The annual assistance report and strategy

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1. Two planning documents in the statute

Two provisions in title 22 ask the executive branch to set out American assistance in a planned way for Congress. One is the annual report under section 634 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, codified at 22 U.S.C. 2394 (22 U.S.C. 2394(a)). The other is the National Security Assistance Strategy, added in 2000 and codified at 22 U.S.C. 2305 (22 U.S.C. 2305(a)). The first is a required annual report. The second is phrased as guidance, using should rather than shall, and sets out a multiyear plan.

2. The annual report and its deadline

The report exists so that Congress and the public are better and more currently informed about American foreign policy and the effectiveness of assistance to other countries and international organizations (22 U.S.C. 2394(a)). The Chairman of the Development Coordination Committee must prepare it and send it to Congress by 1 February each year, as part of the annual foreign assistance presentation materials.

Its first element is broad (22 U.S.C. 2394(a)(1)). It is a comprehensive and coordinated review of all American policies and programs with a major impact on developing countries. The review covers, among other things, bilateral and multilateral assistance, trade, debt, employment, food, energy, technology, population, oceans, environment, human settlements, natural resources and work in international development agencies. It assesses their effect on the poor majority in those countries, including life expectancy, literacy, infant mortality, birth rates, food production and employment, and on economic conditions in the United States, including employment, wages and working conditions.

3. Dollar figures by country

The report must give the dollar value of all foreign assistance and guaranties, by category and by country, provided by any means to all foreign countries and international organizations (22 U.S.C. 2394(a)(2)). The figures run from 1946 to the year before the report, and as presented, obligated, planned and proposed for the surrounding years. The report must also give the dollar value of every Agency for International Development contract above $100,000 made the year before without competitive selection, with the reasons.

One element concerns military assistance directly (22 U.S.C. 2394(a)(10)). The report must give the aggregate dollar value and quantity of grant military assistance, military education and training and other defense articles and services furnished under the Act. The figures are shown for each foreign country and international organization for the previous fiscal year.

4. Debt, repayments and other donors

The report summarizes repayments of earlier assistance loans by country (22 U.S.C. 2394(a)(3)). It gives the status of outstanding agricultural credit sales and Export-Import Bank transactions, listing individually only those above $1,000,000 (22 U.S.C. 2394(a)(4)). It sets out each recipient’s debt servicing capacity, all debt relief granted with its purpose, and the net aid flow after debt relief (22 U.S.C. 2394(a)(5)).

It also looks at other donors (22 U.S.C. 2394(a)(6)). It gives the dollar value of development, security, disaster, refugee and narcotics control assistance from each member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. Each type is shown as a share of each country’s gross national product and government budget, and per head (22 U.S.C. 2394(a)(7)). The report also covers foreign currencies acquired without dollar payment and on hand at the end of the previous fiscal year (22 U.S.C. 2394(a)(8)). It covers the Development Coordination Committee’s operations, the Minority Resource Center, and other information on the assistance program (22 U.S.C. 2394(a)(9), 22 U.S.C. 2394(a)(11) and 22 U.S.C. 2394(a)(12)).

5. What counts as foreign assistance

For the report, foreign assistance has a wide meaning (22 U.S.C. 2394(b)(1)). It is any tangible or intangible item the government provides to a foreign country or international organization under the Act or any other law. That includes training, services, technical advice, property of any kind, agricultural commodities, dollars, and foreign currencies the government owns. Provided by the government includes provision by gift, loan, sale, credit or guaranty (22 U.S.C. 2394(b)(2)). Sales therefore count as foreign assistance for this report, as do loans, credits and guaranties.

6. The National Security Assistance Strategy

The Secretary of State should submit the strategy to the appropriate committees of Congress each year, with the congressional presentation materials for the foreign operations budget (22 U.S.C. 2305(a)). The statute set the first one for within 180 days after 6 October 2000, and later ones are due with each year’s budget request materials. The strategy should set out a multiyear plan for security assistance, consistent with the National Security Strategy (22 U.S.C. 2305(b)(1) and 22 U.S.C. 2305(b)(2)). It should be coordinated with the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and prepared in consultation with other agencies as appropriate (22 U.S.C. 2305(b)(3) and 22 U.S.C. 2305(b)(4)).

It should identify overarching objectives and the role of specific programs in reaching them (22 U.S.C. 2305(b)(5)). For each country, it should identify a primary objective and specific secondary objectives, and how resources will be allocated to them (22 U.S.C. 2305(b)(6) and 22 U.S.C. 2305(b)(7)). It should discuss how types of assistance, such as Foreign Military Financing and military education and training, combine at country level (22 U.S.C. 2305(b)(8)). For each of those elements, it should also detail how assistance under the two Acts is coordinated with programs run by the Defense Department and other agencies (22 U.S.C. 2305(b)(9)).

The strategy should cover three programs (22 U.S.C. 2305(c)). They are Foreign Military Financing under section 23 of the Arms Export Control Act, military education and training under chapter 5 of part II of the Foreign Assistance Act, and excess defense articles under section 516 of that Act. Other reports to Congress are covered in reporting to Congress on assistance programs.

Key terms

Development Coordination Committee	The body whose chairman prepares the annual assistance report.
Presentation materials	The budget justification documents sent to Congress each year.
Foreign assistance	For the report, any item the government provides abroad, including by sale.
Net aid flow	Assistance to a country after taking account of debt relief.
Covered programs	Foreign Military Financing, military education and training, and excess defense articles under section 516.
Primary objective	The main security assistance aim the strategy sets for each country.

Every statement above links to the document behind it. The full source list for this piece is on the sources page.

This page describes public United States government programs for general information. It is not legal, regulatory or procurement advice, and it does not address the facts of any particular case.

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