FY09 US Foreign Assistance Budget

The FY09 budget request is out. Foreign aid comes under international affairs. In addition to the staffing increases I wrote about earlier, here are some highlights I picked out from the press release:

• $2.3 billion to help Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and West Bank/Gaza achieve necessary economic, democratic, security and political stabilization and to advance their overall development.

• $2.1 billion for State Department and USAID programs in Africa to address non-HIV/AIDS health, economic growth and democratic governance needs and to help promote stability in Sudan, Liberia, Zimbabwe and Somalia in support of the President's 2005 commitment to double aid to Africa by 2010.

• $4.8 billion for the Global HIV/AIDS Initiative, which directly supports the first year of the President's new five-year, $30 billion plan to treat 2.5 million people, prevent 12 million new infections, and care for 12 million afflicted people.

• $1.75 billion to promote democracy around the world, including support for the President's Freedom Agenda. The President has more than doubled funding for democracy, governance, and human rights programs since taking office.

• $385 million to support the President's Malaria Initiative to reduce malaria-related deaths by 50 percent in 15 target African countries by 2010.

• $94 million for the President's International Education Initiative to provide an additional 4 million students with access to quality basic education through 2012. The FY 2009 budget includes funding for basic education that will lead to well over a four-fold increase in funding since the President took office.

• $64 million for the State Department and USAID to support the President's Climate Change Initiative to promote the adoption of clean energy technology, help countries adapt to climate change, and encourage sustainable forest management.

• The President's Budget also includes $400 million for a new international clean technology fund in 2009 as part of an overall three-year contribution of $2 billion.

• $2.4 billion to improve responsiveness to humanitarian crises, including food emergencies and disasters, and the needs of refugees.

• $2.2 billion for the Millennium Challenge Corporation to improve agricultural productivity, modernize infrastructure, expand private land ownership, improve health systems, and improve access to credit for small business and farmers.