Bureau of Political-Military Affairs

According to the Department of State website, the Bureau secures military base access and overflight permission to support the deployment of U. S. military forces. It negotiates the status of U. S. military forces and International Criminal Court non surrender agreements. It is also responsible for coordinating the participation of coalition combat and stabilization forces, and assisting other countries in reducing the availability of man portable air defense systems (MANPADS), which are shoulder launched surface to air missiles. The Bureau seeks to create and manage defense relationships with allies of the United States, regulate arms transfers, control access to military technology, and combat the illegal trafficking of small arms or light weapons. It also is responsible for training and equipping international peacekeepers and other military personnel. The Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement within the Bureau of Political Affairs manages the Humanitarian Mine Action Program and publishes the "SAFE PASSAGE": A Newsletter for the Humanitarian Mine Action and Small Arms/Light Weapons Communities. The office also publishes "To Walk The Earth In Safety" a publication that summarizes the current U. S. effort to rid the world of the most pressing land mine and ordnance problems in a country by country format. Finally they have published a number of press releases that describe ongoing efforts within those communities and the Office's efforts in support of these aims. The United Nations Mine Action Centre defines "mine action" as removing land mines from the ground, assisting victims, and also teaching people how to protect themselves from danger in environments affected by land mines. In addition to promoting public and private mine action partnerships, the Bureau works with the Department of Defense to provide assistance in the event of natural disasters. Josh Paul, the director of congressional and public affairs for the Bureau of Political Military Affairs, resigned in October 2023, amid the 2023 Gaza Israel war, citing the "intellectual bankruptcy" in providing more weaponry to Israel amid the bombing of Gaza. Paul recalled that, in his 11 years at the bureau, the entity "most responsible" for transferring arms to other countries, he had "made more moral compromises" than he could recall.

In fiscal year 2015, PM's operating budget, including salaries, was approximately $161 million. PM's total FY 2015 foreign assistance funding was approximately $7 billion.