2015 State Department Congressional Budget Justification - MENA Share This /

On Tuesday March 4, the Department of State released the Congressional Budget Justification for the administration’s fiscal year 2015 budget request. The report details how a requested base budget of $40.3 billion and an additional $5.9 billion in Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funds would be spent on the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, if approved. If the 2015 budget is approved at the $46.2 billion requested level, it will be approximately $500 million less than the 2014 budget for the International Affairs account.

Below are the MENA-related funding requests mentioned in the report (the funding totals represent the combined contributions of the base budget and OCO funding):

Security Assistance:

• International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement (INCLE): $136 million requested to combat transnational crime and illicit trafficking and to support the rule of law in the MENA region, representing a $42 million increase from 2013 actual spending:

- Iraq: $11 million

- Tunisia: $7 million

- Lebanon: $10 million (to support the Lebanese Armed Forces and professionalize its personnel)

- Syria: $10 million (OCO). The assistance aims to improve criminal justice institutions within moderate, local governments or a transitional government. The assistance will focus on “short-term, high-impact security sector, judicial, and corrections reform”

- MENA Initiative Contingencies: $20 million in OCO funding to specifically address security sector reform, transitional justice etc. related to the spillover effect in Syria

- West Bank and Gaza: $70 million (to support security sector reform and provide security training and technical assistance to the Palestinian Authority Security Forces)

• International Military Training and Education (IMET): $107.5 million to support the education and training of foreign military officers, of which, $19.6 million is earmarked for the Near East, representing a $3 million increase from 2013 actual spending. Jordan and Lebanon would receive the highest funds, $3.8 million and $2.25 million, respectively                

• Foreign Military Financing (FMF) – $5.6 billion was requested globally in FMF, with the overwhelming bulk, $4.8 million, earmarked for the Near East. This represents a $200 million increase in enduring funding. FMF helps with arms procurements, technology development and modernization, border security, etc. Most of the funding will go to four countries:

- Israel: $3.1 billion

- Egypt: $1.3 billion

- Jordan: $300 million

- Iraq: $267 million (OCO)

• Embassy Security, Construction and Maintenance: $250 million in OCO funds were requested to help construct a new consulate compound in Basra, Iraq

Humanitarian and Development Assistance:

• Transition Initiatives (TI): $67.6 was requested for TI, which is meant to “address opportunities and challenges facing conflict-prone countries and those countries making the transition from the initial crisis stage of a complex emergency to sustainable development and democracy.” Of this sum, $20 million is earmarked for the MENA region.

• Complex Crises Fund (CCF): $30 million was requested for the CCF, which is meant to provide “resources to address unforeseen political, social, or economic challenges that threaten stability, and support sustainable programs to foster long-term development.” Of this sum, $10 million is reserved for the MENA region.

• Syria Aid: $1.1 billion was specifically earmarked for humanitarian assistance to Syria and its neighbors, to help meet basic needs, support emergency medical care, provide food, and ensure basic protection to the most vulnerable. $635 million in humanitarian assistance was requested under International Disaster Assistance – OCO. An additional $435 million was requested in humanitarian assistance under Migration and Refugee Assistance – OCO.  

• Contributions for International Peacekeeping Activities: Over 200 million was requested for various missions in the MENA region, including on Israel’s borders with Lebanon (UNIFIL) and Syria (UNDOF), and in the Sinai Peninsula (Multinational Force and Observes).  $19.1 million was also requested for the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership (TSCTP), an interagency effort to coordinate counterterrorism activities across West and North Africa.

• National Endowment for Democracy (NED): $103.5 million was requested for the NED, a $31.5 million decrease from FY14 enacted levels. Nevertheless, the request describes support for grant programs to continue in “priority countries and regions,” such as MENA. The NED supports those “working abroad to build democratic institutions and spread democratic values” and “initiatives of nongovernmental organizations fostering independent media, human rights, and other essential democratic elements.”

• Economic Support Fund (ESF): The ESF request contains $1.5 billion for the MENA region, an increase of $527 million from 2013 actual spending. This funding is meant to help countries meet their short and long terms needs “through a range of activities, including countering terrorism and extremist ideology; increasing the role of the private sector in the economy; assisting in the development of effective, accessible, independent legal systems; supporting transparent and accountable governance; and empowering citizens.” Here are a few notable examples of planned U.S. assistance:

- MENA Initiative Reforms: $225 million. This funding will help support and advance the transition currently underway in the region. The funding focuses on promoting “jobs, democratic governance, rule of law, and human rights. They will specifically target reformers at all levels of society and across national lines – entrepreneurs, community leaders, media influencers, and reform-minded ministers/ministries.”   

- Egypt: $200 million. This figure represents a sharp drop from the FY2014 $250 million figure. This funding will encourage private-sector growth and job-creation through trade promotion and more investment in tourism and agriculture.

- Syria: $125 million (ESF – OCO).

- Iraq: $22.5 million

- Jordan: $360 million

- Lebanon: $58 million

- Tunisia: $30 million

- West Bank and Gaza: $370 million

- Yemen: $64.5 million

- Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI): $70 million (offers assistance, training and support for individuals and groups striving to make constructive and positive change in the region)

- Near East Regional Democracy (funding to support democratic and human rights organizations): $30 million

• Migration and Refugee Assistance: $2 billion requested to assist refugees and support migrants from refugee areas:

- Overseas Assistance: $362 million specifically earmarked for the Near East

- Humanitarian Migrants to Israel: $10 million

- U.S. Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance: $50 million (this funding will most likely be used to buttress the funds already meant for Syria and its neighbors)

• Middle East and North Africa Transition Fund: $5 million was requested for MENA-TF, to help select Arab Countries in Transition attract greater flows of capital. MENA-TF is a “multi-donor trust fund administered by the World Bank and created under the U.S. Chairmanship of the Group of 8 to assist countries that members of the Deauville Partnership with Arab Countries in Transition (currently Egypt, Tunisia, Jordan, Morocco, Libya, and Yemen).”