MESOP INSIGHT : US DECISIONS FROM THE CAPITOL – Senate Appropriations Bill Rejects Broad Changes to Middle East Foreign Aid – From the Capitol

MIDDLE EAST NEWS

MESOP NEWS 11 Sept 2017 – After the Senate Appropriations Committee markup hearing on September 7, the committee released the text of its Fiscal Year 2018 State and Foreign Operations appropriations draft bill and the accompanying report on September 8. Many aspects of the bill for the MENA region contravene the Trump administration’s FY18 budget request. The bill provides $51.2 billion for State and Foreign Operations programming. “Now is not the time for retreat; now is the time to double down on diplomacy and development. The bill provides vital security, economic, development, health, and humanitarian assistance that makes all Americans safer at home,” Sen Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said of the bill.

Regarding Foreign Military Financing (FMF), the committee rejected the transition of some FMF grants to loans, and it did not recommend an appropriation for the proposed Global FMF Fund.

For Egypt, the Senate bill proposes $75 million in economic assistance, $1 billion for Foreign Military Financing (FMF), and $5.8 million in additional security assistance. Most notably, the bill conditions 25 percent of Egypt’s FMF upon the Secretary of State’s certification that Egypt is taking effective steps to advance democracy and human rights, protecting basic freedoms, and a number of other benchmarks. These conditions may be waived on national security grounds, though a detailed report to Congress must accompany the use of the waiver.

Additionally, the bill proposes $1.5 billion in bilateral aid for Jordan, including $1.1 billion in economic assistance and $400 million in Foreign Military Financing. For Tunisia, the Senate bill suggests $165.4 million in economic and military aid, which matches the Fiscal Year 2017 enacted level.   www.mesop.de

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