Hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee - Assistance to Palestinian Authority and Egypt Focus of Ros-Lehtinen Questioning of Administration

Statement

At a hearing earlier today, U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, questioned United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Rajiv Shah on the Administration's request for U.S. assistance to the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Egypt. Ros-Lehtinen noted that the Administration has been pressuring Congress to allow funding for programs in the West Bank and Gaza to go through. Ros-Lehtinen requested a written response from Dr. Shah explaining the Administration's justification for the $147 million request for Palestinian funding and also pressed for a detailed written response to questions regarding U.S. aid to Egypt. Transcript of Ros-Lehtinen questioning Dr. Shah on U.S. aid to the PA and Egypt:

"Dr. Shah, the Administration is pressing Congress to release $147 million for Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. Among the arguments utilized is that Abu Mazen needs to be supported because he's "all we have.' However the Administration is not demanding that Abu Mazen return to the negotiation table with Israel without preconditions, nor that he stop his unilateral statehood scheme at the U.N.

"The Administration also says we need to help "rebuild the Palestinian economy,' this at a time when our economy is facing serious challenges and Americans are suffering.

"Now, in the list of projects the Administration wants to fund with the $147 million in taxpayer dollars, there are some that are aimed at addressing humanitarian concerns -- funding for water programs, health, food, and support for USAID programming. Congress and the Administration can find common ground on these.

"However, there are others that Congress finds difficult to justify as advancing U.S. national security interests or in assisting our ally and friend Israel. In this respect, if you could justify, for example, the $2.9 million for trade facilitation, $4.5 million for tourism promotion, and $8.1 million for road construction. Specifically, I would ask that you justify a total of $26.4 million in "reconstruction and recovery' for Hamas-run Gaza that includes "cash or work' programs. And, more broadly, how much has the U.S. spent in total since 1993 in West Bank and Gaza and how much is the Administration proposing we spend for next year and how can we justify that?

"Turning to Egypt, if you could respond to what mechanisms you have developed to ensure that U.S. assistance to Egypt does not, directly or indirectly, provide support to, or otherwise is influenced by, the Ministry for International Cooperation and Development? What is the justification for the provision of any U.S. assistance to an Egyptian government potentially dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood or affiliated extremists? Do you agree that no U.S. assistance should be provided, directly or indirectly, to the Muslim Brotherhood and affiliated extremists?"

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