2024 State, Foreign Operations

WASHINGTON — Today, House Appropriations Committee Republicans passed their fiscal year 2024 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations bill that unravels the hard-fought credibility and influence the United States has earned as a global leader. The bill threatens our national security and puts the American people and global health at risk.

With $11.1 billion in rescissions from the Environmental Protection Agency programs in the Inflation Reduction Act, the draft bill includes $52.5 billion for global programs and activities, which is $7.2 billion below the 2023 level, a cut of 15 percent. The legislation:

• Threatens national security by abdicating U.S. leadership at the United Nations (UN) and other multilateral and international financial institutions by not including any funding for the UN Regular budget, the UN Development Program, UN Women, and the World Health Organization (WHO).
• Underfunds the operations and staffing of the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). 
• Hampers the U.S. response to the climate crisis by eliminating support for adaptation, sustainable landscapes, and clean energy programming.
• Threatens women’s health globally by prohibiting the United States from contributing to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), substantially underfunding bilateral family planning, and reinstating the Global Gag Rule on non-governmental organizations that receive U.S. assistance.

“US foreign policy rests on three pillars - diplomacy, development and defense. The FY24 SFOPS bill slashes diplomacy and development, leaving our country less safe and secure, both today and in the future. I cannot support this feeble bill that ignores the challenges of global poverty, historic migration, a changing climate, and conflict within and between states,” State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Ranking Member Barbara Lee (D-CA-12) said. “These challenges cannot be addressed by one country—our only chance at success is to work together with our partners and allies to tackle these problems.  The GOP’s underfunded, go-it-alone approach makes America and the world less safe.”

Congresswoman Lee’s remarks as prepared for delivery are here.

“Global engagement and foreign assistance are critical to bolstering our national security and maintaining the United States’ position as a global leader,” Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) said. “In their 2024 funding bill, House Republicans are catering to their most extreme members at the expense of America’s historic position on the world stage. Whether we are talking about military, economic, or humanitarian assistance—any of the areas our foreign policy takes us— we are ceding leadership to our adversaries. This bill makes us less safe, fails to address the climate crisis, and opens the door for China and Russia to fill the gaps we would leave behind should this bill be enacted. We must start working together instead of continuing to consider these harmful bills.”

Congresswoman DeLauro’s remarks as prepared for delivery are here.