The recently adopted fiscal year 2011 federal budget includes $39.5 million in funding for the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) -- a 20 percent reduction from the fiscal year 2010 level of $49.2 million.

USIP President Richard H. Solomon said that the response to the nation’s “fiscal duress” will require cuts in the Institute’s work in the areas of international conflict prevention, mediation and post-conflict management operations; research, analysis and innovation in peacebuilding; and education and training for conflict managers.

The new budget requires the Institute to squeeze the cuts out of the remaining months of FY 2011, reducing by $10 million the amount available for global peacebuilding activities. Ongoing peace operations in Afghanistan and Iraq will not be immediately affected because they are funded through supplemental appropriations.

“No institution of government is unaffected by the nation’s financial condition, and we are doing our part to implement the necessary cuts with as little damage as possible to American interests and USIP’s work in the field,” Solomon said.

Solomon said that the Institute would remain able to assist in the nation’s management of a complex array of security challenges, including instability and change in the Middle East, post-conflict transitions and nuclear-armed rogue states.

Before the FY 2011 budget agreement, Solomon had instructed the Institute’s managers to identify ways of operating more efficiently, including a freeze on new staff positions, a reduction in the hiring of contractors and the consolidation of some activities. Those cost-saving steps should help reduce the impact of cuts in spending on USIP peacebuilding activities.

“Robust funding of international conflict prevention, management and resolution at this critical time makes a vital contribution to U.S. national security,” said Solomon. “Peacebuilding saves lives and saves money.”