House Bill Reduces Trump's Proposed State Dept Cuts to 14%

A House committee is proposing to cut State Department funding 14 percent, The Hill reported.

The Appropriations Committee's spending bill for State and Foreign Operations – which includes State Department funding and other agencies and programs – is $47.4 billion, an overall 17 percent cut, The Hill reported.

The cuts, while deep, are less severe than those proposed in President Donald Trump's budget blueprint, which proposed cutting the State Department's funding by about 30 percent.

The Hill reported panel chairman Rep. Rodney Freinghuysen, R-N.J., said the bill will "ensure U.S. dollars are being put to good use to expand democracy and peace . . ." but Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., said the slashes would hit "critical" areas of national security.

The Hill also reported the bill would:

• Maintain the same $6.1 billion for embassy security.
• Withhold funds from the United Nations Security Council and U.N. bodies headed by countries that support terrorism.
• Cut funding from the Palestinian Authority equivalent to any amount paid out "to prisoners that committed acts of terrorism," or if it forms a government with Hamas, a terrorist group.
• Strengthen rules that prohibit U.S. funding of pro-choice nongovernmental organizations.

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