House Passes Compromise Foreign Aid Bill, Including More Than Bush Requested for AIDS Spending, Less for MCA

The House on Friday passed 358-39 a $20.9 billion fiscal year 2006 foreign aid spending bill 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, the AP/Philadelphia Inquirer reports (Sidoti, AP/Philadelphia Inquirer, 11/5). Senate and House negotiators on Nov. 2 agreed to the bill, which includes $2.8 billion to fight HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria. Bush in his FY 2006 budget proposal across all departments asked for $3.2 billion to fight the three diseases worldwide, including $300 million for the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The compromise bill includes $258 million more than Bush requested for the diseases in the foreign aid bill and includes $450 million for the Global Fund, which is two times the amount the White House requested (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 11/02). The foreign spending bill also includes $1.77 billion for MCA, which is $282 million more than current funding but less than Bush's request of $3 billion (Allen, Reuters, 11/4). When Bush created MCA in 2002, he had planned to provide $5 billion to the program in FY 2006. However, the program 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 during that time (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 11/02). The compromise bill moves to the Senate this week, where it is expected to pass (Richardson, Washington Times, 11/5).