US House votes to block aid for Saudi Arabia

The vote was a stinging defeat for the Bush Administration, which had strongly opposed the measure saying it would "severely undermine" counterterrorism cooperation with Saudi Arabia and US efforts for peace in the Middle East.

The House voted 217-191 to remove $25,000 in the $19.4 billion 2005 foreign aid bill earmarked for Saudi Arabia.

The funds were designated for military training but approval would have triggered millions of dollars in discounts on hardware and other military training, lawmakers said.

"I don't want my taxpayer dollars going to the Saudis and I don't want anyone else's to," said Nevada Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley.

Supporters of the measure also argued that with Saudi Arabia's massive wealth from ownership of one-fourth of the world's proven oil reserves, the kingdom should not need financial aid from the United States.

The Senate would also have to strip the Saudi aid from its version of the foreign assistance bill before it stands a chance of being enacted.

US- Saudi ties were shaken by the fact that 15 of the 19 hijackers in the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001 were Saudi nationals and revelations that individual Saudis had financed al-Qaeda, whose leader, Osama bin Laden, was born in the kingdom.

A study by the Council on Foreign Relations found recently that Saudi Arabia has stepped up its efforts to halt the flow of funds to militant groups, but said more needed to be done.

AFP adds: The US House of Representatives overwhemingly defeated an amendment to the foreign aid bill for fiscal 2005 that would have switched 570 million dollars in military aid for Egypt to economic aid for the same country.

Proposed by Democratic Representative for California Tom Lantos, the amendment was rejected Wednesday by a 287 to 131 vote, according to congressional records.