“Agencies responsible for international development and foreign relations will see their budgets shrink as a result of the fiscal climate and at some point might have to consider staff reductions, according to participants in a Capitol Hill briefing on the impact of the debt ceiling deal,” Government Executive reports.

“The deficit reduction legislation, which President Obama signed into law Tuesday, … [includes] a series of caps on discretionary spending and a comprehensive deficit-reduction package,” Government Executive writes. “The Defense Department is expected to sustain significant cuts, which also could affect the resources and priorities of civilian agencies, including USAID and the State Department,” which “work closely with the military on international development, security and foreign assistance,” according to the news source.

Speaking at the briefing, George Ingram, co-chair of the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network, and Gordon Adams, a former associate director for national security and international affairs at the Office of Management and Budget, said USAID and State could face personnel cuts, the news source reports. State spokesperson Joanne Moore “said the department will review the details of the deficit reduction package as they become available,” Government Executive notes (Lunney, 8/2).