House Appropriations Committee started hearing on amending State and Foreign Operations Appropriations draft bill
A key Congressional panel, House Appropriations Committee started hearing a proposal on amending 2018 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations draft bill on 13th July to make US civil and military aid to Pakistan conditional to Islamabad’s support to the fight against the Afghan Taliban.
The draft continues current requirements regarding assistance for Pakistan but prevents the Secretary of State from giving a full national-interest waiver. The secretary can now only issue a waiver for 85 per cent of the funds appropriated under the Foreign Military Financing (FMF). The Arms Export Control Act (AECA), as amended [22 U.S.C. 2751, et. seq.], authorizes the President to finance procurement of defense articles and services for foreign countries and international organizations.
FMF enables eligible partner nations to purchase U.S. defense articles, services, and training through either FMS or, for a limited number of countries, through the foreign military financing of direct commercial contracts (FMF/DCC) program (Also DCC Guidelines).
The Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program provides grants and loans to help countries purchase weapons and defense equipment produced in the United States as well as acquiring defense services and military training. FMF funds purchases are made through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program, which manages government-to-government sales. On a much less frequent basis, FMF also funds purchases made through the Direct Commercial Sales (DCS) program, which oversees sales between foreign governments and private U.S. companies. FMF does not provide cash grants to other countries; it generally pays for sales of specific goods or services through FMS or DCS.
From 2003 to 2007 Iraq was the largest beneficiary of FMF, since then it is Afghanistan. Until 2003 it was Israel. Other countries in the Middle East and Greater Middle East (including Pakistan, Jordan, and especially Egypt) are among the other major recipients of FMF funds.
White House budget documents showed total defence spending for the 2018 fiscal year at $603 billion, about 3 per cent higher than President Barack Obama's proposed 2018 fiscal year defence budget.
Secretary of State determines which countries will have programs. Secretary of Defense executes the program. But under US President Donald Trump's proposal, the United States would spend 29.1pc less on the State Department and “other international programmes” in the 2018 fiscal year compared to 2017, a decrease of $11.5bn and proceed further on this line the Trump administration has slashed its foreign military financing (FMF) to Pakistan from $255 million to $100 million for the 2018 fiscal, but has kept its options open whether it would be a grant or should be converted into a loan. However Military aid to Israel and Egypt, two close US allies in the Middle East and the biggest recipients of US military assistance, will remain unchanged. According to a senior official budget focuses on bilateral FMF assistance requested for Israel (USD 3.1 billion), Egypt (USD 1.3 billion), Jordan (USD 350 million), and Pakistan (USD 100 million). Last year, the US assistance to Pakistan under the state department budget was USD 534 million, which included USD 225 million towards foreign military funding.
This should be a clear signal for Pakistan
Since 2015, Congress has gradually reduced the reimbursements by attaching $250m of reimbursements to a certification from the secretary of defence that Pakistan is effectively combating the Haqqani network.
US military assistance to partners and allies reached $13.5bn in 2015, or 28pc of all US foreign aid spending that year in which most grants through the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) programme go to Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan and Iraq.
In an another development , the Trump administration in its annual budget for 2018 fiscal beginning October 1 this year has proposed to end the Pakistan Counterinsurgency Capabilities Fund (PCCF), which was budgeted as USD 9 million in both 2016 and 2017.