On June 29, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved, 30-0, the FY2017 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs spending bill (S. 3117). The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs approved the legislation by voice vote on June 28.
According to the committee report, the bill would provide $52.242 billion in overall funding in FY2017, which is $591 million below FY2016 and $687.444 million below the president’s request.
The Department of State would be funded at $11.250 billion, a decrease of $549.731 million below the president’s request and $63.444 million above FY2016. This amount includes funding for Diplomatic and Consular Programs (D&CP), which houses the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. The bill would provide an increase of $383.383 million over FY2016 for D&CP.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) would receive $1.356 billion in FY2017. This amount is $22.244 million below FY2016 and $84.415 million below the administration’s request.
Bilateral Economic Assistance, which funds several global health programs, would be funded at $16.507 billion, a decrease of $23.918 million from the president’s request and $607.018 million above FY2016. Included in this amount is $814.5 million for programs to support maternal and child health programs, meeting the president’s request.
As amended, the bill would provide $585 million for family planning and reproductive health in areas where “population growth threatens biodiversity or endangered species.”
The bill also would promote U.N. peacekeeping reforms and would restrict assistance for peacekeeping missions that are found to be involved in sexual exploitation and abuse. This includes provisions for the mandatory repatriation of offenders and prohibition of countries in future peacekeeping missions if the U.N. Secretary-General believes these nations will not take adequate action to address these issues.
The following chart details funding for programs important to women and their families.
|
Program/Agency |
FY2016 |
President’s FY2017 Request |
FY2017 |
|
Department of State |
|||
| Diplomatic and Consular Affairs | $5.623 billion | $6.54 billion | $6.006 billion |
| International Peacekeeping | $666.574 million | $806.93 million | $781.93 million |
| Office of Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons | $12 million | $20.7 million | $12.454 million |
| USAID | $1.378 billion | $1.44 billion | $1.356 billion |
|
Bilateral Economic Assistance |
|||
| Migration and Refugee Assistance | $931.886 million | $922.597 million | $931.886 million |
| Global Health and Child Survival (State and USAID) | $8.503 billion | $8.577 billion | $8.665 billion |
| President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) | $5.67 billion | $5.67 billion | $5.67 billion |
| Maternal and Child Health | $750 million | $814.5 million | $814.5 million |
| Vulnerable Children | $22 million | $14.5 million | $23 million |
| Family Planning/Reproductive Health | $523.95 million | $544 million | $585 million |
| Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria | $1.35 billion | $1.35 billion | $1.35 billion |
| HIV/AIDS—USAID | $330 million | $330 million | $330 million |
| Microbicides | $45 million | $45 million | $45 million |
|
International Organizations and Programs |
|||
| U.N. Children’s Fund | $132.5 million | $132 million | $132.5 million |
| U.N. Women (formerly UNIFEM) | $7.7 million | $14 million | $7.7 million |
| U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) | $32.5 million | $35 million | $37.5 million |
