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    The Senate Appropriations Committee approved allocations for fiscal year 2013 that would effectively flat fund the State, Foreign Operations subcommittee at $53.017 billion, a slight decrease from 2012 levels. Compared to funding requests, the allocation is $1.7 billion lower. The allocation also shifts funds from Overseas Contingency Operations to regular base funding. Upcoming congressional hearings will address issues including counterinsurgency in Africa, Syria policy, Western Hemisphere priorities, and oversight of Burma policy.

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    The Senate Appropriations Committee approved allocations for fiscal year 2013 that would effectively flat fund the State, Foreign Operations subcommittee at $53.017 billion, a slight decrease from 2012 levels. Compared to funding requests, the allocation is $1.7 billion lower. The allocation also shifts funds from Overseas Contingency Operations to regular base funding. Upcoming congressional hearings will address issues including counterinsurgency in Africa, Syria policy, Western Hemisphere priorities, and oversight of Burma policy.

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    157 views3 pages

    Public Policy Update 4-20-2012

    Uploaded by

    InterAction
    The Senate Appropriations Committee approved allocations for fiscal year 2013 that would effectively flat fund the State, Foreign Operations subcommittee at $53.017 billion, a slight decrease from 2012 levels. Compared to funding requests, the allocation is $1.7 billion lower. The allocation also shifts funds from Overseas Contingency Operations to regular base funding. Upcoming congressional hearings will address issues including counterinsurgency in Africa, Syria policy, Western Hemisphere priorities, and oversight of Burma policy.

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    PUBLIC POLICY UPDATE April 20, 2012 WASHINGTON UPDATE Senate subcommittee allocation flat-funds diplomacy and development

    This week, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved its budget that counts in the form of subcommittee or 302(b) allocations for FY2013, dividing the total discretionary pie stipulated by the Budget Control Act ($1.047 trillion) among the 12 appropriations subcommittees. The allocation for the State, Foreign Operations (SFOps) subcommittee is in two parts: $49.843 billion, for enduring programs $ 3.174 billion for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) programs Total: $53.017 billion State, Foreign Operations subcommittee levels FY2013 Senate allocation FY2013 request total: FY2012 total enacted: $53.017 billion $54.717 billion $53.343 billion

    So, relative to the current fiscal year (FY2012) the Senate allocation would effectively flat fund SFOps, cutting just $326 million (0.6 percent). Relative to the request, the allocation is about $1.7 billion low (3 percent). Perhaps as noteworthy as the overall level is the shift of funds from OCO to regular, or base, funding. In FY2012, $11.2 billion was enacted by SFOps as OCO, $42.1 billion as enduring. The new Senate allocation for OCO, $3.174 billion, is quite a bit lower, and the enduring allocation, $49.843 billion, quite a bit higher. (billions) Enduring FY2012 enacted Senate allocation FY2013 Proposed change 42.14 49.843 +7.703 OCO 11.203 3.174 -8.029 Total 53.343 53.017 -0.326

    In the end the dollars come from the same treasury, whether base funding or OCO. However, since OCO is intended to be used primarily for programs in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq (a slight departure from that intention in FY2012 for programs in Somalia notwithstanding), the increase in base funding will presumably create more room for poverty-focused programs outside of the front-line states, and will be easier to defend politically as the war in Afghanistan winds down. Whether the additional base funding is in fact used for poverty-focused programs outside the frontline states will only be clear when we see actual appropriations bills, but the allocation at least opens the door for such a shift.

    The House allocation for SFOps is expected to be announced next week, and will presumably be significantly lower. UPCOMING HEARINGS Hearing: United States Policy to Counter the Lords Resistance Army Committee: Senate Foreign Relations Committee African Affairs Subcommittee Witnesses: Donald Yamamoto, principal deputy assistant secretary of state for African affairs Earl Gast, assistant administrator for Africa, USAID Amanda Dory, deputy assistant defense secretary for African affairs When: April 24, 10:00 a.m. Where: 419 Dirksen Senate Office Building Contact: 202-224-4651 http://foreign.senate.gov Hearing: LRA, al-Shabab, AQIM, and Other Sources of Instability in Africa Committee: House Foreign Affairs Committee Witnesses: Donald Yamamoto, principal deputy assistant secretary of state for African affairs Daniel Benjamin, ambassador-at-large and coordinator for counterterrorism, State Department Amanda Dory, deputy assistant defense secretary for African affairs When: April 25, 10:00 a.m. Where: 2172 Rayburn House Office Building Contact: 202-225-5021 http://foreignaffairs.house.gov Hearing: Confronting Damascus: U.S. Policy Toward the Evolving Situation in Syria (Part II) Committee: House Foreign Affairs Committee Middle East and South Asia Subcommittee Witnesses: Andrew Tabler, Washington Institute for Near East Policy Mara Karlin, Johns Hopkins Universitys School of Advanced International Studies Joseph Holliday, Institute for the Study of War When: April 25, 1:30 p.m. Where: 2360 Rayburn House Office Building Contact: 202-225-5021 http://foreignaffairs.house.gov Hearing: Western Hemisphere Budget Review 2013: What Are U.S. Priorities? Committee: House Foreign Affairs Committee Western Hemisphere Subcommittee Witnesses: Roberta Jacobson, assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs When: April 25, 2:00 p.m. Where: 2172 Rayburn House Office Building Contact: 202-225-5021 http://foreignaffairs.house.gov Hearing: Oversight of U.S. Policy Toward Burma Committee: House Foreign Affairs Committee Asia and the Pacific Subcommittee Witnesses: Rep. Tom Andrews (D-ME, ret.), United to End Genocide Kurt Campbell, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs Nisha Biswal, assistant administrator for Asia, USAID 2

    Aung Din, U.S. Campaign for Burma When: April 25, 2:30 p.m. Where: 2200 Rayburn House Office Building Contact: 202-225-5021 http://foreignaffairs.house.gov ARTICLES AND REPORTS BBC News April 18: Honduras farm workers stage mass land occupations Honduran farm workers numbering in the thousands have occupied large swaths of land in protest of perceived government failures to fairly distribute arable farmland. The government has condemned the seizures, and security forces are struggling to control the situation. April 20: Huge water resource exists under Africa A British research team estimates that African ground water reserves could contain up to 100 times the amount of water as can be found on the surface. However, the scientists have cautioned that rapid large-scale drilling may lead to premature depletion of supplies, and so should not be undertaken without further study of the aquifers. Foreign Policy April 19: The Waste Land Despite the countrys strong economic growth, Kenyas poorest citizens have not seen their living conditions improve in recent years. Typical of this situation is the plight of Nairobis trash pickers, who put their health at risk to dig for scraps in the citys largest dump. The Guardian April 17: What should the new World Bank president focus on in his first year? A group of development and economics experts give their opinions regarding what Jim Yong Kims top priorities should be after taking office. Recommendations range from streamlining the institutions bureaucracy, to building trust in developing countries, to adopting more local innovations for development projects. April 20: Global sanitation target under threat The UN is hosting a high-level meeting to address a recent report indicating that the millennium development goal for sanitation will not be met until 2026, over a decade past the 2015 target date. Development aid for water and sanitation tends to lag behind other programs, despite the fact that it has been shown to have the single largest effect on overall public health. Washington Post April 17: US eases sanctions to enable Myanmar nonprofit work, rewarding govt for democratic reforms The Treasury Department has eased financial restrictions on private groups working on governance, economic development, and humanitarian assistance issues in Myanmar. The move comes as the U.S. gradually lifts restrictions on the Burmese government as a reward for democratic reforms. Further measures as expected in the coming weeks. 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. 3

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