PUBLIC POLICY UPDATE May 11, 2012 WASHINGTON UPDATE House SFOps Subcommittee Approves FY2013 Bill On Wednesday

the House Appropriations State, Foreign Operations Subcommittee approved its spending bill for FY2013. As we reported last week, the allocation the subcommittee had to work with was 9 percent below the FY2012 enacted level, and that overall cut filters through into cuts for a number of development and humanitarian accounts. The markup itself was relatively uneventful, with amendments saved for full committee consideration and statements made only by Reps. Granger, Lowey, Rogers, Dicks, and Jackson. Those accounts that did the best in this bill get funding at the same level as in the current year: PEPFAR, Development Assistance, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the International Development Association, Transition Initiatives, and Contributions to International Peacekeeping Activities. For others, especially multilateral accounts, significant cuts are proposed relative to the current year, including International Organizations and Programs (21 percent cut), Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) (26 percent cut) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (34 percent cut). Climate accounts and the Pakistan Counterinsurgency Capability Fund get no funding at all under this bill, nor does the administrations proposed new Middle East and North Africa Incentive Fund. Accounts getting a smaller cut include Global Health Programs - USAID (6 percent), International Disaster Assistance (5 percent), Migration and Refugee Assistance (10 percent), and USAID Operating Expenses (5 percent). Even some of the more strategic and security-oriented accounts get cuts in the bill, with the Economic Support Fund (8 percent cut), Nonproliferation (6 percent cut) and International Military Education and Training (3 percent cut) getting trimmed. Others are more favored, with Foreign Military Financing getting level funding from the current year, while International Narcotics Control gets a 15 percent increase. Another useful lens on this bill is comparing it to last years House bill. In last years bill, the Development Assistance account got an 18 percent cut from the prior year, and the GAFSP got no funding, so those two accounts fare significantly better in this years bill.

Accounts getting Overseas Contingency Operations funding include International Disaster Assistance, Migration and Refugee Assistance, Transition Initiatives, USAID Operating Expenses, Conflict Stabilization Operations, and Contributions to International Organizations. There are no global health sector funding level directives, and in Development Assistance only water, basic education, and micro-enterprise are specified, each at level funding relative to the current year. The committee report accompanying the bill, not yet released, will likely contain further direction on sectoral spending. When the report will be released depends on when full committee consideration of the bill gets scheduled, which at press time remained somewhat up in the air. A markup by the full Appropriations Committee next Thursday, in combination with two other bills, is one possibility. Discussions continue among House Republicans over how to reconcile the desire of some to consider the bills one by one, with time for amendments for each, with the desire of others to move the bills in twos or threes so as to (theoretically) move them more quickly. Senate consideration is expected the week of May 21. See our spreadsheet here for all the numbers and comparisons to FY2012. InterActions statement on the bill is available here. The House bill is available on the House Appropriations Committee website here. Subcommittee Chair Grangers statement is available here. Subcommittee Ranking Member Loweys statement is available here. Full Committee Chair Rogerss statement is available here. Full Committee Ranking Member Dickss statement is available here. UPCOMING HEARINGS Hearing: Nomination Committee: Senate Foreign Relations Committee Witnesses: Peter Bodde, to be ambassador to Nepal Piper Anne Wind Campbell, to be ambassador to Mongolia Dorothea-Maria Rosen, to be ambassador to the Federated States of Micronesia When: May 16, 2:30 pm Where: 419 Dirksen Senate Office Building Contact: 202-224-4651 http://foreign.senate.gov (+WASE020+) Hearing: Nomination Committee: Senate Foreign Relations Committee Witnesses: Edward Alford, to be ambassador to The Gambia Mark Asquino, to be ambassador to Mozambique David Lane, to be the U.S. representative to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture When: May 17, 2:30 pm Where: 419 Dirksen Senate Office Building Contact: 202-224-4651 http://foreign.senate.gov (+WASE053+) 2

ARTICLES AND REPORTS AlertNet May 09: Afghan girls schools shut down, Taliban blamed As many as 550 Afghan schools have closed down in recent weeks in response to threats from conservative elements opposed to the education of girls. The Taliban is believed to be behind several recent attacks on girls schools, although the group denies involvement in the incidents. BBC News May 08: Niger worst place to be mother Save the Children Owing largely to the brewing food crisis in the Sahel, Niger has been ranked by Save the Children as the worst place in the world to be a mother, knocking Afghanistan from the bottom spot. The announcement comes as part of the charitys annual index, which is measured using factors like health, nutrition, and education. May 09: Sudan blocks aid to civilians in rebel-held Blue Nile A humanitarian crisis is brewing in the Blue Nile state of Sudan, where government forces are preventing food aid from reaching over 200,000 endangered civilians. The blockage comes as part of the Sudanese governments response to the SPLM-North rebels who control the affected area. Economist May 12: Quinoa selection Long a staple of Adean diets, quinoa has now become a valuable cash crop for the region. Global demand for it is growing rapidly, and both Peru and Bolivia have increased production in recent years. May 12: Frontier mentality Investment in Ethiopia, one of Africas fastest-growing economies, is growing swiftly. This trend, however, has highlighted the countrys continuing struggles with poverty, poor infrastructure, and a highly insular class of political and business elites. Foreign Policy May 08: House releases State and Foreign ops funding proposal; proposes wide range of cuts The House Appropriations subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations has released its FY 2013 appropriations bill, which sees the administrations budget request cut by 12 percent. The billions in slashed funds will see significant decreases in accounts focusing on bilateral and multilateral economic assistance, as well as funding for UN agencies. Disclaimer: Articles linked in the Update are intended to provide a dashboard view of newsworthy and topical issues from popular news outlets that will be of interest to readers of the Update. The articles are an information sharing vehicle rather than an advocacy tool. They are in no way representative of the views of InterAction or the U.S. NGO community as a whole.