House Rules Committee Advances State, Defense, Homeland Security Spending Bills

The House Rules Committee advanced on June 25 three House appropriations bills to the floor of the lower congressional chamber for scheduled votes this week.

The final tally was 9–4. The bills are for funding the Departments of State, Defense, and Homeland Security.

The State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act consists of $51.713 billion, or $7.6 billion less than what was allocated for the 2024 fiscal year. It is also 19 percent less, or $12.26 billion, than what President Joe Biden requested for the 2025 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.

The bill specifically allocates $14.6 billion for the Department of State and several related agencies and commissions and $1.56 billion for the U.S. Agency for International Development for the 2025 fiscal year. The latter is $476 million below what was allocated for the previous fiscal year and $661 million less than what the administration requested.

The bill includes $3.3 billion in military financing for Israel. It prohibits funding for the International Criminal Court (ICC) and United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), both of which have been criticized for being hostile toward Israel.

The ICC recently announced it would seek arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, in addition to Hamas leaders Mohammed Diab Ibrahim AL-Masri, Ismail Haniyeh, and Yahya Sinwar.

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The appropriations bill also prohibits funding for the U.N. Commission of Inquiry against Israel.

Relatedly, the legislation blocks assistance to Maldives over its prohibition of Israelis visiting the Pacific island nation.

The bill has measures to combat China’s communist regime, such as allocating $2.1 billion to Indo-Pacific initiatives, which includes $500 million in military financing for Taiwan. It also prohibits funding for China and the Chinese Communist Party.

Additionally, the legislation cuts all U.S. funding for the U.N. general budget, the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the U.N. Environment Fund, the U.N. Women, and the U.N. Montreal Protocol. It also terminates financial support for the World Economic Forum and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

It does not allow funding for the World Health Organization, the U.N. Population Fund, and the Gender Equity and Equality Action Fund. The United States is the largest donor to the United Nations.

Furthermore, the bill eliminates 33 State Department special envoy and special representative roles, including the Special Envoy to Advance the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons, Special Representative for Palestinian Affairs, Special Envoy for Racial Equity and Justice, Special Envoy for International Labor Affairs, and the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate. Most special envoy and special representative positions do not have the rank of ambassador and, therefore, do not require Senate confirmation.

The bill does not allow funding for the Wuhan Institute of Virology, EcoHealth Alliance, gain-of-function research, or labs in countries such as China, Russia, Iran, Cuba, and North Korea.

The legislation only allows the American flag to be flown at embassies.

The Biden administration expressed opposition to all three House appropriations measures, calling them “partisan” and a waste of time.

It includes $500 million for Israel’s defense missile systems, including the Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Arrow systems amid the Israel–Hamas conflict.

It forbids the administration from withholding military aid to Israel—a measure in response to the president putting a hold on a munitions shipment to the Jewish state over Washington’s objections to an Israeli full-scale military operation in the southern Gazan city of Rafah, which is believed to be the last-remaining Hamas stronghold.

Additionally, it blocks funding for any pier outside of Gaza. A U.S.-built pier to bring humanitarian aid into Gaza has experienced structural difficulties.

As with the State appropriations bill, this one also blocks funding for UNRWA.

The bill includes provisions to eliminate positions related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), the teaching of critical race theory, and climate change regulations and executive orders.

Moreover, it prohibits DOD employees and their dependents from using federal funds to obtain an abortion.

Compared to the 2024 fiscal year, the bill has a $1.8 billion increase in National Guard military personnel, a $7.1 billion increase in operation and maintenance support, a $6.7 billion decrease in procurement spending, a $2.4 billion decrease in research, development, test, and evaluation, and a $374.7 million decrease in other DOD programs.

Homeland Security

The Homeland Security appropriations bill consists of $64.81 billion, including $22.74 billion for major disaster response and recovery projects.

It includes $600 million to build onto the southern border wall, funding for 22,000 Border Patrol agents, and $300 million for border security technology.

Additionally, the bill consists of $4.1 billion for custody operations, which includes funding 50,000 detention beds and $822 million for removing illegal immigrants.

Moreover, it looks to counter China such as allocating millions of dollars toward maritime operations in the Indo-Pacific.

The bill allocates $18.26 billion for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which is $1.36 billion more than the 2024 fiscal year level.