A Likely Three Week Extension
Yesterday, the House passed a three-week extension of the current Continuing Resolution (CR), which will fund the government through April 8. The Senate is scheduled to vote on the extension before Friday, the day on which the current CR expires.
The extension passed over growing opposition from both sides of the aisle, as lawmakers call for a permanent solution for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2011 rather than continued short-term extensions. The extension cuts an additional $6 billion in discretionary spending, including $17 million from the International Affairs Budget, all from the International Fund for Ireland.
Budget battles remain in full swing, with a strong case being made for the International Affairs Budget as a vial part of national security funding. In testimony prepared for the Senate Armed Services Committee, General Petraeus stressed the critical national security implications of civilian programs, saying “I am concerned that levels of funding for our State Department and USAID partners will not sufficiently enable them to build on the hard-fought security achievements of our men and women in uniform.”
Action on the FY 2012 International Affairs Budget is set to begin in April with the release of House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s budget resolution. The Senate Budget Committee is likely to follow soon after. The President requested $53.1 billion for the International Affairs Budget’s core accounts in FY 2012.
