The top Democrat on the Senate’s powerful spending panel is holding up $300 million in US military aid to Egypt until Cairo helps pay for an injured American tourist’s medical bills and meets several human rights conditions, Al-Monitor has learned.
Egypt is eligible for up to $1.3 billion in US military aid every year, but the State Department
notified Congress in January that it was withholding $195 million — or 15% — of that amount pending certification that Cairo meets congressional human rights requirements. Leahy’s hold represents an additional $105 million, for a total hold of $300 million in fiscal year 2017 foreign military financing. Egypt has just five months to meet the new conditions before the aid expires in September.
Leahy is a longtime human rights champion and the author of the Leahy Law, which codifies the acceptable use of US military assistance. Last year he helped craft new restrictions to Egypt aid for fiscal 2018 that block the release of $300 million in military assistance unless Cairo improves its human rights record and releases political prisoners.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo can legally override congressional holds on military assistance, but doing so would spark congressional ire and risk future funding cuts. The Donald Trump administration has so far respected such holds, while keeping in place Barack Obama-era rules that constrain the use of Egypt’s military aid for expensive defense purchases.