Lawmakers want State Department to rethink Cuba aid program’s shift to private contractors

more images

more images

US funding of Cuba democracy work draws scrutiny

MIAMI — Lawmakers in Washington are pushing the White House to take another look at a Bush-era shift in U.S. aid for Cuba to private contractors instead of nonprofit groups.

Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts and Rep. Howard Berman of California temporarily blocked the renewal of about $45 million in aid last month. The two Democrats want the Obama administration and the State Department to answer their concerns about fraud and mismanagement in the program.

Cuba has made some gains in terms of access to cell phones and the Internet. But critics of the U.S. aid policy say that would have happened even without the money being sent through contractors.