Obama Seeks $1 Billion for Feed the Future

The Obama Administration is asking Congress for $7.9 billion to fund global health programs in fiscal year 2013. It also is requesting $1 billion to help farmers in 20 countries targeted by the Feed the Future initiative to grow more food.

“By fighting hunger and disease, we fight the despair that can fuel violent extremism and conflict,” said Rajiv Shah, administrator of USAID. The proposed budget would help countries “feed, treat and educate their people while strengthening the capacity to own those responsibilities,” he said.

The Administration’s total request for the State Department and foreign assistance is $51.6 billion, of which USAID administers a large portion.

Testifying March 6 before the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, Shah said the spending request for the fiscal year starting October 1 includes $770 million to support political, economic and trade reforms in the Middle East and North Africa.

“By supporting governments that demonstrate a commitment to undergo meaningful change and empower their people, [the United States] will continue to play a major role in helping the people of this region determine their own fate,” Shah said.

The proposed budget would continue programs to help Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq move toward long-term stability, economic growth and democratic reforms.

The budget request is slightly less than the amount requested for fiscal year 2012 as the result of greater efficiencies, falling costs and increased investments by partner governments, Shah said. 

• Read the full article on the U.S. Department of State’s IIP Digital website
• Read Shah’s full remarks before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
• Read Shah’s full remarks before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
• Read Shah’s full remarks before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs

Additional Resources

• Read an article on Shah’s remarks before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on March 14 & his full remarks
• Check out Shah’s speech at the Council on Foreign Relations & USAID’s second annual letter 
• Read about how we’re stepping up our investment in agricultural research through Feed the Future on the IIP Digital website
• Read Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s testimony on the budget before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
• Read Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner’s testimony before a U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee