Congressional Digest

Excerpt

Foreign aid makes up less than 1 percent of the total budget of the U.S. Government, but with America’s national debt soaring, it is one of the first items proposed for the chopping block. U.S. development assistance to China, which is the world’s second-largest economy and holds 11 percent of U.S. federal debt, has become a prime target for budget cuts. From 2001 to 2011, the U.S. Government authorized or made available $310 million for foreign assistance efforts in China, including Peace Corps programs. Of this total, $257 million went toward such program areas as promoting the rule of law,…