Congress is using a defense cooperation bill with Jordan to encourage investment in the country's private sector.

The House Foreign Affairs panel on Thursday advanced legislation encouraging the Donald Trump administration to establish an enterprise fund for small- and medium-sized Jordanian businesses. The goal of the United States-Jordan Defense Cooperation Extension Act is “to jump-start the kingdom’s private sector as well as help our economy,” Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., the bill’s sponsor, said ahead of the markup.

Congress first authorized the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to create enterprise funds for Jordan, Egypt and Tunisia in a 2012 spending bill. The agency subsequently enacted funds for Egypt and Tunisia, but not for Jordan.

Multiple USAID officials told Al-Monitor that Jordanian officials did not want an enterprise fund in 2012 because they feared it would divert US foreign assistance funding from other economic development programs. Enterprise funds typically require initial US investment from economic support accounts over several years, but proponents of the effort argue that Congress can always appropriate additional economic support to offset any potential loses.