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WORLD BRIDGE BLOG
Amendment Restores Foreign Aid to '09 Budget
October 24, 2008 | Jake Kurtzer |
Before Congress adjourned for the Easter recess last week, an extremely important vote took place at 1:02 in the morning on the floor of the Senate. As the full Senate was considering adopting the 2009 Budget Resolution, Senators Biden and Lugar introduced a key amendment.
First, some background: In his annual Budget Request, President Bush asked for a $3.1 billion increase to the international affairs budget, but the Senate Budget Committee cut this budget by $4.1 billion. Had the Budget committee’s resolution passed without amendment, it would have set the stage for the loss of billions in critical international assistance programs in 2009. Senators Biden and Lugar therefore introduced an amendment that added $4 billion to the International Affairs budget, restoring the President’s full Budget request. The Senate passed the amendment overwhelmingly, by a vote of 73-23, demonstrating a clear commitment on the part of the Senate to our foreign aid budgets.
The international affairs account funds the extremely important humanitarian and development work that is a vital part of America’s foreign policy agenda. Our world is increasingly interconnected and we need to work together with other countries to build a better future. As people outside the U.S. gain access to their basic needs--food, water, education and decent jobs--we gain as well. This year has seen a dramatic shift in the dynamic of the foreign affairs community, as more and more senior individuals from the Defense establishment have made impassioned and repeated appeals for an increase in foreign aid spending. Defense Secretary Gates called for an increased financial commitment to foreign assistance and development programs in November, and General Anthony Zinni repeated the message this spring in Congressional testimony.
The budget resolution doesn’t represent a real money allocation, but its importance cannot be overstated. The resolution, and the amendment restoring the full funding of the Foreign Aid account, expresses clearly the will of the Congress to support overseas spending, and signals a commitment to robust funding levels of foreign assistance.
This can be attributed to an aggressive advocacy campaign by a concerted coalition of international non-governmental organizations that impressed upon Members of the House and Senate, and their staff, the vital importance of our overseas spending. It is clear that across the partisan divide, and the policy spectrum, Americans of all backgrounds have come to recognize that foreign assistance is a vital component of our foreign policy toolkit.
--Jake Kurtzer
First, some background: In his annual Budget Request, President Bush asked for a $3.1 billion increase to the international affairs budget, but the Senate Budget Committee cut this budget by $4.1 billion. Had the Budget committee’s resolution passed without amendment, it would have set the stage for the loss of billions in critical international assistance programs in 2009. Senators Biden and Lugar therefore introduced an amendment that added $4 billion to the International Affairs budget, restoring the President’s full Budget request. The Senate passed the amendment overwhelmingly, by a vote of 73-23, demonstrating a clear commitment on the part of the Senate to our foreign aid budgets.
The international affairs account funds the extremely important humanitarian and development work that is a vital part of America’s foreign policy agenda. Our world is increasingly interconnected and we need to work together with other countries to build a better future. As people outside the U.S. gain access to their basic needs--food, water, education and decent jobs--we gain as well. This year has seen a dramatic shift in the dynamic of the foreign affairs community, as more and more senior individuals from the Defense establishment have made impassioned and repeated appeals for an increase in foreign aid spending. Defense Secretary Gates called for an increased financial commitment to foreign assistance and development programs in November, and General Anthony Zinni repeated the message this spring in Congressional testimony.
The budget resolution doesn’t represent a real money allocation, but its importance cannot be overstated. The resolution, and the amendment restoring the full funding of the Foreign Aid account, expresses clearly the will of the Congress to support overseas spending, and signals a commitment to robust funding levels of foreign assistance.
This can be attributed to an aggressive advocacy campaign by a concerted coalition of international non-governmental organizations that impressed upon Members of the House and Senate, and their staff, the vital importance of our overseas spending. It is clear that across the partisan divide, and the policy spectrum, Americans of all backgrounds have come to recognize that foreign assistance is a vital component of our foreign policy toolkit.
--Jake Kurtzer
