1、Congressional Research Service The Library of CongressCRS Report for CongressReceived through the CRS WebOrder Code RS22032Updated June 7, 2006Foreign Aid: Understanding Data Used toCompare Donorsname redactedSpecialist in Foreign AffairsForeign Affairs, Defense, and Trade DivisionSummaryThere are v
2、arious views on how to total U.S. spending on foreign aid and how U.S.transfers compare with those from other major donors. For the United States, the sizeof the foreign aid budget is frequently measured in terms of annual appropriationsapproved for international assistance programs. In comparing th
3、e United States withother international aid donors, the most common source of information is theDevelopment Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organization for EconomicCooperation and Development (OECD). There are significant scope andmethodological differences, however, between U.S. appropriations f
4、igures and thoseused by the DAC. This report explains those differences and discusses other issuesrelated to the debate over how much wealthy countries contribute to internationaldevelopment and what share U.S. resources represent.The humanitarian tragedy caused by the Indian Ocean tsunami in late 2