Strong International Budget Helps South Carolina – Dick Riley and David Wilkins
“Dick Riley and David Wilkins: Strong International Budget Helps South Carolina”
By Dick Riley and David Wilkins
Greenville Online, March 20, 2011
Here in South Carolina, we know first-hand how important it is to be engaged in today’s interconnected world as investments in the global marketplace have reaped large benefits for our local economy. Whether it is the BMW and Michelin plants in Greenville creating over 11,000 jobs for South Carolina families or a booming export market where almost $20 billion in our goods and products are sold overseas, we know the economic benefit to international engagement.
We also have a proud military tradition here in South Carolina, as home to the Citadel and over 400,000 military veterans. Our state is full of strong leaders who have made clear we now live in a very different world with new threats to our security — threats that require us to use a range of foreign policy tools, including our development and diplomatic operations alongside defense, to keep our families safe.
Although we come from different political parties, both of us want to keep South Carolina’s economy growing and strengthen our nation’s security. From our collective experience, we know one of the best ways to do this is supporting a strong and effective International Affairs Budget.
Contrary to common perceptions, the United States spends only 1 percent of our budget on our civilian International Affairs programs, yet they pay big dividends for our country. This small investment funds counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq, works to prevent conflicts in hot spots before they even occur, and builds infrastructure to supports stable societies and fight poverty and disease, both of which can cause instability and extremism.
One of the biggest proponents of the International Affairs Budget is Defense Secretary Bob Gates, who has said time and again that “without development we will not be successful in either Iraq or Afghanistan.” He regularly laments that there aren’t enough foreign services officers to crew even one aircraft carrier. Our own senator, Lindsey Graham, said recently, “All I would say to my colleagues is that we live in a dangerous world, and foreign aid is in our national security interests.”
We are proud of Sen. Graham’s principled leadership on these issues. We know he will fight to keep us safe.
In addition to the national security return on investment Americans receive from the International Affairs Budget, we can see the results in a stronger economy and jobs here at home. Nearly one in five South Carolina jobs now depends on trade and close to half of U.S. exports now go to the developing world. With statistics like this and so many families in South Carolina still struggling in this economy, we cannot afford not to invest in our International Affairs programs.
If America does not stay actively engaged in the global economy, we will surely be left behind, and South Carolina will feel the squeeze. This is why the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has made it clear that a strong and effective International Affairs Budget is critical for our nation’s economic growth.
We know that times are tough, and budgets will have to be trimmed in order to bring our country back to fiscal sanity. What is clear, though, is that we cannot afford to skimp on programs that protect our national security and enhance our economic growth.
It takes real leadership to look ahead to the future, and make the decisions that best serve American interests long-term. We are grateful to have leaders in South Carolina like Sen. Graham who we know will do just that.
Dick Riley served as governor of South Carolina from 1979 to 1987, and secretary of U.S. Department of Education from 1993 to 2001. David Wilkins served as speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1994 to 2005, and as U.S. Ambassador to Canada from 2005 to 2009. Riley and Wilkins are co-chairs of the South Carolina Advisory Committee of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition.
