activities. It establishes
funding levels for both Foreign Military Financing and International Military Education and Training
activities and for several nonproliferation programs, earmarking amounts for selected countries, and
updating various security assistance authorities. S. 2382 further incorporates a number
of aid and foreign policy initiatives approved previously by the Senate, including the Trade Sanctions
Reform and Export Enhancement Act, the Sudan Peace Act, and the Serbia Democratization Act.
The bill would also enact into permanent law a number of provisions approved each year in Foreign
Operations Appropriation bills. S. 2382 addresses about one-third of the President's
proposed $15.1 billion foreign assistance budget for FY2001. Funding for each program included in
S. 2382 is authorized at or above levels requested by the Administration. Within the
security aid accounts, S. 2382 earmarks specific amounts for certain high priority
recipients, including Israel, Egypt, Greece, Turkey, and new NATO members.
Some major issues addressed in S. 2382 are: sanctions policy reforms for
agriculture and medicine, population aid, Sudan, HIV/AIDS initiatives, tuberculosis control efforts;
biotechnology in agriculture, debt relief for the world's poorest nations, World Bank and IMF
operations, Serbia sanctions and democratization aid, microenterprise assistance, nonproliferation and
export control aid, and assistance to Israel. The bill also addresses many other topics, not covered
in this report.
While further Senate action on S. 2382 has stalled, Congress has considered, and
in a few cases enacted as separate bills, several of the major issues initially incorporated in
S. 2382 .
