The Foreign Service Journal, February 2007

to engage in talks with Tehran has strengthened the position of Iran- ian hard-liners. “For five years, the administration’s policy was paralyzed by a stand-off between those promoting regime change and those arguing for engage- ment. During that time, Iran crushed the reform movement and moved much closer to the bomb,” Biden said. While backing talks, Lantos will hold hearings into Iran and its support for Hezbollah, Hamas and Shiite militia groups in Iraq. He’ll likely find support for the hearings from the com- mittee’s new top Republican, Rep. Illena Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., a Cuban-born lawmaker who has repeatedly crit- icized Arab nations for backing terrorism against the U.S. and Israel. In addition, Lantos says he will introduce a “new sub- ject” to his panel: the United States’ growing dependence on foreign oil. “Our actions with respect to other coun- tries can be distorted by our dependence upon oil from overseas,” he said. That issue could create friction bet- ween the panel and White House, which has been criti- cized for close ties to oil companies. Bringing attention to Darfur will likely be another pri- ority for Democrats. Last year Lantos was arrested and handcuffed outside Sudan’s embassy in Washington for protesting atrocities in Darfur. And the Congressional Black Caucus, comprised entirely of Democratic law- makers, will likely use its newfound clout to bring atten- tion to what it considers genocide there. Foreign Assistance Funding In addition, Democrats will likely seek to link foreign aid allocations to human rights performance, though they are inclined to favor more overseas spending than have recent Republican Congresses, which have often scaled back assistance programs significantly. Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, has shown interest in tying foreign aid to a nation’s human rights record. In 2006, Obey, along with Lantos and Hyde, backed failed legisla- tion that would have cut $100 million in aid to Egypt and reallocated the money to global AIDS treatment and pre- vention efforts and greater hum- anitarian assistance for Darfur. Obey cited anti-democratic actions by the Egyptian government in calling for the cut. The top Democrats on the House and Senate foreign aid spending subcommittees have activist records in backing human rights and are likely to push for- eign aid programs for global health and reward nations that promote democracy. Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., a longtime aide to former New York Governor Mario Cuomo, will head the House Appropri- ations foreign affairs, export financing and related pro- grams subcommittee. Her Web site prominently fea- tures a picture of the 10-term lawmaker meeting with rock star Bono, the globetrotting crusader for ending Third World poverty. Lowey calls funding in the Fiscal Year 2007 foreign operations bill “shamefully low,” and has been especially critical of cuts in migration and refugee assistance. Last year the House cut the Bush administration’s foreign aid budget for 2007 by 10 percent, to $21.3 billion. More than $1 billion of the reduction came from the Millennium Challenge Account, a top administration pri- ority that rewards developing counties for making eco- nomic and political progress. Her Senate counterpart, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who will head the Senate Appropriations subcommittee for State, foreign aid and related programs, has been a champion of human rights legislation, including creating funds to assist civilian victims of war. He is also likely to back global health and environmental spending initiatives. Leahy, a six-term senator who has been sharply critical of Bush administration antiterrorism legislation as the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, sees for- eign spending in moral terms. “As the wealthiest nation we have a moral responsibility to help them improve their lives, yet we spend only 1 percent of our federal budget on foreign aid — less than most other industrial- ized nations on a per capita basis,” he said. Fasten Your Seatbelts The Democrats’ ambitions and idealism may run into F O C U S 26 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 7 Lantos’ staunch initial support for the war and close relationship with Henry Hyde, his GOP counterpart, have drawn the ire of more liberal Democrats.