House Version of Foreign Operations Bill Unclear on Iran Monies

The reported version of the Fiscal Year 2008 Foreign Operations Appropriations bill passed by the House of Representatives included the "Rep. Crenshaw Assistance for Iran Amendment," which was adopted by voice vote and "specified $50 million of the funds appropriated in the bill should be made available for programs to improve democracy, the rule of law and governance in Iran." It is unclear how these funds relate to the $25 million in Economic Support Funds approved in the Committee's report.

The FY 2008 Bush administration request included $75 million for Economic Support Funds to be spent on democracy promotion projects in Iran and this so-called "democracy promotion" funding was presented on pages 75-76 in the Committee report under the Economic Support Fund section:

“The Committee recommendation includes $25,000,000 for programs in Iran, which is $50,000,000 below the request. The Committee is concerned that of the $25,000,000 appropriated for democracy programs in Iran in fiscal year 2006, less than $2,000,000 had been expended as of the end of May 2007. The Committee is further concerned at the lack of adequate justification for the funds that have been requested in fiscal year 2008. The Committee urges that within the amount provided, $5,000,000 be provided for women’s rights and support programs with a particular focus on minority communities. The Committee is aware of the work of the National Endowment for Democracy on these issues and encourages support for such programs."

As noted in the excerpt above, the report language highlights that "less than $2,000,000 had been expended as of the end of May 2007. The Committee is further concerned at the lack of adequate justification for the funds that have been requested in fiscal year 2008." To take a step back for a moment, in the regular FY 2006 Foreign Operations spending bill, Congress appropriated no less than $6.55 million (Public Law 109-102) for Iran from Democracy Funds and requested that at least $10 million be spent by the State Department on democracy and human rights programs in Iran overall. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also requested $75 million in the FY 2006 Emergency Supplemental for Iran. Congress only appropriated $66.1 million (Public Law 109-234). Of the $66.1 million, Congress allocated $20 million for democracy programs in Iran through the Middle East Partnership Initiative in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.

According to the State Department, it has obligated approximately $16.05 million for Iran democracy programs from its FY06 regular and supplemental budgets, which includes $11.9 million through Middle East Partnership Initiative and $4.15 million through the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. Additional explanation of monies can be found here.