Foreign Policy: State Department, USAID Face Drastic Budget Cut
“The State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development face deep funding cuts under a budget deal worked out last week that ended a government shutdown, and lawmakers are struggling to find additional funds to plug the gap. … The funding shortfall for the State Department and USAID affects operations for the current fiscal year, and for 2019. The sweeping budget deal hammered out last week among congressional leaders and the White House averted a prolonged government shutdown by setting spending levels for fiscal year 2018 and fiscal year 2019. But while the deal boosted funding for the U.S. military, it reduced nondefense funding in the Overseas Contingency Operations budget, which has previously provided one-third of the budget for the State Department and USAID. As a result, lawmakers have only weeks to find additional funds for the State Department in the FY 2018 budget, and they will face a similar gap for the proposed FY 2019 budget. In the meantime, the Trump administration will present its federal budget request for 2019 on Monday…” (De Luce/Gramer, 2/12).