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International Affairs Budget Update
December 4, 2015

1. Appropriators Inch Toward an Omnibus Deal
2. Gayle Smith Confirmed as USAID Administrator
3. Ex-Im Bank Reauthorized
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1. Appropriators Inch Toward an Omnibus Deal

With a two-year budget deal in place, House and Senate Appropriators
have been working furiously to come to agreement on a FY16 omnibus
spending bill, which will include funding for International Affairs
programs. Spending levels have more or less been finalized, but
the Committees and Congressional leadership are still negotiating
what, if any, policy provisions will be included in the final bill.
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) has
said his goal is to release the bill early next week in order to pass
the legislation through Congress by December 11th, when the current
Continuing Resolution (CR) expires, but that deadline may have slipped
after Democrats rejected the initial Republican proposal earlier this
week.

Depending how quickly Appropriators can find agreement on policy
issues, it may be necessary for Congress to enact another short-term
CR to keep the government running after December 11th. House
Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) alluded to as much earlier this
week. In the worst case, it is possible that the disagreement
over policy riders could result in a government shutdown-though
there is a strong desire among Republican and Democratic Congressional
leadership to avoid this outcome.

As a reminder, in October Congress reached a budget deal that
increases total discretionary spending by $66 billion in FY16.
The additional funding-which is offset by cuts to
mandatory programs and revenue increases-is divided equally
between Defense and Non-Defense Discretionary programs.

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=5Xyts2wE3G3Bt45-V-gCMg

* Non-Defense Discretionary (NDD): Increased $25 billion in
FY16
* Defense: Increased $25 billion in FY16
* Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO): Increased $16 billion in
FY16, split evenly between Defense and Non-Defense

We understand that the State-Foreign Operations bill will receive the
additional Non-Defense OCO funding, bringing the OCO account to
approximately $15 billion in FY16. It remains unclear how
Appropriators will allocate the additional NDD funding, i.e. whether
base State-Foreign Operations will receive a proportional increase,
remain flat, or potentially be cut. However, because of the
significant increase in OCO funding and new flexibility within that
account to fund programs not necessarily associated with traditional
emergency programs, it is possible that base funding will be cut.

Over the last several weeks, USGLC has activated its network both
inside the Beltway and around the country to strongly urge lawmakers
to protect International Affairs programs by providing at least FY15
funding for base programs, in addition to an increase in OCO
funding.

2. Gayle Smith Confirmed as USAID Administrator

This week, the Senate voted 79-7 to confirm Gayle Smith to be the 17

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=TVICU-u6gBfoT8uAOkYyXA

th Administrator of USAID. In April, President Barack Obama
nominated Smith, then the Special Assistant to the President and
Senior Director for Development and Diplomacy at the National Security
Council, to fill the vacancy left by the departure of former
Administrator Raj Shah. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee
unanimously approved her nomination in late July, but a hold on her
nomination prevented a vote on the floor until this week.

The Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee, Senators Bob Corker (R-TN) and Ben Cardin (D-MD), were
instrumental in shepherding the nomination through the Senate.
During floor debate Senator Cardin said, "Our national
security depends on having a strong military, but it also depends upon
having a strong position in international development assistance in
dealing with our diplomacy. And the Director of the USAID is a
critical member of our national security team. We couldn't
have a stronger person for that position than Gayle Smith."
Senators Roy Blunt (R-MO), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Dean Heller
(R-NV), Mike Lee (R-UT), Rand Paul (R-KY), Jim Risch (R-ID), and Ben
Sasse (R-NE) voted against the nomination.

USGLC issued a press release on Monday applauding the Senate's
confirmation of Smith, noting the unprecedented number of global
humanitarian crises and thus the need for strong and effective
leadership at USAID. Smith's significant experience in
bipartisan initiatives and global development will no doubt help the
agency address these challenges and advance America's interests
around the world.

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=p6enV9MXextuXRBssvp4Hw

3. Ex-Im Bank Reauthorized

After months of delay, Congress passed legislation this week that
included a reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank. In July,
the Senate approved an amendment to the highway trust fund bill that
would reauthorize the Bank for five years, and the House approved the
reauthorization in a stand-alone bill in October. After
conference negotiations, the House (359-65) and Senate (83-16) passed
the final highway bill this week which included the reauthorization
language. The President is expected to sign the bill.
Although the Bank continued to receive operational funding
through the end of the fiscal year (and through the current Continuing
Resolution), the lack of authorization had prohibited it from
approving financing of any new loans.
http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=bySD3LDVyUsQsltG5y4U5Q

http://action.usglc.org/site/R?i=FlILmJMK6lqmWqb3FWcGMg


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