State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: FY2008 Appropriations

The annual State, Foreign Operations and Related Agencies appropriations bill is the primary legislative vehicle through which Congress reviews the U.S. international affairs budget and influences executive branch foreign policy making in general. Funding for Foreign Operations and State Department/Broadcasting programs has been steadily rising since FY2002, and amounts approved for FY2004 in regular and supplemental bills reached an unprecedented level compared with the past 40 years. Emergency supplementals enacted since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to assist the front-line states in the war on terrorism, fund Afghanistan and Iraq reconstruction, and upgrade State Department operations and security upgrades, also have pushed spending upward. This report analyzes the FY2008 budget request and funding trends, including major issues Congress may consider, and tracks congressional action. Major issues confronting the 110th Congress include: ! The overall size of the budget request that represents an 11% increase over FY2007 enacted levels; A foreign aid reform plan that seeks to align assistance with U.S. strategic objectives; Significant increases for Presidential initiatives; Continued costs relating to Iraq and Afghanistan; and Secretary Rice's Transformational Diplomacy initiative for the State Department. CRS Report for Congress.