John Kerry has only held the office of US Secretary of State for a few weeks but has already made it known that foreign aid is one of his priorities.
Kerry says he will fight to maintain the budget of USAID and make the argument for its benefits. Hillary Clinton said much the same when she first came on board, emphasizing that the Obama Administration will build upon and expand upon the government’s established leadership in many areas of foreign aid, and especially in global health.
Didn’t happen. So what might Kerry’s rhetoric mean in reality for foreign aid?
One of the first acts by the nation’s new Secretary of State was to write a letter to Congresswoman Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) to warn about consequences to foreign aid and diplomacy if budget cuts are enacted through sequestration.
- Sec State John Kerry Credit
If a deal is not reached in Congress, the State Department and USAID will see a $2.6 billion across-the-board cut in their collective budget. “Cuts of this magnitude would seriously impair our ability to execute our vital missions of national security, diplomacy and development,” writes Kerry.
He estimates that sequestration would cost global health programs $400 million and humanitarian assistance $200 million. Continue reading