POMED Notes – FY14 Department of State Budget Hearing
The United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs questioned Secretary of State John Kerry at the FY14 Department of State Budget Hearing on Thursday. Subcommittee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) presided. For full event notes continue reading or click here for the PDF. In Senator Leahy's opening statement, submitted for the record, he said that, "We do not want a Democratic foreign policy or a Republican ...
April 21, 2013
Category: Civil Society, Congress, Congressional Hearing Notes (Senate), Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Egypt, Foreign Aid, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Palestine, Reform, Syria, US foreign policy
POMED Notes: Senate Hearing “National Security and Foreign Policy Priorities in the FY2014 International Affairs Budget”
The U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations held a hearing on the proposed FY2014 International Affairs budget titled “National Security and Foreign Policy Priorities in the FY2014 International Affairs Budget.” Secretary of State John Kerry testified and Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) presided. For full event notes continue reading or click here for the PDF. Senator Menendez opened the hearing by reminding the committee of the importance of America’s international leadership despite budgetary constraints. ...
April 19, 2013
Category: Committee Meetings, Congressional Hearing Notes (Senate), Diplomacy, Foreign Aid, Human Rights, US foreign policy
POMED Notes: “Budget Hearing – Department of State”
The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations’ Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs held a budget hearing on the Department of State on Wednesday, April 17. Secretary of State John Kerry was the witness. Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX) presided over the hearing. For full event notes, continue reading or click here for a PDF. Representative Granger opened the hearing by noting that “the Arab Spring may last for a very long ...
April 19, 2013
Category: Congress, Congressional Hearing Notes (House), Diplomacy, Foreign Aid, US foreign policy, US politics
POMED Notes: “Securing U.S. Interests Abroad: The FY 2014 Foreign Affairs Budget”
On Wednesday, April 17, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs held a hearing titled “Securing U.S. Interests Abroad: The FY 2014 Foreign Affairs Budget.” Secretary of State John Kerry testified on the Department of State’s budget request. Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) presided over the hearing. For full event notes, continue reading or click here for a PDF. Chairman Ed Royce opened the hearing by saying that “wasteful spending is intolerable” and ...
April 19, 2013
Category: Congress, Congressional Hearing Notes (House), Diplomacy, Foreign Aid, US foreign policy, US politics
Egypt Blogger: U.S. Must Make Aid Conditional on Reform
A prominent Egyptian blogger, The Big Pharaoh, accused the U.S. of unconditionally funding a repressive regime "that tortures people." At an event hosted by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, the blogger faulted the Obama administration with ...
April 15, 2013
Category: Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Featured, Foreign Aid, Muslim Brotherhood, Reform, US foreign policy
POMED Notes: Senate Hearing “U.S. Policy Toward Syria”
The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations held a hearing titled “U.S. Policy Toward Syria” with testimony provided by U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford, State Department Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Elizabeth Jones, and Treasury Department Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes Daniel Glaser. Chairman Robert Menendez (D-NJ) presided. For full event notes continue reading, or click here for the PDF. Senator Menendez stated that the purpose ...
April 12, 2013
Category: Conflict, Congressional Hearing Notes (Senate), Democracy Promotion, Event Notes, Foreign Aid, Hezbollah, Human Rights, Political transition, Syria, US foreign policy
President’s Budget Released, Includes MENA Incentive Fund
President Barack Obama released his FY2014 budget request on Wednesday and he is requesting $47.8 billion for the State Department and international programs, a six percent decrease from the actual funds that will be appropriated through FY2013. The ...
April 10, 2013
Category: Congress, Democracy Promotion, Economics, Featured, Foreign Aid, Political transition, US foreign policy, US politics
POMED Notes: House Hearing “Crisis in Syria: The U.S. Response”
The House Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing on the current conflict in Syria titled “Crisis in Syria: The U.S. Response.” Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford, U.S. Department of State Assistant Secretary for the Bureau for Population, Refugees, and Migration Anne Richard and USAID Assistant Administrator for the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance Nancy Lindborg were witnesses. Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) presided. For full event notes, continue reading ...
March 20, 2013
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Category: Congress, Congressional Hearing Notes (House), Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Foreign Aid, Hezbollah, Islamist movements, Political transition, Syria, US foreign policy
POMED Notes: “Human Rights and Rule of Law in Egypt’s Young Democracy”
The Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East hosted a discussion titled "Human Rights and Rule of Law in Egypt’s Young Democracy" with Heba Morayef, Egypt Director for Human Rights Watch, and Mahmoud Salem, Egyptian political activist and founder of the blog “Rantings of a Sandmonkey.” Amy Hawthorne, incoming Senior Fellow at the Rafik Hariri Center, moderated the discussion, and Tarek Radwan, Associate Director for Research at the ...
March 20, 2013
Category: Civil Society, Courts and Judiciary, Egypt, Elections, EU, Event Notes, Foreign Aid, Human Rights, Muslim Brotherhood, NGOs, Political transition, Reform
Engel Introduces Bill to Arm Syrian Opposition
Representative Eliot Engel (D-NY) previewed legislation Sunday to allow President Obama to arm the Syrian opposition. Indicating last month that he would introduce such a bill, Engel wrote in a statement Monday, "We know who they are. And ...
March 19, 2013
Category: Conflict, Featured, Foreign Aid, Legislation, Political transition, Syria, US foreign policy, US politics
Senate Continues Debate on Egypt Aid Amendments
On Thursday, Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) introduced SA 117, a modified version of his original amendment on Egypt aid. The amendment specifies that Economic Support Fund appropriations for direct budgetary assistance as well any appropriations for new contracts under ...
March 14, 2013
Category: Conflict, Diplomacy, Featured, Foreign Aid, Political transition, Syria, US foreign policy
Rubio Proposes New Conditions for Egypt Aid
Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) submitted an amendment to H.R. 933 placing conditions on two forms of U.S. assistance to Egypt unless the country adopts economic reforms and human rights safeguards. The amendment will also begin a comprehensive, long-term reevaluation of ...
March 13, 2013
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Category: Civil Society, Congress, Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Featured, Foreign Aid, Human Rights, Legislation, NGOs, Political transition, Reform, US foreign policy, US politics
New POMED Policy Brief: Confront or Conform? Rethinking U.S. Democracy Assistance
In POMED's latest policy brief, "Confront or Conform? Rethinking U.S. Democracy Assistance," Sarah Bush, an assistant professor of political science at Temple University, writes, "Despite leadership changes in Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia, the pace of democratic change has slowed and ...
March 12, 2013
Category: Development Assistance, Foreign Aid, Freedom, Policy Briefs, Political transition, POMED, Publications, US foreign policy, US politics
On Aid to Egypt, Congress Scaled Back Obama Request
Secretary of State John Kerry's announcement last Sunday of $250 million in aid to Egypt ran short of what the Obama Administration had originally hoped to give the cash-strapped country, The Hill reports. Kerry said the aid, part ...
Weekly Wire – March 11
POMED's Weekly Wire for March 11th is now available. This week we highlight the following top stories: Deputy Sec. of State Burns Attends Friends of Yemen Meeting Tunisia Announces New Cabinet U.S. Calls for Transparency in UAE Dissidents' Trial Egypt's Parliamentary Elections Delayed; Police Begin Strike Sen. Rubio Critical of Recently Pledged Egypt Aid To continue reading the full Weekly Wire, click here.
POMED Notes: “Syria Beyond Assad: Building a New Syria from the Grassroots”
The Stimson Center and the Middle East Institute co-hosted a panel discussion entitled “Syria Beyond Assad: Building a New Syria from the Grassroots.” The panel featured Leila Hilal, Director of the Middle East Task Force for the New America Foundation, Rafif Jouejati, Director of FREE-Syria and English-language Spokeswoman for the Syrian Local Coordination Committees, Elizabeth O’Bagy, Senior Research Analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, Honey al-Sayed, Host ...
March 8, 2013
Category: Civil Society, Conflict, Democracy Promotion, Event Notes, Foreign Aid, Islamist movements, Syria
On Egypt Aid, U.S. Must Further “Values and Interests”
In a piece for the National Review Online, Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) argues that U.S. foreign assistance to Egypt must reflect our values and be used as "a tool to influence policy." Reflecting on the announcement Sunday by ...
March 7, 2013
Category: Courts and Judiciary, Democracy Promotion, Economics, Egypt, Elections, Featured, Foreign Aid, Reform, US foreign policy
Weekly Wire – March 4th
POMED's Weekly Wire for the week of March 4th is now available. In this edition, we review these and other top stories: Sec. Kerry Announces Release of $250 Million in Aid to Egypt U.S. to Provide Non-Lethal Assistance to Syrian Opposition Rubio Discusses Importance of Human Rights after Middle East Visit Sen. Durbin Issues Statement on Trip to Bahrain Congressmen Urge Morsi to Revise Controversial Draft NGO Law To continue reading the full Weekly Wire, click ...
March 4, 2013
Category: Bahrain, Congress, Egypt, Foreign Aid, Syria, US foreign policy, Weekly Wire
U.S. Announces Aid to Egypt
Secretary of State John Kerry announced that the United States will provide $250 million in aid to Egypt following President Mohamed Morsi's promise to move forward on negotiations with the International Monetary Fund over economic reforms. Congress has ...
March 4, 2013
Category: Congress, Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Egypt, Featured, Foreign Aid, Political transition, US foreign policy