More on the new Congress and the future of US global engagement

This week I posted some questions and thoughts on the anticipated changes in Congress following the change in leadership in the House. Below are some analysis by others for your consideration.

The Alliance for International Educational and Cultural Exchange shows who is gone from which relevant committee.

The US Global Leadership Coalition published a detailed report (PDF) on the new players, the new playing field, and the impact of the “Tea Party Factor.”

While Congress completes the FY 2011 spending bills, the pressure to curtail the FY 2012 budget is certain to grow after dozens of Tea Party candidates and policymakers with antispending platforms arrive in D.C. come January.  The Administration is already reworking its budget request to respond to the volatile climate ahead, and without a Director of Office of  Management and Budget.

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) has maintained her hold on Deputy Secretary of State Jack Lew’s nomination to head the Office of Management and Budget over the since-repealed offshore drilling moratorium, and her office has not yet announced if she will release the hold during the lame duck session.  The White House summer guidelines to departments already included a 5 percent decrease for all non-security agencies on their FY 2012 budget requests.  While the Administration has classified the International Affairs Budget as part of the security funding, it is unlikely that the President will stay on track to meet his call to double foreign assistance by
2015.

See also Gordon Adams’s comments.

What are your thoughts on the future?