USAID out of Cuba by 2015

[Mika]

USAID out of Cuba by 2015

Barring an act of Congress, the U.S. Agency for International Development will end its work in Cuba in 2015.
Cuban-American lawmakers had pounded away at the agency for several years, accusing it of inefficiency and political favoritism.
Finally, they got their wish: USAID's Cuba programs were defunded in the latest spending bill (see page 1,332 of 1,582-page Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014).
The spending bill authorizes the State Department to spend $17.5 million for programs in Cuba, but none of it will go to USAID. The bill states:

Of the funds appropriated by this Act under the heading ‘‘Economic Support Fund’’, up to $17,500,000 should be made available for programs and activities in Cuba.
None of the funds appropriated by this Act under the heading ‘‘Economic Support Fund’’ may be obligated by USAID for any new programs or activities in Cuba.

A separate 622-page document outlines how the $17.5 million should be spent:

At least $7.5 million to the National Endowment for Democracy;
No more than $10 million to the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, nicknamed DRL, and Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs.

Page 122-123 of the document states:

Cuba.- In subsection (b), the agreement includes up to $17,500,000 for programs and activities in Cuba, and of such funds, not less than $7,500,000 shall be provided directly to the NED. Not to exceed $10,000,000 shall be administered by DRL and the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs at the Department of State. Funds should be programmed at a rate that allows for proper management and oversight.

More at link ...
http://networkedblogs.com/TtQ4C

[flamingdem]

1. Good news!

Many tears flowing from those who made out on these poorly administered programs.

[Bacchus4.0]

2. excellent, no reason to be spending tax payer funds on such an inefficient program

given that dinosaur government.

[Judi Lynn]

3. So what will happen to the geniuses who have been on the receiving end

of all this largesse "volunteered" by the US gov't on behalf of the U.S. taxpayers?

What are these programs, anyway?

Wikipedia:

The Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba (FHRC) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization established in 1992 to promote a non-violent transition to a democratic Cuba and works to empower independent civil society organizations within Cuba.[1]

About Us[edit]

FHRC maintains regular contact with human rights defenders and civic activists who are working for change in Cuba through nonviolent means. Some of these individuals include prisoners of conscience and their families, independent journalists and bloggers, cultural activists, as well as members of independent unions and marginalized sectors. FHRC also maintains initiatives outside of Cuba to promote efforts by Cuban Civil Society within the Island, including fundraising campaigns and raising awareness about conditions on the Island. FHRC feels a profound responsibility to support and empower Cuban Civil Society in its efforts to nonviolently transition to a free and democratic Cuba that has zero tolerance for violations of human rights.[2]

In Cuba[edit]

Under the current regime in Cuba, human rights activists and members of Civil Society are often barred from employment. FHRC has dedicated itself to providing the necessary aid and provisions to human rights activists, civic actors, and political prisoners and their families, in order to support their efforts on the Island. Since its inception, FHRC has sent Cuban Civil Society hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of:

• Communications equipment – Computers, DVD players (and instructional DVDs), cell phones, and other related communication equipment
  
• Support for activism – Training materials, cameras, campaign t-shirts
  
• Provisions – Food, medicine, hygiene products, and clothing
  
• Remittances – Direct cash aid for individual activist and human rights organizations in Cuba/ul]FHRC has also been competitive in the pursuit of United States Government funding that supports Civil Society and human rights in Cuba. FHRC successfully managed several grants with USAID recipients including a cash grant and an in-kind grant in excess of $175,000. These agreements were developed in accordance with FHRC leadership, as well as with leaders in Cuban Civil Society in order to emphasize the need for collaborative action to advance human rights and empower Civil Society.[4]

More:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_for_Human_Rights_in_Cuba

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Written on March 24, 2011 at 7:43 am by admin
$600,000 in hurricane funds used for Cuba program

The U.S. Agency for International Development gave a Virginia company $600,000 in hurricane funds to help carry out a program aimed at boosting Cuba’s civil society, USASpending.gov records show.

International Relief & Development, or IRD, received a total of $3,096,978 in USAID funds in 2008 and 2009, records show. USAID gave the company the $600,000 in hurricane funds on Sept. 24, 2008 (see enlarged timeline).

The Arlington, Va., company works in more than 40 countries, but does not mention any Cuba work on its website.

Company officials have made public meetings they have with Bisa Williams, the State Department’s former coordinator of Cuban Affairs, and staffers of Sen. Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat and outspoken critic of the Cuban government.

http://cubamoneyproject.org/?p=1270

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The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) is an organization created by the United States government by way of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) to channel grants for furthering democracy in developing nations. It was founded in 1983, shortly after the U.S. Congress created the National Endowment for Democracy.[1] Taxpayer funding is provided by the Federal Government, both directly from the United States Agency for International Development and the Department of State and indirectly through the National Endowment for Democracy. Additional funds are raised through voluntary donations from foreign governments, multilateral institutions, and private foundations.[2] It is headquartered in Washington, D.C.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Democratic_Institute_for_International_Affairs

(The founder was Ronald Reagan's Sec. of State, Madeleine Albright.)

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The Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) is a non-governmental and non-political organization created in 1962 by the Organization of American States (OAS), the public sector and the private sector to focus on issues of pressing concern in the Western Hemisphere. PADF, a non-profit organization, has worked in every country in the region. In 2009, its programs reached more than 10 million people in 22 countries. PADF aims to bring together stakeholders to create sustainable economic development, strengthen civil society and respond to natural disasters for the most-disadvantaged people in Latin America and the Caribbean.[1]

PADF is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization in the United States. It receives donations from individuals, corporations, multilateral organizations (such as the World Bank, the UN, the Inter-American Development Bank, among others) and governments. It is audited each year and the statement is published in its Annual Report. PADF, which also works to support the principles of the Inter-American Democratic Charter,[2] is an independent affiliate of the OAS.[3]

~snip~
US State Department funding[edit]

In 2010 documents released under the US Freedom of Information Act showed at least $4m in US State Department funding to PADF from 2007 to 2009, of which at least $700,000 was to be distributed to Venezuelan NGOs and journalists. At least in the case of Venezuela (the only documents released so far), the State Department waived the usual requirement that publications acknowledge the support given. Most names involved remain secret, but the Venezuelan NGOs Espacio Público and Instituto Prensa y Sociedad are known to have received "subgrants".[9]

More:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_American_Development_Foundation

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Looks as if they are removing some of the parasites, at least.

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