Budget increases at the U.S Agency for International Development are “just not feasible” in light of continued trouble in the U.S. economy, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., testified Wednesday.
The agency’s budget rose by 147 percent from 2001 to 2010, and 57 percent from 2008 to 2010, said Ros-Lehtinen, chair of the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
The Cuban-American lawmaker, an outspoken foe of the Castro government, did not mention Cuba in her statement.
She suggested that USAID cut costs, suggested a hiring freeze and said the agency’s staff had risen by 22 percent over the past two years.
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Florida lawmaker criticizes USAID budget increases
Cuban companies snag $1-million-plus in U.S. funds
The U.S. government has spent nearly $1 billion in Cuba since 2000. More than $1 million went directly to Cuban government-operated companies, but most of the American tax dollars were spent at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, or Gitmo, where detainees from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are kept.
These U.S. government expenses, found at FedSpending.org, include:
- $880,209 for intelligence services (this contract went to Zel Technologies Inc, which describes its intelligence services here).
- $479,394 for quick reaction capability equipment, electronic countermeasures and counter-countermeasures (not a misprint: it’s counter-countermeasures)
- $362,711 for maintenance, repair or alteration of tunnels and below-ground structures
Billions for company that hired Alan Gross
The Maryland company that hired American development worker Alan Gross won more than $2.7 billion in USAID contracts from 2000 to the third quarter of 2009, statistics show.
Development Alternatives Inc., or DAI, sent Gross to Cuba as part of a USAID-financed democracy program. Cuban authorities accused Gross of setting up an illegal satellite communications network and sentenced him on Friday to a 15-year prison term.
DAI, based in Bethesda, raked in $2,720,391,038 in U.S. Agency for International Development contracts from 2000 to 2009, according to FedSpending, which tracks government spending. (more…)
Grants: Up to $75,000 for religious freedom in Cuba
Photo credit: ECHOCuba website
Evangelical Christian Humanitarian Outreach for Cuba, Inc., or ECHOcuba, announced today that it is offering grants of up to $75,000 for organizations that would promote religious freedom in Cuba.
The non-profit group, based in Miami, is a major recipient of government funds. It received $3,254,746 in government grants from 2004 to 2009, federal tax records show.
The U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, contributed $148,145 to ECHOcuba in 2009, the Miami group’s annual report shows (Download PDF).
That same year, Arlington, Va.,-based International Relief & Development, or IRD, contributed $838,491 to ECHOcuba. USAID and the State Department are among those organizations that finance the IRD, the Virginia group’s 2009-2010 annual report shows (Download PDF). (more…)
U.S. seeks additional $4 million for Cuba operations
The U.S. Interests Section in Havana would receive $11,741,000 in fiscal 2012 under the proposed federal budget. That is a 34.4 percent increase over its budget of $8,735,000 in fiscal 2011, which ends in September 2011.
The State Department’s Office of Cuban Affairs would receive $3,608,000 under the 2012 budget. That is a 42.8 percent jump over the $2,526,000 it received in 2011. The number of staffers would remain unchanged at eight.
The budget increases amount to $4,088,000, including $1,082,000 for the Interests Section and $3,006,000 for the Office of Cuban Affairs.
U.S. officials are asking for the increases at a time when the State Department is requesting only a 1 percent increase over fiscal 2010 and making drastic cuts elsewhere. (more…)
Cuba money is a tiny fraction of $3.5 trillion budget
The U.S. State Department plans to spend $20 million on pro-democracy programs in Cuba in 2012.
The federal government’s proposed budget for fiscal 2012 is $3.547 trillion. So out of every $1 million in spending, $5.60 would go towards Cuba.
The Cuba programs make up just .00056 percent of the federal budget, and .04255 percent of the State Department/USAID budget. When it comes to money, U.S. government priorities are not in Cuba.
Even so, the pro-democracy funds can have a powerful impact in Cuba, where dissidents, bloggers and pro-democracy activists struggle to find enough resources to carry out their work.
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