WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), Chair of the Senate State and Foreign Operations (SFOPS) Appropriations Subcommittee and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today hosted a hearing to review the fiscal year 2024 budget request for the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and other related agencies. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken testified in front of the committee about the need for robust funding for the State Department.

Senator Coons engaged Secretary Blinken about maintaining and supporting the State Department workforce, strategies for tackling the global food crisis, and development finance as a tool for advancing our foreign policy objectives, among other key issues.

In his opening statement, Senator Coons remarked that, “I am confident we can forge and maintain bipartisan support to address the most critical challenges facing us and to advance America’s interests, including supporting Ukraine’s determined fight against Russian aggression, countering the threats posed by China, and leveraging our trade tools in the private sector to drive our core economic interests. We have made real progress together to advance our national security priorities over the last two years. … We need to be proactive and use every tool at our disposal to get ahead of these challenges. Your task is daunting and my message to my colleagues is simple: We can’t do more with less. We must increase our investments in our diplomatic and development tools if we want to strengthen our national security. That’s why I’m encouraged by the FY 24 budget request for the State Department, USAID, and related agencies. It is an ambitious request, but the challenges of our time demand no less.”