PUBLIC POLICY UPDATE October 14, 2011 WASHINGTON UPDATE Letters to Deficit Reduction Committee Detail Potential Costs

to International Affairs The highest ranking Democrats on House committees all submitted their proposals to the Joint Select Committee (JSC) on Deficit Reduction this week, with the letters from Rep. Berman (DCA)ranking member of the Committee on Foreign Affairsand Rep. Dicks (D-WA)ranking member on the Appropriations Committeebeing of particular interest for the InterAction community. First, Rep. Bermans letter (http://www.democraticleader.gov/pdf/ForeignAffairs101311.pdf) makes the case that international affairs spending has already borne a disproportionate share of the cuts. It warns that further cuts such as those in the House FY2012 bill would mean decimating our famine relief efforts in the Horn of Africa, losing the window of opportunity to support democratic reforms as a result of the Arab Spring, and complicating our militarys plans for withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan. It notes the regular polls that show how the public vastly overestimates how much of the federal budget goes to foreign assistance, discusses the importance of trade for economic recovery, and notes the proposals for reform of our aid architecture in his draft bill. Perhaps most importantly, it takes on fiscal concerns head-on, observing that: short-term savings through further cuts to our international affairs budget are likely to increase long-term costs, both financial and human. Our children cannot be safe when deadly diseases run rampant and the global environment is degraded. Our jobs will not grow if people in other countries cannot afford to buy the products we make. And our budget deficit will not shrink if we are called to respond with military force to national security threats that could have been addressed with less costly preventive measures. Rep. Dickss letter (http://www.democraticleader.gov/pdf/Appropriations101311.pdf) focuses on the estimated effects of the automatic spending cuts that would take effect if the JSC failed to produce a proposal for Congress or if Congress failed to pass what the JSC recommended, going into the details for defense, homeland security, public safety, protection of financial markets, international affairs, education, health, and safety net programs. The international affairs section goes into considerable detail, listing among the likely effects of sequestration during FY2013 the following costs: 8 million people denied treatment or interventions for malaria 43,000 denied treatment for TB, resulting in 12,000 deaths 3,500 mothers dying 40,000 children under 5 put at risk 900,000 undernourished children deprived of nutrition interventions

8.5 million women denied access to family planning services, leading to 2.5 million additional unintended pregnancies, resulting in 1.2 million more abortions, 28,000 additional newborn deaths, and 4,000 additional maternal deaths. 223,000 new HIV/AIDS infections that would otherwise have been prevented 1.1 million patients losing access to life-saving drugs, resulting in an additional 191,000 children being orphaned. 2.5 million people losing access to emergency food assistance, while a major famine grows in the Horn of Africa. These estimates are based on calculations from the Congressional Budget Office (available at http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=12414) estimating that if sequestration kicks in to create the full additional $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction required, it would result in about a 7.8%, $39 billion reduction in FY2013 for non-defense discretionary spending, across the board. The JSC continues to meet in closed meetings, with five and a half weeks now before the November 23 deadline it faces for voting out a recommendation.