Before recessing, both houses of the Republican-controlled U.S. Congress passed their first budget plans since 2010. And while the Senate’s budget would cut foreign aid 5 percent, the House of Representatives is seeking an 18 percent reduction in the country’s development spending for fiscal year 2016.
As Congress begins the process of reconciling the two budgets, pressure is mounting to make additional cuts to reduce the deficit and boost defense spending.
The Department of Defense reported that even with proposed increases to defense-related funding in the Overseas Contingency Operations account — an average 30 percent increase from 2015 levels — the increase won’t meet needs for training, maintenance or procurement, none of which come out of OCO.
About the author
Molly Andersmollyanders_dev
Molly Anders is a former U.K. correspondent for Devex. Based in London, she reports on development finance trends with a focus on British and European institutions. She is especially interested in evidence-based development and women’s economic empowerment, as well as innovative financing for the protection of migrants and refugees. Molly is a former Fulbright Scholar and studied Arabic in Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Morocco.
