Background

Congress last enacted a broad foreign assistance authorization act in 1985. In the absence of omnibus foreign aid authorizations, the majority of the foreign assistance legislation has been enacted as part of annual Foreign Operationsappropriation measures. Last year, the Foreign Relations Committee reported a similar bill -- S. 1161 -- characterizing the action as effort to "reinforce" theCommittee's role in foreign assistance policy making. (2) Chairman Lugar noted duringthe Committee's markup of that bill that it was not an attempt to comprehensivelyreview and re-write existing foreign aid legislation. Rather, S. 1161 represented a first step in providing necessary authorization for programappropriations in FY2004 and updating selected legislative provisions to reflectcurrent policy. Senator Lugar said that it was his intent to launch a more ambitiouseffort in the future to revamp the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and otherlong-standing foreign aid laws. Contents of the Foreign Aid Legislation

Division B of S. 1161 is divided into five titles:
Title XXI includes a series of FY2005 authorizations of appropriations. Title XXII updates and amends several existing foreign aid authorities, some of which have been annually extended in appropriation acts inrecent years. Title XV consists of a number of miscellaneous provisions, several of which address Africa and Latin America issues, including authorizationfor additional aid to Haiti. Authorization of Appropriations

Division B of S. 2144 authorizes the appropriation of about $16.9 billion for 22 foreign assistance programs, closely matching the account structure ofthe annual Foreign Operations appropriations for bilateral economic and military aid. The total for foreign aid programs, however, is$182 million less than proposed by the Administration. $25 million more for aid to the former Soviet Union. Radiological Terrorism Security Act (4)

Title XXIII of S. 2144 addresses the threat posed by terrorist use of radiological dispersal devices, or RDDs. Accordingly, Section 2304 authorizes the Secretary of State to help other countries -- directly or through the IAEA -- develop national response plans and train firstresponders for dealing with an RDD attack. Global Pathogen Surveillance Act of 2003 (5)

Title XXIV of S. 2144 -- The Global Pathogen Surveillance Act -- would authorize $35 million for FY2005 to enhance the capability of developingnations to detect, identify, and contain infectious disease outbreaks, whether naturallyoccurring or the result of a bioterrorist attack. (6)
The Global Pathogen Surveillance Act includes several provisions that are intended to support and strengthen the disease surveillance capabilities of developingnations. Additionally, Sections 2410 and 2411 would permit the expansion of CDC facilities overseas to further the goals of global disease monitoring.
Congress last enacted a broad foreign assistance authorization act in 1985. In the absence of omnibus foreign aid measures, the majority of foreign assistance legislation has been enacted as partof annual Foreign Operations appropriation measures. Division B of S. 2144 --Foreign Assistance Authorization for FY2005 -- is an effort to "reinforce" the Senate ForeignRelations Committee's role in foreign aid policy making. It is not an attempt to comprehensivelyreview and re-write existing foreign aid legislation, but rather it is a first step in providing necessaryauthorization for program appropriations in FY2005 and updating selected legislative provisions toreflect current policy. Committee Chairman Lugar said that it was his intent to launch a moreambitious effort later that would revamp the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and other long-standingforeign aid laws. The Committee reported and the Senate debated similar legislation last year -- S. 1161 , later merged into S. 925 -- authorizing foreign aid programs forFY2004. The bill remains pending in the Senate, but is unlikely to receive further consideration.
Division B of S. 2144 is divided into five titles. Title XXI includes FY2005 authorizations of appropriations. Title XXII updates and amends several existing foreign aidauthorities, some of which have been annually extended in appropriation acts. Title XXIII is theRadiological Terrorism Security Act of 2004. Title XXIV is the Global Pathogen Surveillance Actof 2004. Title XXV consists of several provisions, some of which address Africa and Latin Americaissues, including additional aid for Haiti.
The legislation authorizes the appropriation of about $16.9 billion for 22 foreign assistance programs, closely matching the account structure of the annual Foreign Operations appropriationsfor bilateral economic and military aid. The amounts authorized are nearly identical to levelsrequested by the Administration for FY2005, although the bill would increase spending forHIV/AIDS, development aid, assistance to the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, andnonproliferation programs, while reducing amounts for the Millennium Challenge Account.
S. 2144 addresses the threat posed by terrorist use of radiological dispersal devices, or RDDs. The bill requires the Secretary of State to prepare and submit to Congress reportsassessing the threat of a radiological attack on U.S. missions. The bill further authorizes theSecretary to aid foreign countries, or propose that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)develop programs, helping foreign first responders identify and address threats posed by radioactivematerials.
The legislation also includes the Global Pathogen Surveillance Act, authorizing $35 million for FY2005 to enhance the capability of developing nations to detect, identify, and contain infectiousdisease outbreaks, whether naturally occurring or the result of a bioterrorist attack. The measureincludes several provisions that are intended to support and strengthen the disease surveillancecapabilities of developing nations. Additionally, it would permit the expansion of Centers forDisease Control and Prevention facilities overseas to further the goals of global disease monitoring.This report will be updated as Congress considers the legislation.
Key Policy Staff