A top US senator is floating an ambitious proposal to rebuild Egypt and other Middle East trouble spots, prompting congressional soul-searching into whether the region's strongmen have any desire to change.

The chairman of the Senate Appropriations panel on foreign aid, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., laid out his vision for a "Marshall Plan" in an April 7 briefing with reporters following his trip to the region. As a preliminary step, he said he would work within his subcommittee on emergency funding of "multiple billions" of dollars for Egypt and several other countries.

"One thing I will talk to [Democratic counterpart Patrick] Leahy [D-Vt.] about is an emergency appropriation that will help Egypt, Jordan and probably Lebanon to deal with the stresses they're facing," Graham told reporters. "And we need to get some money into the system to help Israel create some capabilities to shore up borders that have been compromised."

Graham made the remarks following a congressional delegation he led to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Israel, during which he and several other lawmakers met with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and other national leaders. Separately, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., also met with Sisi on April 7.