This report provides an overview of the key issues for Congress related to Egypt and U.S. foreign
aid to Egypt.
Historically, Egypt has been an important country for U.S. national security interests based on its
geography, demography, and diplomatic posture. The United States has provided significant
military and economic assistance to Egypt since the late 1970s. Successive U.S. Administrations
have justified aid to Egypt as an investment in regional stability, built primarily on long-running
cooperation with the Egyptian military and on sustaining the 1979 Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty.
Additionally, U.S. leaders have consistently expressed concerns about governance and human
rights in Egypt, and differences over these issues have tested bilateral relations repeatedly in
recent years. In 2011, the United States encouraged Egypt’s long-serving President Hosni
Mubarak to step down in the face of a popular uprising, and revised U.S. assistance programs two
years later, when the Egyptian military intervened to oust Mubarak’s elected successor,
Muhammad Morsi, amid popular demands.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi, who led the 2013 military intervention and was elected in
mid-2014, reportedly has high hopes for improving bilateral relations through engagement with
the Trump Administration. President Trump has sought to improve U.S. relations with Egypt,
which were perceived as strained under President Obama. Nevertheless, Administration officials
have raised concerns about Egypt’s new NGO law and the continued detention of American
citizens in Egypt.
Between 1946 and 2016, the United States provided Egypt with $78.3 billion in bilateral foreign
aid (calculated in historical dollars—not adjusted for inflation). This report discusses the
conditions governing the release of these funds. All U.S. foreign aid to Egypt (or any recipient) is
appropriated and authorized by Congress, while all U.S. military aid to Egypt finances the
procurement of weapons systems and services from U.S. defense contractors.
For FY2019, the President is requesting a total of $1.381 billion in foreign assistance for Egypt,
the same amount requested as the previous year. Nearly all of the requested funds for Egypt
would come from the FMF account. For FY2018, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018
(P.L. 115-141) provided a total of $1.419 billion U.S. military and economic aid to Egypt, which
is the same amount Egypt received in FY2017.