Want to know where YOUR money's going?

If you're anything like me, I'm sure you would be angered to see exactly where billions of our tax dollars are being spent.

The Department of State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2008 (H.R.2764) has been passed by the US House of Representatives, sent through Senate Committee and is now being reported in the Senate where it will soon come to the floor for a vote.

While I am certain someone has what they consider to be good reasons for these expenditures, I fail to see how many of them are in the best interest of the American people when our nation is on the verge of economic collapse.

Here are just a few examples:

• For a grant to the Asia Foundation, as authorized by the Asia Foundation Act $16,000,000 (The Asia Foundation is a private, nonprofit, nongovernmental organization under the section 501 (C) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code that "collaborates with partners from the public and private sectors to build leadership, improve policy and regulation, and strengthen institutions to foster greater openness and shared prosperity in the Asia Pacific region.)

• For expenses necessary to enable the Broadcasting Board of Governors, as authorized, to carry out international communication activities, including the purchase, rent, construction, and improvement of facilities for radio and television transmission and reception and purchase, lease, and installation and operation of necessary equipment, including aircraft, for radio and television transmission and reception to Cuba, and to make and supervise grants for radio and television broadcasting to the Middle East, $662,727,000.

• For necessary expenses of the United States Institute of Peace as authorized in the United States Institute of Peace Act, $25,000,000. (The United States Institute of Peace is an independent, nonpartisan, national institution established and funded by Congress. Its goals are to help prevent and resolve violent conflicts, promote post-conflict stability and development, and increase peacebuilding capacity, tools, and intellectual capital worldwide.)

• For necessary expenses to carry out the provisions of chapters 1 and 10 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, for global health activities, in addition to funds otherwise available for such purposes, $6,531,425,000. (Keeping in mind this appropriation is under the Foreign Assistance Act, this amount shall be made available for such activities as: (1) child survival programs; (2) immunization and oral rehydration programs; (3) other health, nutrition, water and sanitation programs which directly address the needs of mothers and children, and related education programs; (4) assistance for children displaced or orphaned by causes other than AIDS; (5) programs for the prevention, treatment, control of, and research on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, polio, malaria, and other infectious diseases, and for assistance to communities severely affected by HIV/AIDS, including children displaced or orphaned by AIDS; and (6) family planning/reproductive health)

• For necessary expenses to carry out the provisions of section 491 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 for international disaster relief, rehabilitation, and reconstruction assistance, $322,350,000, to remain available until expended, of which $20,000,000 should be for famine prevention and relief.

• For necessary expenses to carry out the provisions of chapter 4 of part II of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, $3,015,000,000. (This is listed as the Economic Support Fund, you've got to read the full text to fully appreciate it. Funds going to preserve wildlife in Lebabon, scholarships in Egypt, etc.

• For necessary expenses to carry out the provisions of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Support for East European Democracy (SEED) Act of 1989, $294,568,000.

• For necessary expenses to carry out the provisions of chapters 11 and 12 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the FREEDOM Support Act, for assistance for the Independent States of the former Soviet Union and for related programs, $401,885,000.

• For necessary expenses to carry out the provisions of the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003, $1,200,000,000. (The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is a United States Government corporation designed to work with some of the poorest countries in the world. Established in January 2004, MCC is based on the principle that aid is most effective when it reinforces good governance, economic freedom and investments in people.)

• To support counterdrug, economic and social development, rule of law, and other activities in the Andean region of South America, $415,050,000

• International Military Education and Assistance, $85,877,000. (That funds appropriated under this heading that are made available for assistance for Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Libya, and Nepal may be made available only for expanded international military education and training.)

• For the United States contribution for the Global Environment Facility, $106,763,000 to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development as trustee for the Global Environment Facility (GEF), by the Secretary of the Treasury. (GEF is an independent financial organization that provides grants to developing countries for projects that benefit the global environment and promote sustainable livelihoods in local communities.)

• For payment to the International Development Association by the Secretary of the Treasury, $1,000,000,000. (The International Development Association (IDA) is the part of the World Bank that helps the world’s poorest countries. Established in 1960, IDA aims to reduce poverty by providing interest-free loans and grants for programs that boost economic growth, reduce inequalities and improve people’s living conditions.)

• Up to $13,500,000 of the funds made available by this Act for assistance under the heading `Global Health Programs', may be used to reimburse United States Government agencies, agencies of State governments, institutions of higher learning, and private and voluntary organizations for the full cost of individuals (including for the personal services of such individuals) detailed or assigned to, or contracted by, as the case may be, the United States Agency for International Development for the purpose of carrying out activities under that heading.

• Of the funds appropriated by this Act, up to $1,057,050,000 may be made available for assistance for Afghanistan, of which not less than $75,000,000 should be made available to support programs that directly address the needs of Afghan women and girls, of which not less than $12,000,000 shall be made available for grants to support training and equipment to improve the capacity of women-led Afghan nongovernmental organizations and to support the activities of such organizations, and not less than $3,000,000 should be made available for reforestation activities.

And then we have the following:

• For necessary expenses of the Department of State and the Foreign Service not otherwise provided for, including employment, without regard to civil service and classification laws, of persons on a temporary basis, representation to certain international organizations in which the United States participates pursuant to treaties ratified pursuant to the advice and consent of the Senate or specific Acts of Congress; arms control, nonproliferation and disarmament activities as authorized; acquisition by exchange or purchase of passenger motor vehicles as authorized by law; and for expenses of general administration, $3,885,375,000.

And here are some of the things otherwise provided for:

• For necessary expenses of the Office of Inspector General, $35,508,000. (OIG inspects each of the approximately 260 embassies, diplomatic posts, and international broadcasting installations throughout the world, to determine whether policy goals are being achieved and whether the interests of the United States are being represented and advanced effectively.)

• For expenses of educational and cultural exchange programs, as authorized, $509,482,000.

• For expenses, not otherwise provided for, necessary to meet annual obligations of membership in international multilateral organizations, pursuant to treaties ratified pursuant to the advice and consent of the Senate, conventions or specific Acts of Congress, $1,374,400,000. (Such as the United Nations)

• For necessary expenses to pay assessed and other expenses of international peacekeeping activities directed to the maintenance or restoration of international peace and security, $1,352,000,000.

Oh and here's an interesting tidbit included in this appropriations bill:

International Boundary and Water Commission, United States and Mexico

• For salaries and expenses, not otherwise provided for, $30,430,000

• For detailed plan preparation and construction of authorized projects, $88,425,000

The appropriations listed here barely scratch the surface of federal spending. Read the full Department of State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2008 (H.R.2764) here. This act alone contains billions more and doesn't even begin to address domestic issues. Can we really afford to continue giving away so much money?