The House Appropriations Committee released Wednesday its fiscal 2018 funding bill for the State Department, featuring a more modest cut than the 30 percent decrease the administration proposed in its May budget request.
The bill provides $47.4 billion for the State Department in discretionary and Overseas Contingency Operations funding, a $10 billion drop from its currently enacted funding level but a significant increase from the $37.6 billion cut the administration proposed.
The legislation grants $5.4 billion for diplomatic and consular programs, an increase from the $5.3 billion in the department’s budget request but a decrease from the $6.1 billion it currently receives. The bill directs $740.1 million of that toward diplomatic policy and support, which covers State’s arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament activities. That represents an increase from the $722.4 million budget request but a decrease from its current $757.7 million.
The appropriations bill would also provide $617.9 million for nonproliferation, anti-terrorism, demining, and related programs (NADR), almost twice the amount the administration requested ($312.8 million). The United States’ contribution to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization Preparatory Commission and the nation’s voluntary contribution to the International Atomic Energy Agency fall under this account, which currently receives $500.7 million.
The bill outlines several conditions for availability of NADR account funding, which include a report from the secretary of state to Congress on “any separate arrangements” between the IAEA and Iran on the nation’s nuclear program.
Still, a State Department official said in June the U.S. contributions to the IAEA and the CTBTO Preparatory Commission would not be reduced under the administration’s budget plan; it proposed a $91.9 million voluntary contribution to the IAEA, which coordinates global nuclear security activities, and $31 million for the CTBTO, which maintains the International Monitoring System for detection of explosive nuclear testing.
The United States provides nearly $200 million annually in total assistance to the IAEA, making up a quarter of the agency’s budget (almost half of the total falls under the voluntary contribution category). The United States gives the CTBTO roughly $32 million each year, also a quarter of the organization’s total budget. Hundreds of the CTBTO’s International Monitoring System facilities are located in the United States.
The House Appropriations state, foreign operations, and related programs subcommittee on Thursday approved the bill without amendments, passing it on to the full committee for consideration. Senate appropriators have not yet released their version of the bill.
