On March 8, the House Appropriations Committee approved, by voice vote, an emergency supplemental spending bill for FY2005 (as-yet-unnumbered).
The measure would allocate an additional $81.3 billion in FY2005 for programs administered by the Department of Defense, the State Department, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The total is $600 million below the administration’s request.
Under the bill, $1.7 billion would be provided for foreign assistance programs, approximately $850 million less than the administration’s request. The total would include $372 million for reconstruction projects and health programs in Afghanistan. The bill also would include $656 million for tsunami relief efforts in Indonesia and Sri Lanka, $45 million less than the administration’s request. In addition, $92 million would be provided for humanitarian assistance for the Darfur region of Sudan.
The measure would include the text of the Humanitarian Assistance Code of Conduct Act (H.R. 912), which aims to protect women in humanitarian crises from sexual exploitation and abuse. The House approved the measure on March 2 (see The Source, 3/4/05).
During consideration of the bill, the committee rejected, 30-33, an amendment offered by Rep. Jesse Jackson (D-IL) that would have provided additional funding for the Darfur region of Sudan, including $106 million for disaster assistance, $91.4 million for refugee assistance, and $150 million for food assistance.
The House is expected to consider the FY2005 emergency supplemental spending bill next week.
