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1 [1] (March 14, 2025)

handle is hein.crs/usagncyinl0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Serxdce lnform~ng the legislative debate since 1914 Updated March 14, 2025 U.S. Agency for International Development: An Overview Background The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has served as the lead international humanitarian and development arm of the U.S. government. It was established in 1961, pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 10973, to implement components of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. Congress codified USAID in statute in Section 1413 of the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998 (Division G of P.L. 105-277), which defined USAID as an independent establishment in the executive branch (22 U.S.C. 6563). Section 1522 of that law states that The Administrator of the Agency for International Development, appointed pursuant to section 624(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2384(a)), shall report to and be under the direct authority and foreign policy guidance of the Secretary of State. On January 20, 2025, President Trump started taking actions affecting U.S. foreign assistance and USAID. As of this writing, USAID's future role in providing foreign assistance remains unclear. USAID has sought to provide assistance to countries that the U.S. government has deemed to be strategically important and countries in conflict; lead U.S. efforts to alleviate poverty, disease, and humanitarian need abroad; and assist U.S. commercial interests by supporting developing countries' economic growth and building countries' capacity to participate in world trade. In FY2024 (the most recent year for which complete data are available), USAID managed more than $35 billion in combined appropriations, representing more than one-third of the funds provided in the FY2024 Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPS) appropriation and international food aid provided in the Agriculture appropriation. Some USAID appropriations accounts have been co-managed with the Department of State (State), making any calculation of USAID's exact budget imprecise. (For more on SFOPS, see CRS Report R48231, Department ofState, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2025 Budget and Appropriations.) According to the FY2023 Agency Financial Report (the most recent report CRS was able to access), USAID's workforce totaled more than 10,000 at the end of FY2023, with approximately two-thirds serving overseas (not including institutional support contractors). The agency maintained more than 60 country and regional missions that designed and managed a range of projects, most intended to meet specific development objectives as outlined in a Country Development Cooperation Strategy. Most projects were implemented-through a grant, cooperative agreement, or contract-by one of thousands of foreign and U.S. development partners, including nonprofit organizations, for-profit contractors, universities, international organizations, and foreign governments. https://crsreport In FY2024, USAID provided assistance to about 130 countries. The top 10 recipients of USAID-managed funds were, in descending order, Ukraine, Democratic Republic of Congo, Jordan, Ethiopia, West Bank and Gaza, Sudan, Nigeria, Yemen, Afghanistan, and South Sudan. Reflecting USAID's poverty reduction mandate, 69 of the 77 World Bank-determined low- and lower-middle-income countries received USAID assistance in FY2024 (Figure 1). Beginning in the early 1990s, health became the largest USAID sector by funding, bolstered since 2004 by billions of dollars under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and since 2020 by emergency assistance to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. In FY2022, USAID humanitarian assistance surpassed health as the largest sector. This followed year-over-year increases in humanitarian assistance in response to natural and human- induced humanitarian crises. (See CRS In Focus IF10568, Overview of the Global Humanitarian and Displacement Crisis.) For FY2023, governance was the highest funded sector, a result of U.S. direct financial support for the Government of Ukraine. (See CRS In Focus IF12305, U.S. Direct Financial Supportfor Ukraine.) Humanitarian assistance returned to the top of the list in FY2024, receiving the highest proportion of USAID sector funding. Figure I. USAID-Managed Program Funding, by Sector and Region: FY2024 Obligations Estimate FY2024 Total Obligations: $35.4 billion i by Sector Humanitarian Health Governance Administrative Other Agriculture Education Infrastructure Economic Growth > by Region Sub-Saharan Africa Multiple Regions Europe and Eurasia Middle East and N.Africa Western Hemisphere South and Central Asia East Asia and Oceania: $9.5b $9.9b S9-sb $3.7 $12b $.1b $11b $1.1b S o.9b $123b 7b $6.sb $4.2b $2.ob $1.9b $1.0b Source: ForeignAssistance.gov, accessed on February 26, 2025, and CRS calculations. Trump Administration Actions Affecting USAID The Trump Administration has taken steps to potentially reduce USAID's role in providing foreign assistance and/or transfer some of the functions currently assigned to USAID to the Department of State or other agencies. On February .congress.gov

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