Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2024 Budget and Appropriations
Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2024 Budget and Appropriations
Updated July 16, 2024
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
R47579
Congressional Research Service
SUMMARY
Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2024 Budget and Appropriations
Each year, Congress considers 12 distinct appropriations measures to fund federal programs and activities. One of these is the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPS) appropriations bill, which includes funding for U.S. diplomatic activities; cultural exchanges; development, security, and humanitarian assistance; and participation in multilateral organizations, among other international activities. On March 9, 2023, the Biden Administration released its proposed FY2024 budget request, which called for $69.01 billion in new budget authority for SFOPS accounts, or $68.73 billion when including proposed rescissions of prior year funding.
The FY2024 request, including rescissions, represented a 14.9% increase from FY2023 enacted base appropriations (excluding emergency funding responding to Russia’s war in Ukraine) and a 40.9% decrease from total FY2023 enacted appropriations. Consistent with previous budget requests and annual SFOPS appropriations measures, the budget request divided SFOPS into two main components:
Department of State and Related Agency. These accounts, which are provided in Title I of the SFOPS bill, primarily support Department of State diplomatic and security activities. The FY2024 base proposal included $18.84 billion for Title I accounts, representing an 8.4% increase from FY2023 enacted base appropriations and a 7.4% increase from total FY2023 enacted levels.
Foreign Operations and Related Programs. These accounts, which are provided in Titles II-VI of the SFOPS bill, fund most foreign assistance activities and would see a total of $50.16 billion for FY2024, a 16.4% increase when compared with FY2023 enacted base levels and a 21.7% decrease when compared with total FY2023 enacted levels.
On July 12, 2023, the House Appropriations Committee approved its version of the FY2024 SFOPS appropriations bill. The full House amended and approved the measure on September 28, 2023. The bill would have provided a total of $53.93 billion in new budget authority for SFOPS ($40.53 billion after rescissions). Of that total, the bill would have provided $14.53 billion for Department of State and Related Agency accounts and $39.40 billion for Foreign Operations and Related Programs accounts. On July 20, 2023, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved its FY2024 SFOPS appropriations measure, which would have provided $63.03 billion in new budget authority ($61.77 after rescissions). Of that total, the bill would have provided $17.96 billion for Department of State and Related Agency accounts and $45.07 billion for Foreign Operations and Related Programs accounts, of which $3.25 billion was designated as emergency funding.
On August 10, 2023, the Biden Administration proposed $10.85 billion in FY2024 emergency supplemental SFOPS funding. Such funds would support U.S. assistance for Ukraine and countries affected by the war in Ukraine, respond to irregular migration within the Western Hemisphere, and other Administration priorities for SFOPS such as international infrastructure and countering Russian malign actors in Africa. With this supplemental request, the Administration’s request for FY2024 SFOPS funding totaled $79.58 billion after rescissions.
On October 20, 2023, the Biden Administration proposed $34.45 billion in additional FY2024 emergency supplemental SFOPS funding. Such funds would support (1) Israel in the wake of the Hamas attacks, (2) Ukraine “as it defends its sovereignty,” (3) deterrence in the Indo-Pacific, and (4) security at the U.S. Southwest border. This second supplemental request brought the Administration’s total request for FY2024 SFOPS funding to $114.04 billion, net of rescissions.
Congress passed a series of continuing resolutions (CRs) to fund federal government agencies in FY2024, largely at FY2023 levels, into March 2024. The House and Senate, on March 22 and 23, respectively, passed the FY2024 Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, a “minibus” of six appropriations bills. The measure was signed by President Biden on March 23 and became P.L. 118-47. The act included $58.97 billion for SFOPS, net of rescissions, of which $2.5 billion was designated as emergency funds. Of the total, $17.44 billion was for Department of State and Related Agency accounts and $43.81 billion for Foreign Operations and Related Programs accounts.
R47579
July 16, 2024
Emily M. McCabe Specialist in Foreign Assistance and Foreign Policy
Cory R. Gill Analyst in Foreign Affairs
Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
Congressional Research Service
On April 20, 2024, the House passed three bills—H.R. 8034, H.R. 8035, and H.R. 8036—making supplemental appropriations for Israel, Ukraine, and the Indo-Pacific, respectively. The Senate rolled the measures with others into one package, passing it on April 23. The President signed the bill on April 24, and it became P.L. 118-50. Divisions A, B, and C of the act include a combined $26.81 billion for SFOPS accounts, bringing total enacted SFOPS appropriations for FY2024 thus far to $88.05 billion: $17.71 billion for Department of State and Related Agency accounts and $70.34 billion for Foreign Operations and Related Programs accounts. Net of rescissions, the total appropriated for FY2024 thus far is $85.77 billion.
In the appendix of this report, Table A-1 provides an account-by-account comparison of the FY2024 request to FY2023 enacted and FY2022 actual (allotted) funding levels. Table A-2 offers a similar comparison focused specifically on the International Affairs budget. Both appendices will be updated to reflect congressional action. Figure A-1 depicts the SFOPS account structure.
This report tracks SFOPS budget requests and appropriations, comparing funding levels for accounts and purposes. It does not provide extensive analysis of international affairs policy issues. For in-depth analysis and contextual information on international affairs issues, consult the wide range of CRS reports on specific subjects, such as global health, diplomatic security, and U.S. participation in the United Nations. Table A-3 in the appendix includes a list of CRS experts who may be consulted for additional information within their respective issue areas. For more information on SFOPS accounts, see CRS Report R40482, Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations: A Guide to Component Accounts, by Cory R. Gill and Emily M. McCabe.
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Contents
Overview ......................................................................................................................................... 1
Emergency Funds ...................................................................................................................... 2
Mandatory Funds ...................................................................................................................... 3
Congressional Action ...................................................................................................................... 4 State Department Operations and Related Agency Funding Highlights ......................................... 5
Diplomatic Programs ................................................................................................................ 9 Diplomatic Security ................................................................................................................ 13 Assessed Contributions to International Organizations and Peacekeeping Missions ............. 15
Foreign Operations Highlights ...................................................................................................... 18
Foreign Operations Sectors ..................................................................................................... 21
Humanitarian Assistance ................................................................................................... 21
Global Health Programs (GHP) ........................................................................................ 22 Security Assistance ........................................................................................................... 24 Development Assistance, Export Promotion, and Related Assistance .............................. 26
Regional Assistance ................................................................................................................ 29
Outlook .......................................................................................................................................... 31
Figures
Figure 1. International Affairs as a Portion of the Federal Budget, FY2024 Estimate .................... 1
Figure 2. SFOPS Funding, FY2016-FY2024 .................................................................................. 3 Figure 3. Humanitarian Assistance, by Account, FY2022-FY2024 .............................................. 21 Figure 4. Security Assistance, by Account, FY2022-FY2024 ....................................................... 25
Figure 5. Regional Assistance, FY2022 Actual vs. FY2024 Request ........................................... 30
Figure A-1. International Affairs Budget Components.................................................................. 42
Tables
Table 1. SFOPS Request vs. Actual/Enacted Funding, FY2015-FY2024 ....................................... 2
Table 2. Department of State and Related Agency Funding in the FY2024 Emergency
Supplemental Appropriations Law, (P.L. 118-50) by Division .................................................... 8
Table 3. State Department and Related Agency: Selected Accounts and Total, FY2022-
FY2024 ......................................................................................................................................... 9
Table 4. Diplomatic Security Annual Appropriations, FY2022-FY2024 ...................................... 14 Table 5. U.S. Payments of Assessments to International Organizations and Peacekeeping
Missions, FY2022-FY2024 ........................................................................................................ 16
Table 6. Foreign Assistance, by Type, FY2022-FY2024 ............................................................... 18
Table 7. FY2024 Supplemental Appropriations for Foreign Operations ....................................... 20
Table 8. Global Health Programs, by Subaccount, FY2023-FY2024 ........................................... 23 Table 9. Select Development Sectors, FY2022-FY2024 ............................................................... 27
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Congressional Research Service
Table A-1. Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
Appropriations: FY2022-FY2024 .............................................................................................. 33
Table A-2. International Affairs Budget: FY2022-FY2024 ........................................................... 40
Table A-3. CRS Experts, International Affairs .............................................................................. 43
Appendixes
Appendix. Supplementary Tables and Figures .............................................................................. 32
Contacts
Author Information ........................................................................................................................ 44
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Overview
Annual Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPS) appropriations support a range of U.S. activities around the world, including the operation of U.S. embassies; diplomatic activities; international development, security, and humanitarian assistance; U.S. participation in multilateral organizations; and certain U.S. export promotion activities. The SFOPS appropriations closely align with the International Affairs budget function (150), which typically represents about 1%-1.5% of the annual federal budget (see Figure 1).1
Figure 1. International Affairs as a Portion of the Federal Budget, FY2024 Estimate
Source: Prepared by CRS using Office of Management and Budget FY2024 Budget Historical Table 5.1.
The Biden Administration’s budget request for FY2024, released on March 9, 2023, proposed $69.01 billion in new budget authority for SFOPS accounts, or $68.73 billion when including proposed rescissions of prior year funding.2 The request, including rescissions, represented a 14.9% increase from FY2023 enacted base appropriations. In August 2023, the Administration proposed $10.85 billion in emergency supplemental funding for SFOPS accounts to respond to the war in Ukraine, address irregular migration in the Western Hemisphere, and meet other
1 The SFOPS appropriation aligns closely but not exactly with the International Affairs budget (Function 150). The primary differences are that international food aid programs are part of Function 150 but funded through the Agriculture appropriation, and that SFOPS includes funding for international commissions that are part of the Function 300 budget (Natural Resources and Environment).
2 Rescissions of prior year funding do not affect new budget authority but are considered when calculating budget totals for purposes such as compliance with Appropriations Committees’ 302(b) allocations or statutory spending caps.
A Note on Numbers
Consistent with prior years’ analyses, CRS is comparing the FY2024 SFOPS request and subsequent appropriations bills to FY2023 enacted funding levels from the appropriations laws and/or FY2022 actual funding as presented in the Congressional Budget Justification (CBJ). Unless otherwise indicated, CRS is using the FY2024 CBJ for the FY2024 request and FY2022 “actuals,” and Division B of P.L. 117-180 and Divisions K and M of P.L. 117-328 for FY2023 enacted. In the CBJ, the Administration provides an “adjusted enacted” total for FY2023 that shifts $2.12 billion in emergency funding enacted in Division M of P.L. 117-328 to “base” funding. Because Congress designated such funds as “being for an emergency requirement,” CRS is keeping such funds separate from base enacted levels for calculations in this report and using the enacted FY2023 legislation as the basis of comparison.
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Administration international priorities.3 In October 2023, the Administration proposed an additional $34.45 billion in emergency supplemental funding for SFOPS accounts for four primary objectives: (1) supporting Israel in the wake of the Hamas attacks, (2) continuing U.S. support for Ukraine “as it defends its sovereignty,” (3) investing in deterrence in the Indo-Pacific, and (4) bolstering security at the U.S. Southwest border.4 This brought the Administration’s total request for FY2024 (including the supplemental requests) to $114.04 billion, representing a 40.9% increase from FY2023 enacted total appropriations (which included supplemental appropriations enacted for SFOPS accounts to respond to Russia’s war in Ukraine). When compared with prior years’ requests, the Administration’s request is the highest in the past decade (see Table 1).
Table 1. SFOPS Request vs. Actual/Enacted Funding, FY2015-FY2024
(In billions of current U.S. dollars)
FY15 FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24
Request 55.01 54.83 60.21 40.21 41.66 43.10 44.12 71.37 90.54 114.04
Actual/ Enacted
54.39 54.52 59.78 54.18 54.38 57.37 71.38 85.42 80.90 85.77
Difference -1.1% -0.6% -0.7% +34.7% +30.5% +33.1% +61.8% +19.7% -10.6% -24.8%
Source: Annual SFOPS Congressional Budget Justifications (CBJs) prepared by the Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development; FY2023 enacted levels compiled from P.L. 117-180 and P.L. 117-328; Letter from OMB Director Shalanda Young to Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy; Letter from OMB Director Shalanda Young to the Honorable Patrick McHenry; P.L. 118-47; P.L. 118-50. Notes: Includes supplemental, emergency, and overseas contingency operations funds and rescissions. FY2023 figures are enacted appropriations, while FY2016-FY2022 figures are “actual” spending as reported in the CBJs.
Emergency Funds
Congress periodically appropriates funding designated as “emergency” to address a range of activities outside of preestablished budget caps. In recent years, Congress has enacted emergency funds to address unanticipated situations both during the regular budget cycle in annual appropriations bills and in off-cycle supplemental measures. For FY2023, for example, Congress enacted two emergency funding measures that included appropriations for SFOPS accounts: one as part of the first continuing resolution for FY2023 (P.L. 117-180) and the other as part of the omnibus appropriation (P.L. 117-328). Such funding was enacted primarily for security, economic, and humanitarian assistance for Ukraine and countries and populations affected by the war in Ukraine.
Emergency designated funding for SFOPS accounts has fluctuated from year to year, at times accounting for a significant portion of total annual SFOPS appropriations (see Figure 2). In FY2017, emergency SFOPS funding peaked at $20.80 billion, or 36.1% of SFOPS funds that year. For FY2023, supplemental funding for SFOPS accounts totaled $21.07 billion, accounting
3 Letter from OMB Director Shalanda Young to Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, at https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Final-Supplemental-Funding-Request-Letter-and-Technical- Materials.pdf.
4 See letter from OMB Director Shalanda Young to the Honorable Patrick McHenry, pp. 1-3, at https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Letter-regarding-critical-national-security-funding-needs- for-FY-2024.pdf.
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for 26.0% of total appropriated SFOPS funding. For FY2024, Congress enacted $29.31 billion in emergency funding for SFOPS, accounting for 34.2% of total appropriated SFOPS funding.
Figure 2. SFOPS Funding, FY2016-FY2024
Sources: Prepared by CRS using annual SFOPS Congressional Budget Justifications (CBJs) prepared by the Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development; FY2023 enacted levels compiled from P.L. 117-180 and P.L. 117-328; Letter from OMB Director Shalanda Young to Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy; Letter from OMB Director Shalanda Young to the Honorable Patrick McHenry; P.L. 118-47; P.L. 118-50. Emergency-OCO reflects a designation used from FY2012-FY21 for Overseas Contingency Operations, per the Budget Control Act of 2011. For more on OCO, see CRS In Focus IF10143, Foreign Affairs Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) Funding: Background and Current Status.
Mandatory Funds5
Traditionally, the majority of funding for SFOPS accounts is discretionary (enacted in annual appropriations measures).6 However, for the past two fiscal years, the Biden Administration has proposed mandatory budget authority for select initiatives. For FY2023, for example, the Administration proposed $6.5 billion in mandatory budget authority for global health security purposes.7 Congress did not authorize the funds as the Administration sought through SFOPS, but did authorize the appropriation of $5 billion from FY2023 through FY2027 for global health security activities through the FY2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA, P.L. 117- 263).
For FY2024, the Administration proposed $11.1 billion in mandatory budget authority as part of a U.S. government effort to “out-compete China, strengthen the U.S. role in the Indo-Pacific, and grow the U.S. economy.”8 The proposed mandatory budget authority would include $7.1 billion
5 Thomas Lum, CRS Specialist in Asian Affairs, contributed to this section. For a brief explanation of discretionary and mandatory budget authority, see CRS In Focus IF12105, Introduction to Budget Authority, by James V. Saturno.
6 The consistent exception to this has been annual Payment to the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Fund ($158.9 million annually).
7 For more details on the request, see “Global Health Programs (GHP)” in CRS Report R47070, Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2023 Budget and Appropriations, by Emily M. McCabe and Cory R. Gill.
8 U.S. Department of State, FY2024 Congressional Budget Justification, p. 100.
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for Compact of Free Association economic assistance to the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and Palau over 20 years, to be administered by the Department of the Interior (DOI);9 $2 billion over five years to support the implementation of the Indo-Pacific Strategy;10 and $2 billion over five years to establish an International Infrastructure Fund for projects that “align with U.S. strategic interests in countries that are vulnerable to malign influence by strategic competitors.”11
Economic assistance pursuant to Title II of the Compacts of Free Association is set to expire at the end of FY2023 for the Marshall Islands and Micronesia and at the end of FY2024 for Palau. Such assistance currently is both funded (through mandatory appropriations) and administered by DOI. The Administration has not indicated why it proposes shifting Compact administration from DOI to the Department of State. Once the United States and the three Compact countries reach bilateral agreements, currently under negotiation, to extend Compact assistance, the President is to submit draft legislation to Congress, after which both houses of Congress must approve them through implementing legislation for them to go into effect.12
To date, Congress has not enacted legislation addressing the Administration’s FY2024 request for mandatory spending.
Congressional Action
House Legislation. On September 28, 2023, the House of Representatives approved a FY2024 SFOPS bill, H.R. 4665, which would provide a total of $53.93 billion in new budget authority for SFOPS accounts ($40.53 billion after rescissions). Of that total, the bill would provide $14.53 billion for Department of State and Related Agency accounts and $39.40 billion for Foreign Operations and Related Programs accounts.
Senate Legislation. On July 20, 2023, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved its FY2024 SFOPS appropriations measure, S. 2438, which would provide $63.03 billion in new budget authority ($61.77 billion after rescissions). Of that total, the bill would provide $17.96 billion for Department of State and Related Agency accounts and $45.07 billion for Foreign Operations and Related Programs accounts, of which $3.25 billion was designated as emergency funding. The full Senate has not considered the legislation.
Continuing Resolutions. On September 30, 2023, Congress enacted P.L. 118-15, a continuing resolution (CR) to fund federal government agencies in FY2024, largely at FY2023 base levels, until November 17, 2023. The CR also extended certain SFOPS funding that had been provided in Division M of P.L. 117-328, the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2023.13 Congress enacted three additional CRs—P.L. 118-22, P.L. 118-35, and P.L. 118-40—before finalizing FY2024 appropriations.
Consolidated Appropriation. The House and Senate, on March 22 and 23, 2024, respectively, passed the FY2024 Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, a “minibus” of six appropriations bills. The measure was signed by President Biden on March 23 and became P.L. 118-47. The act
9 The $7.1 billion includes $634 million for U.S. Postal Service services. Compact assistance is distinct from USAID program assistance.
10 The White House, “Indo-Pacific Strategy of the United States,” February 2022, at https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp- content/uploads/2022/02/U.S.-Indo-Pacific-Strategy.pdf.
11 U.S. Department of State, Congressional Budget Justification, p. 179.
12 For further information on the Compacts of Free Association, see CRS In Focus IF12194, The Compacts of Free Association, by Thomas Lum, and CRS Report R46573, The Freely Associated States and Issues for Congress.
13 For more details on P.L. 118-15, see CRS Report R47749, Overview of Continuing Appropriations for FY2024 (Division A of P.L. 118-15), by Drew C. Aherne.
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included $58.97 billion for SFOPS, net of rescissions, of which $2.50 billion was designated as emergency funds. In sum, SFOPS appropriations provided in P.L. 118-47 represented a 1.5% decrease from FY2023 enacted base funding and a 14.2% decrease from the President’s initial request for FY2024.
Supplemental Appropriations. On April 20, 2024, the House passed three bills—H.R. 8034, H.R. 8035, and H.R. 8036—making supplemental appropriations for Israel, Ukraine, and the Indo-Pacific, respectively. The Senate rolled the measures with others into one package, passing it on April 23. The President signed the bill on April 24, and it became P.L. 118-50. Divisions A, B, and C of the act include a combined $26.81 billion for SFOPS accounts, bringing total enacted SFOPS appropriations for FY2024 thus far to $85.77 billion. This total represents a 24.8% decrease from the President’s total request for FY2024 and a 6.0% increase from total FY2023 enacted SFOPS levels.
State Department Operations and Related Agency Funding Highlights
The Biden Administration’s FY2024 base (nonemergency) request sought $18.84 billion in funding for the State Department and Related Agency appropriations accounts. This request comprised an increase of 8.4% from the FY2023 enacted base funding Congress provided. The Administration’s August 2023 and October 2023 emergency supplemental funding requests included a combined $369.20 million for these accounts, bringing the total FY2024 request to $19.21 billion, or 9.5% more than the FY2023 total enacted funding (including FY2023 emergency supplemental funding). In its base funding request, the Biden Administration identified several key priorities it intended to fund through the State Department and Related Agency accounts in FY2024, including
• implementing its Indo-Pacific Strategy, including by strengthening U.S. engagement in the region and expanding the U.S. diplomatic presence;
• renewing U.S. leadership in multilateral diplomacy through paying U.S. assessed contributions (membership dues) and arrears (overdue assessed contributions) to international organizations and international peacekeeping missions;
• investing in the State Department’s workforce through building professional expertise and training capacity in areas critical to U.S. national security such as cyberspace and emerging technologies, and climate and clean energy;
• ensuring the safety and security of U.S. personnel and facilities overseas while enabling robust, on-the-ground diplomatic engagement; and
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• fulfilling U.S. commitments to Afghan partners who served alongside the United States in Afghanistan (see the text box below).14
House Legislation. H.R. 4665 would have provided $14.53 billion for the State Department and Related Agency appropriations accounts. This was about 16.4% less than the base funding Congress provided for these accounts in FY2023, 17.2% less than FY2023 total funding (including emergency funds), and 22.9% less than the Biden Administration’s FY2024 base request. The committee report accompanying this bill noted that the committee sought to reduce spending and prioritize funding for “operations, programs, and activities that have demonstrated results and are important to United States national security” given expanding fiscal deficits.18 Priorities the report identified within the State Department and Related Agency appropriations accounts included funding the State Department’s Office of Inspector General, addressing the passport surge (see the text box below), fully resourcing the Indo-Pacific Strategy, and increasing U.S. engagement on commercial diplomacy matters.19 H.R. 4665 did not include the authority the Biden Administration requested to establish the Enduring Welcome account.
2023 Passport Surge20
The State Department’s published processing times for routine passport applications increased from 6-9 weeks in January 2023 to 10-13 weeks by March. In December 2023, the State Department reduced routine passport processing times to six to eight weeks, where they currently remain.21 Several Members of Congress raised concerns about longer processing times prior to December 2023, stating that processing delays were affecting
14 U.S. Department of State, Congressional Budget Justification Appendix 1: Department of State Diplomatic Engagement, Fiscal Year 2024, pp. v-viii; U.S. Department of State, FY2024 Budget Request, slide presentation, March 8, 2023, p. 75.
15 U.S. Department of State, Congressional Budget Justification Appendix 1, p. 78.
16 Ibid.
17 See Section 7072 of S. 2438 and Section 7069(b) of Division F of P.L. 118-47.
18 U.S. Congress, House Committee on Appropriations, State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Bill, 2024, report to accompany H.R. 4665, 118th Cong., 1st sess., H.Rept. 118-146, (Washington, DC: GPO, 2023), p. 3.
19 Ibid., pp. 4-6.
20 For additional information regarding the 2023 passport surge, see CRS In Focus IF12466, State Department Passport Services: Background and Issues for Congress, by Cory R. Gill.
21 State Department, Bureau of Consular Affairs, “Get Your Processing Time.”
Enduring Welcome Account
The State Department is leading a whole-of-government effort known as “Enduring Welcome” that seeks to “expeditiously process the applications of our Afghan allies, such as Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) candidates, and family reunification cases, and welcome them to the United States—while simultaneously safeguarding national security.”15 The State Department noted that during FY2023, it assumed new responsibilities in this effort, including establishing and managing overseas civilian processing sites to adjudicate the applications of Afghans potentially eligible for U.S. immigration benefits. As part of the FY2024 request, the Biden Administration asked Congress to create a new Enduring Welcome appropriations account to consolidate funds Congress previously appropriated to support Afghan allies, including funds transferred by the Department of Defense to the State Department. The Biden Administration did not request any new funding for this account for FY2024.16 While H.R. 4665, the House SFOPS bill, did not include a provision authorizing the State Department to create this account, both the Senate committee bill (S. 2438) and the enacted appropriations measure (Division F of P.L. 118-47) included authorizing language that was similar, although not identical, to the language the Administration requested (for additional detail, see footnote 33).17
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constituent travel plans and causing an influx of passport-related constituent inquiries to congressional offices.22 Although passport services are typically funded through State Department consular fee collections rather than appropriations, the House bill, H.R. 4665, sought to address the passport surge by authorizing the State Department to expend funds appropriated to the Diplomatic Programs account for this purpose. H.R. 4665 further authorized the State Department to spend $300 million in fee collections that were not previously authorized for expenditure to reduce passport backlogs.23 S. 2438, the Senate committee measure, included no such provisions. The Senate committee report noted that the State Department’s anticipated passport and visa fee revenue exceeded consular spending projections. The report directed the State Department to use excess revenue to support expedited passport processing.24 Similar to the House bill, the enacted appropriation (Division F of P.L. 118-47) provided budget authority for the State Department to expend previously unauthorized fee collections to reduce passport processing backlogs.25 While the House bill would have authorized the State Department to expend $300 million in such fees, the enacted appropriation authorized $50 million. This measure further included authority, which was also provided in recent appropriations laws and both the House and Senate bills, that allowed the State Department to transfer certain appropriated funds to sustain consular operations following consultation with Congress.26
Senate Legislation. The Senate Appropriations Committee’s SFOPS bill, S. 2438, would have appropriated $17.96 billion for the State Department and Related Agency accounts. This overall funding level comprised about 3.3% more than the base funding Congress provided in FY2023, 2.4% more than FY2023 total funding (including emergency funds), and 4.7% less than the Biden Administration’s FY2024 base request. The committee report accompanying the bill indicated that the bill’s priorities with respect to the State Department and Related Agency accounts included increasing funding and support for the U.S. diplomatic workforce and meeting U.S. assessed dues and commitments to international organizations.27 Similar to the House bill, the Senate committee bill prioritized funding the Administration’s Indo-Pacific Strategy.28 Unlike the House bill, the Senate bill included authority comparable to what the Administration sought to create the Enduring Welcome account to support and process Afghans seeking to resettle in the United States.29
Consolidated Appropriation. P.L. 118-47, the consolidated appropriations measure, included $17.44 billion for the State Department and Related Agency accounts (see Division F). This funding level totaled 0.3% more than the base funding Congress provided for these accounts in FY2023, 0.6% less than the overall funding Congress provided for such period (including emergency funds), and 7.5% less than the Biden Administration’s FY2024 base request. While the resources this measure provided to meet U.S. assessed dues and commitments to international organizations were about 6.2% less than those included in the Senate committee measure, they exceeded those the House bill included by over 243.5%, or about $2.06 billion. With regard to commercial diplomacy, P.L. 118-47 included language similar to the House bill calling on the Secretary of State to prioritize resources to support “diplomatic engagement to foster commercial
22 Letter from Representatives Nikema Williams, Jasmine Crockett, María Elvira Salazar, et al. to Rena Bitter, Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs, May 16, 2023.
23 See the “Diplomatic Programs” and “Consular and Border Security Programs” headings of Title I of H.R. 4665.
24 U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Bill, 2024, report to accompany S. 2438, 118th Cong., 1st sess., S.Rept. 118-71 (Washington, DC: GPO, 2023), p. 17.
25 “Consular and Border Security Programs” subheading in Title I of Division F of P.L. 118-47.
26 Section 7068(c) of Division F of P.L. 118-47.
27 U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Bill, 2024, p. 6.
28 Ibid., p. 6.
29 Section 7072 of S. 2438.
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relations and safeguard United States economic and business interests” around the world.30 As with both the House and Senate committee bills, the consolidated appropriation intended to provide sufficient funding to support the State Department’s implementation of the Indo-Pacific Strategy.31 Like the Senate bill, it also included authorizing language for a new Enduring Welcome appropriations account that differed somewhat from the Administration’s requested language.32
Supplemental Appropriations. P.L. 118-50, the supplemental appropriations law, provided a total of $272 million for the State Department and Related Agency accounts (for additional detail, see Table 2). When combined with the base funding included in P.L. 118-47, this measure brought the total funding level for these accounts in FY2024 to $17.71 billion. This total funding level is nearly 1% above the total FY2023 funding level and 7.8% below the President’s FY2024 total request (see Table 3).
Table 2. Department of State and Related Agency Funding in the FY2024
Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Law, (P .L. 118-50) by Division
Current $ in millions
Israel Security
Supplemental
Appropriations
Act, 2024
(Division A)
Ukraine Security
Supplemental
Appropriations
Act, 2024
(Division B)
Indo-Pacific
Security
Supplemental
Appropriations
Act, 2024
(Division C) Total
Diplomatic Programs
150.00 60.00 — 210.00
of which is Worldwide Security Protection
100.00 — — 100.00
Office of Inspector General
4.00 8.00 — 12.00
Emergencies in the Diplomatic and Consular Services
50.00 — — 50.00
Total 204.00 68.00 — 272.00
Source: Division A, Title III; Division B, Title IV; Division C of P.L. 118-50. Notes: Table includes all accounts for which Congress provided budget authority for the Department of State and Related Agency accounts in this law.
30 Section 7069 of H.R. 4665 and Section 7028 of Division F of P.L. 118-47.
31 U.S. Congress, House of Representatives, Committee Print of the Committee on Appropriations on H.R. 2882/P.L. 118-47, p. 1191.
32 See Section 7069(b) of Division F of P.L. 118-47. As noted, the authorizing language in this law differed from the authorizing language the Administration requested. For example, while the Administration’s request called for the account to be established for the purpose of “provid[ing] for relocation and related support of individuals at risk as a result of the situation in Afghanistan,” the authorizing language stated that the account was established “[f]or purposes of strengthening oversight, efficiency, and accountability” of such activities and included reporting requirements that were not part of the Administration’s request. Additionally, while the Administration’s request included language expressly providing that funds made available to this account would be available until expenditure, Congress did not include such language in the authorizing statute.
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Table 3. State Department and Related Agency: Selected Accounts and T otal,
FY2022-FY2024
(In millions of current U.S. dollars; numbers in parentheses are the portion of the account totals
designated as emergency funds)
Account
FY2022 Actuala
FY2023
Enactedb
FY2024
Request
FY2024
House
FY2024
Senate
FY2024
Enactedc
Diplomatic Programs
9,638.87
(346.73)
9,610.21
(147.05)
10,748.05
(314.20)
8,506.12 9,752.26 9,623.11
(210.00)
of which is Worldwide Security Protection
3,788.20 3,813.71 4,166.17
(100.00)
4,066.17 3,863.71 3,913.71
(100.00)
Embassy Security, Construction & Maintenance
2,093.15
(110.00)
1,957.82 2,013.18 2,013.18 2,013.18 1,957.82
Educational & Cultural Exchange Programs
763.15
(9.40)
777.50 783.72 700.95 779.54 741.00
Int’l Orgs 3,161.44 2,919.92 3,644.58 847.39 3,104.74 2,910.86
U.S. Agency for Global Media
885.00
(25.00)
884.70 944.00 807.90 904.70 866.91
State Dept. and Related Agency Total
18,178.74
(851.20)
17,541.42
(152.55)
19,214.05
(369.20)
14,532.11 17,961.72 17,710.22
(272.00)
Sources: SFOPS Congressional Budget Justification for FY2024; P.L. 117-43; P.L. 117-70; P.L. 117-103; P.L. 117- 128; P.L. 117-328; H.R. 4665; S. 2438; P.L. 118-47; P.L. 118-50. Notes: State Department and Related Agency totals include additional funding for accounts not listed above. For all State Department and Related Agency accounts, see Table A-1. Percentage changes may not reflect numbers included in this table due to rounding. a. Totals include emergency supplemental funds from P.L. 117-128.
b. Totals include emergency supplemental funds from Division M of P.L. 117-328.
c. Totals include emergency supplemental funds from Divisions A-C of P.L. 118-50.
Diplomatic Programs
The Diplomatic Programs account is the State Department’s principal operating appropriation and funds several programs and functions, including
• most domestic and overseas Foreign Service and Civil Service personnel salaries;
• the State Department’s recruitment, training, and diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) programs;
• public diplomacy programs;
• operating costs at U.S. overseas posts, including embassies and consulates; and
• the operations and programs of the State Department’s strategic and managerial units, including the Bureaus of Budget and Planning and Legislative Affairs.33
33 U.S. Department of State, Congressional Budget Justification Appendix 1, pp. 94-106.
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The Biden Administration’s FY2024 Diplomatic Programs request, including emergency funding, totaled $10.75 billion, or about 11.8% more than the $9.61 billion Congress appropriated in FY2023 (including all base and emergency funding). As it did in its previous two budget requests, the Administration called on Congress to make the entirety of the base request for this account (with the exception of the Worldwide Security Protection, or WSP, component, which Congress generally makes available until expended) available for expenditure for two fiscal years (also known as “two-year funding”). In previous years, Congress made about 15% of the base appropriation (excluding WSP and supplemental funding) available for two fiscal years, with budget authority for the remainder of the funds expiring at the end of the fiscal year for which they were appropriated. In the FY2024 budget request, the Biden Administration asserted that broader provision of two-year availability would have provided it “greater flexibility,” while also resulting in “streamline[d] funding execution during the second year of availability.”34
The Biden Administration’s base request was intended to build upon its efforts to strengthen the State Department’s workforce, including through implementing Secretary Blinken’s Modernization Agenda (see the text box below). It sought funding for an additional 515 Foreign Service and Civil Service positions, 462 of which the Administration planned to fund through Diplomatic Programs and other State Department and Related Agency accounts.35 The Biden Administration indicated that these new positions would have focused on advancing State Department priorities, including increasing passport and visa processing capacity (204 positions), implementing the Indo-Pacific Strategy (56 positions), and conducting oversight of U.S. foreign assistance (53 positions). The request further called for an additional 50 positions to expand the State Department’s Professional Development and Training Float (“training float,” or component of employees participating in training and professional development programs rather than serving in policy assignments).36 The State Department espoused the training float as a key element of the Modernization Agenda, asserting that it provided department personnel with additional professional development opportunities to build skills to address contemporary foreign policy challenges without understaffing bureaus and sacrificing readiness.37
34 Ibid., p. 95
35 Ibid., pp. 15-16.
36 U.S. Department of State, FY2024 Budget Request, slide presentation, p. 82.
37 U.S. Department of State, Congressional Budget Justification Appendix 1, p. 8.
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Modernization Agenda
Launched by Secretary Blinken in October 2021, the Modernization Agenda seeks to position the State Department to meet contemporary foreign policy challenges and ensure that it is “strong, effective, diverse, and flexible enough to lead America’s engagement in the world.”38 The State Department’s FY2024 base budget request identified the following lines of effort for which it requested funding through Diplomatic Programs and other appropriations accounts to advance the Modernization Agenda.
• Strengthening and Empowering the Workforce through updated recruitment, hiring, and retention practices to effectively compete with the private sector for talent, along with increasing personnel expertise in foreign policy issues such as climate and global health and strengthening the department’s diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility programming.
• IT Modernization and Cybersecurity, for which the Administration requested approximately $3.0 billion in FY2024 across various appropriations accounts, to fund priorities including implementing Zero Trust Architecture across the department’s information technology (IT) enterprise, providing streamlined and secure cloud services, and leveraging special incentive pay to recruit and retain qualified, talented IT professionals.39
• Delivering Equitable and Effective Services for all Americans, for which the budget includes $258.60 million, including through improving and streamlining passport services.40
The Biden Administration also asked for $76.2 million to further expand its diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) programming in support of several executive orders President Biden issued that were intended to advance DEIA in the federal workforce. This request exceeded the FY2023 funding level by 5.9%.41 Among the priorities the Administration highlighted in its request were expanding the recruitment and retention of personnel from varied backgrounds, continuing the department’s paid internship program, providing workforce training on DEIA- related issues, promoting a workplace free of discrimination and harassment, and increasing support for persons with disabilities who qualify for overseas employment.42
House Legislation. The House bill, H.R. 4665, would have provided about $8.51 billion for the Diplomatic Programs account, or 11.5% less than the FY2023 enacted total (including emergency funding) and 18.5% less than the Biden Administration’s FY2024 base request. This bill would not have implemented the Administration’s request for the entirety of this appropriation (excluding WSP) to be made available for expenditure for two fiscal years. Instead, like previous SFOPS bills, it would have made about 15% of such funding available for that duration. The House bill did not directly address the Administration’s broader request to increase the size of the Foreign Service and Civil Service. While the bill’s provision of less overall funding for Diplomatic Programs than the Administration requested may have precluded the Administration from implementing all of its requested position increases, the bill would have funded both new positions the Administration requested to implement the Indo-Pacific Strategy and additional personnel for the Bureau of Legislative Affairs.43 Additionally, the bill included provisions that
38 State Department, Fiscal Year 2022 Agency Financial Report: Data Informed Diplomacy, p. 116.
39 Zero-trust architecture moves away from protecting the boundary of an IT network and toward limiting access within a network and continually assessing whether or not a presented user is authorized to access a particular resource. Zero trust shifts security focus from the location of the system to the data or resource being accessed by the individual user regardless of its place. This philosophy inherently shifts the presumption that users and devices on a network are vetted to one that views users and devices as suspicious and requiring constant verification. For additional information, see CRS Report R46926, Federal Cybersecurity: Background and Issues for Congress, by Chris Jaikaran.
40 U.S. Department of State, Congressional Budget Justification Appendix 1, pp. 7-11.
41 Ibid., p. 70.
42 Ibid., pp. 67-68.
43 Ibid., pp. 75-77; House Committee on Appropriations, State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Bill, 2024, p. 104; Section 7064(d)(5) of H.R. 4665.
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would have affected the State Department’s DEIA programming. Such provisions included a measure that, if enacted, would have prohibited the use of funds “to implement, administer, apply, enforce, or carry out” executive orders President Biden issued that were related to, as described in such orders, “advancing racial equity and support for underserved communities through the Federal Government” and “diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in the Federal workforce.”44 However, the House committee report endorsed some programs intended to increase the number of persons from underrepresented groups in the State Department’s workforce, including the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship and the Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Program.45
Senate Legislation. S. 2438, the Senate committee bill, included $9.75 billion for the Diplomatic Programs account. This comprised 1.5% more than the total funding Congress appropriated for this account in FY2023 (including emergency funding) and 6.5% less than the Biden Administration’s base request for FY2024 funding. Similar to the House bill, the Senate committee bill would have made about 15% of the non-WSP Diplomatic Programs appropriation available for two fiscal years, rather than the entirety of such appropriation as requested by the Administration. While the Senate committee bill included less overall funding for Diplomatic Programs than the Administration requested, the committee report said the bill was intended to support “current staffing levels and human resources initiatives,” including the training float.46 The bill also included a measure that would have increased the number of personnel assigned to Pacific Islands countries and expanded the U.S. diplomatic presence there.47 While the bill did not specify a topline funding level for DEIA programs, the committee report noted that the bill included funding for the State Department to implement its DEIA strategic plan through means such as workforce training, modernizing recruitment and retention practices, and maintaining paid internships. The committee report required the Secretary of State to brief Congress on DEIA-related matters, including funding the State Department allocated for DEIA programs.48
Consolidated Appropriation. Congress, through P.L. 118-47, provided $9.41 billion in base, nonemergency funding for the Diplomatic Programs account. This totaled 0.5% less than the FY2023-appropriated funding (excluding emergency funding) and 9.8% less than the Biden Administration’s FY2024 base request. The consolidated appropriation, like the House and Senate measures, did not fulfill the Administration’s request to make all of the non-WSP Diplomatic Programs appropriation available for two fiscal years. In line with previous SFOPS bills, it made 15% of the appropriation available for such period. P.L. 118-47 further included 14.3% less than the Administration requested for the Diplomatic Programs Human Resources funding component, which funds salaries for about two-thirds of the State Department’s Foreign Service and Civil Service workforce. Senior State Department officials subsequently commented that this funding level had forced the department to scale back, although not eliminate, its efforts to increase hiring and expand the training float.49 The consolidated appropriation prioritized
44 Section 7070(c) of H.R. 4665.
45 House Committee on Appropriations, State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Bill, 2024, p. 9.
46 Senate Committee on Appropriations, Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Bill, 2024, p. 10.
47 Section 7043(f)(1) of S. 2438.
48 Senate Committee on Appropriations, Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Bill, 2024, p. 13.
49 Jory Heckman, “Foreign Service plans to rein in robust hiring efforts, following recent budget cuts,” Federal News Network, April 24, 2024, at https://federalnewsnetwork.com/hiring-retention/2024/04/foreign-service-plans-to-rein-in- robust-hiring-efforts-following-recent-budget-cuts/; Testimony of Deputy Secretary of State for Management and (continued...)
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additional staffing in certain focus areas; for example, it included language similar to the Senate committee bill making Diplomatic Programs funding available to increase the number of U.S. personnel assigned to the Pacific Islands.50 This measure did not include House bill provisions prohibiting the use of funds to implement executive orders President Biden issued pertaining to DEIA, nor did it prescribe an aggregate total funding amount for DEIA programs. The measure included language similar to that provided in the House bill stipulating that funds made available by the law may only be expended to fly or display certain flags at State Department facilities.51 This provision prohibits the State Department from displaying LGBTQ+ pride flags at U.S. overseas posts, a practice the State Department carried out in previous years.52
Supplemental Appropriations. P.L. 118-50 included an additional $210 million for Diplomatic Programs (for more detail, see Table 2). This brought total FY2024 funding for this account to $9.62 billion, which is 10.5% less that the Administration’s total request (including emergency funding) of $10.75 billion.
Diplomatic Security
The WSP allocation within the Diplomatic Programs account and the Embassy Security, Construction, and Maintenance (ESCM) account are often referred to as the SFOPS “diplomatic security accounts.” WSP serves as the primary operating appropriation for the Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS), which implements the State Department’s security programs to protect U.S. diplomatic personnel, embassies and other overseas posts, diplomatic residences, and domestic State Department offices. WSP also funds security and emergency response programs at 10 additional State Department bureaus, including the Bureaus of Information Resource Management (which shares responsibility with DS for protecting the State Department’s information technology enterprise) and Medical Services (which provides routine and emergency health services to U.S. government employees assigned abroad, including in high-threat, high-risk environments).53 ESCM funds the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, which is responsible for providing U.S. diplomatic and consular missions abroad with secure, safe, and functional facilities.54
For FY2024, the Biden Administration requested $6.18 billion in base and emergency funding for the diplomatic security accounts: $4.17 billion for WSP and $2.01 billion for ESCM. This request totaled 7.1% more than the total funding Congress appropriated for the diplomatic security accounts in FY2023 (see Table 4).
As part of its FY2024 WSP base request, the Biden Administration called for $747.4 million to support security operations in Iraq, including costs involved with local guard forces and armored vehicle replacements. The Administration requested an additional $51.3 million to support similar programs to protect the U.S. Mission in Pakistan.55 The request further sought $42.7 million to potentially resume a U.S. diplomatic presence in Libya, where the U.S. Embassy suspended
Resources Richard Verma at U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Modernization and Management: Building a Department to Address 21st Century Challenges, hearing, 118th Cong., 2nd sess., May 16, 2024.
50 See Section 7043(f)(1) of S. 2438 and Section 7043(f)(1) of Division F of P.L. 118-47.
51 Section 7070(f) of H.R. 4665 and Section 7074(b) of Division F of P.L. 118-47.
52 Robbie Gramer and Chloe Hadavas, “Blinken Will Allow U.S. Embassies to Fly Pride Flag,” Foreign Policy, April 22, 2021, at https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/04/22/pride-flag-lgbtq-rights-state-department-biden-reverse-trump- embassies/.
53 U.S. Department of State, Congressional Budget Justification Appendix 1, pp. 378-393.
54 Ibid., p. 395.
55 Ibid., p. 382.
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operations in 2014.56 With regard to ESCM, the request included $980.8 million in State Department funding for the Capital Security Cost Sharing and Maintenance Cost Sharing Programs (CSCS/MCS), which fund the planning, design, construction, and maintenance of U.S. diplomatic posts. The Administration indicated that this sum, when combined with proceeds from consular fee collections and contributions from other agencies with personnel assigned abroad, would provide $2.44 billion in funding for these programs. Among other priorities, the Administration stated its intent to use these funds to meet construction and maintenance costs involved with new U.S. embassies in the Central African Republic, Kiribati, and Tonga.57
Table 4. Diplomatic Security Annual Appropriations, FY2022-FY2024
(In millions of current U.S. dollars; numbers in parentheses are the portion of the account totals
designated as emergency funds)
Account
FY2022 Actuala
FY2023
Enacted
FY2024
Request
FY2024
House
FY2024
Senate
FY2024
Enactedb
Worldwide Security Protection 3,788.20 3,813.71 4,166.17
(100.00)
4,066.17 3,863.71 3,913.71 (100.00)
Embassy Security, Construction, and Maintenance
2,093.15 (110.00)
1,957.82 2,013.18 2,013.18 2,013.18 1,957.82
Diplomatic Security Total 5,881.35 (110.00)
5,771.53 6,179.35 (100.00)
6,079.35 5,876.89 5,871.53 (100.00)
Sources: SFOPS Congressional Budget Justification for FY2024; P.L. 117-103; P.L. 117-128; P.L. 117-328; H.R. 4665; S. 2438; P.L. 118-47; P.L. 118-50. Notes: Percentage changes may not reflect numbers included in this table due to rounding. Annual appropriations data do not reflect available carryover funds.58 a. Totals include emergency supplemental funds from P.L. 117-128.
b. Totals include emergency supplemental funds from P.L. 118-50.
House Legislation. As Table 4 illustrates, H.R. 4665 would have provided funding for both WSP and ESCM at levels equal to the Biden Administration’s base request. The House bill did not include language endorsing the aforementioned WSP funding priorities the Biden Administration emphasized in its request. However, the bill would not have prohibited the Administration from funding these programs. The committee report also noted that the bill would have funded the State Department’s contribution to the CSCS/MCS programs at the Administration-proposed total of $980.8 million.59 The report further specified that ESCM funding would have been available for diplomatic facilities in the Pacific Islands, including Kiribati and Tonga.60
Senate Legislation. The Senate committee bill, S. 2438, included $5.88 billion for the diplomatic security accounts, or 3.3% less than the Biden Administration’s FY2024 base request and 1.8% more than the FY2023 enacted figure. Table 4 indicates that while the Senate bill’s ESCM funding level was equal to the Administration’s request, the bill included 5.0% less than the Administration requested for WSP base funding. Like the House bill, the Senate measure neither
56 Ibid., p. 380; CRS Report RL33142, Libya: Transition and U.S. Policy, by Christopher M. Blanchard, p. 8.
57 U.S. Department of State, Congressional Budget Justification Appendix 1, pp. 397-398.
58 Over the past several years, Congress provided no-year appropriations for both WSP and ESCM, thereby authorizing the State Department to indefinitely retain appropriated funds beyond the fiscal year for which they were appropriated. The department has carried over balances of unexpired, unobligated WSP and ESCM funds each year that it is authorized to obligate for purposes including multiyear construction projects and unexpected security contingencies.
59 House Committee on Appropriations, State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Bill, 2024, p. 21.
60 Ibid., p. 22.
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directly addressed the Biden Administration’s stated WSP funding priorities nor sought to preclude the Administration from advancing them. As with both the Administration’s request and the House measure, the Senate committee bill would have provided $980.8 million for the CSCS/MCS Programs.61 The bill also included language that would have restricted funding for new construction projects detailed in the State Department’s FY2024 budget justification materials to “not more than 90 percent of the amount justified” for each such project. This language further instructed the State Department to apply resulting savings to other construction projects, including backlogged maintenance projects.62
Consolidated Appropriation. P.L. 118-47 provided a total of $5.77 billion for WSP and ESCM. This figure was equal to the FY2023 appropriation Congress provided for the diplomatic security accounts and 5.1% less than the Biden Administration’s FY2024 base request. This measure, like the House and Senate bills, did not include any language supportive of the previously discussed Administration WSP funding priorities but also did not expressly preclude the Administration from implementing them. Within the total ESCM appropriation, P.L. 118-47 included $940.2 million for CSCS/MCS, which was less than the $980.8 million that both the House and Senate measures would have provided.63 The law did not include the aforementioned Senate bill language that would have restricted funding for new construction projects. However, it did incorporate a new requirement included in the Senate bill that requires the State Department to consult with Congress prior to obligating contingency savings from previous construction projects to new projects.64
Supplemental Appropriations. P.L. 118-50 included an additional $100 million for Worldwide Security Protection (see Table 2). When factoring in this emergency funding, total FY2024 funding for the diplomatic security accounts totaled $5.87 billion, or 5.0% less than the Administration’s $6.18 billion total request (including emergency funding).
Assessed Contributions to International Organizations and Peacekeeping Missions
The Contributions to International Organizations (CIO) account is the funding vehicle for the United States’ payments of its annual assessed contributions (membership dues) to 43 international organizations. These include the United Nations (U.N.) and organizations in the U.N. system (such as the World Health Organization, or WHO, and the Food and Agriculture Organization, or FAO) and regional organizations such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).65 Separately, the United States pays its assessed contributions to 10 U.N. peacekeeping missions through the Contributions for International Peacekeeping Activities (CIPA) account.66 The United States provides additional funding to international organizations through various SFOPS humanitarian and multilateral assistance accounts.
61 Senate Committee on Appropriations, Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Bill, 2024, p. 24.
62 Ibid., pp. 24-25 and “Embassy Security, Construction, and Maintenance” heading of S. 2438.
63 House of Representatives, Committee Print of the Committee on Appropriations on H.R. 2882/P.L. 118-47, p. 1164.
64 Section 7004(b) of S. 2438 and Section 7004(b) of Division F of P.L. 118-47.
65 U.S. Department of State, Congressional Budget Justification Appendix 1, p. 442.
66 Ibid., p. 483.
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The Biden Administration’s FY2024 request for these accounts totaled a combined $3.64 billion. The request exceeded the FY2023 funding level for these accounts by 24.8%. Table 5 illustrates recent funding for each account.
Table 5. U.S. Payments of Assessments to International Organizations and
Peacekeeping Missions, FY2022-FY2024
(In millions of current U.S. dollars)
Account
FY2022
Actual
FY2023
Enacted
FY2024
Request
FY2024
House
FY2024
Senate
FY2024
Enacted
Contributions to International Organizations
1,662.93 1,438.00 1,703.88 245.80 1,622.83 1,543.45
Contributions for International Peacekeeping Activities
1,498.51 1,481.92 1,940.70 601.59 1,481.92 1,367.41
Total 3,161.44 2,919.92 3,644.58 847.39 3,104.74 2,910.86
Sources: SFOPS Congressional Budget Justification for FY2024; P.L. 117-103; P.L. 117-328; H.R. 4665; S. 2438; P.L. 118-47; CRS calculations. Note: Totals may not add due to rounding.
Among other priorities, the Biden Administration’s CIO request sought $150 million to pay both an annual assessment to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and a share of the $612 million in accumulated U.S. arrears to UNESCO.67 The United States began accumulating these arrears in 2011, as UNESCO’s decision to grant membership as a state to the Palestinians that year triggered U.S. laws prohibiting funding U.N. entities that took such action. The United States later withdrew from UNESCO in 2018.68 Congress included a measure in the FY2023 SFOPS law waiving these provisions with respect to UNESCO should the President report to Congress that doing so would enable the United States to counter Chinese influence or promote other U.S. national interests.69 The Biden Administration exercised this waiver in June 2023.70 Additionally, the request included $69.8 million for NATO’s civil budget, which the Biden Administration said was necessary for NATO to maintain its “technological and operational edge” amid continued Russian and Chinese aggression, cybersecurity challenges, and dangers associated with emerging and destructive technologies.71
With regard to CIPA, the Biden Administration stated that its FY2024 request would advance its intent to fund the United States’ U.N. peacekeeping commitments at the current U.N.-assessed rate of 26.94%. This assessment exceeds the enacted 25% cap on U.S. contributions Congress has kept in place since the 1990s due to Member concerns that assessed rates are too high.72 The Administration also again requested language to authorize the State Department to pay assessed
67 Ibid., p. 443.
68 For additional detail, see CRS Insight IN10802, U.S. Withdrawal from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), by Luisa Blanchfield.
69 Section 7070 of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2023 (Division K of P.L. 117-328).
70 For additional detail, see CRS In Focus IF10354, United Nations Issues: U.S. Funding to the U.N. System, by Luisa Blanchfield.
71 U.S. Department of State, Congressional Budget Justification Appendix 1, pp. 444-445.
72 For additional detail, see CRS In Focus IF10597, United Nations Issues: U.S. Funding of U.N. Peacekeeping, by Luisa Blanchfield.
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contributions above the 25% statutory cap; Congress refrained from including such a measure in the FY2023 and FY2022 SFOPS appropriations laws despite the Administration’s request that it do so.73 The FY2024 CIPA request further included $343.8 million to pay a share of the $1.1 billion in peacekeeping arrears the United States has accumulated since FY2017; the arrears stem from gaps between the U.N. rate of assessment and the congressional cap.74 The Biden Administration noted that this request reflected its priority of paying its assessments in full, arguing that doing so would better enable the United States to use its influence to ensure peacekeeping missions had realistic and achievable mandates and were subject to clear performance and accountability standards.75
House Legislation. H.R. 4665, the House bill, would have provided a combined $847.39 million for CIO and CIPA. This funding level was 71.0% below the FY2023 enacted figure and 76.7% below the Biden Administration’s FY2024 request for these accounts (for more detail, see Table 5). The House committee report allocated the entirety of the $245.8 million CIO appropriation to six international organizations.76 Such allocations included $69.8 million for NATO, which was equal to the Biden Administration’s CIO request for that organization. The committee report stated that it did not allocate funds for the payment of U.S. assessed contributions to the U.N. regular budget, the World Health Organization, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or several other international organizations due to concerns regarding their programs, priorities, and management practices.77 With respect to CIPA, the House bill did not include the authority the Biden Administration requested to pay assessed contributions for U.N. peacekeeping missions above the 25% statutory cap. The committee report directed the State Department to prioritize diplomatic efforts to cap the U.N.-assessed rate at 25% to ensure it was consistent with the statutory cap.78
Senate Legislation. S. 2438 would have provided $3.10 billion for CIO and CIPA, which totaled 6.3% more than the FY2023 enacted level and 14.8% less than the Biden Administration’s request. The Senate committee report noted that the bill provided requisite funding to pay the full U.S. assessments to all international organizations funded through CIO.79 Like the House bill, the Senate measure did not include the Biden Administration-requested authority to pay CIPA-funded U.S. assessments for U.N. peacekeeping missions above the 25% statutory cap. The $1.48 billion funding level the Senate committee bill provided for CIPA was equal to the FY2023 enacted funding level for this account. The Senate committee report stated that the continued accrual of peacekeeping arrears due to the statutory cap had undermined “U.S. credibility and influence at
73 CRS Report R47070, Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2023 Budget and Appropriations, by Emily M. McCabe and Cory R. Gill, pp. 11-12, and CRS Report R46935, Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2022 Budget and Appropriations, by Cory R. Gill, Marian L. Lawson, and Emily M. Morgenstern, pp. 12-13.
74 U.S. Department of State, Congressional Budget Justification Appendix 1, pp. 483-484.
75 Ibid., pp. vii-viii, 484.
76 House Committee on Appropriations, State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Bill, 2024, p. 25. Such organizations were the International Atomic Energy Agency, the International Civil Aviation Organization, the International Maritime Organization, the Organization of American States, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.
77 Ibid., pp. 25-26.
78 Ibid., p. 27.
79 Senate Committee on Appropriations, Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Bill, 2024, p. 27.
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the U.N., particularly at a time when the [People’s Republic of China] is actively increasing its financial, human resources, and political influence in the U.N. system.”80
Consolidated Appropriation. The consolidated appropriations law, P.L. 118-47, included a total of $2.91 billion for CIO and CIPA. Such funding was 0.3% below the FY2023 enacted level and 20.1% less than the Biden Administration’s request. Neither the law nor the accompanying explanatory statement provided specific CIO allocations for UNESCO or the NATO civil budget, effectively authorizing the State Department to determine appropriate allocations within available resources. As it pertains to CIPA, this measure did not include the authority the Biden Administration requested to use CIPA funding to pay U.S. assessments to U.N. peacekeeping missions above the 25% statutory cap. As with previous SFOPS laws, this measure authorized the State Department to use CIPA funding to pay peacekeeping arrears. It is unclear whether the State Department will obligate funding for peacekeeping arrears at the level envisioned in the budget request ($343.8 million), as the FY2024 CIPA-enacting funding level is about $573.3 million below the FY2024 request.
Foreign Operations Highlights
SFOPS Foreign Operations accounts comprise the majority of U.S. foreign assistance included in the international affairs budget; the remainder is enacted in the Agriculture appropriations bill, which provides funding for Food for Peace Act, Title II Grants (FFP), and McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Programs.81 The FY2024 request for base Foreign Operations totaled $50.16 billion, an increase of 16.4% over FY2023 enacted base funding and 21.7% below total FY2023 enacted funding. The total foreign assistance base request, including food aid provided for in the agriculture appropriation, was $52.20 billion; the Administration’s two supplemental requests brought the total foreign assistance request to $95.94 billion. See Table 6 for a more detailed breakdown of foreign assistance funding by type.
Table 6. Foreign Assistance, by T ype, FY2022-FY2024
(In millions of current U.S. dollars; numbers in parentheses are the portion of the account totals
designated as emergency funds)
Type
FY2022 Actuala
FY2023
Enactedb
FY2024
Request
FY2024
House
FY2024
Senate
FY2024
Enacted
USAID Administrationc 2,021.15
(47.00)
2,095.95
(13.00)
2,342.04
(49.00)
1,506.71 2,142.36 2,091.50
(52.00)
Global Health Programs 9,830.00 10,560.95 10,928.00 10,018.71 10,267.95 10,030.45
Nonhealth Development Assistanced
20,182.99
(10,620.80)
27,780.78
(17,871.50)
31,516.52
(18,841.80)
8,545.16e
9,715.59
(785.00)
18,884.93
(10,109.00)
Humanitarian Assistancef 20,496.85
(11,939.10)
11,090.70
(2,522.95)
23,043.36
(12,532.00)
8,193.71 10,861.29
(2,465.00)
19,544.68
(10,650.00)
Independent Agenciesg 1,404.50 1,452.50 1,666.00 1,368.00 1,476.50 1,452.50
Security Assistance 14,085.55
(5,186.20)
9,498.73 17,893.08
(8,817.00)
9,670.40 8,820.93 16,518.01
(7,975.00)
80 Ibid., p. 28.
81 For more on international food assistance programs, see CRS Report R45422, U.S. International Food Assistance: An Overview, by Alyssa R. Casey and Emily M. Morgenstern.
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Type
FY2022 Actuala
FY2023
Enactedb
FY2024
Request
FY2024
House
FY2024
Senate
FY2024
Enacted
Multilateral Assistance 3,024.46
(650.00)
2,763.12
(560.00)
7,905.58
(3,494.38)
1,549.11 3,007.28 2,990.75
(250.00)
Export Promotion 515.29 738.08 643.86 528.09 824.06 757.31
Foreign Assistance Total 71,560.79
(28,443.10)
65,980.81
(20,967.45)
95,938.44
(43,734.18)
41,379.90
47,115.95
(3,250.00)
72,270.13
(29,036.00)
Sources: SFOPS Congressional Budget Justification for FY2024; P.L. 117-180; P.L. 117-328; Letter from OMB Director Shalanda Young to Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy; Letter from OMB Director Shalanda Young to the Honorable Patrick McHenry; H.R. 4665; S. 2438; ; P.L. 118-47; P.L. 118-50. a. Totals include emergency supplemental funds from P.L. 117-43, P.L. 117-70, Division N of P.L. 117-103, and P.L. 117-128.
b. Totals include emergency supplemental funds from Division B of P.L. 117-180 and Division M of P.L. 117- 328.
c. Includes USAID Operating Expenses, Capital Investment Fund, and the USAID Inspector General.
d. Includes Treasury Technical Assistance (appropriated in SFOPS) and the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program (appropriated in Agriculture appropriations).
e. Includes $1.00 billion for “programs to advance United States national security interests in the Indo-Pacific and counter the malign influence of the People’s Republic of China.” Funds may also be transferred to a “Compact Assistance Fund” (see Title VIII of H.R. 4665).
f. Includes Food for Peace Act, Title II Grants appropriated in annual Agriculture appropriations.
g. Includes the Peace Corps, Millennium Challenge Corporation, Inter-American Foundation, and the U.S. African Development Foundation.
The Administration asserted that the FY2024 foreign assistance request would “continue to ensure that Russia’s aggression remains a strategic failure and supports the people of Ukraine” and counter the People’s Republic of China (PRC) “to protect our interests and build a prosperous future.”82 Related to the PRC, the Administration noted that it would seek to direct resources to areas in which the PRC is “gaining traction,” particularly the Indo-Pacific region. Beyond those two aims, the Administration also identified continuing work in the humanitarian, democracy and governance, digital and emerging technology, and infrastructure sectors as priorities for FY2024.
In an effort to support such priorities, the Administration proposed to increase USAID’s direct hire workforce by 230 in FY2024. The 105 Civil Service Officers and 125 Foreign Service Officers would be focused on “democracy and anti-corruption expertise, global health security, climate change, national security, operational management, and a more permanent humanitarian assistance workforce.”83
In August and October 2023, the Administration transmitted to Congress requests for emergency supplemental funding that would have affected nearly all foreign assistance types. In total, the two requests included $43.73 billion in foreign assistance funds, with the largest amounts proposed for the nonhealth development ($18.84 billion), humanitarian ($12.53 billion), and security assistance ($8.82 billion) sectors.
House Legislation. H.R. 4665 would have provided a total of $41.40 billion for foreign operations appropriations accounts. This total would have represented a 20.7% decrease from the President’s base request (not including supplemental funding proposed in August and October 2023) and a 37.3% decrease from total FY2023 enacted levels (including emergency funding).
82 U.S. Department of State, Congressional Budget Justification, p. 109.
83 Ibid., p. 104.
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When compared with FY2023 total enacted levels, the proposed legislation would have decreased funding for all foreign assistance types with the exception of security assistance accounts, which would have seen an increase of 1.8%. The largest proposed decrease would have been for the nonhealth development assistance accounts, which would have seen a 69.2% cut from total FY2023 enacted levels (which included $17.87 billion in emergency supplemental funding), followed by multilateral assistance accounts (-43.9%).
Senate Legislation. S. 2438 would have provided a total of $47.11 billion for foreign operations accounts, of which $3.25 billion was designated as emergency funding. This proposed level would have represented a 9.7% decrease from the President’s base request and a 28.6% decrease from total FY2023 enacted levels. Much like the House proposal, the Senate Appropriations Committee version proposed the greatest reduction to nonhealth development assistance (- 65.0%). However, other types of foreign assistance would have seen more modest reductions or increases. For example, security assistance accounts would have been reduced by 7.1% when compared with FY2023 total enacted levels, while multilateral assistance and export promotion accounts would have been increased by 8.8% and 11.6%, respectively.
Consolidated Appropriation. P.L. 118-47 provided a total of $45.73 billion for foreign assistance, of which $2.50 billion was designated as emergency funds. The total represented a 12.4% decrease from the President’s request for FY2024 and a 1.6% increase from FY2023 enacted base funding.
Supplemental Appropriations. P.L. 118-50 provides a total of $26.54 billion in supplemental funding for foreign assistance (see Table 7), bringing the total foreign assistance funding to $72.27 billion for FY2024. This represents a decrease of 24.7% from the President’s total request for FY2024 and an increase of 9.5% when compared with total funding for FY2023. When compared with total funding for FY2023, the largest increases are to humanitarian assistance (+76.2%) and security assistance (+73.9%), and the largest decrease is to nonhealth development assistance (-32.0%).
Table 7. FY2024 Supplemental Appropriations for Foreign Operations
(In millions of current U.S. dollars)
Appropriations Account Division A: Israel Division B: Ukraine
Division C: Indo-
Pacific
USAID Operating 39.0
USAID Office of Inspector General 3.0 10.0
Transition Initiatives 25.0
Economic Support Fund 7,899.0
Assistance for Europe, Eurasia, and Central Asia
1,575.0
International Disaster Assistance 5,655.0
Migration and Refugee Assistance 3,495.0
International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement
75.0 300.0
Nonproliferation, Antiterrorism, Demining, and Related Programs
100.0
Peacekeeping Operations 10.0
Foreign Military Financing 3,500.0 1,600.0 2,000.0
Contribution to International Development Association
250.0
TOTAL 12,738.0 11,548.0 2,250.0
Source: Divisions A, B, and C of P.L. 118-50.
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Foreign Operations Sectors
Humanitarian Assistance
For FY2024, the Administration requested $10.51 billion for the four global humanitarian assistance accounts administered by the State Department and USAID: International Disaster Assistance (IDA, $4.7 billion), Migration and Refugee Assistance (MRA, $3.9 billion), and Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance (ERMA, $100 million) accounts in the SFOPS appropriation; and Food for Peace Act, Title II Grants (FFP, $1.8 billion) in the Agriculture appropriation (see Figure 3). This level would have represented an increase of 22.7% over FY2023 enacted base funding but a 5.2% decrease from FY2023 total enacted funding (which included $2.52 billion in emergency supplemental funding). The Administration noted that the request would aim to address ongoing humanitarian crises in countries and regions such as Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa, Syria, Ukraine, Haiti, Venezuela, and Yemen, among others. It also would prioritize combating growing food insecurity, which has been exacerbated by Russia’s war in Ukraine. More broadly, the Administration also highlighted prioritizing U.S. leadership on humanitarian and refugee issues in international fora, such as in multilateral international organizations.
Figure 3. Humanitarian Assistance, by Account, FY2022-FY2024
Sources: CRS using data from the SFOPS Congressional Budget Justification for FY2024; P.L. 117-180; P.L. 117- 328; Letter from OMB Director Shalanda Young to Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy; Letter from OMB Director Shalanda Young to the Honorable Patrick McHenry; H.R. 4665; S. 2438; P.L. 118-47; P.L. 118-50. Notes: IDA = International Disaster Assistance; MRA = Migration and Refugee Assistance; ERMA = Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance; FFP = Food for Peace Act, Title II Grants.
Historically, on a bipartisan basis, Congress has often appropriated global humanitarian funding well above Administration budget request levels. U.S. humanitarian assistance has also been provided through emergency supplemental funding, which in FY2022 and FY2023 has funded
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parts of the U.S. international humanitarian responses in Afghanistan and Ukraine, as well as in countries affected by Russia’s war in Ukraine.
In August and October 2023, the Administration proposed FY2024 emergency supplemental funding for two global humanitarian accounts. The August request included $1.30 billion for IDA and $1.23 billion for MRA to address humanitarian needs in Ukraine and countries affected by the war in Ukraine. The October request included $5.66 billion for IDA and $4.35 billion for MRA. The Administration noted that most of the funds would be used for Ukraine and vulnerable populations affected by the war in Ukraine as well as needs related to “Israel and in areas impacted by the situation in the West Bank and Gaza”; the Administration did not specify how much funding within each account would be used for such purposes.84 However, $850 million of the funding for MRA was proposed to “address humanitarian needs in the Western Hemisphere to promote access to regular pathways to migration and international protection, including support for integration and regularization.”85
House Legislation. H.R. 4665 would have provided $6.45 billion for humanitarian assistance through the IDA and MRA accounts (the bill did not provide funding for the ERMA account). When combined with FFP funding approved by the House in H.R. 4368, the total amount for global humanitarian assistance accounts would have been $8.19 billion for FY2024. This level represented a 22.0% decrease from the President’s request and a 26.1% decrease from total FY2023 enacted levels, which included $2.52 billion in emergency supplemental funding.
Senate Legislation. S. 2438 would have provided $9.06 billion for global humanitarian assistance through the IDA, MRA, and ERMA accounts, of which $2.47 billion was designated as emergency funding. Together with FFP funding proposed in S. 2131, total global humanitarian assistance totaled $10.86 billion. This level represented a 3.3% increase from the Administration’s request for global humanitarian accounts and a 2.1% decrease from total FY2023 enacted levels, which included $2.52 billion in emergency supplemental funding.
Consolidated Appropriation. The FY2024 Further Consolidated Appropriations Act provided $10.39 billion in humanitarian assistance accounts, of which $1.50 billion was designated as emergency funding. The base level of $8.89 billion represented a 15.4% decrease from the President’s initial budget request for humanitarian accounts and a 3.7% increase from FY2023 enacted base funding. Compared with FY2023 enacted base levels, FFP was the only account that was reduced in the final legislation.
Supplemental Appropriations. P.L. 118-50 provides a total of $9.15 billion in emergency funding for humanitarian assistance accounts—$5.65 billion in IDA and $3.50 billion in MRA— “to address humanitarian needs, including the provision of emergency food and shelter, of vulnerable populations and communities.” The supplemental funding brings the total appropriated global humanitarian assistance funding to $19.54 billion, a 15.2% decrease from the President’s total request and a 76.2% increase from total FY2023 enacted levels.
Global Health Programs (GHP)
The Administration requested $10.93 billion for Global Health Programs (GHP) for FY2024, an increase of 3.5% over FY2023 enacted levels (see Table 8).86 At the GHP-USAID subaccount
84 This approach is common for both Administration requests and appropriations for humanitarian assistance accounts. Funding for such accounts has historically been requested and appropriated as a lump sum and then allocated by executive branch agencies in consultation with Congress and based on humanitarian needs and U.S. priorities.
85 Letter from OMB Director Shalanda Young to the Honorable Patrick McHenry, Attachment 5, p. 65.
86 Tiaji Salaam-Blyther, CRS Specialist in Global Health, contributed to this section.
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level, the Administration proposed the largest increase to Family Planning and Reproductive Health, which would see a 14.5% increase from FY2023 enacted levels. Proposed decreases in the subaccount would be for Malaria (-1.9%), Tuberculosis (-9.1%), and Global Health Security (-17.2%). At the GHP-State subaccount, the Administration sought a cut for bilateral HIV/AIDS programs (-0.6%) and $500 million for a U.S. contribution to the Pandemic Fund, coordinated by the World Bank. Including the request for the multilateral Pandemic Fund, the Administration proposed an overall budgetary increase of 38.3% for global health security activities through the GHP account.
For FY2024, the Administration proposed that funds requested in FY2023 through the GHP account for two programs—the Pandemic Fund and the Global Health Worker Initiative—be provided their own subaccounts in GHP-State and GHP-USAID, respectively. The Pandemic Fund was launched in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and seeks to mobilize financial support from the global community to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response capacities at national, regional, and global levels, with a focus on low- and middle- income countries.87 The Global Health Workers Initiative, to be administered by USAID, would aim to strengthen global health systems by “reducing the estimated 10 million global health worker shortage.”88
Table 8. Global Health Programs, by Subaccount, FY2023-FY2024
(In millions of current U.S. dollars)
FY2023
Enacted
FY2024
Request
FY2024
House
FY2024
Senate
FY2024
Enacted
HIV/AIDS (State) 4,395.0 4,370.0 4,395.0 4,395.0 4,395.0
Global Fund 2,000.0 2,000.0 2,000.0 1,650.0 1,650.0
Pandemic Fund — 500.0 — — —
Total, State-GHP 6,395.0 6,870.0 6,395.0 6,045.0 6,045.0
HIV/AIDS (USAID) 330.0 330.0 330.0 330.0 330.0
Tuberculosis 394.5 358.5 394.5 394.5 394.5
Malaria 795.0 780.0 800.0 795.0 795.0
MCH 910.0 910.0 910.0 920.0 915.0
Nutrition 160.0 160.0 172.5 160.0 165.0
Vulnerable Children 30.0 30.0 32.5 30.0 31.5
FP/RH 524.0 600.0 461.0 549.0 524.0
Other Public Health Threats/NTDs
122.5 124.5 114.5 144.5a 130.5
GHS 900.0 745.0 —b 900.0 700.0
Global Health Worker Initiative
— 20.0 — — —
Total, USAID-GHP 4,166.0 4,058.0 3,623.7c 4,223.0 3,985.5
Total, GHP 10,561.0 10,928.0 10,019.7 10,268.0 10,030.5
87 For more information on the Pandemic Fund, see https://fiftrustee.worldbank.org/en/about/unit/dfi/fiftrustee/fund- detail/pppr, accessed on October 31, 2023.
88 Ibid., p. 111.
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Sources: SFOPS Congressional Budget Justification for FY2024; P.L. 117-328; H.R. 4665; S. 2438; P.L. 118-47. Notes: GHS = Global Health Security; MCH = Maternal and Child Health; FP/RH = Family Planning and Reproductive Health; NTDs = Neglected Tropical Diseases. a. The Senate measure includes $20 million for the Global Health Worker Initiative in the Other Public Health Threats/NTDs subaccount.
b. The House report accompanying the measure indicates ongoing support for global health security but does not specify an amount for the GHS subaccount.
c. There is approximately $408.7 million made available to USAID but not designated for a specific subaccount. This total therefore includes the $3,215.0 million as specified above as well as the $408.7 million unspecified.
House Legislation. H.R. 4665 would have provided $10.02 billion for Global Health Programs, 8.3% less than the Administration requested and 5.1% lower than FY2023 total enacted levels. Much of the proposed decrease was attributed to cuts for Family Planning/Reproductive Health and Global Health Security subaccounts. The proposed measure would have also provided moderate increases to selected GHP subaccounts when compared with FY2023 enacted levels, including those focused on Malaria, Nutrition, and Vulnerable Children.
Senate Legislation. S. 2438 would have provided $10.27 billion for GHP, 6.0% less than the Administration’s request and 2.8% lower than FY2023 total enacted levels. The proposed measure would have largely maintained funding levels from FY2023 at the subaccount level with increases to a few subaccounts (Maternal and Child Health, Family Planning/Reproductive Health, and Other Public Health Threats). The measure also accepted the Administration’s proposal for $20.0 million for a Global Health Worker Initiative, but did not provide the initiative its own funding line. The Senate measure would have also reduced the contribution to the Global Fund, stating that the proposed reduction was a “result of the statutory cap on U.S. contributions related to other donor funds,” but noting that should other donor contributions increase, “the Committee intends to honor the $6,000,000,000 U.S. pledge for the seventh replenishment.”89
Consolidated Appropriation. P.L. 118-47 provided a total of $10.03 billion for GHP, an 8.2% decrease from the President’s budget request for FY2024 and a 5.0% decrease from FY2023 enacted levels. The contribution to the Global Fund decreased 17.5% relative to FY2023, consistent with the Senate legislation, and is explained in the legislation as a “result of other donor contributions.”90 The other large reduction at the subaccount level was for Global Health Security, which was reduced by 22.2% compared with FY2023 enacted levels and 6.0% compared with the President’s proposal.
Security Assistance
For FY2024, the Administration requested a total of $9.08 billion for the five SFOPS security assistance accounts: Nonproliferation, Anti-terrorism, Demining and Related Programs (NADR, $921.3 million); Peacekeeping Operations (PKO, $420.5 million); International Military Education and Training (IMET, $125.4 million); Foreign Military Financing (FMF, $6.12 billion); and International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement (INCLE, $1.48 billion). This funding level would represent a 1.5% increase from FY2023 enacted base funding and a 4.4% decrease from FY2023 total enacted funding (see Figure 4).91 All security assistance accounts would be increased under the Administration’s proposal, with the exception of PKO, which would see an 8.7% decrease. The Administration noted that the proposed decrease was a result of the
89 S.Rept. 118-71, p. 40.
90 Congressional Record, March 22, 2024, p. H2090.
91 The FY2023 enacted total included $560 million in emergency funding for security assistance for Ukraine and allies in the region.
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cancellation of a South Sudan program and an adjustment to the levels of UN Assessed Expenses arrears for Somalia.92 More broadly, the Administration’s articulated priorities for security assistance accounts were largely consistent with prior years, including countering transnational crime and drug trafficking, strengthening military alliances to promote national security, and combating corruption.
The Administration’s emergency supplemental requests, transmitted to Congress in August and October 2023, included funding for three security assistance accounts. The August request included a total of $1.16 billion for security assistance accounts—the majority of which ($1 billion) was for FMF—for assistance to Ukraine and countries affected by the war in Ukraine. The October request included $7.66 billion for security assistance accounts—the majority of which ($7.2 billion) was again for FMF—though the funds were requested to address “the situation in Israel and related expenses,” the Indo-Pacific region, as well as Ukraine and countries affected by the situation in Ukraine. Including these supplemental requests, the Administration’s total security assistance request for FY2024 totals $17.89 billion, representing an 88.4% increase from FY2023 total enacted funding.
Figure 4. Security Assistance, by Account, FY2022-FY2024
Sources: CRS using data from the SFOPS Congressional Budget Justification for FY2024; P.L. 117-180; P.L. 117- 328; Letter from OMB Director Shalanda Young to Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy; Letter from OMB Director Shalanda Young to the Honorable Patrick McHenry; H.R. 4665; S. 2438; P.L. 118-47; P.L. 118-50. Notes: NADR = Nonproliferation, Anti-terrorism, Demining and Related Programs; PKO = Peacekeeping Operations; IMET = International Military Education and Training; FMF = Foreign Military Financing; INCLE = International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement.
House Legislation. H.R. 4665 would have provided $9.67 billion for security assistance accounts, an increase of 6.5% from the President’s base request and a 1.8% increase from FY2023 total enacted levels, which included $560 million in emergency supplemental funds. When compared with FY2023 total enacted levels, the largest increase in the proposal would have been to FMF (+9.3%) with the committee noting that “by increasing demand for United
92 U.S. Department of State, Congressional Budget Justification, p. 156.
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States systems, Foreign Military Financing Program funding also contributes to a strong industrial base, reduces the cost of Department of Defense acquisitions, and supports American workers.”93 The only proposed decreases in the measure were for the INCLE account (-15.2%), which had received $375 million in emergency supplemental funds for FY2023, and the PKO account (-8.7%), for which the Administration had proposed an 8.7% reduction for FY2024 (see above).
Senate Legislation. S. 2438 would have provided $8.82 billion for the security assistance accounts, a 2.8% decrease from the Administration’s base request and a 7.1% decrease from FY2023 total enacted levels. When compared with FY2023 total enacted levels, the proposal would have held level funding for the INCLE and NADR accounts, increased funding for IMET, and reduced both PKO (-9.8%) and FMF (-3.9%) funding. For FMF, “the Committee notes the availability of prior year FMF assistance totaling over $1,000,000,000, including from supplemental appropriations, for countries in Eastern Europe,” suggesting that the proposed decrease would not result in reductions to any regular FMF programs.94
Consolidated Appropriation. For FY2024, P.L. 118-47 provided $8.93 billion in security assistance, of which $390.0 million was designated as emergency funding. The base level represented a 5.8% decrease from the President’s budget request and a 4.4% reduction from the FY2023 enacted base level.
Supplemental Appropriations. P.L. 118-50 includes a total of $7.59 billion for international security assistance accounts, the majority of which ($7.1 billion) is for FMF. The supplemental funding brings the total for FY2024 to $16.52 billion, a 7.7% decrease from the President’s total request for FY2024 and a 73.9% increase from total FY2023 enacted levels.
Development Assistance, Export Promotion, and Related Assistance
More than one-third of the FY2024 foreign operations request is for nonhealth development sectors (e.g., education, food security, and the environment), independent agencies (e.g., the Peace Corps and Millennium Challenge Corporation), multilateral assistance, and export promotion and development finance agencies.
Nonhealth Development Sectors
As in prior years, the Administration’s request for FY2024 did not specify dollar amounts for many nonhealth development sectors but offered detail on program priorities within certain sectors. (For FY2022 and FY2023 enacted levels for select development sectors, see Table 9.) Consistent with the Administration’s broader foreign operations priorities, focus areas within the nonhealth development sectors for FY2024 include food security, climate change mitigation and adaptation, energy security, economic growth, democracy, and gender equity and equality.
93 H.Rept. 118-146, p. 69.
94 S.Rept. 118-71, p. 60.
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Table 9. Select Development Sectors, FY2022-FY2024
(In millions of current U.S. dollars)
Sector
FY2022
Enacted
FY2023
Enacted
FY2024
House
FY2024
Senate
FY2024
Enacted
Democracy Programs (excluding NED)
2,600.00 2,900.00 2,900.00 2,900.00 2,900.00
Education (basic and higher)
1,200.00 1,262.00 1,255.00 879.12 1,352.00
Cooperative Development Programs
18.50 18.50 18.50 20.00 18.50
American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (ASHA)
31.50 31.50 31.50 31.50 31.50
Food Security 1,010.60 1,010.60 1,010.60 1,110.60 960.00
Environment 1,295.00 1,035.00 510.00 1,355.00 1,230.25
Water and Sanitation 475.00 475.00 475.00 327.19 451.00
Gender 560.00 650.00 650.00a 650.00 650.00
Trafficking in Persons 106.40 116.40 123.90 116.40 111.00
Reconciliation Programs 25.00 25.00 25.00 25.00 25.00
Micro and Small Enterprise
265.00 265.00 265.00 171.63 252.00
Source: Division K of P.L. 117-103 and P.L. 117-328; H.R. 4665; S. 2438; P.L. 118-47. Notes: NED = National Endowment for Democracy. a. The proposed legislation retitles the header to “Women’s Equality and Empowerment” from “Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment.”
House Legislation. H.R. 4665 would have kept level funding for the majority of nonhealth development sectors when compared with FY2023 enacted funding (e.g., Democracy Programs, Water and Sanitation, Food Security). The House bill would have also provided modest increases to selected sectors while significantly decreasing others. The largest decrease would have been to the environment sector (-50.1%); the proposed decrease also came with new legislative language that, if enacted, would have limited the uses of such funding.95
Senate Legislation. S. 2438 would have also provided level or increased funding for many of the nonhealth development sectors when compared with FY2023 enacted funding. However, the Micro and Small Enterprise (-35.2%), Water and Sanitation (-31.1%), and Education (-30.3%) sectors would have received reduced funding under the measure. According to the report accompanying the measure, such decreases were in part due to the “existence of available prior year balances,” and the measure included “authority for the Secretary of State and USAID Administrator to provide funding above such levels as necessary and appropriate, following consultation with the Committees on Appropriations.”96
Consolidated Appropriation. The FY2024 Further Consolidated Appropriations Act provided level or decreased funding for the majority of nonhealth development sectors when compared with FY2023 enacted funding. Water and Sanitation and Food Security received the largest
95 Section 7061 of H.R. 4665.
96 S.Rept. 118-71, p. 106.
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reductions of 5.1% and 5.0%, respectively. Two sectors received increased funding when compared with FY2023 enacted levels: Environment (+18.9%) and Education (+7.1%).
Independent Agencies
The Biden Administration proposed $1.67 billion for independent agencies for FY2024, a 14.7% increase from FY2023 enacted levels. All agencies would see increases under the proposal, with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) receiving the largest increase (15.4%), followed by the Peace Corps (15.0%), Inter-American Foundation (IAF, 10.6%), and U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF, 2.2%). According to the Administration, proposed increases would support new MCC compacts, continue the return of Peace Corps Volunteers overseas following the COVID-19 pandemic, and expand both IAF and USADF’s grant portfolios.
House Legislation. The House legislation would have reduced funding for all four independent agencies for FY2024 when compared with FY2023 enacted levels and the President’s request. Under the measure, when compared with FY2023 enacted levels, IAF would have received the largest cut (-56.7%), followed by USADF (-34.8%), Peace Corps (-4.6%), and MCC (-2.7%).
Senate Legislation. Conversely, S. 2438 would have provided level or increased funding for the independent agencies when compared with FY2023 enacted levels. The measure would have kept level MCC funding when compared with FY2023 enacted levels, while increasing IAF (+10.6%), Peace Corps (+4.2%), and USADF (+2.2%). The bill also would have fulfilled the President’s funding requests for IAF and USADF but not the proposed increases for MCC and the Peace Corps.
Consolidated Appropriation. P.L. 118-47 provided a total of $1.45 billion for independent agencies for FY2024, 12.8% less than the Administration proposal and level with FY2023 enacted appropriations.
Multilateral Assistance
For FY2024, the Administration proposed increasing multilateral assistance by 59.6%. The proposal included funding for multiple entities that did not receive appropriations for FY2023, including the Asian Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, Green Climate Fund, Multilateral Development Bank Climate Trust Funds, Quality Infrastructure, and Treasury International Assistance Programs. The Administration also proposed large funding increases for the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (+300%), Clean Technology Fund (+240%), and the Asian Development Fund (+145.9%). The only multilateral assistance account that would see a decrease under the President’s request was International Organizations and Programs (-4.5%). Thematically, in its request for multilateral assistance, the Administration appeared to focus on environmental efforts, including those to combat climate change. In its budget materials, the Administration also highlighted global challenges such as poverty reduction, health systems modernization, and sustainable infrastructure.97
In August and October 2023, the Administration proposed FY2024 emergency supplemental funding for two multilateral assistance accounts. The August request included $1 billion for the International Development Association and $494.4 million for the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development; the October request included $750 million for the International Development Association and $1.25 billion for the International Bank for Reconstruction and
97 For information on certain multilateral assistance accounts, including some funded through SFOPS but administered by the Department of the Treasury, see CRS In Focus IF11902, International Financial Institutions: FY2024 Budget Request, by Rebecca M. Nelson and Martin A. Weiss.
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Development. Including these supplemental requests, the Administration’s total multilateral assistance request for FY2024 is $7.91 billion, representing a 186.1% increase from FY2023 total enacted funding.
House Legislation. H.R. 4665 would have reduced funding for multilateral assistance accounts by 43.9% when compared with FY2023 enacted levels. The funding level in the measure would have also represented an 80.4% reduction when compared with the Administration’s total multilateral assistance request for FY2024 (which included $3.49 billion in emergency supplemental funding). The measure omitted funding for accounts that received funds for FY2023, including International Organizations and Programs, Asian Development Bank, African Development Fund, Clean Technology Fund, International Monetary Fund, and the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program. The six multilateral assistance accounts that would have received funding for FY2024 in the measure would have done so at level or reduced amounts when compared with FY2023 enacted levels.
Senate Legislation. The Senate Appropriations Committee proposed an increase of 8.8% for multilateral assistance accounts when compared with FY2023 enacted levels, and a decrease of 62.0% when compared with the President’s total multilateral assistance request for FY2024. The largest increases proposed in S. 2438 were for the Asian Development Fund and the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program, both of which would have seen a 100% increase in funding for FY2024, followed by the Clean Technology Fund (+20.0%) and the African Development Fund (+15.0%). The only accounts that would have seen reductions from FY2023 enacted levels were the International Monetary Fund (-100%) and the International Organizations and Programs account (-7.9%). A number of entities for which funding was included in the Administration’s request for FY2024 would not have been funded in S. 2438, including the Asian Development Bank, Green Climate Fund, and Inter-American Development Bank, among others.
Consolidated Appropriation. The FY2024 Further Consolidated Appropriations Act provided $2.74 billion for multilateral assistance accounts, 37.9% less than the Administration’s proposal and 0.8% less than FY2023 enacted appropriations. A number of entities for which the Administration requested appropriations were not funded, including the Asian Development Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Green Climate Fund, and the International Monetary Fund, among others. Other accounts received reduced funding in the law when compared with FY2023 enacted levels, including International Organizations and Programs (- 14.1%) and the International Development Association (-3.5%). Increases were provided for the Asian Development Fund, which had not received funding in FY2023, and the African Development Fund (+15.0%).
Supplemental Appropriations. Division C of P.L. 118-50 includes $250 million for a contribution to the International Development Association “for a contribution to the International Development Association Special Program to Enhance Crisis Response Window.” This supplemental funding brings total multilateral assistance enacted for FY2024 thus far to $2.99 billion, 62.2% less than the President’s total request for FY2024 and an 8.2% increase from total FY2023 enacted levels.
Regional Assistance
As with prior year budget requests, the Administration did not propose regional funding allocations that capture all appropriations accounts. For example, funding for humanitarian assistance is proposed for what are referred to as “global” accounts, wherein funding would be allocated throughout the fiscal year based on assessed needs and U.S. humanitarian priorities.
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The Administration, however, did propose regional funding for certain accounts. These included GHP; Development Assistance (DA); Economic Support Fund (ESF); Assistance to Europe, Eurasia, and Central Asia (AEECA); and all five security assistance accounts. Compared with FY2022 actuals (not including emergency supplemental funding), for FY2024, the Administration proposed the largest increase in funding for Europe and Eurasia (+96.1%), followed by East Asia and the Pacific (+23.3%), South and Central Asia (+21.2%), Western Hemisphere (+21.1%), and sub-Saharan Africa (+5.1%); the proposal reduced regional funding only for the Near East region (-3.5%) (see Figure 5). The Administration also set out priorities for certain regions, including countering Russia’s malign influence and supporting Ukraine and other regional allies in Europe and Eurasia; out-competing the PRC and advancing the Indo-Pacific strategy in East Asia and the Pacific; and addressing the root causes of migration and bolstering civil society and governance in Central America.
Figure 5. Regional Assistance, FY2022 Actual vs. FY2024 Request
Source: CRS using data from the SFOPS Congressional Budget Justification for FY2024. Notes: FY2022 is the most recent year for which “actual” data are available. FY2022 actuals do not include emergency funding. GHP = Global Health Programs; DA = Development Assistance; ESF = Economic Support Fund; AEECA = Assistance for Europe, Eurasia, and Central Asia; INCLE = International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement; NADR = Nonproliferation, Anti-terrorism, Demining and Related Programs; PKO = Peacekeeping Operations; IMET = International Military Education and Training; and FMF = Foreign Military Financing.
House Legislation. The House-passed legislation, H.R. 4665, and accompanying report did not provide comprehensive regional allocations but specified assistance levels for several countries and regions. Examples included $3.3 billion for Israel, $2.16 billion in assistance for implementation of the Indo-Pacific Strategy and Asia Reassurance Act (a further $1.24 billion was designated for diplomatic engagement), and $1.65 billion for Jordan, among others. In addition to country- or region-specific funding directives, the House legislation proposed new oversight measures related to assistance for certain countries and regions, including those pertaining to U.S. assistance for Ukraine.98
Senate Legislation. S. 2438 also did not provide comprehensive regional allocations but specified assistance levels for selected countries and regions. Examples included $3.3 billion for Israel, $1.9 billion in assistance for implementation of the Indo-Pacific Strategy and Asia
98 H.R. 4665, Section 7046(b).
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Reassurance Act, and $1.65 billion for Jordan, among others. The proposed measure also included selected new oversight measures, but largely remained consistent with legislative language used in prior year appropriations.
Consolidated Appropriation. Consistent with House- and Senate-proposed legislation, as well as prior year appropriations, P.L. 118-47 specified assistance levels for selected countries and regions. Examples included $3.3 billion for Israel, $1.8 billion for the Indo-Pacific Strategy and $400 million for the Countering PRC Influence Fund, and $1.65 billion for Jordan, among others. The legislation included selected new oversight measures, including those related to assistance for Ukraine, as well as the West Bank and Gaza.
Supplemental Appropriations. Congress enacted supplemental funds in P.L. 118-50, designating selected funding for Israel and the Middle East, Ukraine, and the Indo-Pacific. For example,
• Division A provides $3.5 billion in Foreign Military Financing for Israel and $75 million in International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement funds for assistance to the Middle East;
• Division B provides $11.5 billion across multiple SFOPS foreign assistance accounts for assistance to Ukraine and countries affected by the war in Ukraine;99 and
• Division C provides $2 billion in Foreign Military Financing for the Indo-Pacific region and related expenses.
Outlook
Congress enacted full year appropriations for FY2024 in March 2024 and a supplemental package in April. However, appropriations for FY2024 may not be complete. Members may continue to debate the need for additional funding in the remaining months of FY2024, potentially in the context of conflict between Israel and Hamas, Russia’s war in Ukraine, and U.S. national security interests in the Indo-Pacific. Unanticipated crises may also prompt Congress to consider new appropriations legislation for FY2024.
99 For more on SFOPS supplemental funding for Ukraine, see CRS Report R47275, Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPS) Supplemental Funding for Ukraine: In Brief, by Emily M. McCabe.
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Appendix. Supplementary Tables and Figures
The following tables provide additional detail on and comparisons of the FY2024 enacted levels, the House- and Senate-proposed FY2024 measures, the FY2024 request, FY2023 enacted, and FY2022 actual funding levels. Table A-1 provides an account-by-account comparison of the three years; Table A-2 offers a similar comparison focused specifically on the International Affairs budget. Figure A-1 depicts the SFOPS account structure. Table A-3 offers a list of CRS experts who focus on various issues related to International Affairs.
CRS-33
Table A-1. Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations: FY2022-FY2024
(In millions of current U.S. dollars; numbers in parentheses are the portion of the account totals designated as emergency funds)
FY2022 Actuala
FY2023
Enactedb
FY2024
Request
FY2024
House
FY2024
Senate
FY2024
Enactedc
% Change
FY2023
Enacted to
FY2024
Enacted
% Change
FY2024
Request to
FY2024
Enacted
Title I. State, Broadcasting & Related Agencies TOTAL
18,178.74
(851.20)
17,541.42
(152.55)
19,214.05
(369.20)
14,532.11 17,961.72 17,710.22
(272.00)
-7.83% -7.83%
Administration of Foreign Affairs, Subtotal
13,526.41
(826.20)
13,115.95
(152.55)
14,036.61
(369.20)
12,243.46 13,314.25 13,199.20
(272.00)
0.63% -5.97%
Diplomatic Programs 9,638.87
(346.73)
9,610.21
(147.05)
10,748.05
(314.20)
8,506.12 9,752.26 9,623.11
(210.00)
0.13% -10.47%
of which is Worldwide Security Protection
3,788.20 3,813.71 4,166.17
(100.00)
4,066.17 3,863.71 3,913.71
(100.00)
2.62% -3.75%
Consular and Border Security Programs
0.00 0.00 -434.00 300.00 0.00 50.00 n.a. -111.52%
Capital Investment Fund 334.17
(34.17)
389.00 491.59 346.21 389.00 389.00 0.00% -20.87%
Office of Inspector General 139.46
(8.00)
139.20
(5.50)
138.67
(5.00)
135.00 134.67 143.67
(12.00)
3.21% 3.61%
Education & Cultural Exchanges
763.15
(9.40)
777.50 783.72 700.95 779.54 741.00 -4.69% -5.45%
Representation Expenses 7.42 7.42 7.42 7.42 7.42 7.42 0.00% 0.00%
Protection of Foreign Missions & Officials
30.89 30.89 30.89 27.49 30.89 30.89 0.00% 0.00%
Embassy Security, Construction & Maintenance
2,093.15
(110.00)
1,957.82 2,013.18 2,013.18 2,013.18 1,957.82 0.00% -2.75%
of which is Worldwide Security Upgrades
1,242.43
(110.00)
1,055.21 1,095.80 1,095.80 1,095.80 1,055.21 0.00% -3.70%
Emergencies in the Diplomatic & Consular Services
325.29
(317.90)
8.89 60.69
(50.00)
10.69 8.89 58.89
(50.00)
562.75% -2.97%
CRS-34
FY2022 Actuala
FY2023
Enactedb
FY2024
Request
FY2024
House
FY2024
Senate
FY2024
Enactedc
% Change
FY2023
Enacted to
FY2024
Enacted
% Change
FY2024
Request to
FY2024
Enacted
Repatriation Loans 1.80 1.30 1.80 1.80 1.80 1.80 38.46% 0.00%
Payment to the American Institute in Taiwan
32.58 34.08 34.96 34.96 36.96 35.96 5.52% 2.86%
International Chancery Center
0.74 0.74 0.74 0.74 0.74 0.74 0.13% 0.00%
Foreign Service Retirement (mandatory)
158.90 158.90 158.90 158.90 158.90 158.90 0.00% 0.00%
International Organizations 3,161.44 2,919.92 3,644.58 3,104.74 3,104.74 2,910.86 -0.31% -20.13%
Contributions to International Organizations (CIO)
1,662.93 1,438.00 1,703.88 245.80 1,622.83 1,543.45 7.33% -9.42%
Contributions to International Peacekeeping Activities
1,498.51 1,481.92 1,940.70 601.59 1,481.92 1,367.41 -7.73% -29.54%
International Commissions (FUNCTION 300)
180.85 192.89 172.13 225.60 197.05 302.77 56.97% 75.90%
Int'l Boundary and Water Commission
103.00 110.97 104.82 146.53 117.83 220.85 99.03% 110.69%
American Sections - International Commissions
15.01 16.20 13.51 16.20 13.51 16.20 0.00% 19.99%
International Fisheries Commissions
62.85 65.72 53.80 62.86 65.72 65.72 0.00% 22.15%
Agency for Global Media 885.00
(25.00)
884.70 944.00 807.90 904.70 866.91 -2.01% -8.17%
International Broadcasting Operations
875.30
(25.00)
875.00 934.30 798.20 895.00 857.21 -2.03% -8.25%
Broadcasting Capital Improvements
9.70 9.70 9.70 9.70 9.70 9.70 0.00% 0.00%
Related Programs, Subtotal 410.73 414.44 402.06 393.29 425.50 414.50 0.01% 3.10%
Asia Foundation 21.50 22.00 23.00 19.58 25.00 22.00 0.00% -4.35%
CRS-35
FY2022 Actuala
FY2023
Enactedb
FY2024
Request
FY2024
House
FY2024
Senate
FY2024
Enactedc
% Change
FY2023
Enacted to
FY2024
Enacted
% Change
FY2024
Request to
FY2024
Enacted
United States Institute of Peace
54.00 55.00 56.30 38.63 60.00 55.00 0.00% -2.31%
Center for Middle Eastern- Western Dialogue Trust Fund
0.24 0.18 0.20 0.20 0.20 0.20 14.69% 0.00%
Eisenhower Exchange Fellowship Program
0.17 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.18 2.86% 0.00%
Israeli-Arab Scholarship Program
0.12 0.09 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.12 28.57% 0.00%
East-West Center 19.70 22.00 22.26 19.58 25.00 22.00 0.00% -1.15%
National Endowment for Democracy
315.00 315.00 300.00 315.00 315.00 315.00 0.00% 5.00%
Other Commissions, Subtotal
15.05 13.53 14.68 14.48 15.48 15.98 18.12% 8.84%
Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad
0.64 0.82 0.77 0.77 0.77 0.77 -5.98% 0.00%
United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
4.50 3.50 4.70 4.50 3.50 4.00 -5.98% -14.89%
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe
2.91 2.91 2.91 2.91 2.91 2.91 14.29% -0.07%
Congressional-Executive Commission on the People’s Republic of China
2.25 2.30 2.30 2.30 2.30 2.30 0.00% 0.00%
United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission
4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 0.00% 0.00%
Commission on Reform and Modernization of the Department of State
2.00 2.00 n.a. n.a.
CRS-36
FY2022 Actuala
FY2023
Enactedb
FY2024
Request
FY2024
House
FY2024
Senate
FY2024
Enactedc
% Change
FY2023
Enacted to
FY2024
Enacted
% Change
FY2024
Request to
FY2024
Enacted
Foreign Operations, TOTAL
69,226.79
(28,343.10)
64,022.48
(20,912.45)
95,095.11
(43,684.18)
39,399.90
45,067.62
(3,250.00)
70,342.55
(29,036.00)
9.87% -26.03%
Title II. Administration of Foreign Assistance
2,021.15
(47.00)
2,095.95
(13.00)
2,2342.04
(49.00)
1,506.71 2,142.36 2,091.50
(52.00)
-0.21% -10.70%
USAID Operating Expenses 1,677.95
(42.00)
1,748.35
(5.00)
1,941.84
(39.00)
1,188.61 1,796.76 1,734.00
(39.00)
-0.82% -10.70%
Capital Investment Fund 258.20 259.10 304.70 230.60 259.10 259.00 -0.04% -15.00%
Inspector General 85.00
(5.00)
88.50
(8.00)
95.50
(10.00)
87.50 86.50 98.50
(13.00)
11.30% 3.14%
Title III. Bilateral Assistance 49,837.34
(22,459.90)
48,926.60
(20,339.45)
65,110.55
(31,373.80)
26,145.59
30,272.99
(3,250.00)
47,984.98
(20,759.00)
-1.92% -26.30%
Global Health Programs 9,830.00 10,560.95 10,928.00 10,018.71 10,267.95 10,030.45 -5.02% -8.21%
of which USAID 3,880.00 4,165.95 4,058.00 3,623.71 4,222.95 3,985.45 -4.33% -1.79%
of which State 5,950.00 6,395.00 6,870.00 6,395.00 6,045.00 6,045.00 -5.47% -12.01%
Development Assistance 4,140.49 4,368.61 5,425.70 3,000.00 3,978.61 3,931.00 -10.02% -27.55%
International Disaster Assistance
11,303.46
(7,398.00)
4,843.36
(937.90)
11,654.36
(6,955.00)
3,905.46 4,850.00
(1,091.00)
10,434.00
(6,405.00)
115.43% -10.47%
Transition Initiatives 200.00
(120.00)
130.00
(50.00)
152.00
(50.00)
80.00 91.00 100.00
(25.00)
-23.08% -34.21%
Complex Crisis Fund 60.00 60.00 60.00 30.00 60.00 55.00 -8.33% -8.33%
Economic Support Fund 13,486.00
(9,387.00)
21,767.80
(17,466.50)
21,176.49
(15,785.00)
3,977.85c
4,026.61
(435.00)
11,789.40
(8,199.00)
-45.84% -44.33%
Democracy Fund 340.70 355.70 290.70 355.70 355.70 345.20 -2.95% 18.75%
Assistance for Europe, Eurasia and Central Asia
1,613.80
(113.80)
850.33
(350.00)
4,056.30
(3,006.80)
770.33 850.33
(350.00)
2,345.33
(1,885.00)
175.81% -42.18%
Migration and Refugee Assistance
5,077.19
(2,165.00)
4,447.24
(1,535.05)
9,489.00
(5,577.00)
2,548.25 4,211.19
(1,374.00)
7,423.00
(4,245.00)
66.91% -21.77%
Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance
2,276.20
(2,276.10)
0.10 100.00 0.00 0.10 0.10 0.00% -99.90%
CRS-37
FY2022 Actuala
FY2023
Enactedb
FY2024
Request
FY2024
House
FY2024
Senate
FY2024
Enactedc
% Change
FY2023
Enacted to
FY2024
Enacted
% Change
FY2024
Request to
FY2024
Enacted
Independent Agencies, Subtotal
1,404.50 1,452.50 1,666.00 1,368.00 1,476.50 1,452.50 0.00% -12.82%
Peace Corps 410.50 430.50 495.00 410.50 448.50 430.50 0.00% -13.03%
Millennium Challenge Corporation
912.00 930.00 1,073.00 905.00 930.00 930.00 0.00% -13.33%
Inter-American Foundation 42.00 47.00 52.00 22.50 52.00 47.00 0.00% -9.62%
U.S. Africa Development Foundation
40.00 45.00 46.00 30.00 46.00 45.00 0.00% -2.17%
Department of the Treasury, Subtotal
105.00 90.00 112.00 91.28 105.00 79.00 -12.22% -29.46%
International Affairs Technical Assistance
38.00 38.00 45.00 30.00 38.00 38.00 0.00% -15.56%
Treasury Debt Restructuring
67.00 52.00 67.00 46.28 52.00 26.00 -50.00% -61.19%
Tropical Forest and Coral Reef Conservation
20.00 15.00 15.00 15.00 -25.00% n.a.
Title IV. International Security Assistance
14,085.55
(5,186.20)
9,498.73
(560.00)
17,839.08
(8,817.00)
9,670.40 8,820.93 16,518.01
(7,975.00)
73.90% -7.68%
International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement
1,821.00
(430.00)
1,766.00
(375.00)
1,907.40
(423.00)
1,500.47 1,466.00 1,775.00
(490.00)
0.51% -6.94%
Nonproliferation, Anti- terrorism, Demining and Related
1,006.20
(106.20)
1,026.00
(105.00)
1,115.25
(194.00)
921.00 921.00 970.00
(100.00)
-5.46% -13.02%
Peacekeeping Operations 455.00 460.76 420.46 420.46 415.46 420.46
(10.00)
-8.75% 0.00%
International Military Education and Training
112.93 112.93 125.43 125.43 125.43 119.15 5.51% -5.00%
Foreign Military Financing 10,690.42
(4,650.00)
6,133.05
(80.00)
14,324.55
(8,200.00)
6,703.05 5,893.05 13,233.40
(7,375.00)
115.77% -7.62%
CRS-38
FY2022 Actuala
FY2023
Enactedb
FY2024
Request
FY2024
House
FY2024
Senate
FY2024
Enactedc
% Change
FY2023
Enacted to
FY2024
Enacted
% Change
FY2024
Request to
FY2024
Enacted
Title V. Multilateral Assistance
3,024.46
(650.00)
2,763.12 7,905.58
(3,494.38)
1,549.11 3,007.28 2,990.75
(250.00)
8.24% -62.17%
International Organizations and Programs
423.00 508.60 485.85 468.45 436.92 -14.09% -10.07%
Int'l Bank for Reconstruction and Development
706.50 206.50 1,977.70
(1,744.38)
206.50 206.50 206.50 0.00% -89.56%
Global Environment Facility 149.29 150.20 168.70 139.58 150.20 150.20 0.00% -10.97%
International Development Association
1,001.40 1,430.26 2,479.26
(1,750.00)
1,097.01 1,430.26 1,630.26
(250.00)
13.98% -49.52%
Asian Development Bank 119.38 n.a. -100.00%
Asian Development Fund 53.32 43.61 107.22 43.61 87.22 87.22 100.00% -18.65%
African Development Bank 54.65 54.65 54.65 32.42 54.65 54.65 0.00% 0.00%
African Development Fund 211.30 171.30 224.00 197.00 197.00 15.00% -12.05%
Inter-American Development Bank
75.00 n.a. -100.00%
Green Climate Fund 800.00 n.a. -100.00%
MDB Climate Trust Funds and Facilities
27.00 n.a. -100.00%
Quality Infrastructure 40.00 n.a. -100.00%
Treasury International Assistance Programs
50.00 200.00 50.00 n.a. 0.00%
Clean Technology Fund 125.00 125.00 425.00 150.00 125.00 0.00% -70.59%
International Monetary Fund
102.00 20.00 -100.00% n.a.
International Fund for Agricultural Development
43.00 43.00 81.83 30.00 43.00 43.00 0.00% -47.45%
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
500.00
(500.00)
n.a. n.a.
CRS-39
FY2022 Actuala
FY2023
Enactedb
FY2024
Request
FY2024
House
FY2024
Senate
FY2024
Enactedc
% Change
FY2023
Enacted to
FY2024
Enacted
% Change
FY2024
Request to
FY2024
Enacted
Global Agriculture and Food Security Program
155.00
(150.00)
10.00 40.00 20.00 10.00 0.00% -75.00%
Title VI. Export and Investment Assistance
515.29 738.08 643.86 528.09 824.06 757.31 2.60% 17.62%
Export-Import Bank 92.00 57.50 -38.84 98.86 112.86 98.86 71.93% -354.53%
International Development Finance Corporation
343.79 593.58 565.20 342.23 611.20 571.45 -3.73% 1.11%
Trade and Development Agency
79.50 87.00 117.50 87.00 100.00 87.00 0.00% -25.96%
Other Funding 1,200.00
(1,200.00)d
SFOPS TOTAL, before rescissions
87,662.53
(29,194.30)
81,563.90
(21,065.00)
114,309.16
(45,303.38)
53,932.01
63,029.35
(3,250.00)
88,052.77
(29,308.00)
7.96% -22.97%
Rescissions, net -2,243.78 -667.00 -273.00 -13,406.10 -1,262.45 -2,277.97 241.52% 734.42%
SFOPS TOTAL, Net of Rescissions
85,418.75
(29,194.30)
80,896.90
(21,065.00)
114,036.16
(45,303.38)
40,525.91
61,766.90
(3,250.00)
85,774.80
(29,308.00)
6.03% -24.78%
Sources: SFOPS Congressional Budget Justification for FY2024; P.L. 117-180; P.L. 117-328; H.R. 4665; S. 2438; Letter from OMB Director Shalanda Young to Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy; Letter from OMB Director Shalanda Young to the Honorable Patrick McHenry; P.L. 118-47; P.L. 118-50. Notes: Figures in parentheses are amounts designated as emergency funding and are subsumed in the larger account number above them. Numbers may not add due to rounding. a. Totals include base and emergency supplemental appropriations from the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (P.L. 117-103), and emergency supplemental funding from the FY2022 Extending Funding and Emergency Assistance Act (P.L. 117-43), FY2022 Further Extending Government Funding Act (P.L. 117-70), and the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2022 (P.L. 117-128).
b. Totals include base and emergency supplemental appropriations from the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (P.L. 117-328), and emergency supplemental funding from the Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2023 (P.L. 117-180, Division B).
c. Totals include base and designated emergency funds from the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (P.L. 118-47), and emergency supplemental funding from Divisions A, B, and C of P.L. 118-50, “Making emergency supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024, and for other purposes.” Includes $1.00 billion for “programs to advance United States national security interests in the Indo-Pacific and counter the malign influence of the People’s Republic of China.” Funds may also be transferred to a “Compact Assistance Fund” (see Title VIII of H.R. 4665).
d. Includes the Administration’s request for $1.00 billion for a new International Infrastructure Fund and $200.0 million for a new Countering Russian Malign Actors in Africa Fund, both of which would largely be administered by the Department of State.
CRS-40
The International Affairs budget, or Function 150, includes funding that is not in the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPS) appropriation; in particular, international food assistance programs (Food for Peace Act, Title II (FFP) and McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition programs) are in the Agriculture appropriations, and the Foreign Claim Settlement Commission and the International Trade Commission are in the Commerce, Justice, Science appropriations. In addition, the SFOPS appropriation measure includes funding for certain international commissions that are not part of the International Affairs Function 150 account.
Table A-2. International Affairs Budget: FY2022-FY2024
(In millions of current U.S. dollars; numbers in parentheses are the portion of the account totals designated as emergency funds)
FY2022 Actuala
FY2023
Enactedb
FY2024
Request
FY2024
House
FY2024
Senate
FY2024
Enactedc
% Change
FY2023
Enacted to
FY2024
Enacted
% Change
FY2024
Request to
FY2024
Enacted
SFOPS, excluding Commissions
85,237.89
(29,194.30)
80,704.01
(21,065.00)
113,864.03
(45,303.38)
41,525.90
61,766.90
(3,250.00)
85,472.03
(29,308.00)
5.91% -24.94%
Agriculture 2,077.00 (100.00)
2,048.33
(55.00)
2,043.33 1,980.00 2,048.33 1,927.58 -5.89% -5.66%
Food for Peace Act, Title II 1,840.00
(100.00)
1,800.00
(50.00)
1,800.00 1,740.00 1,800.00 1,687.58 -6.25% -6.25%
McGovern-Dole 237.00 248.33
(5.00)
243.33 240.00 248.33 240.00 -3.35% -1.37%
Commerce-Science- Justice
112.43 124.90 130.01 n.a. 125.00 124.50 -0.32% -4.24%
Foreign Claims Settlement Commission
2.43 2.50 2.61 n.a. 2.60 2.50 0.00% -4.06%
International Trade Commission
110.00 122.40 127.40 n.a. 122.40 122.00 -0.33% -4.24%
Total International Affairs (150)
87,427.33
(29,294.30)
82,877.25
(21,120.00)
116,037.37
(45,303.38)
42,280.30
63,743.18
(3,250.00)
87,524.11
(29,308.00)
5.61% -24.57%
Sources: SFOPS Congressional Budget Justification for FY2024; P.L. 117-180; P.L. 117-328; H.R. 4665; S. 2438; H.R. 4368; S. 2131; S. 2321; Letter from OMB Director Shalanda Young to Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy; Letter from OMB Director Shalanda Young to the Honorable Patrick McHenry; P.L. 118-42; P.L. 118-47; P.L. 118-50.
CRS-41
Notes: Figures in parentheses are amounts designated as emergency funding and are subsumed in the larger account number above them. Numbers may not add due to rounding. a. Totals include base and emergency supplemental appropriations from the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (P.L. 117-103), and emergency supplemental funding from the FY2022 Extending Funding and Emergency Assistance Act (P.L. 117-43), FY2022 Further Extending Government Funding Act (P.L. 117-70), and the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2022 (P.L. 117-128).
b. Totals include base and emergency supplemental appropriations from the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (P.L. 117-328), and emergency supplemental funding from the Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2023 (P.L. 117-180, Division B).
c. Totals include base and designated emergency funds from the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (P.L. 118-47), and emergency supplemental funding from Divisions A, B, and C of P.L. 118-50, “Making emergency supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024, and for other purposes.”
Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
Congressional Research Service 42
Figure A-1. International Affairs Budget Components
Source: Created by CRS.
Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
Congressional Research Service 43
Table A-3. CRS Experts, International Affairs
Area of Expertise Name
By Agency/Sector
Development Assistance Emily McCabe
Nick Brown
Democracy and Human Rights Michael Weber
Development Finance Corporation Shayerah Ilias Akhtar
Nick Brown
Diplomatic Security Cory Gill
Export-Import Bank Shayerah Ilias Akhtar
Family Planning/Reproductive Health Luisa Blanchfield
Global Health Programs Tiaji Salaam-Blyther
Humanitarian Assistance Rhoda Margesson
International Crime and Narcotics Liana Rosen
International Organizations/United Nations Luisa Blanchfield
Millennium Challenge Corporation Nick Brown
Multilateral Development Banks Marty Weiss
Rebecca Nelson
Peace Corps Nick Brown
Peacekeeping Luisa Blanchfield
Public Diplomacy Matthew Weed
State Department Operations Cory Gill
Security Assistance Christina Arabia
Terrorism John Rollins
U.S. Agency for Global Media Matthew Weed
U.S. Agency for International Development Emily McCabe
Nick Brown
By Country/Region
Africa Alexis Arieff
Asia Thomas Lum
Europe Sarah Garding
Latin America and the Caribbean Peter Meyer
Middle East Jeremy Sharp
Russia and Ukraine Cory Welt
Note: For a list of CRS appropriations experts covering issues beyond international affairs, congressional staff may see CRS Report R42638, Appropriations: CRS Experts, by James M. Specht and Justin Murray.
Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
Congressional Research Service R47579 · VERSION 10 · UPDATED 44
Author Information
Emily M. McCabe Specialist in Foreign Assistance and Foreign Policy
Cory R. Gill
Analyst in Foreign Affairs
Disclaimer
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