Reuters examines how budget debates in Congress “could undo” President Barack Obama’s “‘smart power’ approach, which elevates diplomacy and development alongside military power as guarantors of U.S. security in a rapidly changing world.” Programs run through the State Department and USAID that provide “[f]ood aid to hungry countries, … improved medical services for expectant mothers and the U.S. response to natural disasters such as earthquakes and droughts could be hit in a major scale-back of U.S. assistance,” the news agency writes.

USAID Deputy Administrator Donald Steinberg “emphasized that the agency was … seeking to focus its development efforts and establish a more cost-effective model — albeit one that would require short-term budget support,” the news agency notes. “In many cases, we are eliminating smaller programs so that we can focus our attention — even in a reduced budget environment — on strategic priority. That means focusing on areas like food security, global health, global climate change, democracy and governance and economic growth,” Steinberg said (Cornwell/Quinn, 9/7).