On Wednesday, March 24th, the Administration officially submitted an amendment to its $33 billion FY10 War Supplemental, requesting an additional $2.8 billion to support ongoing recovery and reconstruction operations in Haiti. The request includes an additional $1.9 billion for the FY10 International Affairs Budget, on top of the initial request of $4.5 billion in the pending supplemental. The $1.87 billion International Affairs Budget supplemental request includes:

• $1.49 billion for the State Department and USAID;
• $220 million for international assistance programs at the Treasury Department, including $212 million to cancel some of Haiti’s debt;
• $150 million for emergency food aid to Haiti; and
• $5.2 million for the Broadcasting Board of Governors’ Voice of America Creole program.

 

In a joint appearance before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday, Secretary Clinton and Secretary Gates testified in support of the Administration’s $33 billion FY10 supplemental request. In her opening statement, Secretary Clinton stated, “the challenges we face demand that we draw on all of the tools of American leadership and American power, and the strategies we now have in place in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq do exactly that.” In his testimony before the committee, Secretary Gates spoke about the importance of the joint civilian-military effort in the frontlines states, noting “Our joint testimony today reflects the close cooperation of our two departments…At the outset, I would like to offer my strong support for the important programs funded in the State portion of the supplemental request, without which our military efforts will not be successful.”

USGLC National Security Advisory Council (NSAC) Co-Chairs General Michael Hagee, USMC (Ret.) and Admiral James Loy, USCG (Ret.) led a group of a retired four- and three-star generals and flag officers in meetings Tuesday with senior House and Senate Members of the Budget and Appropriations Committees and Pentagon officials to talk about the critical role of development and diplomacy and the International Affairs Budget in our national security. This “NSAC Washington Day” comes after over 50 retired military leaders signed a letter calling on Congress to fully fund President Obama’s $58.5 billion International Affairs Budget request. NSAC Washington Day received coverage in Roll Call, Foreign Policy, and an op-ed penned by General Hagee and Admiral Loy ran in the Daily Caller.