AIPAC weighs in on US military aid to Egypt
The House Appropriations Committee defeated an amendment to cut US military aid to Egypt, with an assist from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
The pro-Israel lobby American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has begun a lobbying blitz to stop lawmakers from cutting military aid to Egypt, Al-Monitor has learned.
House appropriators on Tuesday defeated an amendment from Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., that would have cut military assistance by $300 million, from $1.3 billion down to $1 billion.
The lopsided 35-11 vote was partly due to pressure by the American Israel Political Action Committee, Schiff suggested when asked to confirm that AIPAC was involved in the debate.
"I didn't know that AIPAC was weighing in at all on this until after the vote," Schiff told Al-Monitor. "But members did communicate to me after the vote that they had been persuaded by AIPAC not to support this."
