Posted on 03/16/17
| News Source: Arutz Sheva
The U.S. State Department clarified on Thursday that President Donald Trump's proposed budget for the 2018 fiscal year would not reduce aid to Israel, but added that assistance levels to other nations, including Egypt and Jordan, were still being evaluated.
"Our assistance to Israel is ... guaranteed and that reflects obviously our strong commitment to one of our strongest partners and allies," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said, according to Reuters.
"With respect to other assistance levels, foreign military assistance levels, those are still being evaluated and decisions are going to be made going forward," Toner added.
The State Department also clarified in a statement on Thursday "the budget blueprint includes $3.1 billion to meet our security assistance commitments to Israel."
Earlier, Trump unveiled the first budget proposal of his presidency, totaling $1.15 trillion and including a roughly 10% boost to the U.S. military, amounting to some $54 billion.
In addition, the budget plan allocates $4 billion for construction of the southern border wall, with $1.4 for immediate spending and another $2.6 billion this fall.
To offset these spending hikes, the budget dramatically cuts foreign aid, and the State Department loses 28% of its funding.
The United States and Israel in September signed a memorandum of understanding, a decade-long security assistance package, which was described as the “single largest pledge of bilateral military assistance in U.S. history.