Posted on 04/05/2013 6:45:42 PM PDT by haffast
The US Congress has slashed $85bn (£56bn) from the federal budget through the end of September. Now, foreign aid groups that rely on US support fear the cuts will devastate the people in the most desperate need.
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The US is the world's largest provider of humanitarian aid, according to the London-based Overseas Development Institute. The US also offers military assistance to countries in the Middle East and other regions and funds programmes for global health, refugee aid and more.
The March law writing the cuts into the budget slashed funding for these and other programmes by roughly 5%.
More than $2.7bn will be taken from state department foreign operations and other programmes, according to the Congressional Research Service.
In some cases the cuts will affect government institutions in other countries. Aid to countries such as Egypt (the US provides roughly $1.3bn annually to its military) and Israel (roughly $3bn annually) also may be reduced.
The budgetary reductions will have an impact on individuals, say aid workers, since the cuts will be applied to programmes already stretched thin.
Contributions to international peacekeeping, which helps to tamp down on violence in conflict-ridden countries such as Mali, will be reduced by $20m.
And funds for humanitarian programmes, which help families in the Horn of Africa and other places in crisis, will be cut by roughly $200m, state department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland has said.
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"The government is faced with a kind of Sophie's choice," he says. "Which disaster do you save?"
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(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
Austerity, gag me.
Charity begins at home.... screw the “foreign aide” shills
Sad for those other needy governments of the world, but maybe a few more poor,retired or disabled USA citizens can afford to pay for food, medicine and taxes for themselves first.
If we have any money leftover, we might donate money to charity...or maybe not... for the next 200 years.
I vote not.
It’s actually 44.5 billion in 2013/another 44.5 in 2014.If you were told you could spend $100,000 in 2012,but only $99,999.75 in 2013 you would get an idea of how DRASTIC this truly is!Also,remember,The Sequester was Obongo’s idea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh the humanity! Oh, the suffering! Boo hoo hoo ... All the weeping and crying. It's just torture I tell you!
The Fed is printing $85B a month for the banks to buy bonds with so the Treasury has cash. This off-sets the sequester every two weeks.
WOW!
"Slashed"... 5%...
Lucky I`m not in charge, they`d get a bill.
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