Earlier this week, the House Appropriations Committee released the FY 2013 funding allocations for each appropriations subcommittee. The twelve bills add up to match the $1.028 trillion discretionary spending budget approved by the House Budget Resolution earlier this year, but the total amount is still $19 billion short of the agreement reached in the Budget Control Act last year. State and Foreign Operations (i.e. the account that Make US Strong is fighting to protect) received a deep cut: the House allocated only $48.3 billion to the essential State and Foreign Operations account, a staggering $5 billion less than the Senate’s proposal. These dangerous cuts — which make up the majority of funding for international development and diplomacy funding — directly threaten our national security. By cutting these programs, the House severely limits the effectiveness of two of our greatest security tools: development and diplomacy.
It is disappointing to see these cuts put forth by the House, especially after the Senate’s appropriations proposal was nearly equal to last year’s. In order to continue to protect our nation’s security, Congress must be fully committed to not only support our military, but also our development and diplomacy programs.
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