*EPF119 11/22/2004
$19.8 Billion for Foreign Operations Passed for Fiscal Year 2005
(Congress boosts foreign operations spending 13 percent from 2004 level) (850)

By Kathryn McConnell
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- The $822 billion omnibus fiscal year 2005 spending bill Congress passed November 20 includes $19.8 billion for foreign operations, up 13 percent from the 2004 level but 7 percent less than the Bush administration's request of $21.4 billion.

Under the bill, the State Department and the Broadcasting Board of Governors would receive $8.8 billion, an 8 percent increase from 2004 and 3 percent more than the administration requested.

The bill for the fiscal year that began October 1 now goes to President Bush for signature or veto.

Approximately $4.2 billion would be provided for U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), roughly $200 million more than Bush's request but $254 million less than 2004 funding.

The measure would provide $1.7 billion for contributions to international organizations and international peacekeeping activities.

It also would provide $600 million for an expansion of international broadcasting to the Middle East.

The spending bill appropriates $60 million for the National Endowment for Democracy, $20 million above the fiscal year 2004 level.

At the urging of the administration, Congress approved $1.5 billion for the new Millennium Challenge Account (MCA). That amount is slightly more than amounts approved separately by the Senate and House of Representatives. Some members said they were concerned that the program could not effectively absorb all the money the president requested.

MCA is the administration's supplemental aid program designed to reward countries that make progress on human rights, democratization and free markets.

Also included in the bill is $2.3 billion to fight AIDS/HIV around the world. The amount -- more than ever before appropriated by Congress for the global AIDS effort -- is $99 million more than Bush had requested. Another $600 million in AIDS funding is included in the portion of the bill that would fund the departments of Labor and Health and Human Services, bringing the AIDS total allocation for fiscal year 2005 to $2.9 billion.

The spending bill would provide $2.2 billion in military financing for Israel and another $360 million in economic support for that country, in line with the president's request. Another $1.8 billion would go to Egypt -- $1.3 billion in military grants and $535 million in economic assistance.

The bill contains $403 million for humanitarian aid to Sudan, $93 million of which is an emergency appropriation. Of that, $75 million would go to help equip and support African Union peacekeeping forces attempting to defuse the civil conflict in the country.

The bill would provide $441 million for international family planning programs, including $25 million for the U.N. Fund for Population Activities. The appropriation would be limited to funding programs not related to abortion, such as those providing clean birthing kits.

It would provide $4.2 billion for diplomatic and consular programs, $165 million above the level appropriated for 2004. The amount would fund diplomatic activities in Haiti, Libya and Afghanistan; strengthen the U.S. visa program and border security; and increase public diplomacy activities in the Arab and Muslim world.

The measure includes $1.6 billion to continue worldwide security improvements, including replacing vulnerable embassies.

The bill would provide $17 billion in discretionary spending for most operations of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The amount is 0.7 percent more than the fiscal 2004 level and 2 percent more than Bush requested.

Food safety agencies would see funding increases. FDA would receive $1.5 billion, 6 percent more than in fiscal 2004. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) would receive $814 million, a 13 percent increase, and the Food Safety and Inspection Service would receive $824 million, a 6 percent increase but $15 million below the president's request.

The funding approved for APHIS includes money to continue to develop and to implement a new national animal identification system, initiated after the discovery of a sole case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in the United States in December 2003. The system is intended to eventually give unique numbers to livestock such as cattle, swine and poultry for use in tracking animal movements from birth to point of slaughter. BSE is also known as mad cow disease.

One contentious provision in the Senate and House versions of the bill --- a measure to boost the sales of medical supplies and farm goods in Cuba -- was stripped from the final version of the bill.

Appropriators also threw out a provision that would have made country-of-origin labeling for meats, vegetables and fruits voluntary instead of mandatory. The requirement was part of the 2002 Farm Bill (the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, P.L. 107-171, May 13, 2002). Large meatpacking companies and retailers say the mandate is too costly.

Funding for the Food for Peace Program (PL 480, July 10, 1954) was approved at $1.2 billion, $2.5 million below both the president's request and the 2004 level.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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