Bush proposes 5 pc hike in foreign spending

Bush proposes 5 pc hike in foreign spending
ELAINE MONAGHAN

MAR 1: President George W. Bush on Wednesday proposed a modest increase in the 2002 budget for foreign aid and diplomacy, below what Secretary of State Colin Powell wanted to boost low morale and pursue US interests.

Budget 2001: Full Coverage

The 5 per cent increase to $23.1 billion was higher than for most departments, but fell short of the 10 to 20 per cent Powell reportedly wanted to boost diplomacy, which he sees as America's first line of defence.

Reflecting concern about safety to US facilities around the world, particularly after two embassy bombings in Africa in 1998, the budget included $1.3 billion for infrastructure.

More money was set aside for counter narcotics efforts in Colombia and fighting HIV/AIDS in Africa as well as improving and securing communications and Internet access, an issue of concern as the department has suffered recent security lapses.

A report by former Defence Secretary Frank Carlucci last month said 92 per cent of overseas posts had obsolete networks for classified data and that many US facilities were "shabby and insecure".

It said the number of foreign service officers was about 15 per cent, or 700 people, below requirements.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told a news briefing that Powell was pleased with the increase but indicated he would be looking for more in future.

The outcome of the budget discussions had been watched as an indication whether Powell, who has liberal social views that are more in keeping with Democrats than the conservative Republicans now in power, would be able to use his huge popular support to exert his authority inside the administration.

A leading Democrat in Congress dismissed the overall hike as too small, though the final spending level is likely to be higher after the budget is worked out in Congress and once requests for supplemental spending are made.

Powell, like his predecessor Madeleine Albright who said she really needed $28 billion annually to do her job properly, made boosting the lagging foreign affairs budget a key issue when he spoke at his Senate approval hearing last month.

He thanked senators for the 17 per cent hike over four years they gave Albright, but said he needed more. She issued figures last year showing a real decline since 1985 of 41 per cent.

"We need not just a little increase, we need a steep increase. And as soon as I have put together the specific programmes...I can promise you I will be back," Powell said.

Albright often reminded Americans that with the penny in every tax dollar spent on foreign affairs, the United States ranked last among industrialised nations in the percentage of wealth spent promoting democracy and development overseas.

Boucher said Powell would have more to say when he appeared before congressional committees to discuss the budget on March 7 and 8.

"We're pleased with the increase that allows us to spend more money on important priorities...We all understand the budget process this year and we look forward to continuing to working within the administration to meet the needs we have in coming years," Boucher said.

But the top Democrat on the House of Representatives' International Relations Committee, Tom Lantos of California, said US diplomacy had been shortchanged.

Lantos said Bush had called for an increase in spending on defence but made no such call to boost diplomatic readiness.

"As Secretary Powell has said, diplomacy is America's firstline of defence. We should not sacrifice America's national security on the altar of fiscally-irresponsible tax cuts," Lantos said.

Tax cuts are the top priority for Bush, who kept a tight hand on spending in the 2002 budget.