On Valentine’s Day, Congress received a gift from President Obama: the federal budget for fiscal year 2012. As its opening shot in what promises to be a long and hard budgetary battle, the White House requested $47 billion for the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development. Although this is a 1% increase overall — with extra money primarily dedicated for preventing and treating HIV/AIDS and malaria — it makes cuts in most other major programs.
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