Reforms in Foreign Aid Are No Panacea

With only 1 percent of the federal budget, foreign aid makes up a much smaller part of the country’s fiscal problems than many people believe, according to Rebecca Williams of the Henry L. Stimson Center.

In a guest blog posting for The Concord Coalition, Williams proposes several foreign aid reforms, including a better strategy in linking aid to national security, more program prioritization, and improved coordination. But she stresses that policymakers should not be distracted from dealing with problems in larger parts of the federal budget.

With only 1 percent of the federal budget, foreign aid makes up a much smaller part of the country’s fiscal problems than many people believe, according to Rebecca Williams of the Henry L. Stimson Center.

In a guest blog posting for The Concord Coalition, Williams proposes several foreign aid reforms, including a better strategy in linking aid to national security, more program prioritization, and improved coordination. But she stresses that policymakers should not be distracted from dealing with problems in larger parts of the federal budget.

“Foreign aid is but one piece of the larger puzzle, something to be evaluated like every other component of federal spending,” Williams writes. She concludes that reforming foreign aid won’t eliminate the need to make “tough choices” on Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and defense.