	Introduction

Facing significant pressure to reduce the federal budget deficit, some in the 112 th Congress viewed international affairs spending, particularly for foreign aid programs, as expenditures of limited benefit to U.S. taxpayers and eligible for cuts. Others favored a more robust foreign affairs budget for various reasons. Congress delayed passing most appropriations bills, including State-Foreign Operations, until after the start of the new fiscal year and the fall elections. The legislation was signed into law on March 26, 2013 ( P.L. 113-6 ). The report focuses on the accounts funded through the State-Foreign Operations appropriations bill (see Appendix C for data), and it also provides appropriations figures for the entire international affairs (Function 150) budget in Appendix D .

	Most Recent Developments and Legislative Status

In order of the most recent events, congressional activity related to the State-Foreign Operations appropriations includes the following as summarized in Table 1 below:
On March 26, 2013, President Obama signed the FY2013 Defense and Military Construction/VA, Full Year Continuing Resolution, P.L. 117 into law ( P.L. On May 24, 2012, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved by a vote of 29-1 its FY2013 State-Foreign Operations appropriations bill ( S. 3241 / S.Rept. 112-172 ). The bill provided a total of $52.3 billion, including $2.3 billion in Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funds. 5857 / H.Rept. Within the total, the bill provided $15.8 billion for the Department of State and Related Agencies accounts, including $2.9 billion in OCO funding and $32.9 billion for Foreign Operations accounts, including $5.4 billion in OCO funding On April 25, using the caps in the March 29, 2012, House-passed budget resolution ( H.Con.Res. The FY2013 Request and Congressional Action

On February 13, 2012, the Obama Administration submitted its FY2013 budget proposal. The Administration's priorities on foreign affairs funding for FY2013 did not differ significantly from the congressional priorities indicated by the enacted FY2012 funding levels. The FY2013 request totaled $54.9 billion for the State-Foreign Operations appropriations, including a core budget proposal of $46.6 billion plus $8.2 billion for extraordinary and temporary war-related Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) in frontline states. The total request represented an increase of 2.6% over the estimated FY2012 funding level for State-Foreign Operations, including a 4.5% increase in State Department and Related Agencies accounts and a 0.1% increase in Foreign Operations accounts. Within the budget, the Administration requested authority and $770 million in funds for a new bilateral economic aid account—the Middle East and North Africa Incentive Fund (MENA IF)—to provide flexible and transparent support for Arab Spring countries in transition toward democracy. State Department FY2013 Budget Request―Key Issues

The State Department and Related Agencies portion of the international affairs budget request included funding for State Department operations, International Organizations (including U.S. assessed dues to the U.N. system) and International Peacekeeping activities, International Broadcasting, and entities such as the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP). The House appropriations bill included a total of $2.8 billion for State Department operations in the three frontline states (Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan); funding for increased security for staff in these states was provided, but funding for increased staff was not. House and Senate committee action indicated that these priorities may not be shared by all in Congress. In addition to funding levels, policy issues such as restrictions on funding for international family planning programs and conditions on aid to certain countries and entities continued to be a focus of the congressional foreign aid funding debate. Compared to the FY2012-enacted amount, the request included decreases for each global health activity area, except for a 1.2% increase in funding for international family planning and reproductive health and a 57% increase in funding ($1.7 billion) for the Global Fund to Fight HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund). Both House and Senate would have provided more than the request. The proposed FY2013 House legislation included $461 million for family planning and reproductive health activities and prohibited funding for UNFPA, while the Senate legislation included $700 million for family planning and reproductive health, including $44.5 million for UNFPA. The Senate bill designated $2.3 billion as OCO, or 72% less than requested, largely because it provided no funding for the Iraq Police Development program, as mentioned above, and would fund disaster assistance and migration and refugee assistance accounts entirely through the base budget. This changed in FY2011 when Congress significantly reduced foreign affairs spending to help meet deficit reduction goals.
International affairs expenditures typically amount to about 1.5% of the total federal budget. While some foreign policy and defense experts view that share as a small price to pay for a robust foreign affairs budget that they believe is essential to meeting national security and foreign policy objectives, others see international affairs spending, particularly foreign aid, as an attractive target for significant spending cuts in order to reduce deficit spending.
On February 13, 2012, the Obama Administration submitted its FY2013 budget proposal. The FY2013 request totaled $54.87 billion for the State-Foreign Operations appropriations, including a core budget proposal of $46.63 billion plus $8.24 billion for extraordinary and temporary war-related Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) in frontline states. The total request represented an increase of 2.6% over the estimated FY2012 funding level for the foreign affairs accounts, including $18.8 billion (a 4.5% increase) for State Department and Related Agencies and $36.1 billion (a 0.1% increase) for Foreign Operations. Within the regular budget process, the Administration requested authority in addition to appropriations ($770 million) for a new account—the Middle East and North Africa Incentive Fund (MENA IF)—to provide flexible and transparent support for Arab Spring countries in transition toward democracy. The foreign affairs request included $8.2 billion for the frontline states of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. For other key accounts, the Administration sought $7.9 billion for the Global Health Programs (GHP) account, $770 million for global climate change activities, and $643 million for family planning and reproductive health activities, including $39 million for the controversial U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA).
Early action by the House and Senate appropriators demonstrated differing priorities and funding levels. The House Appropriations Committee-approved State-Foreign Operations FY2013 funding bill (H.R. 5857/H.Rept. 112-494) would have provided a total of $48.5 billion (including $8.3 billion in OCO and $160 million in rescissions), while the Senate committee bill (S. 3241/S.Rept. 112-172) would have provided a total of $52.3 billion (including $2.3 billion in OCO). Both House and Senate committees provided more than requested for GHP, but differed significantly on funding MENA IF—the House committee provided no funding for it, and the Senate committee recommended $1 billion. The House bill provided $461 million for international family planning and reproductive health activities, prohibited funding for UNFPA, and included a "Mexico City Policy" provision prohibiting funding for organizations that perform or promote abortions. In contrast, the Senate bill included $700 million for international family planning, including $44.5 million for UNFPA, and did not include "Mexico City Policy" language.
The State Department, Foreign Operations, and Related Agencies appropriations legislation, in addition to funding U.S. diplomatic and foreign aid activities, has been the primary legislative vehicle through which Congress reviews the U.S. international affairs budget and influences executive branch foreign policy making in recent years. (Congress has not addressed foreign policy issues through a complete authorization process for State Department diplomatic activities since 2003 and since 1985 for foreign aid programs.) After a period of reductions in the late 1980s and 1990s, funding for State Department operations, international broadcasting, and foreign aid rose steadily from FY2002 to FY2010, largely because of ongoing assistance to Iraq and Afghanistan, new global health programs, and increasing assistance to Pakistan. Funding declined by 11.6% in FY2011 when Congress passed a continuing resolution (P.L. 112-10) significantly reducing U.S. government-wide expenditures, including foreign affairs. The FY2012 funding represented a 2.3% increase from the previous year, largely reflecting OCO support for frontline states.
Congress delayed floor consideration of FY2013 appropriations bills until after the start of the new fiscal year and the November 2012 elections, instead enacting a six-month stopgap funding measure that expired in March 2013 (P.L. 112-175). Before that measure expired, Congress approved new legislation on March 21, signed by the President on March 26, 2013 (P.L. 113-6), to fund federal programs through the end of FY2013. Under P.L. 113-6, State-Foreign Operations accounts are funded through a continuing resolution at the same level as in FY2012, though several anomalies were specified in the legislation. For example, funding for Embassy Security, Construction and Maintenance was increased significantly and offset largely by a rescission in unobligated Diplomatic and Consular Programs funds, while the International Disaster and Famine Assistance account received OCO funding, which was not in the FY2012 appropriation. While this report lists FY2013-enacted account level estimates in Appendix C, these funds are subject to the budget sequestration process that is currently in effect, which may significantly reduce the actual funding levels that are made available to agencies.