Foreign Aid, U.S. Goods Linked

WASHINGTON —  The House voted overwhelmingly Thursday to require other nations to use a greater share of their U.S. foreign aid dollars to buy American goods and to ship those purchases on U.S. vessels.

By a 350-66 vote, the House approved the requirement as an amendment to the pending foreign aid bill.

The amendment exempts Israel, the largest recipient of U.S. aid, and small countries getting less than $10 million in annual aid. It also exempts purchases of agricultural produce from shipment on U.S. vessels and gives the President authority to waive the requirement when necessary.

Rep. Robert G. Torricelli (D-N.J.), the amendment’s sponsor, said his aim is to make foreign aid more popular with American taxpayers by using the funds to benefit U.S. farmers and manufacturers.

The measure would cover $2.3 billion in cash transferred annually by the United States to 25 countries and would affect such nations as the Philippines and Egypt. A similar measure is pending in the Senate.

“It is not fair to struggling farmers that their money be spent to buy Argentine wheat,” Torricelli said. “It is not fair to struggling manufacturers that their tax dollars be used to buy German machine tools abroad.”