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Summary and Highlights of the FY14 House State and Foreign Operations Bill
(Click here for PDF)
The House State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee will mark up the recently released the 2014 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill Friday morning. According to the House Appropriations Committee press release, the bill budgets $34.1 billion in regular discretionary spending, which is $8 billion or 19 percent below the FY13 enacted level and approximately $6 billion below the current level caused by automatic sequestration cuts. In addition, the legislation includes $6.5 billion for the war-related costs of operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, as well as emergency stabilization and humanitarian response efforts.
The bill proposes reducing costs to a number of departments including reducing State Department spending by $2.4 billion from FY13 levels. The proposed bill will also reduce USAID funding by $172 million, bilateral assistance programs by $5.8 billion, and multilateral assistance programs by $1.8 billion from FY13 levels.
State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee Chairwoman Kay Granger (R-TX) said:
“Faced with billions of dollars in spending cuts, this bill focuses on national security programs that keep the United States and our allies secure, while anticipating continued change around the world. Funding is prioritized for embassy security, critical strategic partners in the Middle East and Latin America, democracy assistance, and life-saving HIV/AIDS and refugee programs. In order to meet the reduced subcommittee funding levels, some programs had to be terminated, scaled back, or put on “pause” until the United States is in a better financial position.”
According to the Committee’s press release:
“The bill contains priority funding for diplomatic operations and foreign assistance activities. This includes full funding for the embassy security request in order to meet the recommendations of the Accountability Review Board’s findings after the Benghazi terrorist attack. In addition, the bill invests in security and stability activities in the Middle East – including support for our key allies such as Israel and Jordan – and efforts by Latin American countries to fight drug-trafficking and crime.
To meet these and other security priorities, as well as democracy promotion, health, and humanitarian needs, the bill excludes funding for more than 20 accounts – such as the Strategic Climate Fund and the Clean Technology Fund – and reduces funding in other lower-priority areas.”
A summary of relevant programs and language in the Middle East and North Africa follows below the break, and is available in PDF:
Title I – Department of State and Related Agency
- $1.7 billion for “International Peacekeeping Activities,” down $100 million from the $1.8 billion the House allocated in FY13.
- $691 million for the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) “to carry out international communication activities and to make and supervise grants for radio and television broadcasting to the Middle East.” This represents a $49 million reduction from the $740 million the House allocated in FY13.
- $10.7 million to fund the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), a dramatic $28 million or 75 percent reduction from the $37.4 million allocated by the House in FY13.
- $117 million for the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), a reduction of $5 million from the $122 million the House designated in FY13.
- $3.5 million for the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), a $500,000 increase from the House FY13 level.
Title II – United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
- $942.9 million for operating expenses of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), a decrease of $60 million from the House FY13 level.
Title III – Bilateral Economic Assistance
- The House bill does not provide any funding for the State Department’s $580 million request for the Middle East and North Africa Incentive Fund, and consequently does not provide funding for the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) as well. In FY13, the House did provide $200 million in funding for a Middle East Response Fund, which contained $70 million for MEPI, but no such funding is renewed in the FY14 bill.
- $43.8 million for the Office of Transition Initiatives of USAID “to support transition to democracy and to long-term development of countries in crisis […] such support may include assistance to develop, strengthen, or preserve democratic institutions and processes, revitalize basic infrastructure, and foster the peaceful resolution of conflict.” The House FY14 level represents a reduction of $6 million from the FY13 House allocation.
- $111.5 million for the Democracy Fund, which is down $8.5 million from the $120 million the House approved for FY13. Within the $111.5 million for the Democracy Fund, $70.5 million is designated for programming through the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) and $41 million is designated for programming through the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance (DCHA) at USAID.
- $701.9 million for the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), which is a dramatic $196 million reduction from the House FY13 request. Furthermore, the FY14 House bill prohibits any MCC funding for assistance for Tunisia.
Title IV – International Security Assistance
- $919 million to International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement (INCLE) programs
- $105 million for International Military Education and Training (IMET) programs
- $5 billion for Foreign Military Financing programs (FMF)
○ Within FMF, $1.3 billion “shall be made available for grants only for Egypt, including for counterterrorism programs, border security programs, and activities in the Sinai.”
○ $300 million is also allocated toward FMF programs for Jordan.
Title V – Multilateral Assistance
No relevant sections.
Title VI – Export and Investment Assistance
No relevant sections.
Title VII – General Provisions
- Economic support funds or international security assistance funding are prohibited “to finance directly any assistance or reparations for the governments of Cuba, North Korea, Iran, or Syria.”
- Section 7008 on coups d’etat is renewed, and maintains that no funds “shall be obligated or expended to finance directly any assistance to the government of any country whose duly elected head of government is deposed by military coup d’etat or decree in which the military plays a decisive role.”
- Section 7031 adds new provisions to prohibit direct government-to-government assistance unless the Secretary of State certifies the recipient government: “has demonstrated a commitment to democracy or is taking significant steps to strengthen democratic institutions” and “is taking steps to protect the rights of civil society, including freedom of association and assembly.” These requirements only apply to direct government-to-government assistance in excess of $10 million and “all funds available for cash transfer, budget support, and cash payments to individuals.”
○ The FY14 House bill does not renew a provision contained in FY13, which prohibited “direct Government-to-Government assistance if such assistance is to a government that is actively and significantly interfering with the operation of civil society organizations.”
- Democracy Programs
○ The bill renews the “Brownback Amendment,” which states that “the organizations implementing such [democracy programs] assistance, the specific nature of that assistance, and the participants in such programs shall not be subject to prior approval by the government of any foreign country.”
○ New provisions require a report from the Secretary of State and USAID in regards to “the conduct of governance programs in a country in which the central government acts in a manner contrary to the advancement of democracy,” and directs the State Department and USAID to:
■ Submit a “comprehensive strategy to promote democracy in such a country prior to the obligation of democracy program funds”
■ “Take steps to support only institutions and individuals within the government that demonstrate a commitment to democracy”
■ Funding for democracy programs should also support freedom of religion, including in the Middle East and North Africa.
- ESF funds to the Palestinian Authority are prohibited if “the Palestinians obtain the same standing as member states or full membership as a state in the United Nations or any specialized agency thereof outside an agreement negotiated between Israel and the Palestinians, or the Palestinians request, petition, apply, refer, or actively support an investigation or prosecution of Israeli nationals before the International Criminal Court.” The bill grants a national security waiver on these provisions.
- On Egypt, the bill conditions ESF and FMF funds to the Government of Egypt on maintaining the 1979 Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty, and further stipulates that Secretary of State certify that the Government of Egypt is:
(i) demonstrating a commitment to a pluralistic and inclusive democracy, including by:
(I) planning for and conducting free and fair elections;
(II) protecting freedom of expression, association, assembly, religion, and due process of law; and
(III) respecting the rights of civil society organizations to operate without harassment or interference; and
(ii) Taking action to eliminate smuggling networks between Egypt and Gaza and to combat terrorism, including in the Sinai.
- Most notably, the bill does not include the $250 million ESF designation for Egypt, as has been renewed at least at that level for years. Finally, the bill does not include a national security waiver for any of these conditions, a significant departure from previous practice.
- New provisions on funding to Iraq permit assistance “only if such government is implementing policies to support international efforts to promote regional stability, including in Syria.”
- On Jordan, the bill renews FY13 levels of $360 million in ESF and $300 million in FMF. New in FY14 is an additional $340 million in funds “for the extraordinary costs related to instability in the region” and a provision authorizing loan guarantees to Jordan.
- In Lebanon, FMF funds are conditioned on a certification that “the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) is not headed, controlled by, or closely collaborating with Hezbollah.”
- The bill conditions funding to the Government of Libya on a certification that the Libyan government “is cooperating with United States Government efforts to investigate and bring to justice those responsible for the attack on United States facilities and personnel in Benghazi.”
- New provisions for Morocco authorize ESF funds “be made available for assistance for any region or territory administered by Morocco, including the Western Sahara.”
- On Syria, the bill specifies the Secretary of State must consult with the Appropriations Committees before funds are made available.
- For Yemen, FMF funds are conditioned on certification “that the Armed Forces of Yemen are not controlled by a foreign terrorist…. and are cooperating with the United States on counterterrorism efforts against Al-Qaeda.”
- The bill renews a House stipulation to prohibit funding to the UN Human Rights Council “unless the Secretary of State determines and reports to the Committees on Appropriations that participation in the Council is in the national security interest of the United States and that the Council is taking steps to remove Israel as a permanent agenda item.”
- Funds are also made available “to increase political opportunities for women, including strengthening protections for women’s personal status, increasing women’s participation in elections, and enhancing women’s positions in government and role in government decisionmaking.” And, in renewing the FY13 House level, $20 million in ESF is designated “for programs to improve women’s leadership capacity in recipient countries.”
- In new reporting language, the bill also requires the Secretary of State to submit a report “describing the support of the Government of the Russian Federation for the Government of Syria, including arms sales and the use of such arms against civilian populations.”
Title VIII – Overseas Contingency Operations / Global War on Terrorism
- This title makes additional funding (renewing FY13 House levels) available in the amounts of:
○ $32.5 million for International Broadcasting Operations of the Broadcasting Board of Governors
○ $240.7 million for operating expenses of USAID
○ $13.8 million for USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives
○ $1.5 billion for Economic Support Funds
○ $554.5 million for International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement.
○ $136 million for Peacekeeping Operations
○ $811 million for Foreign Military Financing Programs