WORLD BRIDGE BLOG

The Senate Budget Committee recently refused to support increases requested by President Obama for next year’s Foreign Aid account. The Committee cut $4 billion from the $58.5 billion proposed . These cuts happened despite increasing recognition that the civilian agencies responsible for diplomacy, development and humanitarian aid are grossly underfunded.

Secretary of Defense, Bill Gates, has frequently stated that increased human and financial resources were needed for the other two legs of the three-legged stool of national security, diplomacy and development.  Gates’ budget for the Defense Department for fiscal year 2011 sought $708 billion, a 7.7 percent increase from FY 2010. The Senate Budget Committee approved that amount – without any cuts.

The U.S. international affairs budget  is only 1.4 percent of the total US budget,  yet the Budget Committee cut the amount requested by  13 percent  which unfortunately  means that there will be less funding for development, diplomacy and humanitarian assistance than these programs received for  this year.  Refugees International is concerned that these cuts could fall heavily on the humanitarian programs contained in the budget, which respond to the needs of some of the world’s poorest and most disadvantaged people, including the world’s more than 14 million refugees and 26 million people internally displaced by war and conflict, as well as the victims of natural disasters like earthquakes, hurricanes and tsunamis.   The President had sought small increases for these programs , $90 million, to bring the total to  $4.2 billion – but  instead of small increases, these programs now face cuts that could literally take food, water and medical care from those most in need.

US humanitarian funding is an important component of U.S. policy and global leadership.  The programs are well known: USAID’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance,   the Food for Peace and programs within the Department of Agriculture, USAID’s Complex Crisis Fund and the Migration and Refugee Account and Emergency Migration Account of State Department’s Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration have proven track records in delivering effective aid to those most in need. Over the years Congress has been supportive of these lifesaving and hope engendering efforts. But unless the rest of the Senate overturns these disastrous cuts made by the Budget Committee, humanitarian programs could face severe shortfalls that will hurt tens of thousands of those in need of protection and assistance.  Surely this small budget for life saving assistance is not the place to cut.  Those who benefit from U.S. foreign assistance cannot walk the halls of Congress or rely on lobbyists. They depend on the decency and moral beliefs of the American public.  Help us make their voices heard as the Congress debates our budget.