President Bush has announced that the United States will increase its contribution to tsunami-related relief and recovery efforts from $350 million to $950 million, making it the largest single disaster-related pledge in the nation's history, the New York Times reports.

The additional $600 million puts the United States — criticized initially as reacting too stingily to the disaster — atop the list of donor countries to the relief effort, ahead of Australia, which has pledged $750 million, and Germany, which has pledged $680 million. A significant portion of the new funds will be dedicated to the construction of roads, schools, and water distribution systems. Because both India and Thailand have indicated they will not accept disaster relief funds from other governments, Indonesia and Sri Lanka will be the major recipients of the new aid.

Explaining the size of the increase, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul D. Wolfowitz said, "Having achieved an enormous humanitarian success, we have a very large stake in making sure that this success does not go to waste."

In making the announcement, President Bush singled out his father, former President George H. W. Bush, and former President Bill Clinton for their efforts in raising private donations. Americans have given $700 million of the nearly $6 billion in aid that has been donated or pledged by public and private sources since the tsunami struck nearly two months ago.