Sen. Daniel Inouye (D. HI) said today that his proposal that the United States reduce the interest rate on loans to Israel from 12 to five percent has received a “favorable response” from his Senate colleagues.
Such a move would send a “strong, unmitigated, clear as crystal message to Israel that the United States stands by her, ” he told the closing session of the annual meeting of the National Commission of B’nai B’rith.
Inouye, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, added that it would also “demonstrate that the United States recognizes Israeli sacrifices for peace.” He said it would help alleviate Israel’s “unprecedented” economic burden by reducing the interest charges over the life of its U.S. loan portfolio by $8.5 billion. The U.S. charges other nations, “some not even friendly “to the U.S., an interest rate of five percent, Inouye said.
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