(Washington, DC) - Rep. Gary L. Ackerman (D-Queens/L.I.), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, today called on President-elect Barrack Obama to support a robust International Affairs budget for FY 2010.  In a bipartisan congressional letter to President-elect Obama, Ackerman highlighted the critical role that foreign aid and diplomacy plays in advancing America's national security, economic and diplomatic interests.

“As we’ve learned only too well, today's threats--terrorism, economic crisis, and infectious diseases--don't respect borders.  And against some of these threats having the greatest military in the world won't suffice to keep us safe" said Ackerman. "We need to deploy the the full-range of diplomatic and political tools and smart, carefully targeted foreign assistance is one of the most important tools at our disposal..”

Currently, U.S. spending on foreign assistance constitutes less than one percent of the U.S. federal budget.

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