The budget for International Affairs � more than a five percent increase over last year � supports the President�s policy of "shaping a balance of power that favors freedom." It puts dollars toward specific priorities that directly support U.S. interests and toward clear initiatives that sustain and strengthen the day-to-day efforts of our men and women who are on the front lines of diplomacy all around the world.
The Budget comprises two major emphases: (1) the programs that implement the President�s foreign policy, and (2) the programs that support the people responsible for that implementation.
Included in the first group is increased funding for targeted assistance activities that directly support American interests overseas:
- $731 million to implement the Andean Counterdrug Initiative.
- $2.2 billion for development assistance and child survival programs.
- $1.2 billion for US contributions to the Multilateral Development Banks.
The first group also features increased funding for international broadcasting, including a new model for the Middle East; for international disaster relief; and for assistance to Eastern Europe. The budget provides $470 million for international broadcasting, an increase of $20 million over FY 2001. It provides $200 million for International Disaster Assistance, and $610 million for Eastern Europe and the Baltic States � both increases once one-time emergency funding is accounted for.
In the first group there are also decreases in funding:
- The budget supports the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) and Tropical Forest debt reduction programs within a reduced total funding profile of $224 million.
- The budget supports small business and other U.S. exporters within a reduced funding profile of $687 million for the Export-Import Bank. This 25% saving in the bank�s credit subsidy requirements is made possible because of our lower estimates of credit risk in FY 2002 and our implementation of policy changes that focus Bank programs on small business and other exporters who truly cannot access private export financing.
In the second group, the President�s budget seeks to rebuild the strength of our diplomatic and consular operations, bring the diplomatic corps into the information age, and provide better security for those who are on the frontlines for America. This group includes:
- $3.217 billion for diplomatic and consular programs worldwide.
- $210 million to bring information-age tools to everyone who needs them.
- $1.3 billion for enhancing security overseas.
We need to build more embassies, refurbish old ones, and maintain and protect all of them better. Likewise, we need to hire more International Affairs Officers and Foreign Service Nationals and more security personnel. We need to provide all of our key people Internet access and we need to ensure that our classified networks are top-notch and accessible to all who require such networks. In sum, the President�s budget provides for a major investment in the people, the instruments, and the infrastructure of America�s foreign policy establishment.
Overall, this budget represents the first monetary step in revamping and reinvigorating both the organization for the conduct of foreign policy and the foreign policy itself. President Bush has asked us to "speak for the values that gave our nation birth," and that is what we plan to do. These dollar resources, along with our outstanding men and women, will allow us to do it.
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