Egypt's $1.5B U.S. aid questioned by Congress amid crackdown |http://bloom.bg/XWNLjE
Egypt’s $1.5 Billion U.S. Aid Questioned Amid Crackdown
Bloomberg News Egypt’s $1.5 Billion U.S. Aid Questioned Amid Crackdown
By Nicole Gaouette & Laura Litvan - Jan 31, 2013 10:30 PM ET
U.S. lawmakers are questioning whether to continue sending $1.5 billion a year in aid to Egypt, setting the stage for cuts or conditions that may weaken relations, jeopardize Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel, and hurt U.S. defense companies.
The political turmoil in Egypt, with the Muslim Brotherhood coming to power through elections, coincides with intense pressure on Congress to cut federal spending. While Egyptian aid is tiny relative to the budget deficit, foreign aid has never been popular with lawmakers since polls show that voters favor cutting what they think is a costly program.
Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi looks at documents at the start of the third Arab Economic, Social and Development Summit, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Photographer: Fayez Nureldine/AFP via Getty Images
“It is becoming increasingly difficult to make the case for assistance to the Egyptian government,” said Senator Patrick Leahy, the Vermont Democrat who heads the subcommittee that oversees spending on foreign operations.
The issue is gaining attention as Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi has sought to quell protests with force, following other moves that raised U.S. concerns -- his anti-Semitic comments, opposition to Western intervention in Mali, and temporarily asserting broad governing powers. Still, reducing or threatening to reduce aid may not encourage Mursi to moderate and could backfire, said analysts such as David Schenker of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
U.S. aid has been a key lever of influence with Egypt for decades, helping solidify relations with its military leadership, connect with the Egyptian public through development projects, and maintain preferential Suez Canal transit for American warships. Egypt regarded aid as part of the deal when it made peace with Israel through the U.S.-brokered 1978 Camp David agreement.
