Interaction Fy2010 Letter Re 150 Acct To Budget Committees

President and CEO Samuel A. Worthington Chair Charles MacCormack, Save the Children Vice Chair Ritu Sharma Fox, Women Thrive Worldwide Treasurer Amy Coen, Population Action International

Board of Directors Kenneth Bacon, Refugees International David Beckmann, Bread for the World Carol Bellamy, World Learning Sekyu Chang, Korean American Sharing Movement Julius Coles, Africare Helene D. Gayle, CARE USA Anne Lynam Goddard, Christian Children’s Fund Lee H. Hamilton, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Neal Keny-Guyer, Mercy Corps Elizabeth Latham, US Committee for UNDP Jo Luck, Heifer International John McCullough, Church World Service Mary Ellen McNish, American Friends Service Committee Hugh Parmer, American Refugee Committee Daniel E. Pellegrom, Pathfinder International Linda Pfeiffer, INMED Robert Radtke, Episcopal Relief and Development Yolonda C. Richardson, Centre for Development & Population Activities Carter Roberts, World Wildlife Fund George Rupp, International Rescue Committee Zainab Salbi, Women for Women International Ron Sconyers, Physicians for Peace Kathy Spahn, Helen Keller International Richard Stearns, World Vision Tsehaye Teferra, Ethiopian Community Development Council Emily Untermeyer, Amigos de las Americas

1400 16th St., NW Suite 210 Washington, DC 20036 PHONE: (202) 667-8227 FAX: (202) 667-8236 E-MAIL: [email protected] http://www.interaction.org

March 19, 2009 The Honorable John Spratt, Chairman, House Budget Committee The Honorable Paul Ryan, Ranking Member, House Budget Committee The Honorable Kent Conrad, Chairman, Senate Budget Committee The Honorable Judd Gregg, Ranking Member, Senate Budget Committee Members of the House and Senate Budget Committees Dear Chairman Conrad, Chairman Spratt, Ranking Members Ryan and Gregg, and Budget Committee Members: Every day of the year, InterAction’s 180 U.S.-based nonprofit member organizations turn the American impulses to help people and get things done into action, working throughout the developing world and advocating here at home to fight global poverty, alleviate suffering, protect human rights, and maintain the natural resources upon which the world’s poorest depend. I write on their behalf to urge you, as you draft your FY2010 budget resolutions, to join President Obama in requesting needed, crucial investments in the civilian parts of our international engagement. Specifically, we urge you to propose a Function 150 account level that is at least equivalent to the President’s request of $51.7 billion for the State Department and other international programs. We note that that request was not for the full 150 account, since it excluded food aid and perhaps other international programs funded through the Justice Department, so an equivalent 150 account level would need to be somewhat higher than $51.7 billion. We fully understand the tough budget climate and the stresses the economic downturn has placed on our country. Yet by making the world more prosperous and stable, investments in the International Affairs account ultimately help protect budget priorities here at home – our health, our security, and our very freedom – and they reduce the risks, current and future, to our fighting men and women in the military. The 150 account remains a minute portion of the overall federal budget, about 1.4%, while the returns on investments in the programs it supports – in increased prosperity, stability, security, and ability to carry out American humanitarian values – are large. In the coming tough budget years, those returns will be needed more than ever. The time to make the investments is now.

InterAction is a membership association of US private voluntary organizations engaged in international humanitarian efforts including relief, development, refugee assistance, environmental protection, population programming, policy advocacy, and education.

Increased investment in this account has wide bipartisan support. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has called repeatedly for “a dramatic increase in spending on the civilian instruments of national security – diplomacy, strategic communications, foreign assistance, civic action, and economic reconstruction and development.” General Anthony Zinni, Admiral Leighton Smith Jr., and 51 of their fellow retired military commanders have echoed this call. Opinion polls consistently show that solid majorities of the American public think our government should be investing a greater percentage of the federal budget in foreign assistance. In addition to being a smart investment and one that reflects American humanitarian values, a Function 150 recommendation on par with the President’s would support his commitment to transparent and responsible budgeting. We urge you to join the administration in this courageous and responsible break from recent practice by putting all expected spending on the books, instead of relying on off-budget emergency supplementals to fund foreseeable humanitarian needs. That practice and the funding unpredictability it causes have resulted in costly inefficiencies and disrupted humanitarian assistance programs with devastating human consequences that cannot be reversed with last-minute mid-year funding. Supplemental funding for humanitarian programs should be reserved for new emergencies or unforeseen needs. By requesting a robust funding level for the International Affairs account at the start of the budget process, you can demonstrate a renewed commitment both to the vital programming that these accounts fund and to fiscal responsibility and responsible budgeting. We urge the Budget Committees to join the President in supporting a stronger and smarter U.S. engagement internationally by making his requested far-sighted investments a reality. Please propose a Function 150 account level at least equivalent to the President’s request of $51.7 billion for State Department and other international programs, and oppose any amendments to cut that account in committee or on the floor. We thank you for your consideration and for your hard work on behalf of our nation. We look forward to working with you to ensure our government's continued leadership in cooperating with the people of the world to create healthy and sustainable communities and a more stable and prosperous world. Sincerely yours,

Samuel A. Worthington President and CEO InterAction

InterAction is a membership association of US private voluntary organizations engaged in international humanitarian efforts including relief, development, refugee assistance, environmental protection, population programming, policy advocacy, and education.