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www.results.org / Global Action
December 2012
Write to Congress: Protect Foreign Aid Funding in 2013 and Beyond
“We all know that Congress faces tough choices. However, the Department of State and USAID make up one percent of the entire federal budget; even the most drastic cuts to this essential investment in our national security barely would make a dent in our deficit…When famine threatens the lives of millions or adversaries need an honest broker or fundamental freedoms need a champion, people turn to America. We are an unparalleled force for peace and progress. Maintaining our leadership takes resolve, and it takes resources.”
— Letter from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to Senator John Kerry, October 4, 2011
With Congress now back in Washington after the election and Thanksgiving break, their attention is focused on deficit reduction and avoiding the so-called fiscal cliff. Over the next few weeks, Congress must tackle a set of key fiscal issues: the expiration of the Bush tax cuts, raising the debt ceiling, the looming threat of sequestration (i.e. across-the-board funding cuts), and finalizing the fiscal year 2013 appropriations bills.
It is not yet clear exactly how Congress and the Administration might address these various challenges. But as they try to craft a long-term “grand bargain” on deficit reduction, the future of the U.S. International Affairs budget is at stake and your voice is needed to protect poverty-focused foreign aid.
The International Affairs account funds key programs that RESULTS volunteers have long advocated for, including global health, basic education, and microfinance programs. International Affairs makes up just 1.4 percent of the U.S. federal budget, and critical poverty-focused foreign aid programs within this account make up even less than one percent. While disproportionate cuts to International Affairs will not contribute to meaningful deficit reduction, these cuts affect lifesaving programs like AIDS and tuberculosis treatment and diminish U.S. global leadership and moral standing. All cuts are not the same. We need a balanced approach to our fiscal issues, not proposals that abandon those living in poverty around the world.
Congress is working now to negotiate these fiscal agreements, and it is imperative that members hear from constituents. Write letters to your members of Congress now and ask them to protect the critical poverty-focused programs and the overall International Affairs budget in any deficit reduction deal.
Sample Letter to Your Member of Congress
Instructions: Find your representative’s address here: http://capwiz.com/results/dbq/officials/. For greater impact, also call your member of Congress’s office in DC and ask to speak with the foreign affairs aide about protecting the poverty focused programs in the budget negotiations.
Engage / There is no doubt that the U.S. faces real fiscal challenges. However, those most at risk during this “fiscal cliff” stand-off are people living in poverty around the world. The U.S. must protect the programs that protect the most vulnerable people among us.Problem / The International Affairs account makes up just 1.4 percent of the United States federal budget, but provides life-saving assistance to millions of people in the developing world and bolsters U.S. national security and economic prosperity. Over the last two years, the International Affairs account has already been cut by 15 percent. Sequestration or additional disproportionate cuts will put lives and futures of the poorest at risk.
Inform about the solution / Instead, please include additional tax revenue, balanced with responsible spending cuts, so that our country can reduce its deficits while investing in ending poverty in the United States and around the world.
Call to action! / As Congress works to address the impending fiscal cliff, I urge you to protect poverty-focused foreign aid programs in any proposed legislation that addresses the budget and to oppose deep and disproportionate cuts to the International Affairs budget. Additionally, should the FY2013 budget be included in these negotiations, I urge you to support the Senate’s funding levels for the International Affairs budget as they better address funding needs.
The International Affairs Account: Why is it Critical?
The International Affairs account supports a broad range of global programs. All U.S. foreign aid – including support for global health, basic education, and microfinance – is funded through the International Affairs account. In addition to core foreign assistance programs, the account supports the Peace Corps, efforts to fight climate change, overseas embassy and consular functions, contributions to multilateral organizations like UNICEF and the World Health Organization, and many other investments that facilitates United States’ engagement around the world.
Each year, United States foreign assistance allows millions of people around the world to live healthier and more stable lives:
· In 2011, the U.S. provided antiretroviral treatment for 3.9 million people, resulting in 200,00 HIV-free births and millions of productive lives.
· U.S. investments in improved sanitation and water prevent at least 860,000 child deaths per year.
· U.S. microfinance programs provided approximately 3 million people with the financial means to start or grow a business and lift themselves out of poverty in 2011.
The International Affairs budget also contributes to U.S. economic growth and boosts our national security:
· U.S. exports to developing countries have grown six times faster than exports to major economies, making developing nations the future of U.S. trade.
· For every five percent decline in income growth in a developing country, the likelihood of violent conflict or war within the next year increases by 10 percent.
Background on the National Deficit and Debt
It is clear that the U.S. faces real fiscal challenges. The federal budget deficit in 2011 was $1.3 trillion, which has helped to create a federal debt — the accumulated annual federal budget deficits over our country’s history — of approximately $14.8 trillion.
While deficits really began to skyrocket in the 1980s when taxes were cut and military spending went up, the last decade has seen the problem at its worst. Before 2001, the U.S. government was running an annual surplus. However, that year, Congress passed major tax cuts, with most of the benefits going to higher income earners. Since then, the deficit has continued to grow. TheCenter on Budget and Policy Prioritiesreports that the tax cuts and war spending will account for almost half of the public debt over the next decade. Instead of dealing with those causes, leaders in Washington are seeking disproportionate cuts to programs that help those living in poverty in the U.S. and around the world.
What is Sequestration?
Passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama in August 2011, the Budget Control Act (BCA) includes a process to reduce the U.S. deficits by $2.1 trillion over the next 10 years. As part of this process, the BCA established a bipartisan committee of 12 senators to come up with at least $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction. After weeks of meetings in the fall of 2011, the committee disbanded without an agreement. Instead, under the BCA, a series of across-the-board cuts known as “sequestration” will begin starting in January 2013. Unless Congress acts, we will see cuts of approximately 8.2 percent to non-defense discretionary programs at the start of the year, including to the International Affairs account. This would mean:
· 276,500 fewer people would receive treatment for HIV/AIDS, potentially leading to 63,000 more AIDS-related deaths.
· 1.3 million fewer vaccines would be delivered to children, resulting in 14,000 more deaths from diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, Hib, and hepatitis B.
· 656,000 fewer children annually will have access to a quality primary school education.