House Democrats Highlight How Republican Funding Bill Abdicates U.S. Leadership

WASHINGTON — During today's House Appropriations subcommittee markup of the 2025 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs funding bill, House Democrats highlighted how the bill threatens our national security, threatens women's health globally, hampers our response to the climate crisis, and underfunds the Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

House Republicans' State and Foreign Operations bill's overall funding level represents a 12 percent cut below 2024. The bill includes $51.7 billion in United States global leadership and cooperation and is $7 billion below 2024 and $12 billion below the Biden Administration's 2025 request.

This legislation:

• Threatens national security by abdicating U.S. world leadership at the United Nations (UN) and other multilateral and international financial institutions by not including any funding for the UN Regular budget, the UN Development Program, UN Women, and UNICEF.
• Threatens women's health globally by prohibiting the United States from contributing to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), substantially underfunding bilateral family planning, and reinstating the Global Gag Rule on non-governmental organizations that receive U.S. assistance.
• Hampers the U.S. response to the climate crisis by eliminating support for communities' ability to adapt to weather changes, sustainable landscapes, and clean energy programming.
• Underfunds the operations and staffing of the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

"This is a deeply political bill that seeks to satisfy the most extreme among us without consideration of the real-life consequences for our national security and the well-being of our allies," State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Ranking Member Barbara Lee (D-CA-12) said. "While members of this subcommittee have policy disagreements, our commitment to the mission of the United Stated Department and USAID should bring us together. But the work of diplomats and development experts cannot be supported with a 12 percent cut as we are contemplating in this fiscal year 2025 House mark. Democrats will not support a bill if it means turning our backs to the world's most vulnerable women or the looming threat of climate change."

Congresswoman Lee's full remarks as prepared for delivery are here.

"This bill threatens our national security, threatens women's health globally, hampers our response to the climate crisis, undermines our diplomatic corps by underfunding the State Department and USAID, and completely blocks support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency – leaving behind some of the most vulnerable people facing the most unthinkable humanitarian disasters around the world," Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) said. "The majority is yet again diminishing the global standing of the United States, and what we stand for, and what our values are – for our own people and for people around the world who look to America, the world's largest economy and oldest constitutional democracy, for inspiration and hope."

Congresswoman DeLauro's full remarks are here.

A summary of House Republicans' 2025 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs bill is here. A fact sheet is here. The text of the bill is here.

###