House, Senate clash over aid to Egypt
The Senate’s spending bill keeps human rights restrictions in place despite resistance from the House.
The US Senate wants to keep in place restrictions on military aid to Egypt, setting up a clash with Cairo’s backers in the House.
The Senate foreign aid bill would require Secretary of State John Kerry to certify Egypt’s progress on several human rights and democracy metrics before releasing $1.3 billion in annual military aid, a provision that is missing from the House bill. The Senate bill, unlike the House version, also continues to withhold part of the yearly $150,000 in economic assistance to Egypt in order to pay for the legal bills of workers of nongovernmental organizations sentenced in connection with US-backed efforts to promote democracy in the country.
“While the Committee shares the Government of Egypt’s assessments regarding the threats posed by Islamic extremists in neighboring countries and the Sinai, the Committee remains concerned with the status of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law in Egypt,” says the nonbinding report that accompanies the foreign aid bill. “The Committee appreciates efforts by the Departments of State and Defense to update bilateral relations with Egypt, and expects that respect for human rights and the rule of law remain part of the strategic dialogue.”
The foreign aid bill for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1 cleared the Appropriations Committee on July 9 and was posted online July 13. The House panel passed its version of the FY 2016 bill last month.
