Update on Fiscal Year 2017 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill Mark-ups

After many calls, letters, and face to face meetings all spring, the months of appropriations advocacy and Congressional sign-on letters to urge increased funding for both global health and education programs is paying off! Right before the House and Senate adjourn for a long recess for the rest of July and August, both chambers moved the State and Foreign Operations (SFOPS) Appropriations bills through the subcommittee and then full committee mark-up process. This is the annual bill that allocates on what and how the U.S. spends our global development funding. Overall there are some big wins for the anti-poverty accounts that RESULTS supports!

Increases from both sides:

• On the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Account, the Senate met the President’s request for the topline MCH account at $814.5 million – which is $64.5 million over the Fiscal Year 2016 (FY16) enacted level. The House bill increased the entire account by $227 million, but that increase also accounted for a move to save UNICEF from cuts made to other UN agencies. With UNICEF funded under MCH, the full increase to the account is still $114.5 million over the FY16 enacted level!
• Funding levels for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, were increased in both chambers. Both the House and Senate fully funded Gavi at $275 million, which was the President’s request for FY17 and $40 million more than FY16.

Increases on one side:

• On Tuberculosis, the House rejected the cuts in the President’s budget, restoring funding to bilateral tuberculosis to $236 million for FY17. In the Senate, they also rejected the cuts, but increased the account by $5 million, the first proposed increase for the account in 5 years!
• The House maintained the Basic Education account at $800 million. But within the overall account, the House included a record $75 million for the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), a $5 million increase over the FY16 level. The Senate cut the overall Basic Education account by nearly 30 percent from FY16 levels, including only $562 million (which was also the President’s request). However, the Senate appropriated $70 million for GPE – the highest amount ever included in a Senate bill for GPE.

Fighting back cuts and holding the line:

• Both the House and the Senate restored funding cuts proposed by the President’s budget to the Nutrition account. Both bills maintained funding for Nutrition in Global Health at $125 million.
• The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria’s funding was maintained from last year at $1.35 billion in both bills. In the lead up to the Global Fund replenishment this September in Canada, this sends a strong signal to other donor nations that the U.S. commitment to the Global Fund is unwaivering.

Neither the House nor the Senate SFOPS bill is expected to move to the floor for a full vote, but the bills may be rolled into a bigger appropriations package (omnibus bill) later in the year, likely after the November election. Because of this, RESULTS will continue to monitor the appropriations process and how grassroots advocacy can support the higher levels of funding for our issues as the bills move.