INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS APPROPRIATIONS PROCESS - START TO FINISH

In February 2005, President Bush requested $33.63 billion in International Affairs (IA) spending for FY 2006. This covers government spending for International Affairs for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2005 and ending September 30, 2006. The request represented an increase of $3.91 billion from the $29.7 billion appropriated in FY 2005, but only a fraction, 1.3 percent, of the overall budget request.

In November 2005, Congress completed work on the two bills – the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill and the Science, State, Justice and Commerce Appropriations bill - that fund U.S.’ international affairs spending. Total IA spending appropriated by lawmakers amounts to $30.585 billion, 9 percent below the President’s request. The House and Senate set different funding priorities in their respective spending bills. The Senate came closer to matching the Bush Administration’s request on most accounts, setting total spending for IA at $31.9 billion, while the House’s legislation, which funded IA spending at $29.9 billion, undercut the Administration’s request by a much more significant margin.

Final totals for IA spending are determined in a Conference Committee which is comprised of House and Senate lawmakers, selected by the leadership, and tasked with reconciling differences between legislation from both chambers. The outcome of this negotiation between House and Senate lawmakers is a Conference Report. The Conference Report for the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill includes funding much closer to the levels set in House Appropriations legislation, while the Senate’s priorities fared better in the State Department funding bill.

Updated December 15, 2005