The House Appropriations Committee has introduced a new fiscal year 2017 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill that would provide $52 billion in discretionary and overseas contingency operations funds to address global instability and terrorism.The committee said Wednesday the FY 2017 funds are $595 million below the FY 2016 enacted amount and $691 million lower than President Barack Obama’s request.
Lawmakers approved the spending package in an effort to help defend U.S. embassies and consulates; support security of U.S. allies and partners; provide humanitarian assistance to war-torn and impoverished areas and address overseas health threats.
The proposed budget would allocate $16.1 billion to cover the operational costs of the State Department and related agencies as well as global diplomacy efforts.
The bill also includes the following appropriations:
- $9.1 billion for international security assistance
- $1.6 billion for the U.S. Agency for International Development and USAID’s Office of Inspector General
- $24.2 billion for bilateral assistance to foreign countries
- $1.7 billion for assistance to foreign countries through international organizations and banks
