Yesterday, the House Appropriations Committee released draft legislation for the FY25 State and Foreign Operations appropriations bill. The underlying bill, as reported by the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Subcommittee, viciously maintains and even expands the permanent war policies against Russia, China, Iran, and the Palestinians. “Overall funding in the bill was cut by 6%,” they brag, “while upholding key U.S. priorities such as supporting strategic allies like Israel and Taiwan, and countering adversaries such as Communist China, the terrorist states of Iran and Cuba, and terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah,” the subcommittee press release states. “The enacted legislation also defunded anti-Semitic, anti-American entities within the United Nations, such as UNRWA, which has, for many years, been a de facto subsidiary of Hamas. [An outright lie and one that will have a devastating effect on the Palestinians—ed.] In other words, the State and Foreign Operations Fiscal Year 2024 bill does more for U.S. national security and our allies while spending less taxpayer money.”
Committee Chairman Tom Cole declared, “This proposed legislation continues advancing global freedom, manifests strong solidarity with our allies, and stands firm against the malign forces undermining U.S. national security.”
The bill includes, among others, the following provisions:
• $3.3 billion in Foreign Military Financing for Israel to defend itself against terrorist attacks.
• Prohibits funding for the International Criminal Court, International Court of Justice, United Nations Relief Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), and the United Nations Commission of Inquiry against Israel.
• Counters the People’s Republic of China (P.R.C.) by: Providing $2.1 billion for United States national security interests in the Indo-Pacific and to counter malign influence; including $500 million in Foreign Military Financing for Taiwan to strengthen deterrence across the Taiwan Strait and up to $2 billion in loans and loan guarantees for such purpose; fully funding the Countering P.R.C. Influence Fund at $400 million; and prohibiting any funds for the P.R.C. or Chinese Communist Party, prohibiting funds for countries to repay debt owed to China, and prohibiting funds for international financial institutions from loans to the P.R.C.
• Prohibits the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps from being removed from the Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) list.
• Prohibits funds to implement a nuclear agreement with Iran unless ratified by the Senate.
• Provides $35 million for “democracy programs” for Cuba, and
• Eliminates funding for the United Nations’ regular budget, resulting in savings of $761.6 million.
