State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development FY 2020 Budget Request

600

state.gov
Image result for us aidimage (not from entry) fromFact Sheet
Office of the SpokespersonWashington, DCMarch 11, 2019The President’s FY 2020 budget request proposes $40 billion for the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The FY 2020 budget request provides the necessary resources to protect United States citizens, increase American prosperity by utilizing foreign assistance to create the conditions that will expand opportunities for U.S. businesses, support our allies while asking other nations to do more, and advance a secure, prosperous world by assisting countries to become self-reliant economic and security partners.This budget request focuses resources on providing better results for the American people. It supports effective American diplomacy, prioritizes embassy security and the protection of diplomats and staff, and provides support for strategic partners and diplomatic progress. It also makes programs more effective while increasing burden sharing in order to lessen the burden on American taxpayers and maximize global outcomes.With the funds included in the FY 2020 budget request, U.S. diplomacy and foreign assistance will focus on:Protecting America’s Security at Home and Abroad:

  • Providing Critical Support to Our Allies in the Middle East: Supporting the 10-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the U.S. and Israel by providing $3.3 billion in Foreign Military Financing for Israel. The budget request recognizes the critical U.S. strategic partnership with and support for Jordan by providing $1.3 billion in economic and security assistance, consistent with our most recent MOU with Jordan.
  • Protecting U.S. Overseas Personnel and Facilities: Providing $5.4 billion for the protection of our U.S. government personnel and facilities overseas.
  • Promoting a Free, Open, and Secure Indo-Pacific: Providing $1.8 billion to support the U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy to strengthen the international rules-based system; help protect the political and economic sovereignty of all Indo-Pacific nations; support embassy operations abroad; and engage foreign audiences to strengthen alliances.
  • Countering Russian Malign Influence and Misinformation: Investing $661 million in efforts to counter Russian malign influence in Europe, Eurasia, and Central Asia.
  • Supporting Transition in Venezuela: Continuing democracy assistance for Venezuela and including flexibility to provide additional funds to support a democratic transition or respond to the crisis there, including authority to transfer up to $500 million between foreign assistance accounts.
  • Supporting U.S. Border Security: Providing $1.2 billion to target illicit pathways used by transnational criminal organizations to traffic humans, drugs, money, and weapons from the Western Hemisphere while improving governance and boosting local economies to discourage illegal immigration. In addition, $3.9 billion in consular programs will secure our borders through enhanced visa vetting, preventing fraud, improving visa processes, and enabling the conduct of international business by facilitating legitimate foreign travel to and from the United States.
  • Prioritizing Programs that Counter Critical National Security Threats:Leading international efforts with $707 million to combat the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, reinforce counterterrorism efforts, and support demining and other weapons destruction. This includes preventing North Korea, Iran, and other states and terrorist actors from acquiring weapons of mass destruction.
  • Supporting Religious and Ethnic Minorities: Providing $150 million to support persecuted religious and ethnic minorities, recovering from the devastation caused by ISIS, al Qa’ida, and other terrorist organizations in the Middle East and other regions.
  • Strengthening U.S. Allies and Bilateral Security Relationships: Providing up to $8 billion in Foreign Military Financing loans to make U.S. defense equipment a more competitive and more affordable option, increasing opportunities for allies and partners to build their militaries around U.S. innovation and quality.

Renewing America’s Competitive Advantage for Sustained Economic Growth and Job Creation:

  • Leveraging the new U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC): Engaging the private sector, including through $50 million in investments and transfers of economic growth funding from State Department and USAID posts, missions, and regional bureaus to the new Development Finance Corporation (DFC), building on their use of USAID Development Credit Authority today. This will serve to encourage private sector financing for allies and partners to grow their economies; engage the private sector in developing nations to advance U.S. national-security interests; and support U.S. companies, jobs, and exports while advancing development outcomes.
  • Improving Investment Opportunities, including for U.S. Businesses:Providing $50 million for a new Presidential initiative, Prosper Africa, to increase two-way trade and investment between the U.S. and African partners, advancing mutual prosperity and building on the State Department and USAID’s focus on private sector engagement. The request also includes $70 million for Power Africa to facilitate private investment in power generation and create new opportunities for economic partnerships.

Promoting American Leadership through Balanced Engagement:

  • International Organizations: Reprioritizing investments in international programs and organizations. At the request of $2.1 billion, the Budget fully funds those organizations critical to our national security but makes cuts or reductions to those whose results are unclear, whose work does not directly affect our national security interests, or for which the funding burden is not fairly shared among members. The Department will continue to work with the international organizations including the UN to reduce costs, improve effectiveness, and more fairly share the funding burden.
  • Leading in Global Health Programs: Providing $6.3 billion to support U.S. leadership in advancing global health, including through the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR); the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; the President’s Malaria Initiative; and global health security activities while simultaneously supporting efforts to help partner nations build their own capacity. The budget fully funds the Administration’s PEPFAR Strategy for Accelerating HIV/AIDS Epidemic Control (2017-2020), which will maintain all current patients on treatment and continue the United States’ position as the world’s top HIV/AIDS donor. In addition, the budget emphasizes burden sharing with other donors, including through a new matching pledge for the Global Fund’s upcoming sixth replenishment. The budget request proposes to match $1 for every $3 pledged by other donors, encouraging other donors to increase their commitment and allowing for a larger replenishment.
  • Providing Leadership in Response to Humanitarian Crises: Requesting $6.3 billion for humanitarian assistance (including resettlement) will allow the U.S. to remain the largest single donor. Combined with carryover resources, the average program levels for 2019 and 2020 would maintain the highest annual U.S. humanitarian assistance programming ever.
  • Addressing Causes of Recurrent Food Crises: Providing $492 million for food security programs that advance agricultural development to improve economic growth, reduce malnutrition, including $123 million to strengthen resilience to recurrent crises, leveraging private investment, donor, and host-country contributions.
  • Informing Foreign Opinion and Engaging Foreign Audiences: Furthering U.S. foreign policy goals by providing $511 million for Public Diplomacy (PD) [JB emphasis] programs to inform foreign opinion. PD programs assist in countering misinformation about the U.S. and its foreign policy and strengthen relationships between Americans and foreign publics.

Ensuring Effectiveness and Accountability to the American Taxpayer:

  • Optimizing Humanitarian Assistance Outcomes: Consolidating implementation of all overseas humanitarian assistance at USAID and through a new, more flexible appropriations account, to respond most effectively and seamlessly to evolving humanitarian needs, achieve optimal UN reforms, induce other donors to do their fair share, and resolve ongoing crises. This restructuring builds on the State Department’s and USAID’s comparative strengths, under new senior, dual-hatted State Department and USAID leadership structure under the authority of the Secretary of State. The State Department will continue to implement the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program in its existing account.
  • Modernizing Information Technology: Investing $311 million for modernizing the State Department’s information technology, including wireless and cloud-based services, including new digital capabilities, to provide our employees with greater mobility.
  • Promoting Self Reliance through Expanded Domestic Resource Mobilization: Equipping and challenging countries to mobilize and manage their domestic public and private resources more effectively, leveraging other available financing sources, and sustainably leading their own development.
  • Reinforcing Global Women’s Economic Empowerment: Empowering women to participate fully in the formal economy in partner nations around the world by providing $100 million in support of the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative.
  • Diversifying our U.S. Partnership Base: Dedicating $20 million for a New Partnerships Initiative that will increase impact and country progress through adaptive partnering for foreign assistance.
  • Advancing Implementation of U.S. Government Reforms for Better Diplomacy and Development Results: Supporting a major structural reorganization of USAID to strengthen core capabilities, increase efficiency, and reduce costs.

For more information, please:

Original Article

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR