Secretary Gates Speaks Out on Civilian Agency Funding
“Woefully underfunded” was how Secretary of Defense Robert S. Gates described our U.S. civilian agencies at a speech at the Marines’ Memorial Association on Friday. The total number of foreign service officers at the State Department — approximately 6,000 — is not enough to provide the necessary manpower to crew a single aircraft carrier, he observed. In the 1990s, USAID had 17,000 employees, he said, but by 2006, “there were 3,000 employees, and [USAID] mainly was a contracting agency. This is a capability we’ve denied ourselves, and it is a huge opportunity for us.” Secretary Gates noted that Congress has cut his requests, as well as Secretary Clinton’s, for more funds to rebuild these essential agencies and departments. The House and Senate have cut the FY 11 International Affairs Budget request by $2.7 and $2.6 billion, respectively.
