Foreign Aid

Worries about rampant corruption in the Afghan government give Congress and donor countries pause about providing aid.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday approved a $16.2 billion State Department authorization bill after reaching bipartisan consensus that 10 years of squabbling has diminished the panel's ability to shape policy.

The bill passed by voice vote in under a minute, in stark contrast with last year's record 30-hour markup where Democrats and Republicans battled on everything from funding for abortion providers to aid to Pakistan. The hope this year is that a bipartisan consensus will enable the full House to adopt the committee's priorities quickly and help get an authorization bill signed into law, which hasn't happened since 2002. Read more...

Your morning global affairs speed-read

The House Committee on Foreign Affairs this morning marks up a foreign operations bill that does not include a section on bilateral foreign aid, likely making for rapid and bipartisan passage (it does, however, include $3.4 billion in contributions to international organizations and international peacekeeping activities). That would be in stark contrast to last year's bill, which took some 30 hours to mark up because of a slew of amendments regarding funding for Pakistan, the Palestinian Authority and other controversial measures. 

The House has failed to pass a foreign affairs authorization bill in about a decade, leaving appropriators to set priorities at the State Department through the power of the purse. The House Appropriations Committee approved a $40.1 billion State and foreign operations bill last month.

Burma ties: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee holds a hearing on President Obama's pick to be ambassador to Burma, Derek Mitchell. Mitchell has been the special representative and policy coordinator for Burma since last year. While the nomination itself does not appear controversial, the hearing could be an opportunity for lawmakers to air out their differences on how quickly the United States should lift sanctions against the country.

Russian spring: The Foreign Policy Initiative and Freedom House host a Capitol Hill briefing on “Toward a Democratic Russia” with Sens. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), both of whom serve on the U.S. Helsinki Commission. Panelists include former Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov and Kristiina Ojuland, a member of the European Parliament.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday announced a $20 million partnership between the United States and African nations to boost clean energy projects. Read more...

The Senate voted to continue food aid to North Korea, shooting down an amendment ending that aid and also approving a different one in support of it.

Actor Ben Affleck joined Twitter on Wednesday to promote his appearance at a forum with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

“Honored to be following #SecClinton & @rajshah tomorrow,” he tweeted.

Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates is joining the advisory council of the nation's biggest booster for foreign-aid spending, The Hill has learned.

Gates hasn't lent his name to many causes since leaving the Obama administration last year, so signing him on is seen as a big win for the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, a broad network of more than 400 businesses and nonprofit groups that advocates for development and diplomatic engagement. Gates is known for championing a “3 D's” approach to U.S. foreign policy — defense, development and diplomacy.

“Secretary Gates is one of the most effective voices and champions of the International Affairs Budget and over the years never missed an opportunity to promote strong development and diplomacy efforts,” the coalition's executive director, Liz Schrayer, said in a statement that will be released publicly Wednesday morning. “It is very powerful when a sitting Secretary of Defense, speaking at the USGLC’s 2010 conference, says ‘Development is a lot cheaper than sending soldiers.’ ”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid rejected an amendment from the Republican senator that would withhold U.S. aid to Pakistan.

Lugar, the leading Republican champion of foreign aid, expressed concern that U.S. funding is increasingly moving away from "traditional purposes."

Pakistan is delaying visas for U.S. experts and equipment, preventing them from stopping cross-border smuggling of fertilizer chemicals used to make improvised explosive devices in neighboring Afghanistan, according to a new Government Accountability Office report. 

The report is further fueling bipartisan anger at Pakistan in Congress, where lawmakers have already voted to cut funding for the country by more than two thirds below the White House request. It was commissioned by Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-Pa.), who said he was prompted to action by the high number of Americans killed by roadside bombs in Afghanistan.