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Understanding U.S. Foreign Aid: History, Objectives, and Criticisms
Added on -2019-09-13
U.S. foreign aid spending was nearly $49 billion in 2015, accounting for roughly 1.3 percent of the federal budget. Aid funding levels are at their highest since the period immediately following World War II. U.S. aid policy seeks to achieve its aims through a diverse array of programs, which can be organized into several major categories. However, many economists have criticized various aspects of the global foreign aid system as ineffective or counterproductive.
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Given the many agencies, funding methods, and categories of aid associated with U.S. foreign assistance efforts, estimates can differ. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service (CRS), which uses thebroadest definition of aid, including military and security assistance, total spending was nearly $49 billion in 2015. This accounts for roughly 1.3 percent of the federal budget. Aid funding levels are at their highest since the period immediately following World War II, when the United States invested heavily in rebuilding European economies. In the 1990s, in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union, aid levels were cut to barely half of what they are today, falling to less than $20 billion in 1997, or 0.8 percent of the overall budget. Aid rose again in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, surpassing 1.4 percent of the budget by 2007, which analystssay was driven largely by assistance to Iraq and Afghanistan as well as President George W.Bush’s global health programs.As former State Department official and aid expert Carol Lancaster pointed out in her book,Foreign Aid: Diplomacy, Development, Domestic Politics, modern U.S. aid originated in Cold War geopolitics: the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe was designed to blunt the influence of rising Communist political forces on the continent. National security concerns have continued to drive U.S. assistance policy, aiming to provide stability in conflicted regions, bolster allies, promote democracy, or contribute to counterterrorism and law enforcement efforts abroad.Other objectives, related to but separate from U.S. national security, also drive assistance. These include most notably humanitarian relief efforts to respond directly to acute disasters, poverty reduction, health care, and other development programs.
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