Funding is a $1 million increase to the Special Envoy’s budget and is included in the State and Foreign Operations spending bill
Last week, US Reps. Grace Meng (D-NY), Kathy Manning (D-NC), Chris Smith (R-NJ), Susan Wild (D-PA), María Elvira Salazar (R-FL), David Kustoff (R-TN), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), and Don Bacon (R-NE) announced an historic $2.5 million for the Office of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, an increase of $1 million over the amount it received last year.
The additional money comes after the lawmakers “led” a letter in March requesting more funding for the Special Envoy’s annual budget. The Congressmembers sent the letter to the chair and ranking member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, the panel that sets funding levels for the Special Envoy.
“This significant increase in funding for the Office of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism will go a long way to address the tangible and growing threats faced by both the American Jewish community and Jewish communities around the world,” the lawmakers said. “The dangerous and distributing rise in anti-Semitism requires unprecedented investments in the Office of the Special Envoy so that the Special Envoy has the staffing and resources it requires to accomplish its work.”
The Special Envoy plays a crucial role in encouraging and advising foreign governments to take steps to ensure the safety and security of their respective Jewish communities, including developing national action plans and appointing national coordinators.
In addition to leading the letter, Meng, Manning, and Smith serve as Co-Chairs of the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Anti-Semitism, and Wild, Salazar, Kustoff, Wasserman Schultz, and Bacon serve as members of the task force.
