House bill presented to cut US aid to Pakistan

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House bill presented to cut US aid to Pakistan

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A House panel unveiled a bill Monday that would block US aid to Pakistan.

19 July,2011 08:48 am

The Obama administration would be required to reassure Congress that Pakistan was cooperating in battling terrorism.The legislation is a direct challenge to President Barack Obama and his foreign policy authority, and comes as the House is looking at significant cuts in the annual budget for the State Department and foreign assistance.The House Foreign Affairs Committee will consider the bill authorizing the money on Wednesday. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the Republican chairwoman of the panel, released an initial draft on Monday.While the House is likely to approve the bill, its prospects in the Democratic-controlled Senate are dim. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry, a Democrat, is likely to reject many of the bills provisions.The bill would bar aid to Pakistan unless the secretary of state can certify to Congress that Islamabad is fully assisting the United States with investigating the existence of an official or unofficial support network in Pakistan for Osama bin Laden, including by providing the United States with direct access to Osama bin Ladens relatives in Pakistan and to Osama bin Ladens former compound in Abottabad.In May, U.S. forces killed bin Laden while he was living at a compound not far from Pakistans military academy, raising questions among lawmakers about what the Pakistanis knew.