Foreign Aid

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) took a dig at the Obama administration's “reset” policy with Russia on Tuesday after the Kremlin opted to eject the U.S. Agency for International Development out of the country.

“The Russian government’s decision to end all USAID activities in the country is an insult to the United States and a finger in the eye of the Obama administration, which has consistently trumpeted the alleged success of its so-called ‘reset’ policy toward Moscow,” McCain said in a statement. 

The Kremlin's decision follows longtime criticism by President Vladimir Putin of U.S. efforts to foster democracy and human rights in Russia. This summer he signed into law legislation requiring foreign-funded nonprofit organizations engaged in election monitoring and other political activities to register as “foreign agents.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has blamed the U.S. for inciting street protests over flawed parliamentary elections.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) tried to tie his bill to end all aid to Pakistan, Libya and Egypt to the veterans’ jobs bill and pass it by unanimous consent.

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) stopped the measure from passing and called Paul's move "arrogant" and dangerous.

The timing of Kerry's address confirms that the Obama campaign sees foreign policy as a winner with voters.

Paul is happy with the party's foreign-policy plank, despite the rejection of language against nation-building.

The director of the Peace Corps on Tuesday announced he would step down after three years at the agency. 

Aaron Williams, 51, has come under intense criticism in recent years for allegedly failing to protect Peace Corps volunteers from sexual assault and even murder and for lacking a specific strategy. He cited personal and family considerations an announcing his resignation. 

Under Williams's tenure, the agency's press office said in a statement that the Peace Corps has hired a victim advocate and undergone “some of the most significant reforms in its more than 50-year history.”

These include putting in place an annual portfolio review to ensure its resources are well-spent, which has enabled the program to expand into new countries such as Sierra Leone, Indonesia, Colombia, Tunisia and Nepal. The agency has also increased its partnership efforts with the Special Olympics, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the President's Malaria Initiative and Feed the Future.

Paul is trying to send Islamabad a message about the arrest of a doctor who helped find Osama bin Laden.

Former four-star general Wesley Clark joined the chorus of Democratic voices on Monday calling into question presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney's credentials on foreign policy and national security. 

Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) says he will no longer object to transferring anti-AIDS funds from a prominent U.S. program to a multilateral fund to fight AIDS.

Lugar announced Thursday that he would release his hold on the $250 million meant to go from the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

The veteran lawmaker said he was swayed by conversations at the International AIDS Conference under way in Washington, D.C.

The chairman of the House agricultural appropriations panel warned anti-hunger groups on Tuesday that their pleas for more funding will fall on deaf ears unless they're willing to deal with the politics of foreign aid.

That includes support for genetically modified crops, better accountability from nonprofit groups, outreach to members of Congress and understanding that aid recipients' votes against the United States at the United Nations matter, said Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.). Kingston, who supports increased funding for food aid and agricultural development, made the remarks at the launch event for the new Roadmap to End Global Hunger, a document put together by 11 advocacy groups.

“I can tell you, putting on my political hat, that when my constituents look at foreign aid, they're going to look at the UN rating, and they're going to say 'why does this country to which we're giving millions of dollars of our tax dollars, why are they voting against us at the UN all the time?'” he said. “I tell you, it's politically a stumbling block.”