U.S. Plans To Cut Global Aid By 10% To 30%

The new Republican majority in the House of Representatives is planning to cut global foreign aid programs by 10% to 30% this year to help reduce the U.S. budget deficit. According to an estimate by the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, a pro-foreign aid group in Washington D.C., the Republican proposal would cut the International Affairs funds which includes everything from State Department salaries to AIDS vaccines in Africa by more than 13%. While some ultra-conservative Republicans wanted the entire U.S. foreign aid budget eliminated, some more pro-foreign aid Republicans proposed to cut upto $100 billion in domestic and foreign aid programs in order to manage the out-of-control budget deficit and U.S. debts. The House Republicans are also seeking to cut at least 2,170 State Department jobs created in recent years to make up for previous job cuts.

Democrats are fearing that the proposed foreign aid cuts will cripple U.S. diplomacy especially when drug-related violence is escalating in Mexico and Central America, and China, Iran and Venezuela are becoming more influential. It can be noted that, U.S. gives out only 0.2% of its GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in foreign assistance in comparison with Sweden's 1%. Experts are concerned that this aid cut can be the first step toward reduction in U.S. influence worldwide especially when it has been estimated that Venezuela pledged more funds ($1.3 billion) for Haiti's reconstruction than the U.S. ($1.1 billion).

-Nisha Noor

SOURCE: THE MIAMI HERALD

Military Officials Agree: Diplomacy Necessary for National Security

According to findings released last week, 90 percent of active and retired U.S. military officers surveyed agree that a strong military alone is not enough to ensure national security. 83 percent of these officers agree that humanitarian aid in the form of health care, education, and economic development are vital to national security.

75 percent of these officers said that, in their military career, they had personally seen non-military tools like diplomacy and development make their work more efficient or effective. Furthermore, a majority of officers agreed that an increase in non-military funding (funding for diplomacy and development) would help them achieve their national security objectives.

Today, U.S. outreach to developing nations ranks last among high-income countries. As of 2008, Americans spent just 0.16% of their national income on diplomacy, equivalent to $73 per American per year -- military spending, on the other hand, adds up to $1,763 per American. Visit The Borgen Project's website to learn how you can help urge Congress to correct this imbalance by funding tools of diplomacy and development, increasing stability and justice at home and abroad.

-Elizabeth Newton

SOURCE: U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, Guardian