[Twodees]

Sorry, but the subject I raised was the constitutionality of the President promising an increase in foreign aid. If you'd rather not look at whether that's a legitimate power of the President's office, then don't presume to lecture the rest of us on what he can and can't do. He has a job description which is defined in the Constitution. We've never amended the Constitution to give the President power to hand our money over to anyone without our consent.

He is empowered to make treaties with the advice and consent of the Senate, not to tell a bunch of penniless con artists that he'll hand them $5 billion dollars. Bush doesn't have that authority unless he's talking about his own money. I doubt he has that kind of money, myself.

[A Navy Vet]

"Sorry, but the subject I raised..."

Oh, the subject you raised, not the subject of the article. ok

As for {{giving}} aid being Constitutional, I don't know, never thought about. But either way, our voluntary gifts or loans to other nations and our club dues to the UN are NOT taxes. Lecture over.