Egypt lobby
Encyclopedia
The Egypt
lobby in the United States
is a collection of lawyers, public relation firms and professional lobbyists paid directly by the government of Egypt to lobby the public and government of the United States on behalf of the interests of the government of Egypt.
A key goal of Egypt's lobbyists is to secure a large allocaton of foreign aid; more than $50 billion in American aid has gone to Egypt since 1975. According to ProPublica
, this massive amount of American aid has "enabled" the Egyptian government ot postpone democratic reform.
According to ProPublica, in 2007-8 Egypt ranked sixth in a list of the number of meetings between lobbyists for foreign governments and congressmen.
According to the New York Times, in 2010 three of the most notable lobbyists Tony Podesta
, Robert L. Livingston and Toby Moffett
scored a large success on behalf of the government of Egypt by persuading American Senators to stop passage of a bill in the United States Senate calling on Egypt to "curtail human rights abuses." Their success is credited with condoning the abuses that brought about the 2011 Egyptian revolution
. In the lobbying campaign, former congressman from Connecticut Toby Moffat told his former colleagues that the bill “would be viewed as an insult” and that it would be wrong to insult an important ally. “We were just saying to them, ‘Don’t do this now to our friends in Egypt,’ ” he said. In the wake of President Mubarak's resignation, lobbyists Podesta, Moffat and Livingston continue to share "a joint, multimillion-dollar (lobbying) contract with Egypt."
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
lobby in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
is a collection of lawyers, public relation firms and professional lobbyists paid directly by the government of Egypt to lobby the public and government of the United States on behalf of the interests of the government of Egypt.
A key goal of Egypt's lobbyists is to secure a large allocaton of foreign aid; more than $50 billion in American aid has gone to Egypt since 1975. According to ProPublica
ProPublica
ProPublica is a non-profit corporation based in New York City. It describes itself as an independent non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest. In 2010 it became the first online news source to win a Pulitzer Prize, for a piece written by one of its...
, this massive amount of American aid has "enabled" the Egyptian government ot postpone democratic reform.
According to ProPublica, in 2007-8 Egypt ranked sixth in a list of the number of meetings between lobbyists for foreign governments and congressmen.
According to the New York Times, in 2010 three of the most notable lobbyists Tony Podesta
Podesta Group
The Podesta Group is a lobbying and public affairs firm based in Washington, D.C.. It was founded in 1988 by brothers John Podesta and Tony Podesta and has previously been known as Podesta Associates, podesta.com and PodestaMattoon...
, Robert L. Livingston and Toby Moffett
Toby Moffett
Anthony John "Toby" Moffett, Jr. was an American politician from the state of Connecticut. A Democrat, Moffett served in the United States House of Representatives as the member from Connecticut's 6th congressional district from 1975 to 1983.-Early life and education:Moffett was born in Holyoke,...
scored a large success on behalf of the government of Egypt by persuading American Senators to stop passage of a bill in the United States Senate calling on Egypt to "curtail human rights abuses." Their success is credited with condoning the abuses that brought about the 2011 Egyptian revolution
2011 Egyptian revolution
The 2011 Egyptian revolution took place following a popular uprising that began on Tuesday, 25 January 2011 and is still continuing as of November 2011. The uprising was mainly a campaign of non-violent civil resistance, which featured a series of demonstrations, marches, acts of civil...
. In the lobbying campaign, former congressman from Connecticut Toby Moffat told his former colleagues that the bill “would be viewed as an insult” and that it would be wrong to insult an important ally. “We were just saying to them, ‘Don’t do this now to our friends in Egypt,’ ” he said. In the wake of President Mubarak's resignation, lobbyists Podesta, Moffat and Livingston continue to share "a joint, multimillion-dollar (lobbying) contract with Egypt."