Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2010
DEPARTMENT OF STATE, FOREIGN OPERATIONS, AND RELATED PROGRAMS APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2010 -- (House of Representatives - July 09, 2009)
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Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Chair, I rise in support of the 2010 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill. This bill reflects the bipartisan priorities of Congress in the areas of national security and counterterrorism, diplomacy, development, global health and oversight.
This bill appropriates $48.8 billion for State Department operations, programs and foreign aid, including $13.4 billion for national security, counterterrorism and counternarcotics programs, $7.8 billion for global health programs, $5.8 billion to combat HIV/AIDS, $2.5 billion for general development aid, and $2.4 billion for the Child Survival and Disease Fund. And, to assist and enhance our diplomatic efforts around the world, the bill provides funding for over a thousand new Foreign Service officers and $746 million for international broadcasting activities such as the Voice of America.
To honor our strategic and diplomatic commitments to our partners around the world, the bill appropriates $2.2 billion in aid for Israel, $1.3 billion for Egypt, and $513 million in economic and security aid for Jordan. The bill also funds such commitments closer to home in Mexico where in 2008, more than 6,200 people died in drug-related violence, more than twice the number killed in 2007. More than 1,000 people have died so far in 2009.
This problem has grown so severe that the Department of Homeland Security is reviewing ways to assist Mexican law enforcement to stop the flow of guns, assault rifles, and cash from the U.S. into Mexico. This bill recognizes this challenge and provides $987 million to support counter narcotics and alternative development programs in Mexico, Central American, the Caribbean Basin, Colombia and Peru.
U.S. peacekeeping and humanitarian efforts are also served by this bill. The bill appropriates $2.4 billion for various peacekeeping operations, including missions in Darfur and Somalia, where the United States continues to be the leading donor for emergency refugee and humanitarian assistance. For Sudan alone, this bill provides over $700 million in combined assistance for African Union and United Nations missions there.
I want to thank Chairman Lowey and Ranking Member Granger and all the members of the Appropriations Committee for crafting a bipartisan bill that responsibly satisfies our strategic, development and diplomatic commitments around the world. I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting it.
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