Last week, the House Appropriations Committee outlined spending levels for the second half of the 2011 fiscal year. These levels designate spending limits that the Appropriations Subcommittees will use to determine specific budgetary allocations (e.g.: funding for peacekeepers). The spending limits matter because they determine the amount of money available, which can directly impact funding needed to support peace in Sudan and genocide prevention.
State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee Chairwoman Kay Granger
Specific to Sudan and genocide prevention, we are interested in the State and Foreign Operations (SFOPs) budget. There has been significant concern over the last few months that this account would be severely cut. Statements by House leadership, including the Chair of the House Foreign Relations Committee Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and the Chair of the SFOPs Subcommittee Kay Granger, indicated that they wanted to drastically reduce funding. These suggested cuts have raised concerns about:
- the ability of the United States to pay our promised share of United Nations Peacekeeping, which is currently operating two missions in Sudan;
- support for the Civilian Stabilization Initiative that has deployed non-military personnel to help stabilize conflicts around the world including in Sudan; and
- support for the Complex Crises Fund that provides a small amount of flexible funding to enable the U.S. to respond immediately to threats of genocide or mass atrocities.
Last week’s announcement of the spending limits by the Appropriations Committee has caused concern as the cuts mark a 17% decrease from the amount requested by the President. The exact funding levels and percentages can be downloaded from the House Appropriations Committee here (PDF).
We can only hope that, as Chairwoman Kay Granger’s subcommittee considers the SFOPs budget in greater detail, funding critical to genocide prevention and Sudan will be fully allocated. Otherwise, we may be faced with a contentious battle later this year.
The opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Save Darfur Coalition.
Tags: Appropriations, funding, genocide prevention, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Kay Granger, State and Foreign Operations, UNAMID, UNMIS
