Graham right on foreign aid

Public opinion polls for decades have exposed a deep-seated fallacy about the federal budget. Majorities erroneously think the way to control public spending is to cut foreign aid.

It is simply wrong to think that eliminating foreign aid would do much to reduce federal deficits. This year the entire budget for foreign affairs represents just 1 percent of the federal budget of $3.6 trillion. Eliminating it would amount to scarcely more than a rounding error in the $1 trillion estimated deficit.

So Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. is doing the right thing when he speaks out against slashing foreign aid. Under the generally admirable House budget resolution (which has yet to be considered by the Senate) the foreign affairs budget would be cut by nearly 20 percent from last year's level.

According to the House Budget Committee, the $36 billion it proposes for this year's foreign affairs budget pays "for all U.S. international activities, including: operating U.S. embassies and consulates throughout the world; providing military assistance to allies; aiding developing nations; dispensing economic assistance to fledgling democracies; promoting U.S. exports abroad; making U.S. payments to international organizations; and contributing to international peacekeeping efforts."

This spending may not buy us love, but it surely improves our bargaining position.

The political climate on Capitol Hill threatens even deeper cuts in the foreign affairs budget as House and Senate look for ways to implement an agreement on $1.6 trillion in spending reductions over the next decade.

But Sen. Graham warns, "You can get more bang for your buck from [diplomatic and foreign aid] programs than you can from military engagement most of the time. You've got to have more options than just dropping bombs on people."

Sen. Graham recognizes that opposition to foreign aid represents a "movement to kind of withdraw from the world," adding that it "is not a viable option."

Diplomacy may not always be effective, but it should be the first option to settle differences among nations and advance mutually beneficial plans for commerce and national security.