Speaking at the 2013 Council of International Development Companies Conference on Wednesday, Nilmini Rubin, House Foreign Affairs Committee senior adviser for global economic competitiveness, said “the chances of seeing a comprehensive U.S. foreign assistance bill pass through Congress in 2014 [are] ‘close to nothing,'” Devex reports. “Funds for everything are tight. Funds for development are even more tight, because development benefits people who don’t vote,” she said, adding, “Things are moving in different ways on foreign assistance. It’s just unlikely you’re going to see a foreign assistance bill move through Congress. We’re not even getting ‘must-pass’ bills through,” the news service writes. “She noted that despite the gridlock on Capitol Hill, aid-related legislation is moving through Congress,” Devex adds (Igoe, 12/5).