Nita Lowey: “My colleagues, this is a difficult and sensitive issue that the House has debated many times before in many different…”

“My colleagues, this is a difficult and sensitive issue that the House has debated many times before in many different ways. We all know that Egypt is an important ally of the United States. We all know that Egypt plays a very important role in the Middle East, and that role will even be more crucial in the months ahead. We all know that Egypt was the first Arab country to have made peace with Israel, and that the peace, while not nearly as warm or as forward-leaning as many of us would have liked, has held for close to 30 years. That is why Egypt has consistently received more foreign assistance in this bill than virtually any country other than Israel. And that is true of this year's bill as well. Nevertheless, there is a frustration level with our very good ally over two key issues, the Egyptian Government's increasingly harsh response to dissent of any kind and the government's failure to take serious steps to stopping the smuggling from Egypt to Gaza.”