The role the United States plays in world affairs is heavily dependent on how Americans choose to invest in the elements of national power. But distorted public perception of foreign assistance, combined with an economic recession and an austere budget environment, threaten to deprive the United States’ civilian foreign affairs agencies of the resources needed to project U.S. influence globally. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to a more thoughtful discussion of the international affairs budget by: 1) highlighting the increasingly challenging environment for international affairs funding; 2) outlining the components of the international affairs budget and mapping them against U.S. national interests and values overseas; and 3) challenging the conventional wisdom regarding international affairs funding and considering the trade-offs that would result from significant cuts to the international affairs budget.