WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sen. Rand Paul today took to the Senate floor to continue the discussion of his proposed amendment that would cut U.S. foreign aid to Egypt pending the release of American pro-democracy workers currently held in that country.
After being blocked all week from offering his amendment, Sen. Paul once again attempted to have a floor vote. Democrat Senators blocked his motion, proving they will not act to help the 19 Americans being held in Egypt.
Sen. Paul expressed his hope that over the recess these Senators will be asked why foreign welfare for Egypt is more important than freeing 19 Americans being held as political prisoners.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH SEN. PAUL’S FLOOR SPEECH
TRANSCRIPT:
Dependency often leads to indolence, lethargy, and a sense of entitlement and ultimately to a state of insolence.
Egypt has been receiving welfare from the United States for nearly 40 years now. America has lavished over $60 billion on the government of Egypt and they react with insolence and disregard by detaining 19 of our U.S. citizens.
For several months now, these Americans have been essentially held hostage, unable to leave Egypt, held on the pretense of trumped up political charges, held in order to display them in show trials to placate the mob.
The United States can respond in one of two ways. We can hang our head low and take the tack of Jimmy Carter. We could try to placate Egypt with concessions and offer them bribes in the form of more government aid; or America could respond with strength.
The President should today call the Egyptian ambassador in and send him home with a message. A message that America will not tolerate any country holding U.S. citizens as political prisoners.
Congress should act today to tell Egypt that we will no longer send our annual welfare check to them; that this year’s $1.8 billion is not on the way.
America could put Egyptian travelers on notice that the welcome sign in America will temporarily expire unless the Egyptian government lets our people go. Or America could hang her head low, promise to continue foreign aid to Egypt and apologize for supporting democracy. Which will it be?
So far, the signals sent to Egypt from the President and from the Senate have been weak or counterproductive.
In late January, the President’s undersecretary of state said that the administration wants to provide “more immediate benefits” to Egypt. Let’s speed up the Welfare checks. The President’s budget this week includes the $1.8 billion for Egypt without a word of rebuke or any demand for our citizens be released.
The President went one step further he actually increased the foreign aid to the Middle East in his budget. And now the Senate refuses to even hold a single vote to spend 10 minutes discussing why U.S. citizens are being detained in Egypt.
One might excuse the Egyptians for not believing we cut their aid. You can’t lead from behind.
Senate leadership appears unwilling to address this issue head on. So the Senate won’t act to help our citizens this week. But I hope when Senators return home this week their constituents in their state. I hope their constituents will ask them these questions:
Senator, why do you continue to send our tax payer money to Egypt? Why do you continue to send our money to Egypt when they detain U.S. citizens?
Senator, why do you continue to send billions of dollars to Egypt when 12 million Americans are out of work?
Senator, why do you continue to send welfare to foreign countries, when our bridges are falling down and in desperate need of repair?
Senator, how can you continue to flush our tax paper money down a foreign drain, when we are borrowing $40,000 a second? The money we send to Egypt we must first borrow it from China that is an insanity and it must end.
Mr. Senator, I hope your constituents ask you this when you go home: When working families are suffering under rising food prices, when working families are suffering because gas prices have doubled, how can you justify sending our hard-earned taxpayer dollars to Egypt? To countries that openly show their disdain for us?”
And finally, Mr. Senator I hope your constituents ask you this when you go home, with working families suffering under rising food and gas prices, how can you justify sending our tax dollars around the world, especially to countries that openly show their disdain for us.
When will we learn? You can’t buy friendship and you can’t convince authoritarians to love freedom with welfare checks. American needs to send a clear and unequivocal message to Egypt: that we will not tolerate the detention of U.S. citizens on trumped-up political charges or otherwise.
And that we will not continue to send welfare checks to Egypt, to a country that commits injustice to American citizens.
So, Mr. President, I asked today unanimous consent to set aside the pending amendment and call up my amendment on Egypt; that would end all foreign aid to Egypt if our U.S. citizens are not released in 30 days.
I think this is an important amendment, deserves discussion, and Egypt deserves to hear a message from the United States Senate, that we will not tolerate this.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to bring up Amendment 1541.
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