The subcommittee of the House Committee on Appropriations that I chair, and which furthers important foreign policy goals, recently released the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations bill for fiscal 2024. This bill provides funds for the Department of State and American foreign policy programs around the world. I am proud of this bill for its fiscal responsibility, advancement of our national security interests, and support for freedom, democracy, and human rights around the world. We are achieving more for our allies and vital national security interests by dramatically cutting spending overall.

With the national debt a jaw-dropping $32 trillion, cuts must be deep and substantial to have an impact on the nation’s economic health, so significant reductions to spending were made. This bill’s overall funding level is 24% below the Biden administration’s request, and 12% below last year’s enacted level. However, these cuts were made with precision to preserve our priorities for programs with demonstrated results that will advance our national security. Just as Americans must adhere to reasonable budgets and cut back on non-essentials, this bill dramatically cuts or eliminates funding for controversial or unproven programs that simply are not worth the cost.

For example, this bill counters the communist People’s Republic of China’s malign influence with $4.4 billion to promote national security interests around the globe and especially in the Indo-Pacific region, where China has continued to intimidate and bully its neighbors, and where we must secure trade routes crucial to global supply chains. The bill also includes increased funding for the Countering PRC Influence Fund at $400 million.

Additionally, the bill provides $500 million for weapons to Taiwan, and up to $2 billion in loans and loan guarantees for Taiwan’s military purchases so that it can defend itself from increasing PRC threats and aggression. It also encourages investments for near-shoring, so that critical supply chains are brought closer to the United States and Americans are not reliant on China for their basic needs.

Just as important as the funding is the policy. The bill prohibits funds to the Chinese Communist Party and its government and requires opposition to multilateral development bank lending for the PRC. Funds are also prohibited to countries for repaying Chinese debt. And, the bill puts an end to self-defeating policies such as climate-related regulations that close the door to American investment and throw open the door for China.

The bill supports crucial allies that are key to our national security. It fully funds the U.S.-Israel Memorandum of Understanding at $3.3 billion, ensuring that this key democratic ally will continue to have the funds it needs to defend itself from terrorism and other regional threats. It also urges the administration to build on the success of the Abraham Accords and continues important funding for other critical partners in the region such as Jordan and Egypt. Importantly, the bill also prohibits the Biden administration from using funds for any future Iran deal that is not approved by Congress, or from removing Iran’s Revolutionary Guard from the Foreign Terrorist Organization list.

This legislation further seeks to combat the anti-Israel bias at the United Nations by such things as barring U.S. taxpayer dollars from being used to fund the Commission of Inquiry at the U.N. Human Rights Council. It also prohibits assessed contributions to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which has failed to ensure that funding does not support terrorist activities or anti-Semitic materials in Palestinian schools. It also prohibits funding to the World Health Organization, which has lost credibility due to a lack of transparency, failure to hold China accountable for withholding critical information that may have saved lives during the COVID-19 pandemic, and failing to conduct a thorough, unbiased investigation into COVID-19’s origins.

And, in our own hemisphere, this bill includes significant advancements to promote democracy and human rights. It restores funding of $35 million to Miami’s Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB), which provides outside, uncensored information to the Cuban people. This funding is the first step toward rebuilding OCB after the Biden administration’s unjustifiable reductions to that agency — cuts that shamefully continued even after the historic July 11, 2021, protests in Cuba. The measure also requires the Secretary of State to report on protecting the rights of those whose property was confiscated by the Castro regime, such as enforcing visa restrictions on those who profit from any confiscated property.

Just as we must work to counter malign influences, we must also stand with our friends. The bill directs the State Department to strengthen and reward relationships with key partners in our hemisphere, such as Panama, Belize, Guatemala, and Costa Rica. The bill also provides funding to counter fentanyl and other illicit drug trafficking across the southern border, while also providing medical and other humanitarian assistance to Haiti.

I cannot recount every accomplishment of this 295-page bill, but I encourage you to read it and the report that will accompany it. I am proud of the goals we have accomplished in a fiscally responsible way — goals that uphold our key priorities and values. This measure supports those struggling for freedom, democracy, and human rights in the most repressive corners of the globe with technology, information, and broadcasts. And it counters the malign and destabilizing influences of China, Russia, the terrorist states of Iran and Cuba, and cartels trafficking lethal narcotics across our southern border.

The bill represents a significant departure from the status quo as we demonstrate a fresh approach to foreign affairs, one that recognizes the importance of safeguarding American interests, supporting our allies, and ensuring fiscal well-being.

Mario Diaz-Balart is a U.S. representative for Florida and serves as a senior member of the House Committee on Appropriations and as chairman of the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPS) Subcommittee.