Kerry sells foreign aid budget
A look at the Middle East issues Congress will be addressing the week of Feb. 22.
Secretary of State John Kerry will be making the rounds on Capitol Hill this week to sell the president's foreign aid budget for fiscal year 2017.
Kerry kicks things off on Feb. 23, in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where lawmakers have pledged to take a close look to see if the $50.1 billion request for international affairs adequately addresses the threats from the Islamic State (IS), Iran and other US foes. The extensive use of budget-busting wartime funding, which the Obama administration wants to use for everything from confronting IS in Syria and Iraq to aid to Tunisia this year, has been a key point of contention.
Kerry then follows up with visits to House and Senate check writers on Feb. 24, before wrapping things up on Feb. 25, in the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Pentagon officials will be following a similar route throughout the week, with hearings on their $582.7 billion request scheduled before the House Armed Services Committee on Feb. 25-26. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter will testify before the House appropriators on Feb. 25.
