House State & Foreign Op’s Bill Makes Significant Cuts

On Wendesday, the House State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee held a markup session and voted to pass the 2012 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill, as is, to the full committee. The bill would dramatically reduce funding to the State Department, USAID and U.S. commitments to the United Nations, including cut all funding the U.N. Human Rights Council. The bill would provide the State Department and USAID with $39.6b in discretionary funding, 18% lower ($8.6b) than the FY11 levels. The FY11 levels were agreed to in April to avert a government shutdown and were already $8b below the Obama Administration’s initial request.

The bill seeks to limit funding to Egypt, Lebanon, Yemen and the Palestinian Authority (PA), unless certain requirements are satisfied. Israel will receive its full $3b in aid, with no conditions attached.  Egyptian aid is conditioned on Egypt fully adhering to its peace treaty with Israel, on Egypt dismantling and disrupting tunnels to the Gaza Strip, and on condition that the government is not controlled by foreign terrorists – ostensibly targeting the Muslim Brotherhood, which is not designated a terrorist organization. Aid to the Palestinian Authority is conditioned on Hamas not taking part in the government, aid to Lebanon is contingent on Hezbollah not participating in the government, and aid to Yemen, is contingent upon terrorists not participating in the government.

Subcommittee Chairwoman Kay Granger (R-TX) described the bill as a response to the current tight fiscal conditions by reserving funding for only programs that “impact our national security.” On the conditions placed on Egypt, the PA, and Lebanon, she said, ” there is still uncertainty about whether [these governments] will continue to work toward peace or allow extremism into their governments. This bill makes it clear that in order to continue to be partners to the United States these governments must demonstrate that they are committed to promoting stability and fighting our common enemies.”

Subcommittee Ranking Member Nita Lowey (D-NY) supported the conditions on aid to the PA and said “…in countries like Yemen, Lebanon, Egypt, and Pakistan, I appreciate the responsible approach of the Chairwoman to expand certification requirements before funding can be directed to these countries.” However, she did describe many of the cuts within the bill as “deeply problematic,” including cuts to the State Department and USAID. She said, “these cuts will substantially diminish capacity at both agencies and reverse our bipartisan efforts to rebuild our corps of diplomatic and development professionals.”

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) commented about the bill, he said, “where necessary, we have cut funding for ineffective and unproven programs…The Chairwoman’s emphasis on supporting national security, reducing spending, and implementing reform is the right approach for addressing our international interests.”