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APN Legislative Round-Up for the week ending March 5, 2010

1.  Bills and Resolutions
2.  FY12 ForOps Season Opens - President's Budget Request
3.  FY12 ForOps Season Opens - Hearings
4.  SFRC Hearing: MIDDLE EAST PEACE: GROUND TRUTHS, CHALLENGES AHEAD
5.  Ros-Lehtinen attacks UNRWA (again)


1. Bills and Resolutions
 
(IRAN)  HR 2701:  Introduced 6/4/09 by Rep. Reyes (D-TX), "To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2010 for intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the United States Government, the Community Management Account, and the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System, and for other purposes."  Passed in the House 2/26/10 by a vote of 235-168.  NOTE: On 2/26/10 the House adopted an amendment offered by Rep. Reyes (D-TX) to HR 2701.  Among other things, the amendment added a new report requirement regarding Iran:  "SEC. 364. REPORT ON MISSILE ARSENAL OF IRAN.  Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of National Intelligence shall submit to the congressional intelligence committees a report assessing the threat posed by the missile arsenal of Iran to allies and interests of the United States in the Persian Gulf."  This is in addition to two other Iran-related sections of the bill, covered in last week's edition of the Round-Up.
 
2.  FY12 ForOps Season Opens - President's Budget Request
 
The following is a summary of the Middle East-related elements of the President's FY11 budget request (in the order in which they appear in the budget document, with info included to compare current request to previous year's funding level).
 
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Related Appropriations
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Center for Middle Eastern-Western Dialogue program: $840,000 (decrease of $35,000)
The budget document notes: "The Center for Middle Eastern-Western Dialogue was established by the Congress to further scholarship and implement programs to encourage mutual understanding. In FY 2011, the Center's permanent trust fund will provide an estimated $840,000 in interest earnings for operations of the Center."
 
Israel Arab Scholarship program: $375,000 (no change)
The budget document notes: "The Israeli Arab Scholarship Program fosters mutual understanding by enabling Arab citizens of Israel to study and conduct research in the United States. The program's trust fund will provide an estimated $375,000 in interest earnings in FY 2011 to support these."
 
National Endowment for Democracy ($105 million, a decrease of $13 million)
The budget document notes: "The FY 2011 request for NED of $105 million will allow NED to continue strong grants programs in priority countries such as China, Thailand, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Egypt, Somalia, Somaliland, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Central America."
 
International Broadcasting Operations ($755.143 million, an increase of $21.355 million)
The budget document notes: "The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) is an independent Federal entity responsible for all U.S. non-military international broadcasting programs. BBG broadcasting organizations include the Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Radio Free Asia (RFA), Radio and TV Marti, and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN) - Radio Sawa and Alhurra Television."
 
USAID Inspector General Operating Expenses ($46.5 million, no change from 2010)
The budget document notes: "In addition to oversight, OIG will focus its FY 2011 resources on USAID's high-priority development programs in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and West Bank/Gaza. These programs include promoting economic growth, education, health, good governance, and democracy."
 
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Global Health and Child Survival - USAID (GHCS-USAID)
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 Yemen: $21 million (increase of $13 million)
 Asia Middle East Regional:  $5.5 million (no change)
 
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Global Health and Child Survival - State (GHCS-State)
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 Asia Middle East Regional: $650,000 (no change)

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Development Assistance (DA)
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Algeria: $400,000 (decrease of $310,000)
Morocco:  $24.5 million  (increase of $4.954 million)
Yemen: 0 (decrease of $35 million)
Middle East Regional (OMEP): $3.595 million (decrease of $6.084 million)
Asia Middle East Regional: $25.681 million (decrease of $23.675 million)
 
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Economic Support Funds (ESF)
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Egypt: $250 million (no change)
Iraq: $382.950 million (increase of $450,000)
Jordan: $360 million (decrease of $3 million)
Lebanon: $109 million (no change)
Libya: 0
Morocco: $3 million (no change)
Syria: $0 (no change)
Tunisia: $0 (decrease of $2 million)
West Bank & Gaza: $400.4 million (no change)
Yemen: $34 million (increase of $29 million)
Middle East Multilaterals (MEM): $1.5 million (increase of $500,000)
Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI): $86 million (increase of $21 million)
Middle East Regional Cooperation (MERC): $1.5 million (decrease of $2.5 million)
Near East Regional Democracy: $40 million (no change)
Trans-Sahara Counter-Terrorism Partnership (TSCTP): $3 million (decrease of $3 million)
USAID Middle East Regional (OMEP): 0 (decrease of $1 million)
 
The budget document notes:
 
The FY 2011 request includes funding to support democratic reform and political institution building in the Middle East, and to help address the economic despair and lack of opportunity exploited by extremists.
 
- West Bank and Gaza ($400.4 million): The FY 2011 request will strengthen the Palestinian Authority (PA) as a credible partner in Middle Eastern peace and continue to respond to humanitarian needs in Gaza. Assistance will provide significant resources to support the stability of the PA, economic development of the West Bank, and increase the capacity of the PA to meet the needs of its people.
- Iraq ($383.0 million): The FY 2011 request will support the President's goal of a sovereign, stable, and self-reliant Iraq. This request will support capacity-building efforts in the central and provincial governments, assist with reintegration of Iraqis returning to their communities, fund anti-corruption programs, provide technical assistance and election support, and promote broad-based economic growth and diversification, including through developing Iraq's agriculture sector and strengthening Iraq's private sector economy.
- Jordan ($360.0 million): The FY 2011 request will advance political reforms; build technical capacity of the local and national governments; and support improvements in basic education, health, youth and water, and sanitation services in Jordanian communities.
- Egypt ($250.0 million): The FY 2011 request will support development objectives in Egypt, as well as political and economic reforms. Funds will improve coverage of primary health care among underserved populations, build sustainable systems to expand and enhance education, and support Egypt's transition to a market-oriented, private-sector led economy. Funding will also support increased public participation, while promoting human rights, civic education, and administration of and access to justice.
- Lebanon ($109.0 million): The FY 2011 request supports Lebanon's democracy by fostering credible, transparent institutions at all levels; strengthening the role of an active civil society; supporting the independence and efficiency of the judicial system; and promoting tolerance and rejecting extremism. Funds will also be used to educate youth, create employment opportunities, and expand access to microfinance.

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Migration and Refugee Assistance (MRA)
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Near East: $541.4 million (a decrease of $3.1 million)
Israel (for resettlement of Jewish migrants): $25 million (no change)

The budget document notes: "Humanitarian Migrants to Israel ($25 million): This funding will maintain longstanding U.S. Government support for relocation and integration of Jewish migrants to Israel."
 
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U.S. Emergency Refugee & Migration Assistance (ERMA)
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Request: $45 million (no change)

The budget document notes: "The Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund (ERMA) serves as a contingency fund from which the President can draw down in order to respond effectively to humanitarian crises in an ever-changing international environment. The FY 2011 request of $45.0 million will maintain the ability of the United States to respond quickly to future urgent and unexpected refugee and migration needs. In FY 2009 $42.6 million was provided from ERMA to address various humanitarian emergencies, including assisting persons affected by conflict in Pakistan, Georgia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Gaza. Similar levels of drawdowns can be expected in FY 2010 and FY 2011."
 
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International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement (INCLE)
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Algeria: $870,000 (increase of $870,000)
Egypt: $1 million (no change)
Iraq: $314.56 million (increase of $262.56 million) 
Jordan: $1,500,000  (no change)
Lebanon: $30 million (increase of $10 million)
Morocco: $3 million (increase of $2.25 million)
West Bank/Gaza: $150 million (increase of $50 million)
Yemen: $11 million (increase of $10 million)
Trans-Sahara Counter-Terrorism Partnership (TSCTP): $1.03 million (decrease of $970,000)
 
The budget document notes:
 
- Iraq ($314.6 million): In combination with funds requested in the FY 2010 Supplemental, FY 2011 funds will enable the Department of State to assume full responsibility for the Iraqi police development program at the beginning of FY 2012, currently managed by the Department of Defense. Funds will support start-up requirements such as facilities upgrades, security infrastructure, and procurement of aircraft, as well as costs associated with recruiting; hiring; training; deploying; and supporting key program, support, and security personnel. FY 2011 funds for Iraq also will support programs that continue to build the capacity of the criminal justice sector. This critical assistance will continue training, advice, and technical assistance to the Iraqi courts and judiciary; support the development of the Iraqi Corrections Service (ICS) as a professional corrections service; and transition prison operations to full ICS control. Funds will also develop programs designed to reduce the demand for narcotics and other harmful substances in Iraq through targeted, culturally appropriate initiatives.
 
- West Bank/Gaza ($150.0 million): Funding will support efforts to reform the security sector by training and equipping Palestinian Authority Security Forces and by providing the Ministry of Interior with technical assistance and program support to improve its ability to manage the security forces. Additional training, equipment, and technical assistance will be provided for the justice and corrections sectors to ensure their development keeps pace with the increased performance of the security forces.
 
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Nonproliferation, Anti-Terrorism, Demining, and Related Programs (NADR)
($757.613 million, an increase of $3.613 million)
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(supports a range of programs in or related to the Middle East, in particular with respect to anti-terrorism programs)
 
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Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) ($1.2797 billion, an increase
of $174.7 million)
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The budget document notes: "In FY 2010, MCC projects that it will sign compacts with Moldova, Jordan, and the Philippines."
 
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Peacekeeping Operations (PKO)
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MFO (Sinai): $26 million (no change)
 
The budget document notes: "The FY 2011 request includes funds to continue the U.S. contribution to the Multinational Force and Observers mission in the Sinai."
 
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International Military Education and Training (IMET)
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Algeria: $950,000 (no change)
Bahrain: $700,000 (no change)
Egypt: $1.4 million (decrease of $500,000)
Iraq: $2 million (no change)
Jordan: $3.7 million (decrease of $100,000)
Kuwait: $10,000 (no change)
Lebanon: $2.5 million (no change)
Libya: $350,000 (increase of $20,000)
Morocco: $1.9 million (increase of $100,000)
Oman: $1.65 million (increase of $125,000) 
Qatar: $10,000 (no change)
Saudi Arabia: $10,000 (increase of $2000) 
Tunisia: $2.3 million (increase of $350,000) 
United Arab Emirates: $10,000 (no change)
Yemen: $1.1 million (no change)
 
The budget document notes: "Near East ($18.6 million): IMET programs focus on Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, and Tunisia with the purpose of enhancing professionalism, providing the technical training necessary to maintain equipment of United States origin, and increasing awareness of international norms of human rights and civilian control of the military."

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Foreign Military Financing (FMF)
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Bahrain: $19.5 million (increase of $500,000)
Egypt:  $1.3 billion (no change)
Israel:  $3 billion* (increase of $225 million)
Jordan:  $300 million (no change)
Lebanon: $100 million (no change)
Libya: $250,000 (increase of $100,000)
Morocco: $9 million (no change)
Oman: $13 million (increase of $1.152 million) 
Tunisia: $4.9 million (decrease of $10.1 million) 
Yemen: $35 million (increase of $22.5 million) 
 
The budget document notes: "Near East region ($4,782 million): The majority of FMF funding will provide continued assistance to the Near East region, including increased support for Israel;
funding for Egypt to foster a modern, well-trained military; support for Jordan's force modernization, border surveillance, and counterterrorism efforts; support for Lebanon's efforts to control its territory and enhance its counterterrorism capabilities; and support for Bahrain and Oman as part of the Gulf Security Dialogue."
 
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Contributions for International Peacekeeping Activities (CIPA)
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UNDOF (Golan):  $12.99 million (increase of $2.7 million)
UNIFIL (Lebanon):  $212 million (increase of $1.086 million)
 
3.  FY12 ForOps Season Opens - Hearings
 
As the FY12 budget season opens, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah were both on the Hill defending the President's foreign policy-related funding requests.  Both responded to questions about Palestinian aid, and in particular Gaza and UNRWA.
 
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During a 2/25/10 hearing of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Secretary Clinton was asked about aid to Gaza and UNRWA.  Webcast available here.
 
Excerpt:
 
Ellison (D-MN):  "My first question has to do with the Administration's commitment to try to support UNRWA and people who are trying to make it in Gaza.  Not the people who are engaged in terrorist activities but the regular folks who are just trying to survive.  But some of the assistance that we've given already hasn't really made it to the people.  I'd be curious to hear your thoughts as to how we might be able to actually get some of this humanitarian assistance into the hands of folks we intended to help."
 
Clinton:  "Well, we happen to believe that UNRWA is a vital humanitarian actor that does provide critical services and assistance that would otherwise be provided by extremist groups.  You know we can't have it both ways.  If we're not in there supporting UNRWA in actually providing services I believe that the situation would become even more threatening to us and to Israel.  So UNRWA is an indispensable counter-weight to radicalism and terrorism and particularly in Gaza and Lebanon.  And in fact UNRWA's efforts are supported by the governments of Israel, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority.  So that's a pretty broad cross-section of the region.  And we do closely monitor what UNRWA does.  We make sure it meets all of the conditions for funding under out law and the Foreign Assistance Act provisions.  And we have worked to make sure that UNRWA implements measures that are designed to ensure the neutrality of its staff, including pre-employment checks, sharing the list of staff member names with host governments on an annual basis, and so much else. 
 
"And I share your concern that we're not getting enough help into Gaza.  I've raised this consistently with the Israeli government.  They have made certain moves which have increased the flow of food and clean water and medicine, but I think more could be done that would not provide any threat to Israeli security and we raise that with the Israelis on a regular basis.  But I think you're right that what we want to do is support the regular folks and not do anything that empowers Hamas.  Much of the material that gets in to Gaza, which still comes through the tunnels - through smuggling - actually is taxed by Hamas, which then provides Hamas with the money that they use to buy arms and other material that is used against Israel.  So I look at things from a real logical perspective.  What can we do to undermine Hamas, to support the security of Israel, and to help the "regular folks" so that they don't turn to extremism? 
 
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During a 3/3/10 hearing of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Dr. Shah was asked twice about oversight and vetting of US aid to the Palestinians and to Gaza.  He provided a detailed response that appeared to satisfy the questioners (but didn't stop Rep. Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) from issuing a press release entitled "Ros-Lehtinen Raises Concern of Stolen Taxpayer Funds in West Bank and Gaza with USAID Administrator Shah" - which included only her question, but not Shah's response.)  Webcast is available here.
 
Excerpt:
 
Rep. Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL):  "...the Administration has requested over $400 million in economic support funds for West Bank and Gaza.  As we have seen, there's been a lot of stealing of those funds - it's not been managed well.  What kind of vetting do we have in place to ensure that the funding does not benefit violent extremists, corrupt officials and instead reaches its intended targets.  What kind of metrics are we using to ensure that we can actually accomplish what we seek to do with the funding?
 
Shah:  "...as you know we have systems for both tracking partners and vetting partners.  The partner vetting system there involves specific identification of names of partners, it involves our database tracking systems and we vet that very very carefully.  That system has been in place for more than two years.  On the cash tracking we also have a very specific system that has been in place for more than four years where we are supporting and we authorize specific disbursements from the Palestinian Authority. The resources are transferred quite closely from a bank in Israel to a special Treasury account in the Palestinian banking system and then all flows out of that are monitored on a case-by-case basis.  So there's a very strong system in place for tracking cash flows in that environment as well. 
 
"And our budget request going forward is to really focus on doing specific work that will achieve real outcomes in infrastructure and in health and in humanitarian support in Gaza.  And I'm happy to describe that some of the things we've done have been successful - building sixty kilometers of road in the West Bank, funding seven schools that are operational and effective, and promoting a broadly-based health system in that region that is reaching many many more people in need.  So we'll continue to track those outcomes very closely but we have special systems for tracking how we work with partners and how we track the flow of cash."
 
McMahon (D-NY): ...The President's request included $400.4 million in economic assistance for the West Bank and Gaza to 'strengthen the Palestinian Authority as a credible partner in Middle Eastern peace and continue to respond to humanitarian needs in Gaza.'  The request also states that this assistance will 'provide significant resources to support the stability of the Palestinian Authority, economic development of the West Bank and increase the capacity of the Palestinian Authority to meet the needs of its people.' 
 
"Dr. Shah, I would like to reiterate the importance of vetting this funding and of course supporting Israel.  Just yesterday the UN's Undersecretary for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes dismissed Hamas' cross-border raid in 2006, the kidnapping of Staff Sergeant Gilad Schalit, and Hamas' unacceptable calls for Israel's destruction by condemning Israel.  Of course, he completed neglected to mention the fact that despite Hamas' aggression, Israel allows daily shipments of food, medicine and other supplies. Given these statements...how will USAID make sure that this funding does not end up in the hands of terrorists, specifically when we are partnering with organizations like UNRWA.  What sort of safeguards are in place and if you could be as specific as possible, and also if you could provide an assessment of the effectiveness of US aid to the Palestinians over the past several years.   Which economic projects have been effective and which have not?  Has US assistance helped increase popular support for moderate Palestinians in the West Bank - a goal which we all support - and what role has United States aid played in helping to strengthen governing institutions in the West Bank?  Basically, are we making a positive impact?"
 
Shah:  "...We do have, as I noted, a very rigorous system for vetting partners and tracking any cash disbursement all the way through to their end use.  On partner vetting we have a very sophisticated system that's been in place for more than two years that tracks the names of all our partners, that clearly vets all key personnel in any partner organization against a larger database.  It allows us to follow up on any positive hits that occur in that tracking system.  After we get any positive hits we have an aggressive process of investigation and review before going forward.  So that's a very robust system. 
 
"The cash tracking system is similarly robust.  We track any authorized disbursements, we transfer resources though an Israeli-based banking account into a special treasury account in a Palestinian bank and then we monitor all outflows from that account by every single disbursement being tracked specifically to its end use.  Most of these disbursements are - nearly all of these disbursements - are used to pay off creditors, so those resources go back out to other places. 
 
"The question with respect to how are we coordinating with other partners and what can we do to improve effectiveness, I'll just say I spoke with John Holmes before he want to make the point that you are making - that our goal is about effectiveness in that environment and that we need to look at the whole picture.  It is the PRM program that is the whole picture - it is the PRM program that partners primarily with UNRWA, and not USAID, although we believe that is an important partnership going forward.  So we'll continue to have those safeguards in place. 
 
"On effectiveness, there are some areas where we believe we have been more effective than others.  Health and education perhaps more effective than the full folio of infrastructure investments which are more complex to implement although there have been some success stories there as well, in the West Bank in particular.  In Gaza, with a mostly humanitarian mission, it's a different operating environment."
 
4.  SFRC Hearing: MIDDLE EAST PEACE: GROUND TRUTHS, CHALLENGES AHEAD

On 3/4/10 the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing looking at the question of how to get to Middle East Peace.  Witnesses were the Honorable Daniel Kurtzer (testimony), Dr. Robert Malley (testimony), Dr. Ziad Asali (testimony), and David Makovsky (testimony).  SFRC Chairman Kerry (D-MA) made a strong opening statement (text), as did ranking minority member Lugar (R-IN) (text).
 
The hearing, which went on 2.5 hours, included a far-ranging and important Q&A session.  The hearing can be viewed in full here
 
5.  Ros-Lehtinen attacks UNRWA (again)
 
In what has become a predictable move, Rep. Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) this week circulated a Dear Colleague letter seeking cosigners on a letter to the President bashing UNRWA (predictable in the sense that Ros-Lehtinen attacks UNRWA at least once per session, often around ForeignOps season - here is an example from last February, or for an earlier example, here is Ros-Lehtinen on her soapbox in September 2005).  This week's letter, which was being lobbied in the House by the ZOA, urges the president to halt a planned disbursement of funds to UNRWA and to refrain from all future obligations to UNRWA.  See section 3 (above) for Secretary Clinton's comments on UNRWA.   
 
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For more information, contact Lara Friedman, APN Director of Policy and Government Relations, at 202/728-1893, or at lfriedman@peacenow.org.