House advances diluted bill cutting Palestinian aid
Original supporters of the Taylor Force Act say pushback from Democrats and the Trump administration has watered down their legislation.
Picking up where the Senate left off, the House today continued to dilute the impact of a bill intended to cut off US economic aid for the West Bank and Gaza in retaliation for the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) payments to convicted terrorists and their families.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee advanced the newest version of the Taylor Force Act by voice vote in a sign that Democrats are on board with the latest revisions. The initial version of the bill, introduced by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., generated significant Democratic opposition as it would have completely cut off US economic assistance to the West Bank unless the PA ended its so-called martyrs' fund.
Graham got Senate Democrats on board by limiting the aid cuts to funding that the United States determines “directly benefits” the PA and putting withheld funds in an escrow account for two years. Now he tells Al-Monitor that he’s “concerned” with some of the latest revisions in the House, which go even further.
“We’ve got probably 90 [Senate] votes for our version, but we’ll talk with our House colleagues,” said Graham. “I’m glad they’re making progress.”
