Oh give me a fucking break!

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Lawmakers cheered as the House of Representatives voted on Thursday to strip financial assistance for Saudi Arabia from a foreign aid bill because of criticism that the country has not been sufficiently cooperative in the U.S. war on terror.

The vote was a stinging defeat for the Bush Administration which had strongly opposed the measure saying it would “severely undermine” counterterrorism cooperation with Saudi Arabia and U.S. efforts for peace in the Middle East.

The House voted 217-191 to remove $25,000 in the $19.4 billion 2005 foreign aid bill earmarked for Saudi Arabia.

The funds were designated for military training but approval would have triggered millions of dollars in discounts on hardware and other military training, lawmakers said.

“I don't want my taxpayer dollars going to the Saudis and I don't want anyone else's to,” said Nevada Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley.

Supporters of the measure also argued that with Saudi Arabia's massive wealth from ownership of one-fourth of the world's proven oil reserves, the kingdom should not need financial aid from the United States.

The Senate would also have to strip the Saudi aid from its version of the foreign assistance bill before it stands a chance of being enacted.

U.S.- Saudi ties were shaken by the fact that 15 of the 19 hijackers in the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001 were Saudi nationals and revelations that individual Saudis had financed al Qaeda, whose leader, Osama bin Laden, was born in the kingdom.

25K out of 19.4 BILLION DOLLARS!

That'll show 'em!

dumbasses.

Original link here: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=EQL55BZ0ZXTHCCRBAE0CFFA?type=topNews&storyID=5687124