Washington: A Bill on Tuesday was introduced in the US House of Representatives to end non-defence aid to Pakistan as it “provides military aid and intelligence” to terrorists. It sought that the amount be redirect to US infrastructure projects.
Introduced by Congress-men Mark Sanford from South Carolina and Thomas Massie from Kentucky, the legislation will prohibit the US State Department and the US Agency for International Development from sending US taxpayer money to Pakistan.
Instead, these funds will be redirected to the Highway Trust Fund, the account that pays for road infrastructure in the US.
Massie said the US should not funnel money to a government that “provides military aid and intelligence to terrorists”.
Sanford said, “When the Americans support other nations, our generosity shouldn’t be used to reward terrorists with US taxpayer dollars. Couple this with the fact that the Highway Trust Fund will be $111 billion short by 2026, and it simply makes financial sense to repurpose these funds for our infrastructure.”
Senator Rand Paul, who introduced the companion legislation in the Senate, said we fail to protect the country and steward taxpayers' hard-earned money when we support countries that chant “death to America and burn our flag”.
“Let’s bring that money home and use it to help rebuild our infrastructure instead of giving it to a nation that persecutes Christians and imprisons people such as the doctor that helped us get Osama bin Laden,” he said.
