Chairman Díaz-Balart's FY26 State NSRP Bill Approved by House Appropriations Committee

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart (FL-26), Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs, issued the following statement after the House Appropriations Committee's approval of the proposed fiscal year 2026 funding legislation:

“As Chairman of the Subcommittee that funds U.S. national security interests abroad, I am pleased that the FY 2026 funding bill, building on prior triumphs, was approved by the House Appropriations Committee. Together, we’re advancing President Trump’s America First foreign policy, delivering a 22 percent reduction in funding compared to the enacted levels for FY 2025, while further strengthening the national security of the United States.

“This bill reinforces President Trump’s vision of Peace Through Strength by restoring American leadership, standing in strong solidarity with our allies, advancing freedom, and confronting the malign forces that threaten U.S. national security and endanger American lives.

“I thank Chairman Tom Cole for his leadership and my colleagues for advancing a bill that focuses on effective, accountable priorities that strengthen U.S. national security.”

FISCAL YEAR 2026 NATIONAL SECURITY, DEPARTMENT OF STATE, AND RELATED PROGRAMS APPROPRIATIONS BILL

The National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Bill (NSRP) provides a total discretionary allocation of $46.218 billion, which is $13.13 billion (22%) below the Fiscal Year 2025 enacted level, $5.5 billion below the House-passed FY25 NSRP bill, and delivers on the America First agenda.

Within the total cuts, the NSRP bill maintains robust funding for our allies like Israel, Jordan, Egypt, and Taiwan and counters adversaries like the Communist People’s Republic of China, Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, and drug cartels, including those designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations. The bill supports the President’s vision to refocus and realign foreign policy to make America safer, stronger, and more prosperous, while ensuring all funds are spent consistent with relevant Executive Orders.

Champions America First Foreign Policy by:

• Redefining foreign assistance to promote self-sufficiency for U.S. allies and partners, bolster economic growth and stability, and protect our national security.
• Creating the America First Opportunity Fund to ensure the Secretary of State has the flexibility to respond quickly to unforeseen opportunities and advance the America First foreign policy agenda.
• Requiring consideration of a country’s cooperation on United States priorities such as migration issues, opposing foreign adversaries, burden sharing, and United Nations votes in determining economic assistance allocations.
• Prioritizing United States commercial interests.

Supports the Trump Administration and mandate of the American people by:

• Upholding America First priorities by promoting a foreign policy that supports our allies, counters our adversaries, focuses on economic prosperity and national security, and eliminates contributions to multilateral organizations that are wasteful and antithetical to American values.
• Supporting President Trump’s executive orders to ensure no wasteful spending on DEI or woke programming, climate change mandates, or divisive gender ideologies.
• Allowing only the American flag and other official government flags to be flown over U.S. embassies.
• Prohibiting funds for irresponsible migration, endorsing President Trump’s executive orders on border and migration.
• Encouraging the Secretary of State to consider how countries are cooperating, or not cooperating, on migration matters when deciding how to allocate foreign assistance.
• Prioritizing funding and policies to combat the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs into the United States. 

Protects life, supports American values, and enhances our standing in the world by:

• Protecting long-standing pro-life provisions as well as enhancing oversight and transparency over program implementation to ensure American taxpayer dollars will not fund abortions.
• Removing vague references to “gender” and clearly outlines our support for women and girls.
• Supporting religious freedom programs abroad and religious freedom protections for faith-based organizations delivering foreign aid.
• Defending United States sovereignty by prohibiting funds for the Arms Trade Treaty, and protecting the Second Amendment rights of Americans.
• Banning “disinformation” and “misinformation” programs that violate the free speech rights of American citizens.

 Bolsters U.S. national security and border protections by:

• Providing robust assistance to Egypt and Jordan, two key U.S. partners.
• Including $500 million for the Foreign Military Financing Program for Taiwan to strengthen deterrence across the Taiwan Strait, and up to $2 billion in loans and loan guarantees for Taiwan in order to strengthen deterrence efforts in the Taiwan Strait.
• Fully funding the Countering PRC Influence Fund at $400 million.
• Providing $1.8 billion for United States national security interests in the Indo-Pacific and to counter the PRC’s malign influence.
• Prohibiting funds for the PRC and the Chinese Communist Party, specifically prohibiting funds for countries to repay debts owed to China, prohibiting support for academic institutions partnering in STEM programs with colleges or universities in China controlled by the PRC or CCP, and prohibiting funds for international financial institutions generating loans to the PRC.
• Prohibiting assistance to individuals or entities that support, finance, or facilitate the operations or commercial activities of the Cuban Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces or Ministry of the Interior, or their affiliates.
• Including funding that prioritizes efforts by the State Department to counter narcotics trafficking that impacts the United States.

Safeguards American taxpayer dollars, preserves core functions, and cuts wasteful spending by:

• Prioritizing fiscal sanity and the elimination of waste, fraud, and abuse by strategically investing in partners to help them achieve durable and sustainable goals in the United States national security interest.
• Supporting efforts to reduce duplication, eliminate siloes, and streamline foreign policy under the direction of the Secretary of State to support a nimble and effective Department.
• Eliminating funding for unauthorized programs, organizations, or functions.
• Eliminating funding for Biden-era executive orders on climate, gender, DEI, and extraneous or irrelevant programs that diluted the mission of America’s foreign policy.
• Including a new directive to the Secretary of State to establish a strategy for transitioning PEPFAR programs off of United States assistance.
• Consolidating and reducing the number of assistance accounts to facilitate efficient, strategic allocation of funds for programs that support United States national security interests.
• Prioritizing diplomatic engagement to favorably resolve commercial disputes abroad and to promote American business interests overseas.
• Refocusing attention on critical diplomatic functions, such as addressing passport applications and ensuring the safety and security of our embassies.
• Prohibiting funding to the multilateral Green Climate Fund and the Clean Technology Fund.
• Prohibiting funding to the United Nations Human Rights Council.
• Eliminating the United Nations regular budget and other unaccountable and ineffective international organizations.
• Prohibiting funding for iVerify and other United Nations “fact checking” programs.
• Prohibiting funding to the World Health Organization.

Standing with our friend and ally, Israel by:

• Providing unwavering support for Israel by including no less than $3.3 billion in Foreign Military Financing Program funds.
• Prohibiting funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
• Prohibiting funding for the UN Secretariat until conditions for accountability are met for UNRWA staff implicated in the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack in Israel that killed over 1,200 people including American citizens.
• Prohibiting funding for the United Nations Commission of Inquiry against Israel, International Criminal Court, and the International Court of Justice.
• Prohibiting funding for the United Nations Special Rapporteurs.

Promotes freedom and democracy while safeguarding U.S. taxpayer dollars by:

• Promoting freedom in the Western Hemisphere:
• $35 million for democracy programs for Cuba;
• $50 million for democracy programs for Venezuela;
• $15 million for democracy and religious programs for Nicaragua.
• $40 million for the operations of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (Radio and TV Marti).
• Prohibiting funds to prevent the removal of Cuba from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism and to prevent the removal of entities from the Cuba Restricted List.
• Prohibiting funds for countries and organizations that continue benefitting from the trafficking of Cuban medical doctors, while directing the Secretary of State to deny visa entry into the United States to any government and international organization officials involved in the exploitation of Cuban doctors.
• Placing strict conditions on funding and requiring a pre-obligation report for Colombia, reducing non-military assistance by 50 percent due to the Petro Administration’s failure to align with United States interests and worsening security conditions—including an attempted assassination of a political opposition leader—while still maintaining continuous support for counter-narcotics efforts.
• Requiring that foreign assistance be directed to countries in the Western Hemisphere that act as allies and implement foreign and domestic policies which are consistent with United States values and security interests.
• Requiring a report from the Administration about efforts in Haiti and encouraging the incorporation of locally led organizations in their approach to the multi-layered crisis.
• Increases funding and strategic focus toward allies in the Hemisphere, including Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic, which are working on common goals to combat narcotics trafficking, fight international crime, control migration, and counter anti-American threats.

A summary of the bill is available here.

Bill text is available here.

Bill report is available here.

Chairman Diaz-Balart’s opening remarks from today can be found here.

Click here to watch the Full Committee Markup.

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