Congressional delegations arrived in Cairo on Monday and Tuesday for a two-day visits in which they will meet with high-level government officials. Republican congressman Mike Rogers, who is the head of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in the US House of Representatives, is scheduled to discuss bilateral cooperation with Egyptian government officials and consult with US Embassy officials on bilateral relations between the United States and Egypt, according to the US Embassy in Cairo. The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that a second delegation, headed by Senator Tim Kaine, was scheduled to arrive on Tuesday. Kaine is the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs. The Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence has a role in overseeing government bodies, including the US Intelligence Community, the Department of Defence, the Department of Homeland Security, and some braches of the United States military. Last month US House members Dana Rohrabacher, Loretta Sanchez, Paul Cook, Cynthia Lummis, and Steve Stockman visited Cairo and met with government officials, including interim President Adly Mansour and Minister of Defence Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi. The US lawmakers expressed support for Egypt's military-backed transition following the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi. Last December Steve King, Louis Gohmert, and Michele Bachmann made their second trip to Egypt, and also met with Mansour and Al-Sisi. Last month, Deputy Commander of the US Central Command Vice Admiral Mark Fox also visited Egypt and met with the Egyptian armed forces Chief of Staff Sedky Sobhi as part of a routine visit. The United States Congress allocated $1.3bn of military aid to be made available to Egypt in the 2014 fiscal year, also making it possible for the US government to provide an additional $250m to the Egyptian government for economic support, including $35m earmarked for higher education programmes.
