Congress: 112 · Status: active · Israel/Palestine classification: neutral
Data (JSON) — machine-readable record of this bill (identifiers, sponsor, classification, actions, and the member-by-member vote breakdown).
Official record on Congress.gov — full text, actions, and cosponsor history for HR 6657.
Sponsor: Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana (R-FL)
Egypt Accountability and Democracy Promotion Act - States that U.S. policy shall be to use its foreign assistance for Egypt to advance U.S. national security interests in Egypt, including encouraging the advancement of political, economic, and religious freedom in Egypt. Limits specified security and economic assistance to Egypt unless the Secretary of State certifies to Congress every six months that the Egyptian government: (1) is not controlled by or under the influence of a foreign terrorist organization, or that no supporter of a foreign terrorist organization serves in a policy-making position in the government; (2) has implemented legal reforms that protect the political, economic, and religious freedoms and human rights of all citizens and residents of Egypt; (3) is fully implementing the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty; and (4) is taking verifiable steps to destroy the smuggling network and tunnels between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, and is cracking down on extremist groups in the Sinai Peninsula. Provides for a limited national security waiver of such restrictions. Sets forth reporting requirements.
This bill ties U.S. military and economic aid to Egypt to four conditions: the State Department must certify every six months that Egypt's government is not controlled by terrorist organizations, has reformed laws to protect political and religious freedoms, is enforcing the Israel-Egypt peace treaty, and is dismantling smuggling tunnels and networks between Egypt and Gaza. Aid can be withheld if these conditions aren't met, though the president can waive the restrictions for national security reasons.
The bill conditions aid on Egypt's enforcement of the Gaza border blockade and destruction of cross-border tunnels, which directly affect Palestinian access to goods and movement. It also requires certification of peace treaty compliance, making Israeli-Egyptian military coordination a formal condition of U.S. assistance.