WASHINGTON – A senior Democratic senator and the State Department have resolved their dispute over U.S. aid to a program that promotes democracy in communist Cuba, clearing the way for the Obama administration to spend $20 million in assistance.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who had placed a hold on the money, said Tuesday that the department provided answers about oversight of the program and he had stopped blocking the funds. Established in 1996, the program promotes human rights and basic freedoms in the Castro-led nation, but it has come under question amid reports of grantees misusing money and little U.S. scrutiny.
“The United States has a strong interest in helping the Cuban people improve their lives and protect their rights. We also have a responsibility to know how U.S. taxpayer dollars are used and whether programs are effective,” Leahy said in a statement. “For too long this program has been carried out in ways that have been neither transparent nor accountable, and with no way to measure results. That needs to change, and getting answers about the way these funds are spent is a constructive first step.”
Leahy, who is chairman of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on State Department and Foreign Operations, has
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