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Task Force Report No. #11

Financing America’s Leadership

Protecting American Interests and Promoting American Values

  • Stephen J. Solarz
    Cochair
  • Mickey Edwards
    Cochair
  • Morton H. Halperin
    Director
  • Richard M. Moose
    Director
  • Lawrence J. Korb
    Director

What are Task Force Reports?

CFR sponsors Task Forces to assess issues of critical importance to U.S. foreign policy to reach bipartisan consensus on policy recommendations.

Who makes them?

Task Force members aim to reach a meaningful consensus on policy and are solely responsible for the content of their report.

Cover_Financing America's Leadership: Protecting American Interests and Promoting American Values

Relative to the average of the 1980’s, U.S. government spending on international affairs has fallen nearly 20 percent in real terms and will decline by as much as another 30 percent under budget-balancing plans proposed by the president and Congress.

An Independent Task Force convened by the Brookings Institution and the Council on Foreign Relations was asked to assess the consequences of this trend and to make appropriate recommendations. In its Statement, the Task Force concludes that the cuts adversely affect the ability of the United States to protect and promote its economic, diplomatic, and strategic agendas abroad. Unless the trend is reversed, American vital interests will be jeapordized.

Task Force Members

Mickey Edwards

Morton H. Halperin

Lawrence J. Korb

Richard M. Moose

Stephen J. Solarz