US lawmakers mulling tighter aid controls

Saturday, February 12, 2011

US lawmakers mulling tighter aid controls

AFP/Activist Post

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Two weeks after protesters in Egypt choked angrily on "Made in USA" tear gas, US lawmakers on Friday were weighing tighter controls on exports that can help repressive regimes cling to power.

The US Congress, which cheered anti-government protests in Iran last year, also applauded the turmoil that led Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to step down on Friday, amid worries that US aid and know-how hurt both movements.

"We continue to watch and have concerns about the misuse of any equipment that the United States provides or sells to another nation," said a spokesman for the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, Josh Holly.

Aides to lawmakers on other key committees that have jurisdiction over the issue also said the Egypt example could spark a review of US overseas assistance and the role of US firms in aiding heavy-handed governments.

Such concerns -- long a focus of international human rights groups -- were on display when lawmakers on the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee grilled Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg on Thursday.

"I supported the administration's decision not to suspend the assistance program up until now," said the panel's top Democrat, Howard Berman.
"I'd recommend the administration look towards the whole issue of export controls on things like tear gas canisters, items that are mostly relevant to the suppression of peaceful protesters," he added.

"I think there would be some value in reviewing and perhaps eliminating licenses on those kinds of items" for a time, Berman said, drawing a diplomatically elusive reply from Steinberg.

"We do always keep under constant review our assistance programs, not just for Egypt but elsewhere," said the official. "We have to be able to be responsive to ongoing events."


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