Copyright 2002 The Chronicle Publishing Co.
The San Francisco Chronicle
FEBRUARY 13, 2002, WEDNESDAY, FINAL EDITION
Correction Appended
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. A13
LENGTH:
709 words
HEADLINE: Bush foreign aid budget
called way too low;
Sept. 11 attacks show poor nations
need more, aid groups say
SOURCE: Chronicle
Washington Bureau
BYLINE: Edward Epstein
DATELINE: Washington
BODY:President Bush's proposed State Department
budget for foreign aid is coming under attack by aid organizations and a
prominent Bay Area congressman who say they expected more to meet the goals of
the war on terrorism.
The disappointment among a
coalition of 160
international aid groups and Rep. Tom Lantos, D-San
Mateo, is all the greater because Bush and other administration leaders have
said regularly since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that the government planned
to do more to combat poverty and promote democracy in lands that breed
hopelessness and terrorists.
"We have a great
opportunity during the time of war to lead the world toward the values that will
bring lasting peace," Bush said in his State of the Union address.
The administration proposes a 3.6 percent budget increase
to $13.88 billion for the State Department, including a $747 million boost in
international aid spending. However, aid groups say the biggest increase
would go to foreign military financing, which is set to rise $457 million, to
$4.1 billion.
In seven core aid categories, devoted to
things like
basic education and health programs, help for
women and children, disaster relief and promotion of democracy, spending would
hit $4 billion, up from the current $235 million.
"The
rhetoric does not match the reality," said Mary McClymont, president of
InterAction, the umbrella group of 160 overseas aid groups. The coalition, which
for years has been decrying what it says is the chronically low level of U.S.
foreign aid spending, called yesterday for spending in the seven categories to
double in the next five years. "The eyes of the American people opened wider
after Sept. 11. . . . They have begun to understand that their own safety and
security may be linked to places like Afghanistan," she said.
While surveys regularly show the public thinks that about 20 percent of
federal spending goes for foreign aid, the actual figure is less than 1
percent.
Denmark leads the world in per person aid
spending, with 1 percent of its gross domestic product being spent to help poor
countries. The United States spends just 0.1 percent. However, in terms of the
number of actual dollars spent, the United States is No. 2, trailing only
Japan.
According to Lantos, the ranking Democrat on the
House
International Relations Committee who is a leading hawk in the war
against terrorism, Bush's budget actually cuts the State Department's spending,
when post-Sept. 11 emergency appropriations are included. "I'm concerned because
we need not only smart bombs, but also smart diplomacy," he said.
"I find it particularly disappointing that we are cutting
spending for
international broadcasting and public diplomacy," said
Lantos, who helped push for creation of Radio Free Afghanistan, a new broadcast
service that Congress wants but the president hasn't included in his budget.
"The relative magnitude that we spend on defense and on
development assistance and public diplomacy are in different universes," he
said.
Secretary of State Colin Powell defended his
budget yesterday before the Senate Budget Committee.
"I
wish that it was twice as much, three times as much, four times as much," he
said.
But Powell said he recognized that even in a
faltering economy and facing a budget deficit, the president felt obliged to
give big increases to the Pentagon, which is projected to get $47 billion more,
and homeland security programs.
"Recognizing the
important needs that the Defense Department has and the new need for homeland
security, I am rather pleased that we are still able to get a real increase in
our budget for this year as well," he added.
Powell,
the former general and Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, told the committee the
U.S. military's shield for its allies should also be considered in the foreign
aid debate.
"The fact that we provide defense for the
free world I think should also be taken into account," he said. "We spend more
on defense than anyone else, and it is behind that screen of security that we
provide for the civilized world that we are able to do the kinds of development
activities that I talk about in my budget."E-mail Edward Epstein at
eepstein@sfchronicle.com.
CORRECTION-DATE:
February 14, 2002
CORRECTION:A
story yesterday incorrectly listed the proposed increase in the U.S. State
Department's budget for seven core foreign aid categories, including
basic education and health programs for women and children. The
budget proposes a $235 million increase, putting spending at $4 billion in the
coming fiscal year. (02/14/02 P. A2)
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February 15, 2002