The Politics of Foreign Aid

by Gene Gerard
Last week the Senate confirmed Randall Tobias as the new administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also appointed Mr. Tobias to serve as the Director of Foreign Assistance, a newly created position that will oversee $19 billion in foreign aid. USAID has operated independently from the State Department’s political and military concerns for more than 40 years. But with the confirmation of Mr. Tobias, foreign aid will almost certainly become victim to the whims of the Bush administration.

In 1961, Congress passed the Foreign Assistance Act, which mandated the separation of foreign assistance programs into military and non-military aid. President Kennedy established USAID to administer foreign economic assistance programs. USAID was the first federal foreign assistance agency to focus on long-term economic and social development. It was created to offer direct aid to the developing nations of the world, without interference from the State Department.

But in recent months, the Bush administration has openly expressed frustration that USAID has been able to operate independent of the State Department’s goals and objectives. Secretary Rice criticized the agency in January for not coordinating its efforts with that of the U.S. military and diplomats. In a meeting earlier this year with USAID officials, Secretary Rice announced that the administration’s national security interests would determine the agency’s antipoverty efforts. Of course, this is contrary to the very creation of USAID, which was intended to be an agency free from politics.

Given that the administration now clearly intends to politicize foreign aid, it’s no surprise that Randall Tobias was selected for this task. Since 2001, Mr. Tobias has served as the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and the administrator of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Under his leadership, PEPFAR has become so heavily influenced by conservative politics that it is increasingly ineffective at responding to the international AIDS pandemic. America’s foreign aid programs will almost certainly suffer the same fate.

PEPFAR was plagued by poor politics and questionable ethics under Mr. Tobias’ command. Conservative religious politics has had undue influence over PEPFAR almost since its inception. Fully one-third of the international funds spent on AIDS prevention programs, an estimated $130 million, can only be spent promoting abstinence before marriage and cannot be used to address condom usage or safer sex. This policy has had a devastating effect on Africa.
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