The Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development play a critical role in maintaining international peace and security. These two agencies stand on the frontlines of global challenges that will shape Americans' lives and livelihoods for years to come. At this moment of profound disruptions - including the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, rising authoritarianism, intensifying geopolitical rivalries, record numbers of refugees, and a technological revolution that carries both enormous promise and peril- U.S. diplomacy and development efforts are essential to uphold democratic values around the world and ensure Americans' security and prosperity at home.
The President's FY 2023 budget, which includes $60.4 billion for the Department of State and USAID, will make it possible for us to continue to lead the world in tackling global challenges and upholding the international system that the United States did so much to build. The President's request delivers on our commitments to the Ukrainian people and our Allies and partners in Europe. It includes additional economic and security support for Ukraine to help Ukrainians defend their country from Russia's premeditated, unprovoked, and unjustified invasion. It also provides significant support to our partners in the region by supporting them on their paths toward democracy, Euro-Atlantic integration, and open market economies while building their capacity to counter coercive actions from external actors.
Even as we focus on urgent needs in Ukraine, we must not lose sight of other acute challenges, including the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic that continues to affect people around the world. To protect Americans and sustain the U.S. economic recovery, we must halt the global spread of COVID-19 and bolster global health security systems to prevent the next pandemic.
The President's budget request invests in combating global infectious diseases and bolstering global health security through a new pandemic early warning network and health resilience fund. It strengthens the global health workforce and advances global research and health security financing to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease outbreaks. And it continues essential global health programs that are more important than ever as COVID-19 continues to strain local health systems and threatens to reverse the gains made in recent years against HIV/ AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.
The United States' longstanding scientific, technological, and innovation edge is a strategic asset that underpins our national security, economic strength, and democratic values. The President's request will advance U.S. leadership in cyberspace and the digital economy while working to shape the norms and standards that govern transformative new technologies. It also supports the Administration's Build Back Better World Initiative, which will help our partners build highquality infrastructure necessary for inclusive and sustainable growth by raising labor and environmental standards, promoting transparency, combating corruption, and partnering with the private sector, including American firms and workers, to address global infrastructure needs. This initiative offers a compelling alternative to the People's Republic of China's Belt and Road Initiative and other models of infrastructure which distort markets, fuel corruption, create unsustainable debt burdens, and degrade resources.
The climate crisis is no longer something we must work to prevent - it has already begun, as we can see from the historic droughts, fires, storms, and flooding that are affecting every region of the United States. To mitigate the most catastrophic outcomes of the climate crisis in this century, we need to secure climate mitigation and adaption outcomes that are both aggressive and ambitious. With 85 percent of annual global emissions coming from outside of the United States, we cannot do it alone- and we will not succeed without strong U.S. leadership. The Department is working to lead by example and steward taxpayer dollars through our facilities and operations by deploying U.S. technologies and solutions that improve energy efficiency and operational resilience. This budget request will enable the Department and USAID to advance and scale up international climate programs and accelerate the global energy transition to net zero by 2050; help developing countries enhance resilience to the growing impacts of climate change while promoting independence from non-renewable energy sources; and model renewable energy, climate adaptation, and sustainability principles in our domestic and overseas facilities.
We also face unprecedented and overlapping humanitarian crises, including global migration and displacement worsened by climate change, corruption, and conflict, including in Ukraine. Our budget request will allow the Department of State and USAID to execute the Administration's Root Causes Strategy to stem the flow of irregular migration from Central America by helping to prevent violence, reduce poverty and corruption, and expand jobs and educational opportunities in the region. This budget request will also help rebuild U.S. refugee admissions programs and revitalize American leadership on humanitarian issues. It supports the Administration's work to advance human rights, racial and gender equity, and to increase the inclusion ofunderserved communities around the world- an effort that is ever more urgent as U.S. strategic competitors seek to exploit social fractures to foment polarization, disinformation, and instability and undermine democracy and universal human rights.
The United States cannot counter adversaries or solve global challenges alone. The President's request invests in our alliances and maintains our longstanding commitments to key partners. It advances peace, prosperity, and security across the Indo-Pacific and Europe; renews our partnerships in critical regions such as Central America; expands our diplomatic and development initiatives in Africa and Asia; and positions us to effectively compete with China and Russia. By continuing our commitment to pay U.S. assessed contributions to international organizations and UN peacekeeping missions on time and in full, this budget request affirms U.S. leadership in those organizations, at a moment when our competitors are seeking to expand their influence. The budget request would also ensure that the United States participates as a member in good standing in the UN Security Council and other vital inter-governmental bodies such as the World Health Assembly that channel billions of dollars of resources and make critical decisions affecting peace and security, the global economy, the environment, civil society, and assistance for refugees and displaced persons. The request also advances U.S. leadership by funding participation in international conferences, expositions, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation events that the United States will host in 2023. It strengthens U.S. partnerships by helping to meet the Sustainable Development Goals, including global education, ending hunger and malnutrition, and building more sustainable, equitable, and resilient food systems. The request also maintains funding for Afghanistan assistance and continued diplomatic operations in support of our Afghan allies, recognizing these are dynamic, events-driven needs.
Finally, this budget request continues urgent, necessary investments to build and transform our technology and workforce, in line with the President's National Security Memorandum on revitalizing national security institutions. It would enable the Department and USAID to meet critical staffing gaps and attract and retain a diverse workforce with expertise in critical emerging fields. It would also expand our professional and development training capacity to help our diplomatic and development professionals build the skills they need to manage increasingly complex national security issues. And the request positions us to adopt and maintain modern technology to improve efficiency, collaboration, data analysis capabilities, and information security.
We appreciate your continued support in providing resources for the U.S. Department of State and USAID to advance the interests of the American people, their safety, and economic prosperity.
