Foreign Aid, Diplomacy and the Budget Problem

Today in the Washington Post, Senator John Kerry makes a strong case in defense of foreign aid. While some propose slashing foreign assistance as a partial solution for our current budget crisis, this would be a grave mistake. Sen. Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a member of ASP’s Board of Directors, explains:

Many question whether we can afford foreign aid and development investments, but the reality – however hard to swallow – is that we can’t afford not to.

Energetic global leadership is a strategic imperative for America, not a favor we do for other countries. It amplifies America’s voice and extends our reach. In a world growing more not less interdependent, slashing foreign aid and development investments is a formula for isolation and shrinking influence. America can’t opt out of a networked world.

Sen. Kerry points out that discretionary spending for foreign aid makes up a relatively small part of the budget:

Is there a cost to taxpayers? Of course. But all of our foreign aid programs and foreign policy initiatives— from sending diplomats to Afghanistan to helping reverse the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa—barely make up 1 percent of the annual budget. It is a relatively small investment for such a great return. This year alone we will spend approximately $700 billion on our military. The entire international affairs budget is less than one-tenth of that. As former Secretary Gates once pointed out, if you took the entire Foreign Service roster, you could barely staff one aircraft carrier.

On a related note, ASP Fellow Joshua Foust has a smart new piece for PBS in which he discusses the dangers of militarizing civilian aid and the importance of focusing our national security strategy.

The challenge with the current debate in Washington about the defense and security budget is that it is lacking strategic context. There is no discussion about what America should do in the world, only what we should cut. That’s why, despite the outsized value development programs can bring when they’re run properly, the first agency on the chopping block is USAID. It is also why cutting the Defense Department is only spoken of in terms of dollar amounts and percentages, rather than a sober analysis of strategies, priorities and means.

The role of foreign aid in our national security strategy is a complex and important issue. We at ASP will be returning to this topic in the coming weeks and months in hopes of building constructive, informed conversation and engagement. Stay tuned!

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