Qatar is warning Congress that pending legislation to sanction Hamas sponsors contains language that “unfairly” targets Doha and could jeopardize a multibillion-dollar deal for American fighter jets.
Through its Washington lobby firm Husch Blackwell, the emirate has been informing lawmakers that a $6.2 billion contract signed in December for 36 F-15s could be “jeopardized” if the bill from Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., becomes law, according to lobbying records reviewed by Al-Monitor. The issue is expected to come up when Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani visits Washington next month ahead of a possible Camp David summit to end the monthslong Saudi-led blockade of Qatar.
Mast’s bill would allow the Donald Trump administration to slash defense sales and exports and freeze credit or loan guarantees above $10 million to backers of Hamas, which the United States considers a terrorist organization. The chairman and top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee both support the bill, which alleges that Hamas has received “significant financial and military support” from Qatar.
The bill, Doha claims, “threatens recent progress” in bilateral efforts to counter terrorism financing and could “potentially negatively impact the thousands of American military personnel stationed in Qatar.” Lobbyists say that Boeing employs more than 3,000 workers on the fighter jet contract in Missouri, where incumbent Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill faces a tight race for re-election.
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