Clinton, Gates, and Bono Aim to Restore $4 Billion Cut in International Affairs

What do Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, all eight former secretaries of State, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, 51 military leaders and Bono have in common?While it sounds like the makings of a really good joke, the answer is less funny.  These champions of smart U.S. global engagement are calling for full funding of President Obama’s $58.5 billion international affairs budget request.  But they are going to need to make their calls even louder following Senate Budget Chairman Kent Conrad’s $4 billion cut to the international affairs request – the only cut in discretionary spending for FY2011. (A cut predicted by my colleague Sarah Jane Staats when the budget came out with modest foreign operations increases and a domestic discretionary spending freeze.)Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman John Kerry spoke of the budget cuts at a recent hearing on global food security:

This hearing comes at a moment when our International Affairs Budget is once again being challenged. Even in a tough budget environment, short-changing programs like these will deliver little budget relief at enormous cost to our global efforts, including food security. I am committed to protecting these vital programs.

Meanwhile, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed the first State Department authorization bill in five years, with strong bipartisan support, highlighting the necessity of our foreign affairs programs while seeking to make them more efficient and effective.Senator Conrad said the $4 billion cut does not affect “increased funding for efforts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as our efforts for the Middle East peace process…the president’s other new initiatives will have to compete for funding within the rest of the international budget.”According to ONE’s FY2011 budget analysis, Senator Conrad’s words are worryingly true.  Foreign operations received a $5.2 billion increase for FY2011, $3.16 billion of which is designated for “frontline” states.  This means that the remaining $2.05 billion increase for foreign operations (for other regions and global programs) would be wiped out and a further $2 billion would be plucked from current foreign affairs programs outside of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. This cut to everything but frontline states conflicts with the growing recognition that development and diplomatic engagement in many other parts of the world matters for U.S. security and prosperity.House Foreign Affairs Chairman Howard Berman reacted to the budget resolution with similar sentiments:

This budget outline would slash critical funding to our Foreign Service Officers and development professionals precisely at the time when the President is seeking to stand up our civilian capacity in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq. The notion that this budget would have no impact on our national security funding is simply misleading. As this and the previous administration have made abundantly clear, diplomacy and development are essential components to our national security strategy.

While the $4 billion cut is a setback, this isn’t the final word for the FY2011 international affairs budget.  The budget still has to go through the Senate Appropriations Committee, and as happened last year, an amendment could restore full funding.