ABC News: What slashing the State Department budget by one-third would really mean
“…The White House announced a 10 percent increase in military spending Monday that would add about $54 billion to the Pentagon’s budget — paid for by historic cuts in non-defense spending. Foreign aid is a prime target, with reports that the budget for the State Department and USAID could be cut by as much as 30 percent or even 37 percent. The White House has not confirmed either of these numbers, and its full budget proposal has not yet been released. But what would slashing the State Department by one-third actually mean? … The reported numbers received big blowback from retired senior military leaders and former top State Department officials — but also some Republican foreign policy hawks on Capitol Hill. But to others on the right, this is exactly where cuts should start…” (Finnegan, 3/1).