# United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs

The United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs is one of twelve subcommittees of the United States Senate Committee on Appropriations. The United States Senate Committee on Appropriations has joint jurisdiction with the United States House Committee on Appropriations over all appropriations bills in the United States Congress. Each committee has 12 matching subcommittees, each of which is tasked with working on one of the twelve annual regular appropriations bills.

## Appropriations process

Traditionally, after a federal budget for the upcoming fiscal year has been passed, the appropriations subcommittees receive information about what the budget sets as their spending ceilings. This is called "302(b) allocations" after section 302(b) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. That amount is separated into smaller amounts for each of the twelve Subcommittees. The federal budget does not become law and is not signed by the President. Instead, it is guide for the House and the Senate in making appropriations and tax decisions. However, no budget is required and each chamber has procedures in place for what to do without one. The House and Senate now consider appropriations bills simultaneously, although originally the House went first. The House Committee on Appropriations usually reports the appropriations bills in May and June and the Senate in June. Any differences between appropriations bills passed by the House and the Senate are resolved in the fall.

## Appropriations bills

An appropriations bill is a bill that appropriates (gives to, sets aside for) money to specific federal government departments, agencies, and programs. The money provides funding for operations, personnel, equipment, and activities. Regular appropriations bills are passed annually, with the funding they provide covering one fiscal year. The fiscal year is the accounting period of the federal government, which runs from October 1 to September 30 of the following year.
There are three types of appropriations bills: regular appropriations bills, continuing resolutions, and supplemental appropriations bills. Regular appropriations bills are the twelve standard bills that cover the funding for the federal government for one fiscal year and that are supposed to be enacted into law by October 1. If Congress has not enacted the regular appropriations bills by the time, it can pass a continuing resolution, which continues the pre-existing appropriations at the same levels as the previous fiscal year (or with minor modifications) for a set amount of time. The third type of appropriations bills are supplemental appropriations bills, which add additional funding above and beyond what was originally appropriated at the beginning of the fiscal year. Supplemental appropriations bills can be used for things like disaster relief.
Appropriations bills are one part of a larger United States budget and spending process. They are preceded in that process by the president's budget proposal, congressional budget resolutions, and the 302(b) allocation. Article One of the United States Constitution, section 9, clause 7, states that "No money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law..." This is what gives Congress the power to make these appropriations. The President, however, still has the power to veto appropriations bills.

## Jurisdiction

This subcommittee oversees the U.S. State Department and several international programs and agencies, including international programs within the Department of Defense. It also manages the Peace Corps, the Export-Import Bank, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, and United States contributions to the International Monetary Fund and United Nations activities.

## Members, 119th Congress

| Majority | Minority |
| Lindsey Graham, South Carolina, Chair Mitch McConnell, Kentucky John Boozman, Arkansas Jerry Moran, Kansas Bill Hagerty, Tennessee Katie Britt, Alabama Markwayne Mullin, Oklahoma | Brian Schatz, Hawaii, Ranking Member Dick Durbin, Illinois Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire Chris Coons, Delaware Jeff Merkley, Oregon Chris Murphy, Connecticut |
| Ex officio ||
| Susan Collins, Maine | Patty Murray, Washington |

## Historical subcommittee rosters
### 116th Congress

| Majority | Minority |
| Lindsey Graham, South Carolina, Chairman Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Roy Blunt, Missouri John Boozman, Arkansas Jerry Moran, Kansas Marco Rubio, Florida James Lankford, Oklahoma Steve Daines, Montana | Patrick Leahy, Vermont, Ranking Member Dick Durbin, Illinois Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire Chris Coons, Delaware Jeff Merkley, Oregon Chris Murphy, Connecticut Chris Van Hollen, Maryland |
| Ex officio ||
| Richard Shelby, Alabama | |

### 117th Congress

| Majority | Minority |
| Chris Coons, Delaware, Chair Patrick Leahy, Vermont Dick Durbin, Illinois Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire Jeff Merkley, Oregon Chris Murphy, Connecticut Chris Van Hollen, Maryland | Lindsey Graham, South Carolina, Ranking Member Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Roy Blunt, Missouri John Boozman, Arkansas Jerry Moran, Kansas Marco Rubio, Florida Bill Hagerty, Tennessee |
| Ex officio ||
| | Richard Shelby, Alabama |

### 118th Congress

| Majority | Minority |
| Chris Coons, Delaware, Chair Dick Durbin, Illinois Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire Jeff Merkley, Oregon Chris Murphy, Connecticut Chris Van Hollen, Maryland Brian Schatz, Hawaii | Lindsey Graham, South Carolina, Ranking Member Mitch McConnell, Kentucky John Boozman, Arkansas Jerry Moran, Kansas Marco Rubio, Florida Bill Hagerty, Tennessee |
| Ex officio ||
| Patty Murray, Washington | Susan Collins, Maine |