President Nixon’s budget for fiscal 1973 presented yesterday to Congress did not show any specific sums allocated to Israel but did state that “outlays for military assistance, including credit sales to Israel, will total $750 million in 1973.” White House aides told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that despite the absence of any specific sums for Israel within the total military assistance outlay of $750 million, there was no doubt that there would be appropriations initiated by the administration or originated in the Congress.
The budget also showed that military credit sales to Israel for the remainder of the fiscal year ending June 30, will total at least $196,173,000. This is the balance of the remainder of the credit voted by Congress for the $500 million military credit amendment sponsored by Sen. Henry. Jackson (D.,Wash). Meanwhile, the continuance of the spending authority by the Agency for International Development provides for military credit of $300 million for Israel during fiscal 1972. There is an additional appropriation for the expenditure of $50 million for economic assistance.
The budget message pointed out that the fiscal 1973 budget was prepared before Congress had acted on the budget for fiscal 1972 for AID. The Congress voted funds for AID last December shortly before the Christmas recess in a jurisdictional fight which resulted in a compromise. Under the House-Senate agreement funding for AID was continued until Feb. 22 of this year. The Congress must vote detailed additional funding for AID by that date if the agency is to continue functioning.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
