U.S. Budget Allocations for Israel

The U.S. budge for fiscal year 1975. shows that about 30 percent of the $2.5 billion appropriated for Israel’s defense requirements are to be spent by June 30 and approximately the same amount for the new fiscal year beginning July 1. The $2.5 billion, Bureau of the Budget officials told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency yesterday, represents the $2.2 billion in emergency security assistance voted by the Congress in Dec. in the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War and the $300 million in additional credits for the purchase of military equipment appropriated last fall in the regular foreign assistance outlays.

Of that combined amount, the budget shows $673,664,000 is obligated for expenditure in the current fiscal year ending June 30 and $70,800,060 in fiscal 1975. In addition, $17,336,000 of the $2.2 billion is obligated to meet the U.S. share of costs of the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) to patrol the buffer zones on Israel’s borders. The Congress had directed that these costs be taken from the emergency fund. None of the $300 million in credits has yet been obligated, the budget officials told JTA.

The President and the State Department, the budget official said, probably will make their decisions during this month on how much of the $2.2 billion will be given to Israel as a grant and what part, if any, as a loan. The Congress has authorized the President to give grants of up to $1.5 billion of the emergency funds.

AID DURING WAR WAS ABOUT $1 BILLION

In addition, the State Department is due to provide the Congress with its new foreign aid requests soon that will show what amount it wishes budgeted for Israel, and others, in the fiscal year 1975. In the past two years Congress has voted $300 million each year for military credits and $500 million in 1971 after the missile crisis along the Suez.

“Grants of credits in excess of the $1.5 billion” the budget report said, “may be used only if the President determines it to be important to our national interest that Israel receive such amounts and reports the determination, the justification for the determination, and the terms of that additional assistance to the Congress at least 20 days prior to the obligation of the funds.”

Budget officials said the amounts of aid spectacularly airlifted and otherwise shipped to Israel during the Yom Kippur War and into last Dec. totaled about a billion dollars, including transportation costs. These were on a “cash basis” of 90 days or 120 days. “These bills will be coming due this month,” they said. The President therefore will have to make determinations of policy towards them.

While the budget showed the $50 million for economic supporting assistance this year to Israel and the $36.5 million for aid to Soviet emigrants, mostly for their rehabilitation in Israel, no requests are listed in the new budget for these categories nor for additional military credits in the usual foreign aid budget.