They express concern about a possible lack of funding for activities that promote U.S. interests overseas. In contrast, other Members and many polled Americans, according to a Pew survey, consider foreign affairs funding, particularly foreign aid, as spending that should be cut to reduce the deficit. The Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA, P.L. For discretionary spending like the foreign affairs budget, reductions were achieved through sequestration in FY2013 and through downward adjustment of statutory limits to be met in the appropriation process for FY2014 to FY2021. If spending caps are not met within the appropriations process in FY2014 and beyond, sequestration again would occur. Sequestration of the Department of State and Foreign Operations Appropriations

The State-Foreign Operations (SFOP) appropriations, typically representing about 1% to 1.5% of the total federal budget in recent years, supports most programs and activities within the international affairs budget account, known as the 150 budget function. How the FY2013 Foreign Affairs Sequestration Was Implemented

The Budget Control Act of 2011, as amended by the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 ( P.L. 112-240 / H.R. 8 , signed into law January 2, 2013), required $85.3 billion in automatic cuts to be applied equally ($42.65 billion for each) between defense and nondefense accounts in FY2013. The Continuing Resolution Appropriation, 2013 (CR, P.L. On March 21, 2013, Congress approved legislation ( H.R. 113-6 , signed into law on March 26, 2013), funded the State Department, Foreign Operations and Related Programs through the CR mostly at the same rate as in FY2012, with a few anomalies spelled out in the law. 112-74 , the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012, states that for Foreign Operations
''program, project, and activity'' shall be defined at the appropriations Act account level and shall include all appropriations and authorizations Acts funding directives, ceilings, and limitations with the exception that for the following accounts: ''Economic Support Fund'' and ''Foreign Military Financing Program'', ''program, project, and activity'' shall also be considered to include country, regional, and central program level funding within each such account; for the development assistance accounts of the United States Agency for International Development ''program, project, and activity'' shall also be considered to include central, country, regional, and program level funding, either as:
(1) justified to the Congress; or
(2) allocated by the executive branch in accordance with a report, to be provided to the Committees on Appropriations within 30 days of the enactment of this Act, as required by section 653(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. 113-6 ) required an additional 0.032% across-the-board rescission to all foreign affairs discretionary accounts in order to meet the BCA spending limits. Others concerned with balancing the budget question the importance of foreign aid programs at a time when they say the deficit is hurting the U.S. economy and the priority should be directed more toward funding for defense and domestic programs.
Congress has an interest in the cost and effectiveness of foreign affairs activities that promote U.S. interests overseas. The Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA, P.L. 112-25), as amended by the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (P.L. 112-240/H.R. 8, signed into law on January 2, 2013) required across-the-board reductions (sequestration) in most federal defense and nondefense discretionary programs, projects, and activities including those in foreign affairs for FY2013, and additional spending reductions each year through FY2021. These automatic cuts for FY2013 were ordered on March 1, 2013. Of ongoing interest will be the impact of these cuts and potential future reductions in State Department operations, foreign aid programs, and their ability to protect Americans and promote U.S. interests overseas.
Currently, for FY2014 the government is operating under a continuing resolution (CR, P.L. 113-46) that provides stop-gap funding through January 15, 2014. Subsequent legislation will be necessary to extend, or provide full-year, funding past this date.
In December 2013, the House and Senate agreed to the Bipartisan Budget Act (BBA, H.J.Res. 59), which is expected to ease spending reductions for FY2014 and FY2015. Even with the BBA in law, Congress must pass FY2014 appropriations that are within the revised statutory limits to avoid sequestration.
In addition to the FY2014 budget, the Administration's FY2015 budget request will be of interest when it is submitted to Congress in 2014. It will indicate President Obama's foreign affairs priorities and plans for meeting the BCA caps in FY2015.
According to a February 22, 2013 Pew Research Center survey, Americans surveyed support cuts in foreign aid spending more than any other government activity mentioned. Although still not the majority, 48% of those polled prefer a decrease in foreign aid, while 49% prefer it remain at the current level or is increased. When asked about the Department of State, 34% said they prefer the Department of State funding be decreased, while 60% support maintaining current State Department funding or increasing it. At the same time, when asked, most Americans believe that international spending comprises 10% of the budget, although it is actually around 1%.
This report discusses sequestration and the foreign affairs (150) budget function and presents FY2013 estimates by account. For background on the current foreign affairs budget, see CRS Report R43043, State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2014 Budget and Appropriations. This report will be updated as changes occur.