Yesterday, at the Humphrey Institute symposium, Richard Fontaine, a foreign policy adviser for John McCain, laid out a snapshot of what foreign aid might look like under a McCain presidency.
Fontaine says that what he’s done in the past gives a good idea of how he will act in the future. McCain:
- Pushed for full funding of the “150 account,” the international affairs budget, which Fontaine says is an expression of U.S. leadership in the world, of our soft power and moral position.
- Cosponsored the $50 billion version of the Pepfar bill and has been a supporter of Pepfar from the beginning.
- Strongly supports the Millennium Challenge Corporation, along with clear benchmarks.
Fontaine went on to say that McCain will be “very aggressive” on aid. He has stated the goal of eradicating malaria from African continent and will continue to try to build on MCC model linking aid to good governance and reform.
He also made the point that our trade, agriculture, and development policies all “don’t point in the right direction,” bringing up the example of Burkina Faso, which, he claims, has a cotton industry that is hindered more by U.S. trade policy than they receive in foreign aid every year.