FY2006 State Department Authorization Heads to Senate Floor - Women's Congressional Policy Institute

On March 3, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved, 18-0, the FY2006 foreign assistance authorization bill (as-yet-unnumbered).

The measure would authorize $11.2 billion for the State Department and $22.8 billion for foreign assistance programs in FY2006. The bill also would authorize $345 million for the Peace Corps and $3 billion for the Millennium Challenge Corporation.

Under the bill, $1.2 billion would be authorized in FY2006 for the Child Survival and Health Programs Fund. In addition, the measure would authorize $892.7 million for the migration and refugee assistance account, which includes funding for programs to combat the trafficking in persons.

The bill would authorize $1.3 billion for development assistance. The measure also would authorize $680.7 million for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

During consideration of the bill, the committee approved the following amendments by unanimous consent:

an amendment by Sens. Joe Biden (D-DE) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) that would require the director of USAID to develop a comprehensive plan to protect women and children from sexual abuse and sexual exploitation; and
an amendment by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) expressing the sense of the Senate that women should be allowed to run for office and to vote in all future elections in Saudi Arabia.

The committee rejected, 9-9, an amendment offered by Sen. Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) that would have maintained FY2005 funding levels for a number of foreign assistance programs, including $1.55 billion for the Child Survival and Health Programs Fund, $1.46 billion for development assistance, $250 million for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and $125 million for the United Nations Children’s Fund. Additional funding for these programs would have been offset by a $425 million cut to the Millennium Challenge Corporation and a $275 million cut to the Transition Initiative Account earmarked for programs in Ethiopia, Sudan, Afghanistan, and Haiti.