Business Groups Letter on U.S. International Affairs Budget

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Dear Member of Congress:

As the U.S. economy continues to struggle, our nation must utilize all the tools available to catalyze economic growth and spur job creation here in the U.S. It is essential the public and private sectors work together to achieve results, and one of the best ways to do this is through our development and diplomacy programs, which strengthen America’s global competitiveness and build new markets overseas for American goods and services. That is why we write today in strong support of the International Affairs Budget.

As business leaders, we know that U.S. economic growth is linked with global trade and the world’s economy like never before. As the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has noted, overseas markets represent 95% of the world’s consumers and 80% of global purchasing power. Trade already supports one in three U.S. manufacturing jobs, and these trends will become even more pronounced in the future.

Past U.S. investments overseas have paid major dividends for America’s economic and strategic interests. In fact, ten of the U.S.’s top 15 trading partners were once recipients of development and security assistance. Nations such as South Korea and Colombia are now major trading partners. Indeed, countries – which today purchase over half of all U.S. exports – are the most promising and fastest growing markets for U.S. goods and services.

The trade and export promotion programs funded by the International Affairs Budget are essential to expanding U.S. activity in new and emerging markets. American businesses and entrepreneurs benefit significantly from development and diplomacy programs that provide technical assistance, identify business opportunities, protect intellectual property rights, and transition developing countries into more reliable, market-oriented trading partners.

For all these reasons, we urge you to support a strong and effective International Affairs Budget. While just 1% of the federal budget, these programs are vital for achieving a more prosperous future for American businesses and the U.S. economy.

Sincerely,

Bill Lane

Caterpillar

John Murphy

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Abbott
Andrea Durkin, Senior Director,
Global Government Affairs & Policy

Aerospace Industries Association (AIA)

Remy Nathan, Vice President,

International Affairs

Amway Corporation

Richard Holwill, Vice President,

Public Policy

Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM)

Dennis Slater, President

Biotechnology Industry Organization

Joe Damond, Senior Vice President, International Affairs

The Boeing Company

Jefferson S. Hofgard, Vice President,

International Operations and Policy, Government Operations

Business Roundtable

John Engler, President

Campbell Soup Company

Kelly D. Johnston, Vice President,

Government Affairs

Cargill

Devry Boughner, Director,

International Business Relations

Caterpillar

Bill Lane, Washington Director,

Government Affairs

CDM Smith

J. Ellis Turner, Senior Vice President

Cisco Systems, Inc.

Michael Timmeny, Vice President,

Government Affairs

Citi

Candida P. Wolff, Executive Vice President,

Global Government Affairs

Coalition for Employment Through Exports, Inc. (CEE)

John Hardy, Jr., President

Coca-Cola

John H. Downs, Jr., Vice President,

Global Government, Diplomatic & Stakeholder Relations

Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA)

Edward J. Black, President & CEO

Corporate Council on Africa

Stephen Hayes, President

Creative Associates International

Charito Kruvant, President & CEO

DAI

James J. Boomgard, President & CEO

DuPont Pioneer

Paul E. Schickler, President

Emergency Committee for American Trade (ECAT)

Calman Cohen, President

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc.

W. Russell King, Senior Vice President,

International Relations

GlaxoSmithKline

John Del Giorno, Vice President,

Government Relations

Google

Bob Boorstin, Director,

Corporate & Policy Communications

IBM

Timothy W. Docking, Ph. D., Lead,

Emerging Markets Funding (EMF) Group, IBM Governmental Programs/Public Sector

International Paper

Mary Mann, Senior Manager,

Government Relations International

IRG

Asif Shaikh, President & CEO

John Deere

Vanessa Stiffler-Claus, Director,

International Affairs

Johnson & Johnson

Craig Kramer, Vice President,

International Government Affairs

Kraft

Perry Yeatman, Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs & President,

Kraft Foods Foundation

L-3 Communications

General Richard A. Cody (USA, Ret.), Senior Vice President, Washington Operations

Land O’Lakes, Inc.

Chris Policinski, President & CEO

Lockheed Martin Corporation

Gregory R. Dahlberg, Senior Vice President, Washington Operations

Microsoft Corporation

Fred Humphries, Vice President, U.S. Government Affairs

Monsanto Company

Michael Dykes, Vice President, Government Affairs

Motorola Solutions

Karen P. Tandy, Senior Vice President,

Public Affairs

National Foreign Trade Council

William A. Reinsch, President

National Retail Federation

Erik Autor, Vice President,

International Trade Counsel

North Dakota Trade Office

Dean Gorder, Executive Director

PepsiCo

Elizabeth H. Avery, Vice President,

Global Public Policy & Federal Government Affairs

Pfizer

Paul Neureiter, Senior Director,

International Trade

Raytheon

Lieutenant General Paul T. Mikolashek (USA, Ret.), Vice President, NCS International Business Development

Retail Industry Leaders Association

Stephanie Lester, Vice President

International Trade

RTI International

Dr. E. Wayne Holden, President & CEO

TechnoServe

Bruce McNamer, President & CEO

TetraTech

Jan Auman, President, Tetra Tech International Development Services

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

John Murphy, Vice President,

International Affairs

U.S.-Russia Business Council

Edward S. Verona, President & CEO

United States Council for International Business

Rob Mulligan, Senior Vice President, Washington

US-China Business Council

Erin Ennis, Vice President

US-Poland Business Council

Eric Stewart, President

Walmart

Sarah Thorn, Senior Director,

Federal Government Relations

World Cocoa Foundation

William Guyton, President

Xerox Corporation

Michele Cahn, Vice President,

Global Government Affairs

Business Roundtable

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Business Groups Letter on U.S. International Affairs Budget

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