FCNL Request for FY10 State Department Funding Bill

May 19, 2009

May 19, 2009

Representative Nita Lowey
Representative Kay Granger
State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee
Appropriations Committee
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Chairwoman Lowey and Ranking Member Granger:

We applaud President Obama’s FY10 international affairs budget request, which would enable the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to hire 1,181 civilians to support diplomacy and development. As the Administration notes, investing in diplomacy and development is both critical to U.S. security, and “less costly in terms of lives and dollars than defense spending that would otherwise be required.”

We urge this committee to fully meet the President’s request for increased civilian personnel. Additionally, we urge support for the following initiatives in the FY10 foreign operations bill, which would strengthen U.S. capacities to prevent deadly conflict and protect civilians.

Civilian Stabilization Initiative
Thank you for your past support for the Civilian Stabilization Initiative (CSI). Please continue your support for this important initiative in the FY 10 bill and fund the CSI at no less than the President’s request of $323 million to support continued development of an interagency civilian response corps. This corps – comprised of experts in fields such as policing and the rule of law, transitional governance, and economic stabilization and development – would help to stabilize war torn states, preventing the need for costly military interventions.

Stabilization Bridge Fund
The Stabilization Bridge Fund would provide the State Department with critical resources to help stabilize war torn states, lessening the need for long-term and expensive deployments of military forces or peacekeepers. When the civilian response corps deploys, this fund would enable civilians to begin stabilization efforts immediately. This fund would be subject to congressional notification requirements similar to that required of the civilian response corps. We urge the committee to fully meet the President’s request of $40 million for this fund.

Transition Initiatives and Rapid Response Fund
The Transition Initiatives (TI) account supports programs that help fragile or conflict-prone countries transition to peace and stability. The TI account typically receives $50 million annually. The Administration’s request of an additional $76 million for a Rapid Response Fund (RRF) would provide USAID with a tool to help stabilize unforeseen crises, such as the violence in Kenya in early 2008. Historically, the lack of rapid response funds has hampered the ability of U.S. civilian agencies to respond quickly to crises. The RRF would enable the U.S. to quickly provide aid to support peacemaking efforts, strengthen democratic processes and institutions, and jumpstart economic growth. We urge the committee to fully meet the President’s request of $126 million for Transition Initiatives.

Multilateral Diplomacy and Meeting U.S. Commitments
The Contributions to International Organizations (CIO) account funds U.S. treaty obligations at the United Nations and 47 other international organizations and programs, including the International Atomic Energy Agency, the World Food Program and the World Health Organization. U.S. financial support is essential. We strongly appreciate this committee’s past support for the UN, and urge you to fully meet the President’s request at $1.797 billion, which would fully cover U.S. dues this year.

UN Peacekeeping
Today, more than 100,000 peacekeepers are deployed in eighteen UN peace operations around the globe, including Liberia, Haiti, Darfur, and the Congo. The U.N. financed these operations for just over $7 billion last year – less than the U.S. spends in Iraq per month. The Administration’s request of $2.260 billion for the Contributions for International Peacekeeping Activities (CIPA) account fully meets U.S. dues for UN peacekeeping this year. We urge the committee to fund the Administration’s request.

Humanitarian demining and Small Arms/Light Weapons
We strongly appreciate the significant increase requested for Regional Stability and Humanitarian Assistance under the Nonproliferation, Antiterrorism, Demining, and Related Programs (NADR) account. We regret, however, that the portion of this funding directed toward humanitarian demining would actually decrease—from $87.5 million in FY09 to $81.1 million in FY10. The U.S. contributed to creating the global scourge of mines through its own military operations, including dropping some 260 million cluster submunitions on Laos during the 1960s and 70s – and has a strong moral obligation to assist in demining. FCNL recommends a minimum of $100 million be directed at demining programs in the NADR account.

In addition, while we are encouraged that the administration has dramatically increased funding for the destruction of small arms/light weapons, we recommend that the subcommittee require a detailed report by the State Department Office of the Inspector General, 180 days after enactment, on how the priorities are set for this work and how progress is being measured.

Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty
We urge support for the President’s request to contribute $26 million to the Preparatory Commission of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty to help fund the establishment, operation, and maintenance of the International Monitoring System.

Thank you for your consideration,

Sincerely,

Joe Volk
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Washington DC