Agricultural Economics, Department of
Cornhusker Economics
Date of this Version
6-11-2025
Document Type
Newsletter Issue
Citation
Cornhusker Economics (June 11, 2025)
Agricultural Economics, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Abstract
According to a recent poll, United States adults think on average that about 26 percent of the federal government’s budget goes to foreign aid with some believing that more than half is put to that use. Public opinion surveys have returned similar results for many years with most respondents seeming to believe that this is far too generous often suggesting that something on the order of 5 percent of federal spending would be more appropriate. In fact, until recent efforts to eliminate foreign aid altogether, the actual amounts spent have represented one percent or less of the federal budget. The elimination of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and severe reductions in the spending of humanitarian and development funds appropriated by the U.S. Congress are of questionable legality and with unresolved legal challenges still in the works it is not clear precisely how the U.S. role in foreign assistance will evolve in the future. In that context, some factual information about foreign aid may be of use.