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Ammon News - The U.S. Congress will appropriate a record amount of annual funding to Jordan, amounting $2.1 billion.

A report by the US Congressional Research Center (CRS), seen by Ammon, showed the president’s budget request for the fiscal year 2025 amounting to $1.45 billion for Jordan as part of an agreement signed by the United States and Jordan in the 4th memorandum of understanding regulating US foreign aid to Jordan, signed on September 16, 2022.

The seven-year agreement (FY 2023-FY 2029), which is subject to congressional appropriations, commits the administration to seeking a total of $1.45 billion in annual economic and military aid to Jordan.

In Congress, several pieces of legislation would continue and/or increase U.S. support for Jordan, as the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2025, would provide "not less than" $1.65 billion in aid to Jordan (the same amount provided in FY2024), plus an additional $400 million in Economic Support Funds (ESF), all of which would be made available for budget support, and another $50 million in Foreign Military Financing (FMF). Thus, the House would appropriate $2.1 billion in total U.S. assistance to Jordan, a record amount of annual funding.

In the Senate, S. 4563 seeks to improve defense cooperation between the United States and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, particularly in countering UAVs. Beyond assistance from the State and Foreign Operations appropriations accounts, H.R. 8774, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2025, allows "up to $500 million" of the funds appropriated under "Operation and Maintenance, Defense-Wide" for the Defense Security Cooperation Agency to be used to support the armed forces of Jordan.

When compared to the previous MOU, this fourth MOU is 13.7% higher annually and lasts for seven fiscal years instead of five. It represents the largest multi-year U.S. foreign assistance commitment ($10.15 billion over seven years) to the kingdom.

Annual U.S. aid to Jordan has tripled in historical terms over the last 15 years.