House appropriators have proposed including $500 million in Foreign Military Financing funds for Taiwan in the draft of the next State Department and foreign operations spending bill, an increase of $400 million over the president’s budget request.
The House Appropriations State and Foreign Operations and Related Program Subcommittee will mark up its FY ‘25 spending bill on Tuesday, which also includes $2.1 billion aimed at countering China and funding “United States national security interests in the Indo-Pacific and to count malign influence.”
“America is a world leader, and that posture must never change. This bill prioritizes our national security and reduces wasteful spending. It also asserts that we will not retreat from the cause of freedom by confronting the growing creep of authoritarian threats,” Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said in a statement.
The topline for the draft FY ‘25 State and Foreign Operations spending bill is $51.7 billion, which would represent a $7.6 billion cut from the FY ‘24 enacted level and is $12.3 billion below the Biden administration’s request.
HAC Republicans noted the State and Foreign Operations bill includes a total of $9.9 billion for State Department-led security assistance programs, which is a $753 million increase above the budget request.
The $9.9 billion includes $6.8 billion in FMF funds, which can be used to purchase U.S.-made military equipment, which is $969.6 million more than the FY ‘24 enacted level and $744 million more than the FY ‘25 budget request.
Along with the $500 million for Taiwan, the bill supports $3.3 billion in FMF funds for Israel and $100 million for the Philippines.
Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee, however, pushed back on the bill’s cuts to operations and staffing at the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and blocking of funds for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency and the United Nations Population Fund.
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), ranking member on the State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs panel, added she was “appalled by the extreme cuts and policy riders” the GOP members proposed in the bill.
“Yet again, the majority is attempting to load up a critically important bipartisan bill with poison pill riders and cuts that would devastate vulnerable populations, undermine the fight against climate change, reduce diversity, and jeopardize our international standing. The challenges facing America and the world are only escalating; we must be investing more of our resources in diplomacy and development, not gutting the foundations of our national security,” Lee said in a statement on Monday.