The United States has provided Pakistan with at least $11 million in aid since 2001. As a result of continued problems in the region, U.S. officials have begun to examine ways to provide aid to Pakistan more effectively. One bipartisan effort, the Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act of 2008, introduced in the Senate this past summer aims to set a framework for revamping not only development assistance but also the nature of the U.S.-Pakistan relationship.
Introduced by: Senators Joseph Biden (D-DE) and Richard Lugar (R-IN)
Additional cosponsors: Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Thomas Carper (D-DE), Robert Casey (D-PA), Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Christopher Dodd (D-CT), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Chuck Hagel (R-NE), John Kerry (D-MA), Barack Obama (D-IL), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
Status: Introduced July 15, 2008; referred to Committee on Foreign Relations July 29, 2008, passed unanimously without amendment; placed on Senate legislative calendar
Purpose: “To authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2009 through 2013 to promote an enhanced strategic partnership with Pakistan and its people, and for other purposes.”
Non-military aid
Funding levels: The bill authorizes annual appropriations up to $1.5 billion in non-military assistance for fiscal years 2009- 2013 and encourages annual authorization of appropriations up to $1.5 billion for fiscal years 2014-2018 on the condition of an improvement in the political and economic environment. These figures more than triple the current level of U.S. non-military aid.
Uses: The funds should be directed towards projects that support the Pakistani people, strengthen democratic institutions, promote economic freedoms and encourage investment in the agriculture, education and infrastructure sectors.
Additional notable provisions:
1) Aims to build local capacity by encouraging the enlistment of Pakistani companies in making use of the funds;
2) Allows seven percent of the funds to be used for budgetary purposes, including administrative expenses and U.S. audits;
3) Encourages a larger portion of the funds to be directed towards education, healthcare and other sectors as the Pakistani government outlined in the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper; and
4) Promotes the use of aid to the utmost extent as direct expenditure on projects and programs
Oversight: The president must submit an annual report to designated congressional committees to include expenditures, intended purposes, recipients of funds and other provisions.
Security-related aid
Funding levels: The bill does not specify the amount of military aid; rather, the legislation allows for this assistance to be determined on an annual basis of need and cooperation.
Limitations: The act sets out conditions for certain types of U.S. government military assistance in the future. The Secretary of State must provide certification, after consultation with the Director of National Intelligence and the Secretary of Defense, that Pakistani security forces have demonstrated efforts to:
• Stop Al Qaeda and related terrorist groups from operating within Pakistan’s borders;
• Prevent the Taliban from using Pakistani territory as a base for attacking Afghanistan; and
• Refrain from meddling in Pakistani political or judicial processes.
The Secretary of State can waive the limitations without providing certification of the abovementioned efforts if it is determined to be in U.S. national interests.
Coalition Support Funds (CSF): Starting in 2001, the United States created these funds to reimburse countries for costs incurred in support of U.S. military operations. Pakistan has received 81 percent of overall CSF as of May 2008. The bill acknowledges the importance of these funds and calls for greater Defense Department oversight for Pakistani claims consistent with the findings of a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report from June 2008. The GAO report found that additional accountability is needed to ensure the accuracy of Pakistani claims, which have not been verified thus far.
Joint Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy
The legislation calls on the Secretary of State, in consultation with other U.S. agencies, to develop a counterterrorism and counterinsurgency strategy along the Pakistani-Afghani border. This approach must include a plan to work with governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan, NATO and other U.S. allies. This provision also requires the Secretary of State to present Congress by June 1, 2009, a comprehensive strategy for combating insurgents in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas.