The State Department budget should be cut, U.S. aid should be used to force overhaul at the United Nations and the administration should take a harder line toward rogue regimes, according to the incoming chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Florida Republican who will lead the committee when her party takes control of the House in January, has laid out positions that put her at odds with some policies and priorities set by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who has pressed to increase diplomatic funding and shown a willingness to talk with Iran and North Korea under the right conditions.
“I have identified and will propose a number of cuts to the State Department and foreign aid budgets,” Ros-Lehtinen said in a statement yesterday. “There is much fat in these budgets, which makes some cuts obvious. Others will be more difficult, but necessary to improve the efficiency of U.S. efforts and accomplish more with less.”
State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley said yesterday that, with the agency taking on greater roles in areas of conflict, consistent funding is essential. The State Department and other international programs had budgets totaling $55 billion in fiscal 2010, which ended Sept. 30. The Obama administration proposed $56.8 billion for fiscal 2011.
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