Granger and Lowey Discuss Aid to Egypt and Palestine

Josh Rogin, writing at the Cable, states that during a panel discussion at the AIPAC policy conference in Washington, House Appropriations State and Foreign Operations subcommittee chairwoman Kay Granger (R-TX) expressed her disapproval of President Barack Obama‘s aid initiative to Egypt.  ”Who is the new Egyptian government?  We don’t know. That’s the problem,” Granger stated.  She also noted the dangers in potentially funding a government with a heavy Muslim Brotherhood presence.  Ranking member Nita Lowey (D-NY) stated that while she supported using the money to help build Egyptian democracy, Congress is not going to appropriate it.  ”We are not going to appropriate this money to the Egyptian government.  We are currently giving them billions of dollars in military aid and we’re going to have to see about that as well,” Lowey said.  Granger and Lowey also promised that no U.S. money would go to a Palestinian unity government that includes Hamas.  Granger also criticized FY2011 budget cuts to foreign operations: “It was a big mistake that they cut foreign operations.  It is going to be a very, very tough year.”