This bill would provide legal authority for the State Department, U.S. Agency for International Development, and other federal agencies involved with U.S. foreign relations to carry out their activities and set the scope and policies for their programs in FY 2012. The bill would authorize $6.4 b. less than the $51 b. requested for FY 2012. However, State and foreign operations authorizations bills are often used by lawmakers as vehicles for controversial laws and therefore very politically contentious. This being the case a State and foreign operations authorization bill has not been passed since 2003. Secy. of state Hillary Clinton, citing the bill’s ‘crippling restrictions’ on U.S. aid programs to the Palestinian Authority and Lebanon, told House Committee on Foreign Affairs (HCFA) members that the bill would be debilitating to her efforts to carry out U.S. foreign policy, and threatened to urge President Obama to veto it.
The original text of the bill was amended by the HCFA during a deeply partisan, two-day debate by the 45 member panel. Still, numerous amendments placing further restrictions on aid to the Palestinians passed with bipartisan support such as one prohibiting funds to the PA if it declared independence (passed 44-0). The committee approved the bill by a largely party-line 23-20 vote, but the bill was never brought before the full House for debate.
According to the HCFA report that accompanies the bill (report 112-233), three of the central goals of this bill are to reaffirm U.S. support for Israel and its military dominance in the region, to place conditions on U.S. assistance to the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, and Lebanon, and to prevent funding from going to governments that include Hamas or Hizballah.
Support for Israel:
Policy on settlements: Would state the policy of the U.S. to be to uphold all of the reassurances provided by George W. Bush in his 4/14/04 letter to Ariel Sharon. In the letter Bush stated that an Israeli return to the 1949 armistice lines would be unrealistic and that Israel would retain major settlement blocs in any final status agreement.
Recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital: Would set 1/1/14 as the expiration date for the president’s authority to waive the requirement that he relocate the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, and would require that the embassy be established there before 2014. Authorizes $500,000 to be spent to move the embassy. Any official document of the U.S. government listing countries and their capitals would need to identify Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Easing arms sales to Israel: Would increase the value of arms packages that can be sold to Israel without Congressional approval. Would state U.S. policy to be to assist Israel in establishing and enhancing diplomatic relations with other countries and to promote its participation in multilateral fora. Would require the secy. of state to report to Congress on efforts taken by the U.S. to encourage other countries to establish full relations with Israel; the responses of countries to those efforts; efforts to encourage Israel’s entry and full participation in international fora; and measures taken to counter multilateral efforts to isolate Israel.
Report on assurances of Israel’s security: Would require a report from the president containing a ‘complete, unedited, and unredacted copy’ of every U.S. assurance to Israel regarding its security and maintenance of its ‘qualitative military edge’ over all other nations in the region from 1 January 1975 until enactment of this bill. Additionally, the president must provide an analysis of whether or not each assurance has been fulfilled and how ‘it has been and is continuing to be fulfilled.’ Any revision to these agreements or new assurance made to Israel would be required to be reported to Congress within 15 days, and a comprehensive report regarding all assurances and revisions must be given to Congress every five years. According to its