International Affairs Budget Trends, FY1980 â FY2000 (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Sept. 29, 2000 |
| Report Number |
RL30515 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Larry Nowels, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
There have been sharp debates during recent years in Congress and differences between the
executive
and legislative branches on the appropriate level of funding for U.S. foreign policy programs.
Especially since 1995, the President and some lawmakers have been critical of amounts ultimately
enacted, charging that congressional cuts placed foreign policy spending far below "traditional" levels
and jeopardized important U.S. economic, security, and diplomatic interests overseas. Foreign policy
spending has grown the past three years, largely through approval of emergency supplementals in
support of international contingencies and disaster relief assistance.
Foreign policy spending supports a variety of U.S. government programs and activities,
including foreign economic and military assistance, contributions to international organizations and
multilateral financial institutions, State Department, and U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID), operating expenses, and export promotion programs.
International Affairs discretionary budget authority, measured in real terms, has experienced
several cycles over the past two decades. There were periods of rapid growth followed immediately
by sharp declines during the mid-1980s. After several years of relative stable budget levels in the late
1980s and early 1990s, amounts fell through FY1997. The foreign policy budget rose slightly in
FY1998 but significantly in FY1999. Estimates for FY2000 are slightly below FY1999. Foreign
policy funding for FY2000 ($23.3 billion), in real terms, falls 5.4% below the annual average of
$24.61 billion for the past 21 years. As a percent of total U.S. government discretionary budget
authority, international affairs spending is just slightly less than the 4.06% annual average level since
FY1980. However, as a percent of the total federal budget, including discretionary and mandatory
programs, foreign policy resources are about one-fifth less than the average annual percentage
(1.571%) over the past 21 years.
Foreign aid budget authority experienced steady growth during the early 1980s with a spike in
FY1985, declining levels in the late 1980s, and a further steady downward pattern since the end of
the Cold War and Persian Gulf conflict. There was a sharp drop in FY1996 followed by an increase
in FY1998 that has continued through FY2000. The current estimate for FY2000 of $15.39 billion
is higher than any year since FY1992, but lower than any time prior to FY1992, and 11.7% less than
the annual average over the past 21 years.
Funding allocations for the conduct of foreign affairs and public diplomacy, activities largely
overseen by the Department of State, have steadily risen, although with short-term reductions in the
mid-1980s and the FY1996/97 period. Unlike other elements of the International Affairs budget,
diplomatic programs for FY2000 are funded at a level about 28% higher than the average annual level
of the past 21 years.
