Source: United States Senator for Delaware Christopher Coons
WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), Chair of the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPS) Appropriations Subcommittee and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the fiscal year 2022 Senate SFOPS appropriations bill. The bill includes $60.56 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of State, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and other international agencies, which is $5.1 billion above fiscal year 2021 enacted, excluding emergency funding and $1.7 billion below the fiscal year 2022 budget request.
Chairman Coons issued the following statement:
“The world today is more dangerous and the future is less certain than any time in recent history. Climate change, natural and man-made disasters of increasing frequency and intensity, strategic competition, global pandemics, violent extremism, rising authoritarianism, and mass migration are among the many daunting challenges.
“The fiscal year 2022 Senate State and Foreign Operations appropriations bill provides critical resources to confront these complex national and global security threats. We invest in partnerships to combat global warming, advance global health security, and fight world hunger. The funds in the bill support a foreign policy underpinned by vigorous diplomatic engagement, strong alliances and partnerships, a commitment to democratic principles, and humanitarian and development assistance that reflect America’s core values. They are the soft power tools that are increasingly indispensable to carrying out an effective foreign policy that protects the American people, defends U.S. interests, and projects U.S. global leadership.
“The Committee recognizes and appreciates the dedicated personnel at the Department of State, U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the U.S. Institute of Peace, and the many other independent agencies who are among the best and most effective representatives of America abroad. The bill provides the funds they need to work with key allies and partners to carry out sustainable development programs and a principled foreign policy to advance U.S. national security interests.”
The package includes funding for:
- Climate Change Programs – The bill includes $1.9 billion for U.S. contributions to the Green Climate Fund ($1.45 billion) and the Clean Technology Fund ($450 million). Recent scientific studies have concluded that global temperatures may rise as much as 2.7 degrees if the global community does not take urgent collective action. The funding in the bill supports multilateral mechanisms whose mandate is to help countries reduce greenhouse gas emissions, adapt to extreme heat, drought, floods, food shortages, human displacement, and other impacts of climate change, and provide financing to help countries scale clean technologies.
- Global Health & Pandemic Preparedness – The bill includes $10.35 billion for global health programs, which is $1.2 billion above fiscal year 2021 enacted. The funding supports $1 billion for global health security focused on pandemic prevention, response, and the discovery of new zoonotic viruses, an increase of $810 million above fiscal year 2021 enacted. These funds will position the United States and other countries to detect and prevent the spread of future deadly viruses. The bill also provides increases for programs to combat other diseases, including malaria, TB, and polio, and for family planning, reproductive health, and maternal and child health programs.
- U.S. International Development Finance Corporation – The bill includes $500 million for DFC’s program budget and $198 million for administrative expenses, which is $129 million above fiscal year 2021 enacted. This funding will support the DFC’s climate financing and provide an alternative to Chinese debt financing for development projects.
- UN Peacekeeping – The United States currently owes $900 million in overdue UN peacekeeping assessments. The bill provides the full amount for the fiscal year 2022 assessment so the United States will no longer accrue arrears, and funding to pay a portion of past assessments.
- Humanitarian Response – The bill includes $8.5 billion for humanitarian assistance across three accounts to address natural and man-made disasters, which is $700 million above fiscal year 2021 enacted. The number of forcibly displaced persons around the world is at a record high and rising due to climate change, conflict, and poverty. These funds provide food, shelter, healthcare, and other assistance to save lives and ease the suffering of the world’s most vulnerable people. The bill includes over $1.1 billion to address global hunger and malnutrition.
- Consular Operations – The bill includes a provision that will provide an additional $360 million in estimated fee revenue in fiscal year 2022 for consular operations and similar amounts in future fiscal years. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a dramatic impact on consular operations, including the current passport processing backlog of nearly 2 million passports and processing wait times of fourteen weeks. This provision will provide the Department of State with the resources needed to hire additional staff to address current passport backlog, modernize IT infrastructure, and undertake other critical investments that were deferred during the pandemic.
- Democracy, Human Rights & Freedom of the Press – The bill continues to hold governments accountable for human rights violations, and includes many of the human rights conditionality from past years and new conditions on assistance for Ethiopia. The 2021 World Press Freedom Index indicates journalism is severely restricted in 73 countries and constrained in an additional 59 others, which highlights the need to support organizations that provide uncensored news coverage in these countries. The bill includes $305 million for the National Endowment for Democracy and $2.6 billion for democracy programs, as well as a greater focus on digital security and countering disinformation. The bill includes $885 million for the U.S. Agency for Global Media ($82.4 million above fiscal year 2021), which informs, engages, and connects with audiences around the world through fact-based and independent reporting, and an additional $55 million to support independence of the media, freedom of expression, and journalists and civil society activists who are harassed and threatened.
- Central America – The bill includes $653 million for programs in Central America to address the root causes of irregular migration. This is $148 million above fiscal year 2021. Fifty percent of funding for the central governments of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras is conditioned on progress on human rights and reducing corruption. The bill includes $50 million for the establishment of a program modeled on “AmeriCorps” in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.
- Wildlife and Biodiversity Conservation – The bill includes $125 million to combat wildlife poaching and trafficking, $405 million for biodiversity conservation, and $232.3 million for sustainable landscape initiatives. The bill includes $75 million for programs to reduce ocean plastic pollution and other marine debris, including through a U.S.-led multilateral fund. The bill supports the creation of a public-private partnership grant-making entity to improve the long-term management of protected areas in developing countries.
- Israel – The bill includes $3.3 billion in military assistance for Israel, equal to the MOU and fiscal year 2021.
- Egypt – The bill includes $1.3 billion in military assistance and $125 million in economic assistance. Of the funds provided to Egypt, $300 million is conditioned on improvements in human rights and $75 million cannot be waived unless additional conditions related to arbitrary detention and the release of political prisoners are met.
- West Bank and Gaza – The bill includes $225 million in development assistance, including for water, sanitation, and other municipal infrastructure projects in the West Bank and Gaza, and $40 million for the Palestinian security assistance program. This funding continues the resumption of U.S. assistance for the Palestinian people announced earlier this year by the Biden Administration. The bill includes authority for U.S. contributions to the UN Relief and Works Agency, and $50 million to support the second-year implementation of the Nita M. Lowey Middle East Partnership for Peace Act, which focuses on strengthening engagement between Palestinians and Israelis through support to civil society projects that build economic cooperation and people-to-people engagement.
- Afghanistan – The bill prohibits direct assistance to the Taliban, but it includes authority to support remote learning for Afghan students in and outside of Afghanistan.
- International Family Planning – The bill provides $650 million for bilateral family planning and reproductive health programs and $55 million for the UN Population Fund, for a total of $705 million for international family planning. The bill also includes a provision that codifies a reversal of the Mexico City Policy.
- Countering Chinese and Russian Influence – The bill includes $300 million for programs to counter Chinese influence, which is equal to fiscal year 2021, and $295 million to counter Russian influence, which is $5 million above fiscal year 2021. These programs range from additional security assistance for Ukraine and the Baltic countries, to economic support for countries that are vulnerable to China’s debt trap development tactics.
- Anti-Corruption – The bill includes multiple provisions that condition U.S. assistance on progress in combatting corruption, and sanctions against officials who engage in significant acts of corruption.
- Ethiopia – The bill restricts military assistance and funding from international financial institutions for Ethiopia until credible steps have been taken to end the conflict in northern Ethiopia, protect human rights and adhere to international humanitarian law, and cooperate with independent investigations into atrocities and human rights violations.
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