Mary Landrieu, a powerful U.S. senator and member of the Appropriations Committee, says military aid to Israel shouldn’t be cut despite the American government’s severe budgetary problems.
“I support the aid to Israel and we are going to hold the line on that,” Sen. Landrieu told The Media Line. “There are pressures on our budget, but we really value our relationship with Israel and want to see it strengthened. America does have very serious budgetary problems, but foreign aid represents less than 1% of the total budget of the United States.”
Israel is the biggest recipient of American aid, but with Washington facing a huge budget gap, calls have mounted to trim the $3 billion the United States provides the Jewish state annually. This week veteran Washington Post columnist Walter Pincus urged the White House to reevaluate the aid, noting that Israel was slashing its own defense budget to step up social spending.
Landrieu, a member of President Barack Obama’s Democratic Party, spoke to The Media Line during a visit to Israel as head of a trade mission seeking collaboration opportunities in oil and gas development with Louisiana and other U.S. Gulf Coast states.
“We have recently managed to do a better job in balancing the environmental needs with the industry and there is great opportunity for Israel, I believe, in this particular region of the United States to cooperate,” she said.
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