American House Of Representatives Votes To Cut All Aid To Palestinians

It still has to pass the Senate, but this is a start anyway. From Joshua Pundit:


Today, the House Voted to cut all aid to Palestinians , defying President Bush's disapproval. The bill was approved 361-37 and would cut off aid to non-governmental groups working with the Palestinians except for health programs.

The bill calls for the Palestinian Authority to be designated a "terrorist sanctuary," and bans visas for entry into the United States of any official or member of the PA or any component of the PA.

It also recommends withholding U.S. contributions to the United Nations proportional to the amount the world body provides the PA.

It also would ban contacts with Hamas because of its classification as a terrorist organization and limit the president's authority to waive the aid bans.

The Bush administration wasn't too happy about this. It criticized the bill as unneeded and overreaching in its restrictions. And besides that, it might upset our Eternal Friends, The Saudis and the UAE.

The State Department intoned that 'The bill is unnecessary as the executive branch already has ample authority to impose all its restrictions and it constrains the executive's flexibility to use sanctions.'

Of course, if the Bush Administration was using those sanctions the way it's supposed to, the bill wouldn't be necessary, now would it?

Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (r-FL), a chief sponsor of the bill, said, "The United States must make it unambiguously clear that we will not support such a terrorist regime, that we will not directly or indirectly allow American taxpayer funds to be used to perpetuate the leadership of an Islamic jihadist group."


Some days, you just feel so proud to be an American.