A Senate-House conference committee will meet next week to settle differences in legislation adopted by the two chambers on appropriations for the foreign aid program for the current fiscal year that ends in three months. A principal difference is funding for the transitional quarter between the current fiscal year ending June 30 and the new fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.
The Senate yesterday, in adopting the $5.3 billion program by a 53-31 vote, included provisions to allocate one-quarter of the House bill appropriations for Israel, Egypt, Syria and Jordan for the transitional quarter. The House, however, did not approve any funds for this period, largely as a result of the Administration’s failure to request them.
Another Senate-House conference group will meet tomorrow for its third session on the authorization bill that sets the policy and financial ceilings for the programs. Since both chambers have authorized funding for the transitional quarter at the 25 percent rate,.this committee does not face that problem. Both authorization and appropriations bills, after being approved by the committees, must be returned to the two chambers for votes and the President must sign both for the program to become law.
Sen. Daniel Inoye (D.Hawaii), chairman of the Senate subcommittee who steered the appropriations bill through its various steps, blamed the Administration’s failure to submit to Congress its security assistance program until the fiscal year was nearly half over for the delay in the enactment process. The Administration was to have presented the program a year ago but waited until now because in the six-month interim it was engaged in its “reassessment” of the Middle East and acted only after the second interim Sinai agreement was concluded last September.
In asking Senate approval of the allocations, Inouye noted that “the fragile economies of the four principal recipients of security assistance funds are straining under an awesome array of financial problems.” He said that “If peace is to have a prospect in the Middle East, Israel’s economic burden must be relieved and Egypt, Jordan and Syria must have an even chance to share in a growing prosperity.”
PERIL OF ISRAEL’S SECURITY SITUATION
Explaining why he opposed the Administration’s abstinence on transitional quarter funding. Inouye said: “The continuing peril of Israel’s security situation caused the committee to reconsider the Administration’s request for transitional quarter funding of the military credit sales program. We are not convinced that Israel’s present strength is sufficient to warrant the suspension of the sales program during the interim funding period.” He continued: “Other nations in the Middle East continue to have access to the most sophisticated modern weaponry. We see no reason to deny the same opportunity to Israel.”
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