The House approved, with shouts of approval, an amendment to the Foreign Aid bill Thursday night which expressed the opposition of the House to the huge exit fees imposed on Jewish academicians. The amendment, approved by voice vote, was proposed by Rep. Charles E. Vanik (D. Ohio), and would ban assistance from the Export-Import Bank or the Office of Government insurance for overseas investment to any country whose emigration fee is in excess of $50 or the equivalent of that amount.
The House also approved by 169-141 the $4.2 billion foreign aid bill in which more than $400 million is earmarked for Israel. Of that amount, up to $300 million is for military sales credits for Israel, $50 million is for economic support aid for Soviet Jewish refugees settling in Israel and about $3 million is for American schools and hospitals in Israel.
Opposition to the Vanik amendment was expressed by Republican House leader Gerald Ford of Michigan and Rep. Otto Passman (D. La.) chairman of the House subcommittee handling the foreign aid bill. The bill now goes to the Senate, where the future of the amendment is uncertain.
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