State Department and Related Agencies: FY2005 Appropriations and FY2006 Request

Publication Date: July 2005

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Government

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Abstract:

State Department funding, formerly in the Commerce, Justice, State (CJS) appropriation, is now in the House's Science, State, Justice, Commerce (SSJC) Appropriation and in the Senate's State-Foreign Operations Appropriation. The State Department authorization is required biannually, providing ceilings and the authority for the Department of State to spend its appropriation. S. 600, State Department authorization for FY2006 and FY2007, is currently before the Senate and the House passed H.R. 2601 on July 20, 2005.

The President sent his FY2006 budget to Congress on February 7, 2005. Included was the Department of State FY2006 budget request for a total of $9,283.1 million (8.8% less than the FY2005 enacted level, including supplemental funds and rescissions) and the international broadcasting FY2006 budget request for $651.9 million (a 8.8% increase from the FY2005 level, including supplementals and rescissions). Of particular interest was the Administration's request for a 20.9% increase in educational and cultural exchanges and a request for a more than doubling of U.S. contributions for international peacekeeping. What was notably missing from this budget request was funding for U.S. embassies in Iraq and Afghanistan.

On February 14, 2005, the President sent to Congress an $81.9 billion emergency supplemental request. It included more than $2,212.5 million for Department of State accounts including embassy costs in Iraq and Afghanistan and U.S. contributions to international peacekeeping. It also contained $7.3 million to support international broadcasting in Arab and Muslim populations and to upgrade transmission facilities in Tajikistan. The enacted FY2005 supplemental (P.L. 109-13, signed May 11, 2005) includes a total of $2,013.3 million for those accounts.

The House Appropriations Committee reported its SSJC bill (H.R. 2862) on June 10, 2005 (H. Rept 109-118), providing a total of $9,031.8 million for the Department of State and $630.9 million for international broadcasting. The House passed the bill on June 16, 2005 with a vote of 418 to 7. Some accounts were reduced causing the total funding for the Department of State to be $8,950.7 million. The total for international broadcasting remained the same at $630.9 million.

The Senate State, Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee approved its FY2006 funding bill (H.R. 3057) on June 29, 2005, providing a total of $9,700 million for the Department of State, including $652 million for international broadcasting. The Senate Appropriations Committee reported its version of H.R. 3057 (S.Rept. 109-96) on June 30th, providing a total of $9,057.3 million for the Department of State and $651.9 million for international broadcasting. The Senate passed it (98 to 1) on July 20th.

For FY2005 State Department funding, the President signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2005 into law (P.L. 108-447) on December 8, 2004. The final FY2005 enacted funding for the Department of State amounted to $8,174.7 million and $591.6 million for international broadcasting.