The Cuba Money Project’s five goals for 2011 were to: Publish: Post stories and interviews that give dissidents, bloggers, Cuban government supporters, exiles and others the opportunity to voice their opinion on U.S. government-financed programs in Cuba. Investigate: Use the Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA, to pursue documents that shed light on U.S. government [...]
USAID priority: To “focus efforts on the island”
The U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, requested $20 million for Cuba programs in fiscal 2012, which begins Oct. 1, 2011. The agency says its goals include managing the programs more transparently, ensuring that more economic and material support reaches the island and trying to assist a wider range of civic groups in Cuba. [...]
Florida lawmaker criticizes USAID budget increases
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 [...]
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 [...]