The Democrats Great New Idea on Foreign Aid

Since the end of World War II, the United States government has dispensed multi-trillions of dollars in foreign aid to nations all over the world. The Marshall Plan immediately comes to mind and was of great importance in rebuilding war-torn Europe after that war. It won the Nobel Peace prize for Gen. George C. Marshall who served as Secretary of State and fathered that great idea. American foreign aid has continued and currently supports approximately one hundred seventy-five countries.

Senator Chris Van Hollen (D- MD) was quoted in American Pravda (New York TImes) after the defeat of a resolution to limit foreign aid to Israel, a strong American ally, as follows."It is our responsibility to ensure recipients of U.S. taxpayer dollars act in line with our laws and our values". Indeed, Senator Van Hollen is not wrong. American taxpayer dollars should support nations who act in line with our laws and values and I would add, also suport the United States in various international forums such as the United Nations. Regrettably, that is far from the case.

Let's take a look at some of the recipients of American foreign aid and also see how Freedom House classifies these nations on its widely recognized freedom scale. The list does not include all nations receiving foreign aid but nevertheless, I believe Senator Van Hollen's point has been made.

Country Approximate US Foreign Aid Freedom Status

in millions of US$ Fiscal Year 2025

Algeria 3 Not Free

Angola 55 Not Free

Armenia 37 Partly Free

Azerbaijan 5 Not Free

Bangladesh 319 Partly Free

Benin 288 Partly Free

Burkina Faso 190 Not Free

Burundi 83 Not Free

Cambodia 76 Not Free

Cameroon 106 Not Free

Central African Rep. 18 Not Free

Chad 73 Not Free

Cuba 9 Not Free

Cote d'Ivoire 220 Partly Free

Dem Rep of Congo 452 Not Free

Dominican Rep 56 Partly Free

Djibouti 14 Not Free

Egypt 223 Not Free

El Salvador 139 Partly Free

Eswatini 41 Not Free

Ethiopia 852 Not Free

Gabon 9 Not Free

Georgia 100 Partly Free

Guinea 63 Not Free

Kazakhstan 16 Not Free

Laos 74 Not Free

Lebanon 500 Partly Free

Libya 11 Not Free

Mali 136 Not Free

Myanmar 79 Not Free

Pakistan 196 Partly Free

Rwanda 207 Not Free

Somalia 212 Not Free

South Sudan 274 Not Free

Sudan 548 Not Free

Syria 173 Not Free

Tajikstan 35 Not Free

Tanzania 415 Not Free

Uganda 455 Not Free

Uzbekistan 20 Not Free

VietNam 233 Not Free

Yemen 54 Not Free

Zimbabwe 140 Not Free

For readers not familiarwith Freedom House, it was founded in 1941 by, among others, Wendell Wilkie, Eleanor Roosevelt and Fiorello LaGuardia. It is highly respected and it speaks for freedom and democracy worldwide.It publishes annual reports on freedom in the world and is considered to be both authoritative and honest in its evaluations.

The above list is selected and not complete. It does not list countries classified as free who may have received aid from the United States and it omits non-free nations who received insignificant amounts of aid. However, the list itself stands as evidence that many nations which have little in common with our values receive significant funds from the United States. Many, additionally, routinely oppose the US and democratic values in the UN and other international organizations.

As we approach the upcoming November 3 mid-term elections, polls are finding that a

major victory for the Democrats will occur, perhaps even on the scale of 1958. In any event, if the Democrats take the House and Senate, they will organize those chambers and chair all of the

committees. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) will chair the House Foreign Relations Committee and Chris Coons (D-DE) is in line to chair the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. They will have great power to show where they really stand on foreign aid and its relation to American ideals and values. Senator Van Hollen has called on recipients of American aid to reflect our values. The Democrat majority must stand for that. The above list would be a good starting point for demanding adherence to our values, particularly freedom and democracy. Many nations on that list are far from meeting such standards. How much foreign aid from our stretched budget is ending up in foreign bank accounts is a serious question. The expected incoming Democrat majority must demand that the American taxpayer get their money's worth or else they will face the voter's wrath in 2028. Can they follow Sen. Van Hollen's call? They must.

Garry S. Sklar

Las Vegas, NV

September 29, 2026