How much of the United States federal budget goes to foreign aid? What's your best guess? 10 percent? 15 percent? 20 percent? If you're like most Americans, you probably guessed wrong. Less than 1 percent of the United States federal budget goes to foreign aid. Even though it may seem like a small amount, it really isn't. That less than 1 percent is really over $30 billion that we spend on foreign aid each and every year. That’s a lot of money! And there is still more to foreign aid than the foreign aid budget. There are over 20 U.S. Government agencies responsible for either executing or funding U.S. foreign assistance activities in over 100 countries. 56% of the Kaiser Family Foundation poll respondents thought that the United States spends too much money on foreign aid. Too much money is being given towards foreign aid that could be used towards scientific and technological advancements instead.
First, there is money for Overseas Contingency Operations, or finishing up projects the U.S. already started. The Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funds, sometimes referred to as war …show more content…
Clearly more than $30 billion when you add the OCO, OFDA, and USAID project funds. That’s a lot more money than we planned for! And these are just some of the departments that aren’t part of the foreign aid budget or are out of their budget. Too much money is being put towards foreign aid! Many polls have been conducted around the country with results being all the same: more than 50 percent of the people surveyed think the United States is spending too much money on foreign aid. I mean, think of all the scientific and technological advancements we could make with this sum of money. There’s still many breakthroughs out there waiting to be discovered. We might even be able to find a cure for cancer and save the lives of thousands! Wouldn’t you want to do