Legislative Background
Recent Action on Russia Issues
Three major areas in which the Clinton Administration and Congress have responded to the transition of the former Soviet Union to democracy and free market economies are: foreign aid, NATO enlargement, and the protection of religious freedom. The following summarizes recent action on these issues. Foreign Aid. Support for foreign aid to the New Independent States (NIS) in Congress has generally enjoyed strong bipartisan support. However, from Fiscal Years (FY) 1994 to 1997 there was a decline in funding, reflecting a downward trend in the foreign aid program overall and criticism of the program’s implementation and Russian behavior.The FY 1998…
