	Introduction

This report is an overview of U.S. foreign assistance to the Middle East. It includes a brief historical review of foreign aid levels, a description of specific country programs, and analysis of current foreign aid issues. The foreign aid data in this report is based on a combination of resources, including the United States Agency for International Development's U.S. Overseas Loans and Grants Database (also known as the "Greenbook"), appropriations data collected by the Congressional Research Service from the Department of State and USAID, data extrapolated from executive branch agencies' notifications to Congress, and information published annually in the State Department and USAID Congressional Budget Justifications. On the other hand, violence in Syria and Iraq has led to some significant changes in U.S. foreign assistance to the region, as the Administration and Congress have used new sources of funding beyond traditional bilateral or State Department/USAID-controlled accounts to address challenges created by these conflicts. The FY2016 Funding Request for the Middle East

For FY2016, the Administration has requested overall non-humanitarian bilateral aid for Near East and North Africa countries totaling $7.14 billion, or about 13% of the State Department's International Affairs request. Similar to FY2013 and FY2014 assistance levels to the region, more than 80% of this FY2016 total would support assistance for Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and the West Bank and Gaza. Also within the overall FY2015 and FY2016 requests, but not allocated by country or region, is emergency humanitarian aid, largely within Migration and Refugee Assistance OCO (MRA-OCO) and International Disaster Assistance OCO (IDA-OCO) accounts. Regional Program Aid

In addition to assistance provided directly to certain countries, the United States provides aid to Middle Eastern countries through regional programs, including:
Middle East Regional (MER) . For FY2016, the State Department is requesting $70 million in ESF funding for MEPI. U.S. assistance earmarked for Israel is generally delivered in the first 30 days of the fiscal year, while most other recipients normally receive aid in installments. Recent Legislative Action

On June 15, 2015, the House Appropriations Committee reported a FY2016 Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations bill ( H.R. On July 9, the Senate Committee on Appropriations reported its version of a FY2016 Foreign Operations Appropriations bill ( S. 1725 ). Both bills' accompanying committee reports ( H.Rept. 114-154 and S.Rept. 114-79 ) include a number of Middle East-related provisions. Common Foreign Assistance Acronyms and Abbreviations
This report is an overview of U.S. foreign assistance to the Middle East and North Africa. It includes a review of the President's FY2016 request for the region, a description of selected country programs, and an analysis of current foreign aid issues. We anticipate updating it annually.
Since 1946, the United States has provided an estimated total of between $282 billion to $292 billion (obligations in current dollars) in foreign assistance to the region. For FY2016, overall non-humanitarian bilateral aid requested for Middle East and North Africa countries amounts to $7.14 billion, or about 13% of the State Department's International Affairs budget request. The State Department estimates that the Middle East stands to receive 35% of the geographically-specific assistance in the budget request, more than any other region. Like previous years' assistance levels to the region, more than 80% would support assistance for Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and the West Bank and Gaza.
The foreign aid data in this report is based on a combination of resources, including the United States Agency for International Development's U.S. Overseas Loans and Grants Database (also known as the "Greenbook"), appropriations data collected by the Congressional Research Service from the Department of State and USAID, data extrapolated from executive branch agencies' notifications to Congress, and information published annually in the State Department and USAID Congressional Budget Justifications.
In order to more accurately compare the Administration's FY2016 foreign assistance request to previous years' appropriations, aid figures in this report (except where otherwise indicated) refer only to bilateral assistance that is managed by the State Department or USAID and is requested for individual countries or regional programs. While this represents the majority of U.S. assistance to the Middle East, it is important to note that there are several other sources of U.S. aid to the region, such as International Disaster Assistance (IDA), Migration and Refugee Assistance (MRA), and Transition Initiatives (TI). Likewise, some nations receive assistance from U.S. agencies such as the Department of Defense, which is touched upon briefly below. Since foreign assistance provided through these accounts and agencies is not requested for individual countries, and country-level figures are not publicly available until after the fiscal year has passed, these accounts and agencies are excluded from this analysis. For foreign aid terminology and acronyms, see the glossary appended to the report.
On June 15, 2015, the House Appropriations Committee reported a FY2016 Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations bill (H.R. 2772). On July 9, the Senate Committee on Appropriations reported its version of the bill (S. 1725). Both bills' accompanying committee reports (H.Rept. 114-154 and S.Rept. 114-79) include a number of Middle East-related provisions.