In a last-minute deal to avoid a U.S. government shutdown at the stroke of midnight on Dec. 12, congressional negotiators announced Wednesday a $1.1 trillion U.S. spending bill that provides emergency funding for critical crises like Ebola and will sustain current aid efforts into next year.
The bill however raises questions about Congress’ long-term strategy for supporting U.S. foreign assistance programs — or lack thereof.
The international affairs portion of the budget amounts to $50.9 billion, a marginal increase over last year’s total. This sum includes the “150 account” base funds plus “overseas contingency operations” — or OCO funding — which was initially created as a short-term, emergency account to support the war on terrorism.
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About the author
Molly Andersmollyanders_dev
Molly Anders is a former U.K. correspondent for Devex. Based in London, she reports on development finance trends with a focus on British and European institutions. She is especially interested in evidence-based development and women’s economic empowerment, as well as innovative financing for the protection of migrants and refugees. Molly is a former Fulbright Scholar and studied Arabic in Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Morocco.
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