ECONOMY

Documents & Texts from America.gov

26 February 2009
Fiscal 2010 Budget Seeks More Spending for Diplomacy, Assistance

 • Obama Submits U.S. Budget Proposal for Fiscal Year 2010
 • Remarks by the President on the Fiscal Year 2010 Budget
 • The full text of the proposed budget for fiscal year 2010 (PDF, 2 MB) is available on the Government Printing Office Web site..

By Phillip Kurata
Staff Writer

Washington — President Obama is calling for a nearly 10 percent increase for spending on diplomacy and foreign assistance in 2010, putting the United States on a path toward greatly increasing its spending in those areas, according to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

“This funding will help the world’s weakest states reduce poverty, combat global health threats, develop markets, govern peacefully, and expand democracy worldwide,” an OMB document dealing with funding for the State Department and other international programs says. The 2010 request is for $51.7 billion, compared to $47.2 billion projected to be spent in fiscal 2009, the OMB said.

The OMB did not provide detailed figures of how the administration would spend the proposed foreign affairs budget. The full details of the 2010 budget will be released in April. But the final budget figures for fiscal 2010, which starts in October 2009, will not be known until Congress enacts legislation later this year.

In its February 26 announcement, the OMB said nonmilitary aid to Afghanistan and Pakistan will be increased to help those countries revitalize economic development and confront the resurgence of the Taliban.

The former Taliban regime in Afghanistan provided refuge for al-Qaida, which launched the attacks of September 11, 2001, against New York and Washington. The United States and NATO allies toppled the Taliban from power in Kabul, but its guerrilla fighters still control large areas in the Afghan hinterlands.

OMB Director Peter Orszag said his office has earmarked $130 billion for military operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and overseas contingency actions, but he did not mention civilian expenditures in those countries during his February 26 news conference in Washington.

The diplomatic and development assistance for Iraq in 2010 is intended to “help responsibly end that war and enable Iraqis to assume more control of their country,” the OMB document says.

Speaking at another venue in Washington the same day that the budget was announced, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said spending for scientific and technological research in the realm of food production will go up because the global population is rising and more food is needed to feed everyone. Vilsack said limited natural resources, particularly water, make the quest for adequate food more difficult.

While details are lacking until the April release of more specific funding proposals, the document released February 26 said the president is seeking:

• Funding for energy initiatives and programs to combat global climate change.

• Expansion of the Peace Corps.

• Full funding for all scheduled payments to the World Bank and other multilateral development banks “to reinforce the U.S. commitment to play a leadership role in these institutions.”

• Funding to meet U.S. financial commitments to the United Nations and other international organizations that support U.S. goals.

• Support for United Nations peacekeeping activities.

• Increasing counterterrorism and law enforcement aid to critical partner nations, as well as increasing funding for nonproliferation activities to secure nuclear material at vulnerable sites.

• Funding to maintain global leadership in providing food aid and life-sustaining support for refugees and other victims of conflict and disaster.

The submission of the president’s budget is the starting point for setting federal spending priorities for the fiscal year that begins October 1. Because the Constitution reserves to Congress the authority to raise and spend money for the federal government, the president’s budget is simply a recommendation. The actual spending amounts, or appropriations, will be hammered out over several months in a series of actions in Congress and negotiations between Congress and the White House.

Additional information on the president’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2010 is available on the White House Web site.

The full text of the proposed budget for fiscal year 2010 (PDF, 2 MB) is available on the Government Printing Office Web site.

back to top ^