The Honorable Joseph R. Biden
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

As American business, NGO, and military leaders, we are grateful for your leadership to advance U.S. leadership on the global stage and protect the interests and values of the American people in a complex world.

As you finalize your Fiscal Year 2023 Budget Request, we write with urgency to ask that you put forward a significant International Affairs Budget request that ensures America’s investments in diplomacy, development, and global health match the unprecedented scope and scale of global threats that directly impact the health, economic, and security interests of American families.

Last April, we applauded the Administration’s FY22 International Affairs Budget proposal that would have increased funding by nearly 12% to address a range of immediate needs including global health security, humanitarian assistance, and climate change. If enacted, this would have been a significant down payment to meet about half of the global needs assessed by foreign policy and national security experts at the time. However, we are deeply concerned that despite broad support in Congress and a dramatically changed world, the final FY22 spending deal ultimately fell far short with regular international affairs funding remaining nearly flat.

Tragically, the global threats to America have only continued to grow in the year since your last budget request. With authoritarianism on the march and the growing crisis in Ukraine, the risk of new variants from COVID-19 and the need to prepare for the next pandemic, as well as the warning signs of an unparalleled global food security crisis, the stakes are immense for America to lead and to step up with new international affairs resources.

While emergency resources are essential to address unanticipated needs, it is imperative that our international affairs agencies have the resources necessary to plan and prepare for new threats and adapt to a rapidly changing world.

We urge you to use this budget request to send a critical signal to Congress, our allies and partners, and the world on the imperative of resourcing U.S. global leadership to protect American interests around the world and here at home.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Sean Callahan  
Catholic Relief Services
Co-Chair, USGLC

Selina Jackson
Co-Chair, USGLC

Mayor Steve Benjamin
Columbia, SC (2010-2022)
Co-Chair, USGLC

Senator Norm Coleman
U.S. Senate (2003-2009)
Co-Chair, USGLC

General Anthony Zinni 
U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.)
Co-Chair, USGLC National Security Advisory Council

Admiral James Stavridis
U.S. Navy (Ret.)
Co-Chair, USGLC National Security Advisory Council

Liz Schrayer
President and CEO
U.S. Global Leadership Coalition

CC:

Jake Sullivan, National Security Advisor
The Honorable Antony Blinken, Secretary of State
The Honorable Samantha Power, USAID Administrator
The Honorable Shalanda Young, Director of the Office of Management and Budget