Stars and Stripes looks at barriers to scaling up foreign aid

Dec 8 2010

Stars and Stripes examines the challenges facing the Obama administration's push for boosting non-military foreign aid: "When President Barack Obama's national security team began campaigning this fall to expand U.S. development and diplomacy, they described a desperate need to help American troops charged with winning wars, hearts and minds in Afghanistan, Iraq and worldwide. But in Washington, foreign policy observers say the civilian cavalry won't be arriving any time soon. Despite the White House pitch, foreign aid historically has few champions in Congress, where staffers closing the year in a contentious lame-duck session say there is little public desire to spend more abroad - and little cash to follow through."

"To ease the military's burden, the Obama administration is calling for more American diplomats, embassies and consulates around the world, help for poor countries and an expanded workforce for" USAID, Stars and Stripes writes, highlighting recent remarks from Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen and excerpts from a recent discussion featuring Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

"Obama requested a $58 billion budget for international affairs spending for fiscal 2011, a modest increase over the $53 billion budget for 2010. ... But lawmakers cut that increase in half, slashing those accounts in bills awaiting final passage," the newspaper writes. "Though the international affairs budget is tiny relative to the $708 billion budgeted for defense, officials say it is crucial to fully fund preparations for the military handoff to civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan. ... Hill staffers say the administration underestimated the tight budget climate," Stars and Stripes adds. 

"The Congress has had to cut tens of billions from the president's budget requests," said Tim Reiser, senior aide to Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the appropriations subcommittee on foreign operations. "Even though the needs exist," Reiser said, "it's hard to make the case for large increases in spending when budget pressures and the mood of the country at this moment run so strongly in the other direction."

"The administration is not giving up," Stars and Stripes adds, noting Clinton's recent essay in Foreign Affairs, in which she urged Congress to "appreciate the scale and scope of the reconstruction and stabilization missions that U.S. civilians are being asked to undertake."

The article also highlights the issues with finding qualified civilian staff, noting the recent Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction report, which found that the State Department and USAID have had to recruit less qualified workers and provide training, which slows down deployments.

Gideon Rose, editor of the journal Foreign Affairs, and Kristin Lord, vice president of the Center for a New American Security, are quoted reacting to the political situation (Baron, 12/6).