Capping off a week of intense negotiations, Congress on Thursday approved a second short-term Continuing Resolution (CR) to extend FY21 funding levels for federal departments and agencies through February 18, 2022 – giving lawmakers 11 more weeks to reach a deal on final FY22 spending levels. The President signed the CR on Friday, hours before the current stopgap measure was set to expire.

In addition to the funding extension, the package approved by Congress also included FY22 emergency supplemental resources to support Afghan refugees. Of this total, $1.3 billion in emergency funding was provided for the International Affairs Budget. Specifically:

• $44 million for Diplomatic Programs to support additional relocations of at-risk individuals leaving Afghanistan.
• $36 million for Emergencies in the Diplomatic and Consular Services to cover the costs of evacuations from Afghanistan – including medical care, accommodations, and travel – for U.S. citizens, legal residents, and Afghans.
• $1.2 billion for Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance to fund resettlement services and provide basic life necessities for Afghan evacuees.

As negotiations to finalize FY22 spending continue, the USGLC urges Congress to adopt no less than the House-approved level of $62.2 billion for the FY22 State-Foreign Operations Appropriations bill. This is the minimum needed to address unprecedented and growing global challenges that directly impact the health, safety, and economic interests of all Americans.