President Reagan, in submitting his last budget to Congress on Monday, recommended that Israel continue to receive $3 billion in foreign aid.
Deputy Secretary of State John Whitehead, at a briefing on the foreign aid requests for the 1990 fiscal year, ruled out a proposal to cut Israel’s economic aid for the current fiscal year by 2 percent, which could have cost the Jewish state $36 million of its $1.2 billion in Economic Support Funds.
In addition, Israel has been concerned about seeing its economic aid in 1990 cut by around $100 million, as part of a formula to give the State Department more discretion in its foreign aid budget. Currently, Congress earmarks funds to specific countries, including Israel and Egypt.
Under the Reagan budget, Egypt is designated to receive the $2.3 billion in aid that it has been receiving in recent years.
In overall terms, Israel did not want to see any major cuts in foreign assistance to other countries, which would create greater resentment at Israel’s share. The 1990 budget request is for $19.4 billion for international affairs, $14.8 billion of which would go for foreign aid.
No country was eliminated from this year’s foreign affairs budget, State Department officials noted at the briefing.
The most recent budgets, for the 1988 and 1989 fiscal years, had $18.1 billion designated for international affairs, including $14.3 billion for foreign aid.
Despite the welcome news for supporters of Israel, its $3 billion in grants could be cut at any later step in the annual budget cycle. Congress has until Oct. 1, when the 1990 fiscal year begins, to act on the White House budget request.
REFUGEE BUDGET INCREASED
A portion of the budget that gained enhanced interest last year was the allocation for refugee resettlement, which affects Soviet Jews who want to enter the United States.
The 1990 budget request is for $380,000 for refugee assistance, including $10,000 for emergency situations. By comparison, the United States estimates that it will spend $361,950 this year to resettle refugees, with an additional $50,000 available for emergencies.
The State Department estimates that 22,500 refugees will be admitted from Eastern Europe in 1990, compared to the 28,239 whom it admitted in the 1988 fiscal year. In this fiscal year, it estimates admitting 22,500 refugees from those countries.
As of Jan. 1, 270 Soviet Jewish emigrants had been denied refugee status on the grounds that they could not prove a “well-founded fear of persecution.”
While previously Soviet Jews had been automatically granted refugee status, the more difficult standard for admitting refugees was applied to weed out applicants to meet the budget crunch.
Some 4,000 Jews are in Rome waiting to be processed, said Jennifer Kane, spokeswoman for the Union of Councils for Soviet Jews. She said that another 600 are waiting in Moscow.
But to expedite the situation, Attorney General Richard Thornburgh announced that an additional 2,000 Soviet emigres a month would be allowed to enter the United States, which would include all Soviet Jews in transit in Rome.
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