Polls say more Americans are worrying about budget deficits and their impact on the short and long-term future of the country.  But the problem is: Where should the United States government cut its spending?

One radio news show I listen to during my trip into the office said many Americans favor reducing foreign assistance.  Help the folks at home first, I guess, is the way these people look at budgeting federal dollars.

The U.S. Congress, too, has been looking for ways to cut government spending, and, at the moment, it seems to want to trim foreign assistance.  On June 30, the House State-Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee marked up and approved, by voice vote, a draft FY 2011 funding bill that would provide $52.66 billion — $4 billion less than the Obama Administration had requested — for international programs and activities.  A Congressional Research Service (CRS) report released July 2, 2010 notes that the subcommittee bill would actually increase funding over the President’s request for a few programs such as the Democracy Fund, which would get an additional $120 million.  But lots of wrangling remains to be done before the House and the Senate approve the final figures for funding FY 2011 international affairs operations.

According to figures provided by the CRS, U.S. foreign aid funding hasn’t exceeded one percent of U.S. gross domestic product since 1965, so trimming that part of the U.S. budget might not represent huge savings in the big picture of overall U.S. government spending.  A CRS report released April 9, 2009 acknowledges that the United States is the smallest contributor among the major donor governments when calculated as a percent of gross national income.  Even so, the report says, “the United States is the largest international economic aid donor in absolute dollar terms.”

Some people argue that U.S. foreign aid is crucial for promoting stable, democratic governments, achieving U.S. national security goals and ensuring a favorable global economic environment for American products.  Others say that part of the budget can be cut back.  What do you think?

[image src="http://photos.state.gov/libraries/amgov/3234/Week_3/09232010_AP05121508097-500.jpg" caption="Some people argue U.S. foreign aid is crucial to promoting and protecting democracy around the world. Here an Iraqi woman shows her ink-stained finger after casting her vote during Iraqi parliamentary elections."]