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06-02-03
Jordan: U.S. Relations and Bilateral Issues
SUMMARY
The death of King Hussein on February
7, 1999, removed a strong U.S. ally and force
for stability; however, his son and successor,
King Abdullah, has continued to follow the
late King's moderate and pro-western policies.
In recent years, Jordan has taken significant
steps toward building democratic life, includ-
ing a return to limited parliamentary democ-
racy. Parliament has eased restrictions in laws
affecting the press, but some remain.
Several issues in U.S.-Jordanian relations
are likely to figure in decisions by Congress
and the Administration on future aid to and
cooperation with Jordan. These include the
stability of the Jordanian regime, democratic
reform under way in Jordan, the role of Jordan
in the Arab-Israeli peace process, Jordan's
concerns over the U.S.-led campaign against
Iraq in 2003, and its relations with other
regional states. King Abdullah expressed
Jordan's "absolute condemnation" of the
September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the
U.S. and was the first Arab head of state to
visit President Bush after the attacks. Jordan
sent military medical and mine clearing units
to Afghanistan In December 2001 to support
the U.S.-led campaign against terrorism.
Economic and military aid levels are
important factors in the bilateral relationship.
At the President's request, Congress appropri-
ated a total of $401 million in three separate
appropriation bills, enacted between 1994 and
1996, to forgive Jordan's $702.3 million debt
to the United States. On October 24, 2000,
the two countries signed a free trade agree-ment. On September 28, 2001, President
Bush signed a bill to implement the agreement
(H.R. 2603) as P.L. 107-43.
In each of the five fiscal years 1998
through 2002, Jordan received approximatelyCongressional Research Service >
$225 million in annual U.S. assistance. The
Administration proposed doubling U.S. assis-
tance to Jordan in FY2003, in view of Jorda-
nian support to the anti-terrorism campaign.
These increased amounts of aid for Jordan
were contained in S. 2779, the Foreign Opera-
tions Appropriations bill for FY2003, reported
by the Senate Appropriations Committee on
July 24, 2002 (S.Rept. 107-219). A compan-
ion bill reported by the House Appropriations
Committee (H.R. 5410) did not contain spe-
cific amounts, but the Committee recom-
mended the amounts requested by the Admin-
istrationinreportlanguage (H.Rept. 107-663).
The 107th Congress adjourned without
floor action on either bill; however, on Febru-
ary 13, 2003, both houses agreed to the con-
ference report on a new bill, H.J.Res. 2, the
Consolidated Appropriations Resolution,
2003, which became P.L. 108-7 on February
20. The bill contained $250 million for Jor-
dan in economic assistance but did not contain
a specific earmark for Jordan in military
assistance. Also, the Emergency Wartime
Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2003 (H.R.
1559/P.L. 108-11) provides $700 million in
additional economic and $406 million in
military assistance to Jordan in FY2003; the
House and Senate agreed to the conference
report on H.R. 1559 on April 12. It was
signed into law (P.L. 108-11) on April 16,
2003.
Several alternative scenarios could de-
velop in Jordan: a continuation of the current
course toward democracy under the presentregime; a return to a more autocratic political
system; or fundamental changes in the charac-
ter or configuration of the Jordanian state.
Steady democratic growth under the present
regime would probably offer the best pros-
pects of supporting U.S. interests.
The Library of Congress l"CRSIB93085
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Prados, Alfred B. Jordan: U.S. Relations and Bilateral Issues, report, June 2, 2003; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs4807/m1/3/: accessed May 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.