From InterAction's AidBuzz Blog: The battle lines have been drawn over the federal government’s 2011 spending bill. With negotiations scheduled to begin next week in Congress, one side recognizes the need for budget cuts but takes great issue with the depth and severity of the reductions included in the spending bill passed by the House of Representatives early Saturday that slashes $61 billion from this year’s budget and puts many critical programs, including U.S. foreign assistance at risk. The other side has stated their refusal to put their budget cutting scissors away.
Negotiations to break the stalemate are expected to be long and contentious despite the looming government shut down on March 4 if no compromise is reached. President Obama is threatening to veto the spending bill if it gets to his desk as is. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) is on record declaring that his caucus would not consider any spending bill without substantive spending cuts.
There is some maneuvering taking place on the Hill to avoid the looming government shut down. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) hopes to pass a one-month stopgap funding measure when Congress returns to town next week. The proposed measure would give the House, Senate and White House time to negotiate a compromise on the spending bill without causing distress to U.S. foreign policy initiatives abroad or stopping the distribution of senior citizens’ Social Security checks.
The possibility of having more time to hammer out a compromise has not stopped the budget blame game. Each side is now hitting volleys back and forth in the press to blame the other if a compromise isn’t reached. According to U.S. News & World Report, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) said, “...any time that we propose a spending cut, it seems that [Democratic Sens.] Chuck Schumer, Dick Durbin, Harry Reid, and others scream, 'shutdown.'" The New York Times Caucus Blog reported today that Democrats have started a grassroots campaign targeting constituents in Republican House districts won by President Obama in 2008 with their messages on the budget.
InterAction’s policy staff believe if the 2011 spending bill passes in its current form, the spending cuts would dramatically roll back progress made with initiatives such as PEPFAR and undermine our national security over the long-term. The cuts -- detailed in an InterAction 2011 budget chart -- include a 67 percent reduction to the International Disaster Assistance account and a 30 percent cut to the Development Assistance account which funds education and provides opportunity for economic growth and stability.
Read more about the budget battle on InterAction’s websiteand follow the foreign aid debate on Twitter at #foreignaid. What are your concerns about the budget debate? Are any of your programs being targeted?
