U.S. Security Assistance and Security Cooperation Programs: Overview of Funding Trends

U.S. security sector assistance to foreign countries is funded primarily in the foreign affairs and defense budgets. As the 115th Congress considers its spending priorities for the coming fiscal year, the magnitude, trends, and uses of such assistance may be examined and debated. The Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPS) appropriations; the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA); and the Department of Defense (DOD) appropriations all contain provisions that could affect security assistance funding in FY2018 and beyond. While the Department of State (DOS) and the Department of Defense (DOD) are the primary actors in the provision of such assistance to foreign countriesand the primary focus of this CRS reportother U.S. agencies may also conduct related programs, including the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID); the Departments of Energy (DOE), Homeland Security (DHS), Justice (DOJ), and the Treasury; and parts of the intelligence community.