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AFSA: Foreign Affairs Funding Crisis
By Marshall P. Adair
August 11, 2000
As we pass the second anniversary of the east African embassy bombings and move into both the campaign and budget seasons, AFSA would like to ask once again for your help in alerting the public and our elected representatives to the growing crisis in foreign affairs funding. [See William C. Harrop's The Infrastructure of American Diplomacy elsewhere in this issue of the Journal. —Ed.]
While the foreign affairs funding process is not over, we can already see serious problems if the Congressional levels are not increased this year. For FY2001 which begins on October 1, 2000, the Administration requested $22.8 billion for the foreign affairs account. The House passed bills that would provide $20.3 billion, and the Senate bills would come to $20.7 billion. It is not just the total levels that present the problem, but where reductions from the request would be made. There are major cuts being proposed in our contributions to international peacekeeping, assistance to the nations of the former Soviet Union, non-proliferation, anti-terrorism and demining funds, and the Senate Appropriations Committee would reduce funding for embassy security by $420 million or by about 40 percent. While sufficient funding does not guarantee a sound foreign policy, there can be no sound foreign policy without sufficient funding.
We believe the foreign affairs budget must be substantially increased. The important thing is to educate the public, get people involved, and urge them to communicate with their Senators and Representatives.
If I may be of assistance to you or your readers in this endeavor, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Marshall P. Adair
Washington, DC
Email: adair@afsa.org
The writer is president of the American Foreign Service Association. —Ed.