U.S. lawmakers 'finally' call for review of Obama 'Admin' financial aid to Egypt.

U.S. lawmakers 'finally' call for review of Obama 'Admin' financial aid to Egypt.(AA).As President Mohamad Mursi opens national dialogue on the trajectory of Egypt, members of the United States House of Representatives do the same.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa held a hearing discussing the changes in Egypt over the last two years, and the future of U.S. policy, particularly U.S. aid, in the near future.

Subcommittee Chairwoman Ilena Ros-Lehtinen introduced House Resolution 416, a bill that would limit specific military and economic aid to Egypt if certain standards are not met by the current government. The bill states that foreign aid to Egypt should only be used to further U.S. national security interests in the country and the advancements of freedom in Egypt.

“We should not be providing funds without condition to the Muslim Brotherhood-led government that is not conforming to democratic principles, and is not on the right path to fulfill its obligations to the international community and to its own citizens,” Ros-Lehtinen said.
Ros-Lehtinen’s colleagues stand somewhat divided regarding aid to Mursi’s tumultuous regime. Members discussed foreign aid to Egypt with a panel of Washington experts, specifically in light of the country’s current and future political environment.
“Despite my objections to many aspects of the current Egyptian government, I cautiously support our military and economic assistance in Egypt but only if we can be certain that our aid is used in the smartest and most effective way possible, only if it protects the security interests of the United States and our allies,” said ranking member Congressman Theodore Deutch.
Elliott Abrams, former foreign policy advisor to two U.S. Presidents, made the point that in two years, the country of Egypt has changed profoundly, but U.S. foreign aid has remained the same. “We need to take a bottom to top look at our aid program, the timing, the conditionality and the composition,” Abrams said.
Abrams argued that aid must be reassessed for numerous reasons, one being the current floundering of the Egyptian economy.
Many Egyptians are living “hand to mouth” and Adams said this is directly correlated to government turmoil. “Egypt cannot solve its economic problems until it solves its political problems… the political crisis and the economic crisis are linked,” Abrams said. 
Many concerns rose over Mursi’s recently unearthed anti-Semitic comments and the future of the 1979 treaty, but those in the hearing disagreed over the degree of this threat.

Katrina Lantos Swett, the head of a U.S. government watchdog group that monitors religious freedom abroad, said that Mursi’s words showed how the Egyptian society is embedded with what she called “deplorable” attitudes; attitudes that she thinks could lead to violence in times of desperation.“Anti-Semitism continues to be deep-seated and pervasive throughout both society and government,” Swett said. 

She added that in much of Egyptian public discourse, Jews are inseparable from Israel, and this could lead to enhanced conflicts in the future if the Egyptian government does not adopt democratic principles.
Congresswoman Grace Meng said Egypt’s government needs to be careful to over-enhance Israel. “Egypt must recognize that its greatest threat is not Israel, but rather the scourge of extremism and violence that is overtaking its country and threatening the stability of its neighbors,” she said.
Though this piece of legislation is likely to be sidelined by more pressing issues in Congress, the introduction of Ros-Lehtinen’s bill shows a shift in the previously hands-off U.S. policy toward the Mursi regime. Read the full story here.