Amid protests at home, Egypt mobilizes strong lobbying force in Washington
“The lobbying efforts over the years have included thousands of meetings between lawmakers and Egyptian civilian and military officials. Some of the meetings have included participation by major U.S. defense contractors, which have a vested interest in continuing U.S. foreign and military aid payments to the Arab nation.
The Sunlight Foundation, which tracks money and lobbying in Washington, tallied nearly 250 meetings between Egyptian officials and U.S. lawmakers and their aides in the first seven months of 2010 alone. The bulk of those visits came last April, when an Egyptian military delegation shepherded by Livingston held a barrage of meetings with 45 lawmakers and about 100 staffers.
“In terms of presence and contact with U.S. officials, they are one of the top 10 countries in Washington,” said Bill Allison, the foundation’s editorial director. “They pay very close attention to what Congress and the administration are doing.”
The country’s U.S. lobbyists are now working feverishly to calm tensions on Capitol Hill amid the popular revolt in Egypt that led to Mubarak’s promise on Tuesday to relinquish his 30-year hold on power. The lobbyists are coordinating meetings with Egypt’s ambassador in Washington, Sameh Shoukry, and fielding inquiries from lawmakers and their aides. “
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Records filed under the Foreign Agents Registration Act show that much of Egypt’s lobbying has focused on maintaining the flow of foreign aid, which burgeoned in the late 1970s after a historic peace agreement between Egypt and Israel. More than $65 billion in U.S. aid has poured in since then, according to the Congressional Research Service, much of it in the form of jets and other military hardware.
A previous review of lobbying records by the Sunlight Foundation revealed the symbiosis at work: Some lobbyists representing Egypt also work for many of the United States’ main defense contractors.
From 2007 to 2008, for example, PLM Group coordinated meetings between lawmakers, administration officials and defense contractors, including BAE Systems, General Dynamics, Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, records show. At the time, Livingston represented Raytheon, and Podesta represented the other three firms.