Lowey is now poised between the law and common sense on one hand, and her own party and extenuating circumstances on the other hand.
“Rep. Lowey appreciates the important considerations on all sides,” the source stated. “But, also, this law it is written that way for a reason, and this law has been agreed to by the overall majority of Congress and signed in to law by the President.”
There are presidential override provisions, “but that formal procedure has not yet been invoked,” the Lowey source assured.
In the meantime, momentum is fast-boiling through Congress to reach a bi-partisan consensus that funding must stop. The latest is a “Dear Colleague” letter and resolution jointly spearheaded by Representatives Trent Franks (R-AZ) and Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) seeking a “sense of the House” that “Congress must suspend our foreign aid and support to the Palestinian Authority, as continued foreign assistance runs in direct contravention to current law.”
A five-page House Resolution has just circulated demanding that all funding stop unless the PA-Hamas unity is unraveled, and the Ministry of Prisoners, that pays monthly salaries to terrorists, is disbanded.
No one knows how Lowey will vote, not even her own staff. One key staffer remarked, “I just don’t know yet. She is in consultations daily, if not hourly, with personnel at the White House and State Department.” He stated the process would come to conclusion by the legislative deadline, October 1, 2014.
Asked if Lowey would be willing to break with her party and the Administration over this issue, the answer was immediate: “Of course.”
Hence, the future of Palestinian funding will be written or unwritten, by Lowey.