Washington, DC – Today, the Biden-Harris administration released its FY2022 budget request. Foreign Policy for America applauds the budget’s focus on diplomacy and is pleased to see further commitments toward rebuilding and revitalizing our foreign policy infrastructure made in this full budget proposal. We must do all we can to refocus diplomacy as the tool of first resort across all our foreign policy priorities.
We are pleased by the budget request’s 12% increase in funding for the State Department and Foreign Operations budget, which represents a much needed down payment on revitalizing American diplomacy following the damage of the Trump administration. However, much more will be needed if the U.S. is to meet the current global moment and effectively address the many challenges we face, from democratic backsliding and rebuilding our international alliances, to global health security and climate change.
Foreign Policy for America notes with approval the increase of nearly $1 billion in global health funding, boosting efforts to address COVID-19, boost maternal and child health, and provide lifesaving family planning and reproductive health services. Additionally, we are pleased to see a renewed commitment to addressing the global challenge of climate change, including investments in the Green Climate Fund. These funding increases are an important step in renewing America’s global leadership, and we hope these increases continue in future budgets.
While we appreciate the Biden-Harris administration’s investment in diplomacy and development, we are disappointed that the administration did not take this opportunity to shift spending away from costly, unnecessary, and dangerous nuclear weapons programs. Proceeding full steam ahead on major nuclear weapons programs, such as the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent weapon systems, contradicts the Biden administration’s own interim National Security Strategic Guidance and represents a missed opportunity for President Biden to set our nuclear weapons programs on a more fiscally responsible path.
“The President’s budget shows a commitment to revitalizing American diplomacy, but an enormous gap remains between the global challenges we face today and our diplomatic capacities to meet those challenges,” said Foreign Policy for America Executive Director Andrew Albertson. “We encourage Congress to build on this budget with further investments in the State Department and USAID, and to consider ways to trim wasteful and unnecessary weapons spending, so that our country can once again lead with diplomacy.”
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