Thune handed $47B national security bill with poison pill

By Thérèse Boudreaux
The Center Square

A $47.3 billion government funding bill has cleared the U.S. House of Representatives and arrives at the Senate facing a hostile reception from Democrats.

The fiscal year 2027 National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act provides money for foreign affairs, diplomacy, international assistance, and other bipartisan national security-related programs.

Attached to the legislation is the Republicans’ SAVE America Act courtesy of a last-minute rule change House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., allowed to satisfy party hardliners.

“This bill was already unacceptable because it cuts critical investments in public health, disaster preparedness, and America’s leadership around the world,” said Rep. Emilia Sykes, D-Ohio, echoing the concerns voiced by Democratic leaders. “But House Republicans made an already harmful bill even worse by forcing through the SAVE America Act at President Trump’s direction.”

The Senate has a 60-vote threshold for passage and near-universal Democratic opposition to the voter ID bill, meaning the package has virtually no chance of passing the upper chamber.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., will have to decouple the two bills to prevent the already delayed government funding process from derailing – and the hardliners Johnson is trying to appease are ready to pounce if that happens.

“What is great about what the House is now doing with the SAVE America Act is Thune will have to make a call,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., posted Thursday on social media. “Is he personally going to gut the SAVE America Act from every bill the House sends to the Senate? It will be at his direction and everyone is watching.”

Thune has little choice, however, given that the House has only passed three of the 12 annual appropriations bills and the Senate hasn’t approved a single one. The government funding deadline is Sept. 30, the end of fiscal year 2026.

Even without the inclusion of the SAVE America Act, which mandates proof of citizenship in order to vote in federal elections, the National Security-State funding bill faced some pushback from Democrats.

While the $47.3 billion topline is a mere 6% cut from current levels, it’s a 20% cut from fiscal year 2025 funding.

Most of the decrease comes from reduced foreign aid – the bill includes $22.4 billion for global health, economic assistance and humanitarian programs, and prohibits the U.S. from funding United Nations Population Fund, the Green Climate Fund, or the Office of Palestinian Affairs.

It allocates about $15 billion for Department of State operations and $9.6 billion for Department of State security assistance programs, including Israeli military funding.

Notably, an amendment sponsored by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., to remove the bill’s $3.3 billion in Israeli foreign military financing failed after every other Republican and 98 Democrats voted against it.

“While I do not agree with the entirety of the amendment, I do believe it opens the door to long overdue, hard conversations on U.S. military aid,” Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-Conn., said in a statement released Thursday.

“In the same way I have voted no to domestic funding for agencies who refuse to implement necessary reforms, I cannot vote to send American taxpayer dollars anywhere in the world without that same level of scrutiny.”

Despite its grim outlook in the Senate, most House Republicans are still celebrating the bill’s passage as a show of progress on government funding, particularly given the backdrop of the U.S.-Iran conflict.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., praised the bill for taking “a clear-eyed and unapologetic approach to our security and diplomacy efforts.”

“It leaves no doubt about our nation’s posture,” Cole told lawmakers. “America will not be passive – or simply write blank checks. Every investment we make must advance U.S. interests, strengthen our strategic position, and deliver measurable results for the American people.”