The $6.8 trillion budget that U.S. President Joe Biden proposed on Thursday includes $70.5 billion for foreign affairs for the fiscal year 2024, an 11% increase. While that has pleased global development advocates, many of the administration’s plans will likely be blocked by Republicans in the House of Representatives who have been vocal about dramatically cutting federal spending.
Biden’s budget request focuses on confronting big global challenges. It seeks to boost funding to compete with China’s political and economic influence, as well as build infrastructure and address the climate crisis. It also details modest funding increases for global health and humanitarian issues. That includes $63.1 billion for the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development, roughly half of which would be administered by USAID.
The president’s budget request is seen as the starting point for the congressional appropriations process — one which is expected to be especially drawn out this year due to partisan differences on spending priorities.
About the author
Adva Saldinger@AdvaSal
Adva Saldinger is a Senior Reporter at Devex where she covers development finance, as well as U.S. foreign aid policy. Adva explores the role the private sector and private capital play in development and authors the weekly Devex Invested newsletter bringing the latest news on the role of business and finance in addressing global challenges. A journalist with more than 10 years of experience, she has worked at several newspapers in the U.S. and lived in both Ghana and South Africa.
