State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development FY 2022 Budget Request

The President's FY 2022 Budget requests $58.5 billion for the State Department and USAID. The funding request invests in the core foundations of our country's strength and delivers for the American people, including by working with allies and partners to address the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate crisis, promote and defend our democratic values, and engage China in the Indo-Pacific and globally from a position of collective strength. This budget will enable the Department of State and USAID to help achieve the President's vision of restoring U.S. leadership and delivering security and prosperity for all Americans.

The Department of State and USAID use diplomatic and development tools to advance U.S. interests and deliver for all Americans. After four years of neglect, the State and USAID Budget request significantly increases funding for climate initiatives, makes needed investments in global health security, enhances our support for the promotion and protection of democracy, human rights, labor rights, and rule of law, reasserts U.S. global humanitarian leadership, including rebuilding U.S. refugee resettlement, increases economic and security assistance to Central America to address the root causes of irregular migration, reinvigorates the diplomatic and development workforce, and meets our international obligations, all while supporting efforts to advance racial equity and inclusion in foreign assistance and within foreign affairs agencies.

The President's FY 2022 budget request includes $58.5 billion for the Department of State and USAID, an increase of $5.5 billion or 10 percent over the FY 2021 enacted level. It:

• Ensures the United States is Better Prepared to Prevent, Detect, and Respond to Future Biological Threats and Pandemics. The budget request expands American leadership in global health security in order to address long-term impacts of COVID-19 and to prevent, prepare for, and respond to future infectious disease outbreaks, whether naturally occurring, accidental, or deliberate. The budget request includes $10.1 billion for global health programs of which nearly $1 billion would fund global health security programs and support to end the COVID-19 pandemic, an increase of over $800 million above the FY 2021 enacted level. This nearly $1 billion would expand Global Health Security Agenda capacity-building programs to additional countries and increase investments in crosscutting research and viral discovery programs to detect and stamp out future infectious disease outbreaks before they become pandemics. These funds also support global pandemic preparedness efforts, including a health security financing mechanism developed alongside U.S. partners and allies to catalyze increased investment in pandemic prevention and preparedness for future outbreaks. Funding would also support the global Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator platform to deploy tests, treatments, and vaccines around the world. Global health activities supported in the FY 2022 budget request build upon existing global health security infrastructure developed through decades of U.S. investment as well as emergency supplemental funding over the past year and the $10.8 billion provided in the American Rescue Plan Act for the Department and USAID to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Responds to the Climate Crisis. The budget request tackles the climate emergency head-on, providing more than $2.5 billion across all government agencies for international climate programs, more than four times the 2021 enacted level, to rally the world against this urgent threat that cannot be defeated by a single nation alone. The budget request includes $1.25 billion for the Green Climate Fund, with funding split between the Department and Treasury. The request also includes over $700 million in State and USAID bilateral, regional, and global climate-related assistance. The United States would provide $485 million to support other multilateral climate initiatives, including $100 million for international climate adaptation programs. The budget request also proposes funding for staffing increases to develop new centers of climate expertise at the Department of State and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation. By reestablishing U.S. leadership on climate change, these increased climate investments would revitalize America's coalitions with its allies and help mobilize the rest of the international community to increase its contributions.
• Revitalizes Collaborative U.S. Leadership in Central America. It is critical to revitalize U.S. leadership in Central America and to address the root causes of irregular migration from Central America to the United States. To that end, the budget request invests $861 million in the region as a first step toward a four-year commitment of $4 billion. These resources would allow the United States to work with partners in the region to strengthen host government accountability in curtailing endemic corruption, expanding economic opportunity, improving governance, and reducing violence and insecurity.
• Restores America's Standing in International Organizations. To ensure we are in a position to uphold and defend the principles and values of the international order we helped build, we must meet U.S. commitments to international peacekeeping and pay our assessed dues to international organizations on time and in full, reversing the chronic underfunding of these critical programs by the previous administration. The budget request provides approximately $500 million more than last year, for a total of nearly $2 billion, for UN peacekeeping missions, including $300 million to begin reducing cap-related arrears accumulated over the past four years, with the intention of fully paying these arrears within two years. The budget request also makes investments to restore America's standing in the world by providing funding, including for the payment of arrears where applicable, to support international organizations and related programs, including the World Health Organization, the UN Population Fund, and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, while continuing to press for needed reforms. These investments position us to lead in international organizations with our like-minded partners.
• Advances U.S. Humanitarian Leadership, Rebuilds U.S. Refugee Resettlement. Humanitarian needs are at historic levels as COVID-19 has exacerbated existing challenges from ongoing and new complex emergencies. The budget request provides the resources necessary to rebuild the badly damaged U.S. refugee admissions program and support up to 125,000 admissions in 2022. It provides over $10 billion in humanitarian assistance to support vulnerable people abroad, including refugees, conflict victims, and other displaced persons.
• Promotes and Defends our Democratic Values and Counters Rising Authoritarianism. This budget will enable the United States to lead efforts with our democratic allies and partners to support open and free societies, strengthen democratic institutions, combat growing authoritarianism and corruption, increase respect for human rights, support marginalized populations, and strengthen partner capacity to protect democratic systems against malign influence from China, Russia, and other authoritarian states. This programming would complement international efforts stemming from the Administration's Summit for Democracy to strengthen democratic institutions, honestly confront nations that are backsliding, and forge a common agenda.
• Supports U.S. Partners in the Middle East and Advances Peace in the Region. The budget request fully funds U.S. commitments to key allies in the Middle East, including Israel and Jordan. The budget request funds assistance programs and humanitarian aid for Palestinians, including support for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The United States will maintain steadfast support for Israel as the Administration renews relations with Palestinian leadership, restores economic and humanitarian assistance for Palestinians, and works to advance freedom, prosperity, and security for the Israeli and Palestinian people alike.
• Revitalizes the Foreign Policy Workforce to Deliver for All Americansthrough increases in funding for the Department's and USAID's greatest asset, our people. The FY 2022 request proposes funding for the largest State staffing increase in a decade, building a diplomatic and development corps that fully represents America in all its talent and By empowering our workforce and deepening our expertise, we will be able to successfully address 21st century challenges on global health, climate, and technology. State's new Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer will lead the charge to implement our Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan across the Department.
• Invests in Information Technology (IT) Modernization and Stronger Cybersecurityacross State and USAID, providing more secure and mobile communication tools enabling our workforce to succeed in the modern information environment, with greater agility, collaboration, and access to data. An increase of more than $100 million for State's cybersecurity is crucial to mitigating the evolving cybersecurity threat landscape. The Department and the Agency remain prime targets of malicious state- and non-state actors, as evidenced by the recent attacks.
• Supports Consular Services to Assist Americans, Promote Prosperity, and Advance U.S. Interests.The request includes a direct appropriation of $320 million to provide a stable source of support for consular services provided to American citizens and foreign visa applicants who come to visit, study, and invest in our communities in light of reduced fee revenue due to the pandemic, as well as continuing authorities allowing fees collected to support a wider array of consular activity through FY 2022.
• Sustains Security for our Worldwide Presence at $6.1 billion,protecting our personnel, embassies, and cybersecurity around the globe. These include initiatives to expand real-time threat monitoring, accelerate security vetting, and the construction or renovation of embassies and consulates in Vietnam, Democratic Republic of Congo, Bosnia, South Africa, and France.