Budget 101

What’s Happening Now 

View “The Daily GAB” – the current snapshot of the International Affairs Budget and where things stand in Congress and the Administration.

International Affairs Budget 101

The Budget Process

The International Affairs Budget is funded through several pieces of legislation called appropriations bills. This process begins in February when the President submits his budget to Congress and continues at least until October. We  have prepared a brief outline of the steps that Congress takes each year, specific to the International Affairs Budget.

History of the International Affairs Budget

Beginning at the height of the Cold War and through the mid 1990’s, America’s international spending dropped steadily, reaching a low of $21 billion in 1995.

While the Defense budget was also reduced, the already smaller International Affairs Budget suffered even more in percentage terms. From 1992 to 1998, the International Affairs Budget was slashed every year representing a 38% decrease in our foreign affairs programs (as a percentage of the United States GDP).

In the second term of the Clinton Administration and through the Bush Administration, Congress and the White House have reversed the downward spiral in America’s foreign policy capabilities that occurred in the 1990s. Yet, in spite of this progress, the U.S. still devotes almost 15% less in real terms to international affairs than it did in the mid-1980s and ranks a lowly 22nd among industrialized nations in terms of foreign assistance (as a percentage of GDP).

When the tragedy of September 11, 2001 occurred, many of our foreign policy capabilities were in disrepair. At this time, the share of the U.S. budget devoted to international affairs was barely above the post-World War II low and only about half of the size that it was in the mid-1980s in real terms. This greatly hampered our ability to respond to crises abroad and progress key diplomatic relations.

Since then, funding has increased due in large part to the creation of new programs in America’s international portfolio, including the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). These programs help sustain the lives of millions of individuals and build U.S. moral leadership abroad. However, it is important that they do not come at the expense of existing, long-term diplomatic, development and economic programs already underway around the globe.

In order to meet the complex global challenges and opportunities of the 21st century, it is critical that the U.S. adequately increase the investment in the International Affairs Budget. In 2009, the U.S. Global Leadership Campaign joined with its sister organization, the Center for U.S. Global Leadership to form the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, which works to build support for a robust International Affairs Budget across the nation and in Congress.