Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) released his FY 2012 budget proposal this morning, which includes very deep cuts to the International Affairs Budget.  The details are still being analyzed, but it looks like a 40% cut from the President’s FY12 request and a 34% cut from current levels.  Look for more analysis on this from USGLC throughout the day.  As the Friday deadline for a possible government shutdown approaches, House Republicans have proposed another continuing resolution (CR) that would fund the government for one more week, giving budget negotiators more time to reach a deal. In the proposed one-week CR, the measure cuts an additional $12 billion in spending, including about $830 m from the International Affairs Budget.  The cuts include $212 million from international financial institutions, $466 million from various foreign assistance accounts (including Development Assistance and the Economic Support Fund), and $237 million from United Nations and peacekeeping activities.

Must Reads

Who’s In the News

The GOP Path to Prosperity (Paul Ryan, WSJ)

Congress is currently embroiled in a funding fight over how much to spend on less than one-fifth of the federal budget for the next six months. Whether we cut $33 billion or $61 billion—that is, whether we shave 2% or 4% off of this year’s deficit—is important.

McKeon Not Expecting Big Defense Cuts for 2012 (Kate Brannen, Defense News)

Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said he does not expect to see dramatic cuts to defense in the 2012 budget. House Budget Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., is scheduled to release his response to the president’s 2012 budget request April 5.

For Kirk, No Time to Wait His Turn (Steven Dennis, Roll Call)

Sen. Mark Kirk is only a freshman, but he’s already emerging as an important foreign policy voice in the Senate with the nation now in a third war and turmoil spreading throughout the Middle East.

Gen. Petraeus Being ‘Seriously Considered’ For CIA Director (Tom Bowman, NPR)

General David Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, is expected to leave that job by early fall. And the question has been, where does he go from there? Several sources, including government officials, say Petraeus is being seriously considered for CIA director, and would take the job if offered.

Smart Power

Cut Now, Pay Later (CARE, WWF, Oxfam)

USGLC Members CARE, World Wildlife Fund, and Oxfam have an advertising campaign out this week to remind the American people only 1% of the federal government goes to fighting global hunger, poverty, climate change, conservation, and disaster relief.

How Politics Is Threatening Real Progress in Afghanistan (Howard Buffet)

Sitting in Washington Dulles airport awaiting to board a flight to Dubai and then on to Afghanistan, I picked up the Washington Post and began reading about the very people I was on my way to visit: the Task Force for Business and Stability Operations led by Deputy Undersecretary of Defense Paul Brinkley.

Politics/Foreign Policy

GOP’s price to delay shutdown? $12B (David Rogers & John Bresnahan, Politico)

President Barack Obama called top lawmakers to the White House for a meeting Tuesday, even as House Republicans edged closer to a real government shutdown Friday if the GOP’s demands for domestic spending cuts are not immediately met.

A fan’s guide to the federal deficit (Scott Akalis, Detroit Free Press)

According to Rasmussen, less than half of us know that Medicare, Social Security and the military account for the majority of federal spending. At the same time, the public drastically overestimates other government expenditures. For example, we think 27% of federal spending goes toward foreign aid, a portion we would cut to around 13% (www.worldpublicopinion.org); if our austerity were enacted, it would represent a tenfold increase in foreign aid spending.

Economic Development Organizations from Across the Nation Work to Create New Jobs at Hannover Messe 2011 (Brian McGowan, Commerce Blog)

21 Economic Development Organization’s (EDOs) from across the nation are working today to create new jobs in their regions by participating in the U.S. Trade & Investment Program to HANNOVER MESSE 2011, the world’s largest industrial technology showcase. The event runs from April 4-8, 2011 in Hannover, Germany.