01 February 2010

2011 U.S. Budget Would Increase Security and Development Aid

In the proposed 2011 budget, the State Department seeks to expand a new global health initiative.

By Stephen Kaufman
Staff Writer

Washington — When President Obama foreshadowed his budget priorities for the 2011 fiscal year, he stressed the importance of U.S. domestic concerns such as job creation, but he also said there would not be cuts to national security programs. The $52.8 billion budget request for the State Department unveiled February 1 reflects a $4.6 billion increase from fiscal year 2010 levels, with an emphasis on ongoing programs in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq, as well as global development programs to provide humanitarian, health and economic assistance around the world.

In a February 1 budget request to the U.S. Congress, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the total request “breaks down to $16.4 billion for State [Department] operations and $36.4 billion for foreign assistance.”

The Obama administration’s total proposed budget for fiscal year 2011, which begins October 1, reflecting spending for the domestic economy, defense operations, and all other programs, including the State Department, comes to just more than $3.8 trillion.

For the State Department, “the majority of our proposed increase is dedicated to the critical front-line states of Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, which demand significant and costly attention,” Clinton said.

In Iraq, the U.S. mission is shifting from a military effort run by the Defense Department to civilian-run programs overseen by State and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Clinton said. Likewise, Afghanistan and Pakistan are seeing an increase in civilian personnel. In all three countries, Clinton asked for the budget to fund the strengthening of democratic institutions and rule of law, as well as development and infrastructure projects. These efforts, along with improving the quality of life, are also designed to combat the despair that can lead to violent extremism.

The second tier of State Department priorities is to meet global challenges such as disasters, poverty, disease and the effects of climate change.

Clinton said the State Department budget request “does not include additional funding that will be required to address the devastating impact of the earthquake in Haiti,” whose long-term requirements are still being assessed.

Clinton proposed targeted investments in food security, democracy promotion and health, including an expansion of the president’s global health initiative, which addresses challenges such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, maternal and child health and tuberculosis.

Rather than deliver aid services exclusively on its own, she said, the United States “will help countries build their own capacity to deliver services through strong, transparent, accountable institutions.”

The empowerment of women stands at the core of these efforts, she said. “Women are critical to advancing social, economic and political progress. They are also a terrific return on investment: numerous studies have shown that when women receive schooling or the boost of a small loan, they flourish, their children flourish and so does the greater community.”

Deputy Secretary of State Jacob Lew told reporters February 1 that, overall, the proposed budget has remained the same in many areas and has seen reductions in some sections.

“The reality is that international spending has been underfunded for so long that holding the line is in and of itself … a difficult thing to do,” he said. “I think the real story is that from our perspective, we’ve targeted the investment increases in very strategic areas.”

Along with the increases directed to Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, “we’ve targeted toward the initiatives which we think are key to … restoring the United States’ role in the world so we can play the kind of constructive leadership role that the president has articulated, and to rebuilding our core capacity.”

Where there have been reductions, such as in counternarcotics operations like the Merida Initiative in Mexico and Central America, as well as Plan Colombia, which helps that nation fight narcotics trafficking and promotes development, “the reason the number’s coming down is that things are better,” Lew said.

Both programs, he said, have graduated from a stage where more funding was needed to purchase heavy equipment.

“We’ve just completed the purchase of helicopters in Mexico. All the helicopters have been paid for. They’re being delivered. We’re now moving to a different stage of the program. Merida II is a program that’s designed to get at what people do, as opposed to what they use to do the job,” he said. “We’re at a similar point in Plan Colombia.”

Lew said the proposed increase for the global health initiative will help connect various U.S. health programs such as the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), maternal and child health care and malaria treatment and prevention. The goal is to build a sustainable health care infrastructure, Lew said.

“We’re focusing on connecting the programs, so if a woman comes in to a … clinic that is there because of PEPFAR funding, we can also provide maternal care and care to a newborn child,” he said. With broader staff training and health facilities that can be used for multiple purposes, Lew projected that approximately 300,000 pregnancy-related deaths and 3 million early childhood deaths can be prevented.

“This is a whole different way of doing business,” Lew said. “We see it as a way to both extend the lifesaving and disease reduction capacity of our federal assistance but also to leave behind a much more stable system.”