House Approves Foreign Aid Spending Bill With More Than Bush Requested for HIV/AIDS, Less for MCA
The House on Tuesday approved 393-32 a $20.3 billion foreign aid bill (HR 3057) for fiscal year 2006 that includes more money to fight global HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria than President Bush requested but less funding than he proposed for the Millennium Challenge Account, which is meant to encourage economic and political reform in developing countries, the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports. The measure includes $2.7 billion in foreign spending to fight the three diseases, an increase of $502 million over the FY 2005 appropriation and $131 million more than Bush requested in foreign spending for the diseases (Sidoti, AP/Las Vegas Sun, 6/28). The bill includes up to $400 million for the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Bush's total FY 2006 budget request includes $3.2 billion for the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, including $300 million for the Global Fund (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 6/17). The House foreign aid bill would provide $1.75 billion in FY 2006 for the Millennium Challenge Corporation, which is charged with administering MCA. That amount would be an increase over the $1.5 billion provided in FY 2005 but less than the $3 billion Bush requested (AP/Las Vegas Sun, 6/28). Bush originally had planned to give $5 billion to MCC for FY 2006 when he created it in 2002. However, MCC over the last two years has approved agreements with only four countries for projects totaling $610 million, even though Congress has appropriated $2.5 billion (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 6/17).
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