Sen. Bourke Hickenlooper, a Republican leader of a movement to transform Mutual Security aid from grants into loans, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency today that he did not believe this principle should be applied to help for Jewish and Arab refugees in the Near East.
When the Mutual Security bill, which includes appropriations for Israel and the Arab states, is argued on the floor of the Senate next week, Sen. Hickenlooper will submit an amendment to allocate Point Four aid through loans rather than grants. He said, however, that the plight of Jewish refugees in Israel and the circumstances of Arab refugees in the Arab states represented “dire immediate suffering.”
The Arabs and Jews, the Senator said, should be given outright grants to relieve the temporary emergency. He emphasized that he would insist on loans rather than grants in cases in which Point Four funds were used for wealth-producing projects. “During the floor fight to reduce the amount of foreign aid and put restriction on its use,” Sen. Hickenlooper said. “I will be careful to see that funds for refugees will not be affected.”
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