Population Issues and the F'96 Foreign Aid Appropriations Bill
Abstract
Foreign aid appropriations bills have traditionally been the least popular of the 13 annual spending bills that Congress must pass because the programs funded therein are generally perceived as benefitting foreign, rather than American, citizens. Legislators in both the House and the Senate recognize the necessity of this appropriations bill and, at least since 1980-81, have counted on the popularity of aid to Israel to be the catalyst for action The foreign aid spending bill for fiscal year 1996 (FY'96), the first such bill to be managed by the Republican Congress elected in 1994, moved through both houses with surprising speed and attracted strong bi-partisan support However, an unprecedented situation]on arose when House and Senate conferees failed to resolve a predominantly ideological dispute over funding for population activities, a little-known program which accounted for less than $400 million of the $12 billion in funds appropriated by the bill' A four-month stalemate ensued that was broken only by high-level negotiations between the White House and the House Republican leadership This paper looks at why the population program became the central issue dividing the House, the Senate and the Administration, and at how key actors influenced the process and the outcome.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1997
- Accession Number
- ADA443816
Entities
People
- Wanda L. Nesbitt
Organizations
- National War College