Earl Blumenauer: “I voted against the Berkley/Crowley amendment to cap assistance to the Palestinian Authority. Under the new leadership…”

“I voted against the Berkley/Crowley amendment to cap assistance to the Palestinian Authority. Under the new leadership of President Mahmoud Abbas, progress is being made--slowly-- on the path to democracy and peace. It is ironic that these additional restrictions are proposed on Abbas, yet were never applied to Yasser Arafat. In light of Israel's impending withdrawal from Gaza, I believe that we need to maintain President Bush's flexibility to use United States assistance to promote American interests in the region. Already, aid to the Palestinian Authority is the most heavily restricted, audited, and projectized assistance in the world with aid going directly to the Palestinian Authority only when the President signs a specific waiver. This amendment is one more unnecessary restriction that ties the President's hands to support any movement towards peace and security. The Acting CHAIRMAN (Mr. Kolbe). The question is on the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms. Berkley). The question was taken; and the Acting Chairman announced that the noes appeared to have it.”