[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 102 (Friday, June 22, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1387-E1388]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE, FOREIGN OPERATIONS AND RELATED PROGRAMS 
                        APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2O08

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                       HON. CAROLYN C. KILPATRICK

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 21, 2007

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2764) making 
     appropriations for the Department of State, foreign 
     operations, and related programs for the fiscal year ending 
     September 30, 2008, and for other purposes:

  Ms. KILPATRICK. Mr. Chairman, during times of crisis, the United 
States has always supported her friends. Egypt is our friend. Egypt is 
not only our friend, Egypt is our strategic partner, our peace partner 
and our military partner in the Middle East. It is shameful how we are 
treating our friend with the restrictions on military aid to Egypt in 
this bill. As such, I rise in strong opposition to the amendment by 
Rep. Anthony Weiner removing $200 million in military aid to Egypt, and 
in strong support of the amendment by Rep. Charles Boustany allowing 
military support to continue to Egypt without conditions. Egypt and the 
United States have a valuable, key and strategic partnership, one that 
has been underscored by the recent developments in the Gaza Strip. It 
would be toxic to the relationship that the United States has with 
Egypt, and our relationship to those moderate Arab states in the Middle 
East, for this bill to be adopted with these restrictions.
  In April of this year, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said that: 
``I have long considered Egypt one of America's most important, even 
indispensable, partners. . . Security challenges in the Middle East are 
significant, but can be overcome by Egypt and the United States working 
closely together in the region.'' Just last week, the world saw Hamas 
take over the Gaza Strip. Hundreds, if not thousands, of men, women, 
children, senior citizens, and the disabled are fleeing this region as 
refugees, many ending up in Egypt.
  In response to this crisis, Egypt's President, Hosni Mubarak, has 
invited Israel's Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, Palestinian President 
Mahmoud Abbas, and Jordan's President King Abdullah II for a summit 
this Monday, June 25, 2007 in an effort to negotiate peace in this 
region. I commend to my colleagues the following portion of an article 
dated June 21, 2007 from the Associated Press that goes into more 
detail about the summit:

       Ramallah, West Bank.--Closing ranks against Hamas, Egypt's 
     president invited Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian leaders 
     to a peace summit, officials said Thursday, the biggest show 
     of support yet by moderate Arab states for beleaguered 
     Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
       The meeting will take place Monday in the Red Sea resort of 
     Sharm el-Sheikh, said Israeli government spokeswoman Miri 
     Eisin. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has invited Abbas, 
     Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Jordan's King Abdullah 
     II. Jordan confirmed Abdullah would attend.
       Abbas will call for a resumption of peace talks with 
     Israel, arguing that only progress toward Palestinian 
     statehood can serve as a true buffer against Hamas, which 
     took control of Gaza by force last week, Abbas aide Saeb 
     Erekat said.
       ``The most important thing to realize is that time is of 
     the essence,'' Erekat said. ``We need to deliver the end of 
     occupation, a Palestinian state. If we don't have hope, Hamas 
     will export despair to the people.''
       As immediate steps, Abbas will ask Israel to remove West 
     Bank checkpoints that disrupt daily life and trade, and to 
     transfer hundreds of millions of dollars in Palestinian tax 
     funds Israel froze after Hamas came to power last year.
       Also on Thursday, Palestinian dual nationals and foreigners 
     working in Gaza were allowed to pass through Israel for other 
     points. About 60 Palestinian-Americans left Gaza for Jordan, 
     and eight World Bank employees left the coastal strip, an 
     Israeli army spokeswoman said.
       Late Wednesday, 35 Gazans who had been stuck at the main 
     Gaza-Israel passenger crossing for several days were sent to 
     Egypt via Israel, the spokeswoman said. Among those who left 
     were gunmen from Abbas' Fatah movement, their wives and 
     children.
       Hundreds of men, women and children rushed to the crossing 
     after the Hamas takeover, among them Fatah loyalists who 
     feared

[[Page E1388]]

     they'd be harmed by Hamas, despite the militants' offer of 
     amnesty. By Thursday, the passage, rank with the stench of 
     urine and garbage, was nearly empty after it became clear 
     that a mass exit to the West Bank was not approved.
       Earlier Wednesday, Israel took in several of the sick and 
     wounded in the crowd.
       In Washington, Olmert said he would propose to his Cabinet 
     on Sunday that it unlock frozen funds, though he did not say 
     how much money he thought Israel should free. Israel is 
     holding about $550 million in tax revenues it collects on 
     behalf of the Palestinians.
       Despite the talk about peace, however, the Hamas takeover 
     has dealt a setback to statehood efforts, with the Islamic 
     militants in charge of Gaza and Abbas in charge of the West 
     Bank.''

  This Amendment is even opposed by the President. In a statement of 
White House policy, the Office on Management and Budget says:
  ``The Administration opposes the prohibition on a portion of the 
foreign military financing to Egypt contained in section 699. Military 
assistance is critical to our strategic partnership with Egypt and has 
contributed to a broad range of U.S. objectives in the region. Such a 
restriction will undermine the U.S. relationship with Egypt and send 
the wrong message to this important ally in the region.''
  As a former Member of this subcommittee, I personally appreciate the 
challenges that Chairwoman Lowey and Ranking Minority Member Wolf not 
only face, but surpass. This bill provides significant funding 
increases for many programs that I have, and will continue to, support.
  My objection is to Section 699 of the bill, a new provision, which 
sets conditions on $200 million of the $1.3 billion in military 
assistance to Egypt. This assistance is pending certification of the 
Secretary of State that Egypt is taking steps toward enactment of a new 
judicial law, including the principal components of the law and 
separation of the budget of the judiciary from that of the Ministry of 
Justice; steps to review criminal procedures and mass demonstrations by 
Egypt's police force; and steps to detect and destroy the smuggling 
network into the Gaza strip.
  The Thirteenth Congressional District of Michigan contains one of the 
highest concentrations of Arabs in the United States. These tax-paying, 
hard-working Americans demand that the United States respect not just 
their homeland, but the past, present and future effort that Egypt has 
made manifest over the years as a strategic partner and toward peace. 
To remove this key support from Egypt, at this point, would signal an 
unnecessary reticence by the United States toward one of the few allies 
we have in the Middle East.
  I strongly urge my colleagues to support Egypt, to support peace in 
the Middle East, and to support the amendment offered by my colleague 
from Louisiana, Congressman Boustany and oppose the amendment offered 
by my colleague from New York, Congressman Weiner.

                          ____________________