The downward trend reversed

The Downward Trend Reversed Our foreign aid appropriation for F.Y. 1971, signed into law last month, increases all categories of our bilateral economic assistance over Est year. This follows upon an increase in F.Y. 1970 over the level Of F.Y. 1969. Thus we are well on our way toward accomplishing one of the basic objectives which I stated in my special message on foreign assistance of September 15, 1970 -to reverse the downward trend in U.S. foreign assistance.

Since I took office, appropriations for bilateral economic aid have risen as follows (in millions of dollars):

FY Development Assistance Supporting Assistance Total Economic Assistance
1969 $878 $385 $1,263
1970 $917 $395 $1,312
1971 $1,049 $570 $1,619

The trend has also been upward in our contributions to the international financial institutions and other multilateral development agencies (in millions of dollars):

  Inter-American Development Bank Asian Developement Bank World Bank UNDP and Others Total
FY Hard Loans Soft Loans   Hard Loans Soft Loans(IDA)    
1969 $206 $300 $20 - $160 $118 $804
1970 $206 $300 $20 - $160 $113 $799
1971 $387 $100 $20 $246 $160 $116 $1,029

Our total economic aid, bilateral and multilateral, has now been restored to a level nearly equivalent to that of the early 1960s. This is a firm foundation for undertaking the effort that is required.