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Note: This document is from the archive of the Africa Policy E-Journal, published
by the Africa Policy Information Center (APIC) from 1995 to 2001 and by Africa Action
from 2001 to 2003. APIC was merged into Africa Action in 2001. Please note that many outdated links in this archived
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Africa: Aid Action Alert
Any links to other sites in this file from 1996 are not clickable,
given the difficulty in maintaining up-to-date links in old files.
However, we hope they may still provide leads for your research.
Africa: Aid Action Alert
Date Distributed (ymd): 960616
Washington Office on Africa
Urgent Action
Development Funding for Africa in Jeopardy
June 16, 1996
The Clinton administration's Fiscal Year 1997 foreign
assistance request, submitted in early March, calls for an
increase in African assistance and an "earmark" (or separate
allocation) for the Development Fund for Africa (DFA). The
administration's request also includes:
* $704 million allocation for the DFA
* $12.5 million for the African Development Foundation (ADF)
* $935 million for the International Development Association
(IDA) of the World Bank, which would only meet U.S. past
obligations through June 1996.
(see below for brief program descriptions)
On June 11, the House of Representatives passed the FY foreign
operations appopriations bill. The bill does not include a
separate allocation for the Development Fund for Africa, but
recommends, as Congress did last year, that Africa receive the
same proportion of development assistance as the
administration requested (41 percent). An amendment by Rep.
Payne (D-NJ) to restore the DFA was dismissed on a point of
order, as was an amendment by Rep. Waters (D-CA) to provide
funding for the Abidjan-based African Development Bank.
The bill as passed by the House includes $11.5 million for the
African Development Foundation, the same as FY 1996 but $1
million less than the Administration request. The largest
cut was a $410 million reduction in IDA to $525 million.
The next opportunity to restore the separate allocation for
the DFA and to increase the US commitment to IDA will be when
the Appropriations Bill is considered in the Senate. Action
by the Foreign Operations Subcommitee may come as early as
Tuesday, June 18. This will be followed by action by the full
Appropriations Committee and then by a vote in the full
Senate.
ACTION
Faxes and calls to the Members of the Senate Foreign
Operations Subcommittee are needed immediately. If you cannot
fax or call, you may send an e-mail message. But remember
that such messages are considered less likely to have weight
with Members than faxes or calls. In any case, be sure to
include your postal address. Urge Congress to protect
development and humanitarian assistance to Africa by
supporting the administration's budget request.
Send a copy of your communications, or write a separate
letter, to your own Senators. The postal address for all
Senators is U.S. Senate, Washington, DC 20510.
[Note to non-U.S. readers: This posting is provided both
for your background information and for possible forwarding
to those of your U.S. contacts you think would be interested.]
Chairman of Senate Appropriations Committee
Mark Hatfield (R-OR)
Tel: 202-224-3753; Fax: 202-224-0276;
e-mail: not available
Senate Foreign Operations Subcommittee
Mitch McConnell (R-KY) Key staffperson: Robin Cleveland
Tel: 202-224-2541; Fax: 202-224-2499;
e-mail: Senator@mcconnell.senate.gov
Arlen Specter (R-PA) Key staffperson: Paul Wolfe
Tel: 202-224-4254; Fax: 202-224-1893;
e-mail: Senator_Specter@specter.senate.gov
Connie Mack (R-FL) Key staffperson: Ellen Bork
Tel: 224-5274; Fax: 224-8022;
e-mail: connie@mack.senate.gov
James Jeffords (R-VT) Key staffperson: Laurie Heim
Tel: 202-224-5141; Fax: not available;
e-mail: Vermont@jeffords.senate.gov
Judd Gregg (R-NH) Key staffperson: Vas Alexopoulus
Tel: 202-224-3324; Fax: 224-4952;
e-mail: Mailbox@gregg.senate.gov
Richard Shelby (R-AL) Key staffperson: Kathy Casey
Tel: 202-224-5744: Fax: 202-224-3416:
e-mail: Senator@shelby.senate.gov
Robert Bennett (R-UT) Key staffperson: Bill Triplett
Tel: 202-224-5444; Fax: 202-224-4908;
e-mail: Senator@bennett.senate.gov
Patrick Leahy (D-VT) Key staffperson: Tim Reiser
Tel: 202-224-4242; Fax: 202-224-3595
e-mail: Senator_Leahy@leahy.senate.gov
Daniel Inouye (D-HI) Key staffperson: Keith Gouveia
Tel: 202-224-3934; Fax: 202-224-6747;
e-mail: senator@inouye.senate.gov
Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) Key staffperson: Sharon Waxman
Tel: 202-224-4744; Fax: 202-224-9707;
e-mail: Frank_Lautenberg@Lautenberg.senate.gov
Tom Harkin (D-IA) Key staffperson: Rosemary Guitterez
Tel: 202-224-3254; Fax: 202-224-9369;
e-mail: Tom_Harkin@harkin.senate.gov
Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) Key staffperson: Julia Frifield
Tel: 202-224-4654; Fax: 202-224-8858;
e-mail: Senator@mikulski.senate.gov
Patty Murray (D-WA) Key staffperson: Pam Norick
Tel: 202-224-2621; Fax: 202-0224-0238;
e-mail: Senator_Murray@murray.senate.gov
Program Descriptions:
The Development Fund for Africa (DFA) was created by Congress
in 1987 to "help the poor majority of men and women...to
participate in a process of long-term development through
economic growth that is equitable, participatory,
environmentally sustainable, and self-reliant." Even critics
of USAID performance in Africa point to the DFA policy
guidance as an important advance which should be maintained
and thoughtfully implemented. Additionally, the earmark, or
separate allocation, protects Africa funding from being raided
by other interests within the various foreign policy agencies
or USAID itself. (For more background see the May 1 testimony
of John F. Hicks, Assistant Administrator of the USAID Bureau
for Africa, to the Senate Subcommittee on Africa. The
testimony is available on-line at:
gopher://gaia.info.usaid.gov:70/00/agency_wide/spe_test/
testimony/jh050196.txt)
The African Development Foundation (ADF) is the only US
government agency mandated to make small grants directly to
grassroots African groups. It is also the only agency
required to hire only African staff for its country offices.
The small size and grassroots focus allows ADF to administer
small grants, ranging from $20,000 - 250,000 and to operate in
ways less suited to the larger USAID bureaucracy. (For more
background see WOA Update "African Development Foundation on
Chopping Block," June 30, 1995;
)
Africa also receives important development assistance from a
range of multilateral agencies, including key UN agencies,
such as the UN Development Program and UN peacekeeping
programs. The World Bank's program of concessional
development loans--the International Development Association
(IDA)--is a key source of development funds for Africa. Many
members of Congress oppose adequate funding for these
institutions, despite the fact that the US is in arrears on
past obligations. (For more background see Washington Office
on Africa Action Alert, "U.S. Delinquency Undermines
International Programs," distributed April 26, 1996
)
************************************************************
Note: Additional details on the current legislation, and on
contact information for Members of Congress, can be found at
the Web site of InterAction
(http://www.interaction.org/advocacy.html). The full text is
available by searching at http://thomas.loc.gov/ for HR 3540,
the number of the bill as passed by the House of
Representatives.
************************************************************
This material is produced and distributed by the Washington
Office on Africa (WOA), a not-for-profit church, trade union
and civil rights group supported organization that works with
Congress on Africa-related legislation. WOA's educational
affiliate is the Africa Policy Information Center (APIC).
************************************************************
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