US House of Representatives Considers Foreign Assistance Bill (1/3)

The House of Representatives is considering a $34-billion measure for U.S. international assistance programs and other foreign affairs priorities.

Known as the foreign operations bill, the measure contains money for a range of global priorities, from AIDS treatment and prevention, and assistance to Darfur to peacekeeping and democracy-building.

Likely to be approved on Thursday, it provides just over $5 billion for the president's HIV/AIDS prevention treatment and care program, along with $550 million for the Global Fund for grants to help prevent AIDS, tuberculosis" class="hjdict" word="tuberculosis" target=_blank>tuberculosis and malaria, along with hundreds of millions for child survival and health.

More than $6 billion goes for efforts to strengthen the worldwide public health infrastructure, $750 million for grants to organizations supporting basic education programs and $300 million for safe water programs.

The measure also continues the strong commitment of Congress to assisting refugees and displaced people in Sudan's violence-torn Darfur region.

Lawmakers provide about $950 million for Sudan, including $210 million for humanitarian and peacekeeping in Darfur, $100 million above the figure requested by President Bush, with other funds aimed at economic development and democracy-building in Southern Sudan.