Lawmakers push to restructure Egypt aid

Lawmakers have seized upon a domestic spending bill as a chance to tighten controls on how Egypt's Islamist government can use well over $1 billion in military and other aid that Washington sends to Cairo each year.

Five senators - four Republicans and one Democrat - offered separate amendments related to the aid to a fast-track spending measure that seeks to avert a government shutdown on March 27.

Lawmakers have expressed concern about Egypt's stability. But they have also worried about the future policies of its Islamist government, its relations with Israel and anger at vitriolic comments about Jews that Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi made in 2010, when he was a leading figure in the Muslim Brotherhood opposition movement.

They seized upon the spending bill as a chance to clamp down on Cairo, days before President Barack Obama visits the region on his first presidential trip to Israel.

"In the 21st century, America's foreign assistance must reflect our values as well as our interests," said Republican Senator Marco Rubio, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who introduced one of the amendments.

Two years after the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak, the most populous Arab nation is deeply divided and its government is struggling with a worrying slide in currency reserves and a soaring budget deficit.

The amendments are among some 125 added to the bill, a domestic spending measure known as a continuing resolution.