Did you know that your choice to recycle is one that could change the world?

By reducing your carbon footprint, you are playing a vital role in saving the
environment.
Recycling takes material that would otherwise be considered waste and re-manufactures these items to create new products.
The more people choose to recycle, the greater the impact recycling will have. As a result, it is important that every individual contributes to recycling efforts. For this
reason, recycling should be mandatory.
Here are some benefits to be obtained from recycling:
Recycling reduces the need for landfills
Recycling significantly reduces the need for landfills. The world has changed very much in the past century and the amount of waste we produce as humans is rapidly
increasing. The human population has grown, and consumers are now making more purchases than before. Changes in lifestyle practices, such as eating fast food and
opting for disposable items, means more waste is now being created. This is compounded by the fact that much of the new packaging is not biodegradable.
The main purpose of a landfill is to store waste not break it down; however, there will still be some decomposition of organic waste. Since the garbage in a landfill is
buried in an oxygen-free environment the decomposition of organic material is a slow process.
Recycling helps reduce climate problems
When organic waste in landfills decomposes methane is produced. Methane is a greenhouse gas that contributes significantly to climate change by trapping excess
heat in the air. It is 25 times more powerful than carbon dioxide in terms of its global warming potential and when it is burnt, carbon dioxide is produced.
Emissions from Canadian landfills account for approximately 20 per cent of national methane emissions. While landfill gas recovery is an option, diverting organic
material from landfills will limit the production of methane.
Recycling saves energy
Another benefit is energy conservation. The extracting and processing of raw materials such as wood, oil or ore to make products like paper, plastic and metal is a
process that requires a lot of energy. While the amount of energy saved by recycling differs depending on what is being recycled, almost all recycling processes save
significant amounts of energy when compared with processes that use raw materials. This is so because recycled products usually require much less processing to
turn them into usable items compared to products made from scratch.
Recycling aluminium cans, for example, saves more than 95 per cent of the energy it would have taken to make the same amount of aluminum from the raw material
bauxite. It has also been found that about 76 per cent of energy is saved by recycling plastic bottles, approximately 30 per cent of energy is saved from recycled glass,
and an estimated 40 per cent of energy is saved when paper is recycled, while saving millions of trees.
Recycling is good for the economy
Recycling helps minimize pollution
Go outside can you see the stars? If not it’s because of pollution. Air pollution kills about 7 million people worldwide every year according to World Health
Organization. One way we can minimize pollution is through recycling and reusing garbage. When people burn garbage, this can harm the ozone layer and produce
harmful gases which can lead to respiratory diseases like cough and asthma, among others. When garbage is thrown in the ocean, it could kill and affect our marine
resources and coral reefs. That’s why every time we reduce waste, reuse, and recycle our garbage- from used plastic bottles, disposable cups and utensils, paper, and
other plastic products, we get to save the earth and even millions of lives from the harmful effects of pollution. We all have to breathe, which makes pollution very
hard to avoid," said Frank Kelly, director of the environmental research group at King's College London. So it’s important for us to recycle because like Frank Kelly said
“We all have to breathe”. But it’s our choice if we want to help reduce pollution and be able to breathe clean air.
Recycling helps preserve our natural resource
When you think of a forest what is the main thing that comes into your main? Trees right! Now imagine a forest with no trees. It’s impossible, but can you imagine
how many trees are cut down each year to provide us with all our paper and wood? Well according to Ecology Global Network nearly 4 billion trees worldwide are cut
down each year for paper products and wood. If we recycle paper products like newspapers and books, we can save more trees on earth. As such, recycling products
is extremely important so that we can help preserve our natural resources- from trees to minerals to marine resources. If we continue to waste our resources, the
time might come that they will all be used up and we will end up with nothing. Natural resources are being depleted rapidly, particularly with the increasing use of
disposable products and packaging. In 2005, Americans generated 246 million tons of municipal solid waste while recycling only 58 million tons of materials. This rate
of use and disposal takes a heavy toll on the natural resources, especially the finite resources from mines. Reprocessing used materials to make new products and
packaging reduces the consumption of natural resources. By recycling five million tons of steel in 2005, Americans saved over six million tons of iron ore, 2.5 million
tons of coal, and 62,500 tons of limestone. By recycling 42 million tons of newsprint, office paper and paperboard, Americans saved 714 million trees and 292,026
million gallons of water. Recycling often produces better products than those made of virgin materials; for instance, the tin in "tin" cans is more refined (thus more
valuable) after being processed for recycling.
Recycling helps save expenses and resources
Finally, recycling can help save on our expenses and resources. It helps reduce the amount of materials that are wasted or thrown in landfills such as paper, plastic,
glass, and aluminum. This also enables companies to rely less on raw materials, which requires more energy for manufacturing a new product. While landfill space
may seem plentiful, how would you feel if a new landfill was proposed for your community? You might answer, “Not in MY backyard!” Placing a landfill is very
difficult, especially in the southeastern states with heavy population growth. Besides, does burying otherwise valuable resources and making several hundred acres of
landfill space unusable for future generations sound like a best-case scenario? Some people think that by burying trash, it all just decomposes into dirt. While some
breakdown does occur, decomposition isn’t a reality, because sanitary landfills are covered daily and sealed at the end of their use; thus, they lack the air, water, and
light needed for materials to decompose. Highly combustible methane gas is also produced from the decomposition of trash, especially yard waste. That gas has to be
tapped and burned off to prevent explosions but poses a larger problem too. Methane is a greenhouse gas that remains in the atmosphere for approximately 9-15
years. In fact, methane is more than 20 times more effective in trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide over a 100-year period.
xxxxxWe use brand new products every day, but what we do not realize is all we have to do is put them in a pin and out them to our road. In doing this, we could
make many products be used again. This would save money and help our environment out a bunch. Many people know how to recycle paper, plastic, and pretty
much any kind of recyclable material that people do not want to use any more. After people are done with their materials they think it has no value to them. If people
would simply just throw their unused materials in a basket and put them by the road it would make a difference to our world. If you do not recycle you do not want
to save energy or our world. We all need to recycle just to keep the world round. The earth will; not be here for long if we do not keep it up. We only have one world,
once we lose it we cannot get it back. It supplies our food, oxygen, and everything it takes to survive. I am thankful for God letting us live on this beautiful world so
should you be grateful too? He created this beautiful world and we are destroying it little by little. We can make a change by recycling. So why not recycle the next
paper that you don’t want anymore. I sure will! I think that recycling should be mandatory because it helps minimize pollution, helps preserve our natural resources,
and recycling saves expenses and resources. It also makes our world a better and cleaner place.
Energy is expensive and many of our energy sources are being depleted. Saving energy in manufacturing processes can help to significantly lower production costs.
Additionally, recycling is a diverse industry and when compared to waste disposal it is much more labour intensive. This means building the recycling industry is also a
way to create more jobs. It is said that disposing of 10,000 tons of waste in a landfill creates six jobs, as opposed to recycling the same amount of waste, which
creates 36 jobs.
Overall, there are many benefits to be derived from recycling, more than could be included in any one article. Each person has a responsibility to contribute to the
recycling efforts. So, do your part and recycle today!
Trump’s Big Iran Oil Gamble
By seeking to cut Iranian exports to zero, the U.S. president is taking a major economic and political risk.
By Keith Johnson, Robbie Gramer | April 22, 2019, 12:39 PM

The Trump administration’s announcement Monday that it is ending waivers allowing several countries to keep
importing Iranian crude is likely to push up oil prices and sour relations with U.S. friends and rivals alike that rely on
Iranian energy, all while stoking more tensions in the waters around the Persian Gulf.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday morning that the United States, in a bid to apply “maximum pressure”
on Tehran, will not renew waivers that eight countries received last November to keep buying modest amounts of
Iranian oil. The surprising move aims to drive Iran’s oil exports down from the current level of around 1.5 million barrels
a day to close to zero, the administration’s long-stated goal since it pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal almost a year ago.
The waivers expire on May 2.
Coming just two weeks after President Donald Trump said he would designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
as a terrorist organization, Monday’s decision represents Washington’s latest bet that it can amp up the diplomatic and
economic pressure on Tehran without hurting the global economy or angering friends in Europe and Asia.

But it carries economic and political risks, especially with Trump entering a re-election campaign. Hence, the White
House also announced Monday morning it is coordinating with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Iran’s
regional rivals, to keep any supply disruptions and price hikes in check. Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman spoke earlier this month.

Even so, Saudi officials said Monday that they are open to increasing production—but this time only after assessing the
oil market impacts of the new U.S. sanctions policy, not before. Saudi Arabia felt burned last year when it increased
production to offset Iran sanctions only to be blindsided by the U.S. issuance of waivers.

Pompeo said the policy of issuing waivers was over. “We will no longer grant any exemptions. We’re going to zero—
going to zero across the board,” he told reporters, adding that how long the United States pushes for zero Iranian
exports “depends solely” on whether Tehran changes its behavior.

“We have made our demands very clear to the ayatollah and his cronies. End your pursuit of nuclear weapons. Stop
testing and proliferating ballistic missiles. Stop sponsoring and committing terrorism. Halt the arbitrary detention of U.S.
citizens,” Pompeo said.

Most analysts had expected the administration would end up renewing most of the waivers, since oil prices are
relatively high, and knocking a million-odd Iranian barrels out of the market would simply send them even higher right at
the start of the U.S. summer driving season.
“We’ll see how the oil markets are after the initial shock has worn off but it’s going to be an expensive summer to
travel,” said Neil Bhatiya, an expert on sanctions at the Center for a New American Security.

Many were taken aback at how sudden the decision was. State Department officials reportedly told waiver recipients
this month they could expect renewals, before White House officials intervened and changed course. Both Trump and
National Security Advisor John Bolton have been driving the administration’s hard-line stance despite pushback from
European allies, which favor diplomatic engagement with Tehran.

There was “very little short-term planning that major importers would have wanted to see” from the Trump
administration in the run-up to the announcement, said Suzanne Maloney, a scholar at the Brookings Institution. “This is
not entirely unexpected, but it’s not on a timeframe that was well prepared.”
https://foreignpolicy.com/2010/06/16/2010-failed-states-index-interactive-map-and-rankings/
Trump’s Yemen Veto Could Still Cost Saudis
Democratic lawmaker mulls sanctioning Saudis tied to the humanitarian blockade on the war-torn country.
By Robbie Gramer, Lara Seligman | April 18, 2019, 3:18 PM

Supporters of Yemen's Houthi rebels attend a rally in Sanaa, Yemen, on March 26. (Mohammed Huwais/AFP/Getty Images)

Undeterred by a presidential veto, Democratic lawmakers are exploring new ways to end U.S. military involvement in the Yemen
conflict following a months-long battle between Capitol Hill and the White House over how the United States wages war abroad.

Rep. Ro Khanna, a Democrat, said he and other Democratic lawmakers are eyeing new steps to stop U.S. support for a Saudi-led
coalition fighting Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen’s civil war. The measures they are considering include sanctions against Saudi
officials involved in blockading shipments of humanitarian supplies to Yemen, cutting funding in defense appropriations bills for
military involvement in Yemen, and further restricting arms sales to Saudi Arabia.
After more than four years of war, Yemen has spiraled into the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, pushing millions to the brink of
famine and fueling deadly outbreaks of cholera. While some civilians have died in fighting, others have died of malnutrition and
disease, exacerbated by a Saudi blockade of humanitarian and medical supplies to the country.

Khanna told Foreign Policy he is looking into sanctioning Saudi officials “who are involved in the blockade of food and medicine
getting in and who are perpetuating the famine … to put pressure on the Saudis to lift the blockade.”

Saudi Arabia eased its near-total blockade on Yemen in late 2017, but aid groups say there are still considerable restrictions on
getting supplies into the country.

The Trump administration has faced a groundswell of opposition from Republican and Democratic lawmakers for its relationship
with Saudi Arabia over both the Yemen war and Saudi government officials’ roles in directing the murder of the Washington Post
journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

In an unprecedented measure, both chambers of Congress recently passed a war powers resolution demanding the Trump
administration cease all military engagement in Yemen. Both chambers passed the resolution without the two-thirds majority
required to override a veto.

U.S. support in Yemen includes advising the Saudi coalition and intelligence and surveillance support. Last year, the United States
decided to halt aircraft refueling support to the coalition.

The 1973 War Powers Resolution gives Congress authority to pull back U.S. military forces deployed abroad without granting a
formal declaration of war. The resolution opened a still-unresolved constitutional debate about the extent of the president’s
authority to wage war without congressional consent.

But President Donald Trump’s decision to veto the latest resolution has done nothing to kill Congress’s appetite to roll back U.S.
involvement in Yemen.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/04/18/trumps-yemen-veto-could-still-cost-saudis-middle-east-congress-lawmakers-after-veto-
sanctions-saudi-officials-arms-sales-humanitarian-crisis/
Trump, Kim tease third North Korea summit

By QUINT FORGEY 04/13/2019 09:05 AM

President Donald Trump tweeted Saturday that a third summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “would be good,” writing
glowingly of his relationship with the despot and adding that he anticipates the day the repressive state becomes “one of the most
successful nations” on Earth.

“I agree with Kim Jong Un of North Korea that our personal relationship remains very good, perhaps the term excellent would be
even more accurate, and that a third Summit would be good in that we fully understand where we each stand,” Trump wrote online
just before 8 a.m. in Washington.

“North Korea has tremendous potential for… extraordinary growth, economic success and riches under the leadership of Chairman
Kim,” the president continued. “I look forward to the day, which could be soon, when Nuclear Weapons and Sanctions can be
removed, and then watching North Korea become one of the most successful nations of the World!”

Trump's overture followed a report by North Korea's state-run media that Kim said Saturday he is open to another summit with his
American counterpart.

"If the U.S. adopts a correct posture and comes forward for the third DPRK-U.S. summit with a certain methodology that can be
shared with us, we can think of holding one more talks," Kim said, referring to his nation's official name, the Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea.
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But if the U.S. "persists in its present political calculation method," Kim warned that "the prospect of settling the issues will gloomy
and very dangerous."

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo earlier this month said he is “confident there will be” another meeting between Trump and Kim,
after an abrupt end to the leaders’ unproductive meeting in Vietnam in February.

“We came out of Hanoi with a deeper understanding of each other,” Pompeo told CBS News. “The positions that the two sides had,
the two leaders were able to make progress in that respect. We didn’t get as far as the world is demanding. These are global
sanctions that are on North Korea today.”

Trump and Kim first came face-to-face at a summit in June 2018 in Singapore — the first-ever meeting of leaders of their respective
countries.

The president on Saturday morning also blasted House Democrats’ efforts to probe deeper into special counsel Robert Mueller’s
findings. Attorney General William Barr is expected to soon release to Congress a redacted version of Mueller’s final report on
Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

“Why should Radical Left Democrats in Congress have a right to retry and examine the $35,000,000 (two years in the making) No
Collusion Mueller Report, when the crime committed was by Crooked Hillary, the DNC and Dirty Cops?,” Trump tweeted. “Attorney
General Barr will make the decision!”
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/04/13/trump-north-korea-summit-1273711
With Trump’s Talks Faltering, Putin Wants In on the North Korea Game
Meeting Kim Jong Un may be the Russian leader’s latest effort to undermine the Americans.
By Robbie Gramer | April 19, 2019, 3:16 PM

It’s long been Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ambition to turn his country back into a diplomatic powerhouse on the world
stage—and especially to exploit U.S. weakness however he can. With U.S. President Donald Trump stumbling in his North Korea
talks, Putin will get his next chance later this month, when he is expected to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for the first
time.
The meeting between the Russian and North Korean leaders presents a new and complicating development for Trump’s
high-stakes diplomacy with Kim following a breakdown of talks between the two leaders at a summit in February. The
Kremlin on Thursday announced Putin and Kim would meet in “the second half of April.” The details aren’t confirmed,
but the meeting is reportedly expected to take place in the far eastern city of Vladivostok, near the Russian-North
Korean border, ahead of Putin’s visit to China on April 26 and 27.

For Kim, the meeting is a low-cost opportunity to probe for cracks in international unity around North Korean
denuclearization and to thumb his nose at Washington after stalled talks and an impasse on sanctions relief. For Putin, it
presents another way to showcase Russia’s diplomatic relevance on in U.S. foreign-policy priorities, after pushing his
way into Afghanistan peace talks and the Syrian conflict.

“Russia doesn’t want to be sidelined in any North Korean negotiations—it wants to be a player,” said Jung Pak, a scholar
on North Korea at the Brookings Institution and former senior CIA analyst.

North Korea has ratcheted up pressure on the Trump administration in recent days through low-level provocations
following talks between Trump and Kim breaking down during their last summit in Vietnam in February.

Russia plays a secondary role to China in helping prop up Kim’s regime through limited shipments of food aid and
hosting thousands of North Korean laborers, who in turn send funds back to the cash-strapped government in
Pyongyang.
Pak doesn’t expect a Putin-Kim meeting to lead to any major shifts in ongoing nuclear negotiations. “Russia is not a
driver of what happens in Northeast Asia. The Russians generally follow the Chinese line,” she said. “They’re not going to
contradict each other, they’re not going to go out of their way to do something dramatic.”

Russia played a key role in the six-party talks in 2003—another major diplomatic push to dismantle North Korea’s
nuclear program in joint talks between North Korea and the United States, China, South Korea, Japan, and Russia. Those
efforts ultimately fell flat.
Kim’s father and predecessor, Kim Jong Il, met then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Siberia in 2011 in the last
summit between a North Korean and Russian leader. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met Kim last May in
Pyongyang ahead of Trump and Kim’s first summit. Since then, lower-level Russian and North Korean officials have
visited each other as part of an uptick in diplomatic engagement between the two countries.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/04/19/with-trump-talks-faltering-putin-wants-in-on-north-korea-nuclear-talks-denuclearization-
russia-kim-jong-un-meeting/
Japan Pushes the Speed Limit on Trade Talks
Tokyo wants to swerve past Trumpian pitfalls—and get a deal done.
By William Sposato | April 22, 2019, 3:59 PM

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (R) listens while Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono speaks during a press conference after 2+2
meeting at the US Department of State April 19, 2019, in Washington, DC. Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

Trade talks with the United States pose a problem for Japan, largely because the Japanese don’t really want to be there.
On balance they are happy with the status quo, have no real demands for concessions from Washington, and essentially
wish they were not at the table. That makes it all the more remarkable that the talks between Japan’s Economy Minister
Toshimitsu Motegi and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer produced what appears to be a mutual agreement
to work towards a quick deal. But it’s a canny tactical move from Tokyo, which has realized that, in this case, speed
works to Japan’s advantage.

Until recently, Japan had been signaling that it would instead stick to its tried-and-true formula of dragging out talks for
as long as possible. The Japanese ability to rotate negotiators and prolong discussions is nearly legendary among
diplomats. U.S. Ambassador to Japan William Hagerty raised this concern as recently as February, when he said in an
interview with Japan’s Asahi Shimbun that U.S. Vice President Mike Pence had stressed the need for a trade deal in 2017
and 2018 but had no response from Japan. “There was a great deal of frustration trying to get together with our
counterparts in Japan,” Hagerty said.

The pattern is very familiar to those involved in the long-running trade conflicts in the 1970s and ’80s, when the
Japanese economy appeared to be an export juggernaut that was resolute in erecting every possible barrier to imports.
At that time, even as Japan’s Toyota, Panasonic, and Sony became strong U.S. brands, Japan resisted imports, principally
to protect the important farm voting bloc and to buy time for domestic industrial producers.

These tactics still rankle in Washington today and appear to be at least part of the reason that U.S. President Donald
Trump is stuck in a 1980s time warp that sees trade surplus countries as somehow taking advantage of trade deficit
countries. The U.S. trade representative’s statement on the latest talks specifically noted, “In addition, the United States
raised its very large trade deficit with Japan—$67.6 billion in goods in 2018.” Even more galling, the deficit was up 9.8
percent in March from a year ago, according to Japanese trade figures released on Wednesday.

U.S. officials also like to talk about creating a “level playing field,” suggesting a fairness issue that conveniently ignores
the 25 percent tariff that the U.S. places on all truck imports and thereby provides Detroit with a lifeline as it struggles in
the market for sedans. Japan has, to no avail, pointed out that its tariff on autos and trucks is 0 percent.

Japanese officials tend to be more pragmatic, which raises the question of why they have agreed to fast-track the talks
with so little fuss. In a spirit that should appeal to Trump, they have switched gears because they see this as the best
way out of their problem. At this stage, speed offers some clear advantages for Japan.

https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/04/22/japan-pushes-the-speed-limit-on-trade-talks/
‘Washington is a bit hysterical’: French envoy offers advice as he bids adieu

From 'the ultimate bureaucrat' Barack Obama to 'it is what it is' Donald Trump, the departing French ambassador reflects on
navigating D.C.

By NAHAL TOOSI 04/19/2019 02:26 PM EDT Updated 04/19/2019 02:41 PM EDT

For the past two years, Gérard Araud, France’s ambassador to the United States, has signed off on the cables he sends
back to Paris with the same caveat: “Of course, a surprise can’t be excluded.”

Such is life for many diplomats in Washington in the era of Donald Trump. But Araud, who retired this week after nearly
five years in this latest post, proved a skilled navigator of the U.S. capital. His blunt talk, including on Twitter, has
endeared him to many in the foreign policy community and beyond, even if they don’t always agree with him.

His advice to the people he leaves behind? Calm down. Take a deep breath.

“Washington is a bit hysterical,” Araud said in an interview with POLITICO a few days before he was set to retire. “People
are so appalled by the behavior of the president that they listen a bit too much to their guts instead of really listening to
the brain.”

So what should their brains tell them?

That Trump, for all his flaws, is asking legitimate questions, Araud said. That the Republican president saw the world
“shifting, in a sense, to a new era” and that his “genius” was understanding the “malaise” in the United States. It’s a
malaise, Araud is quick to add, that is leading people to embrace populism and nationalism in France and other
countries, too. “We have to address the concerns of these people,” he said. “It’s a serious crisis of our democracy.”

At one point, Araud even joked that he sounded like a “Trumpist in the closet.”

Araud, who was named France’s U.S. ambassador in September 2014, is a figure Washington won’t soon forget — an
openly gay diplomat who threw memorable parties, disdains political correctness and loves the Tintin comics.

“He’s a real patriot. It’s all in the defense of France and French interests,” said Philip Gordon, a former senior official in
the Obama administration. “But he is well-liked because he’s funny and charming and, again, honest. It’s not like he’s
playing games behind people’s back.”

This past week, Araud’s last in the job, was exceptionally difficult and yet showcased his diplomatic talents: As a fire
gutted the famed Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, Araud wrote and spoke movingly about how the images brought him to
tears.

“Suddenly, I have the feeling that a part of myself was burning,” Araud told “PBS NewsHour.” “And all the other
diplomats and employees of the Embassy felt the same emotion.”

Araud, 66, has had extensive experience in the U.S. — he was in New York as France’s ambassador to the United Nations
before moving to Washington, and he has warm relationships with numerous current and former U.S. officials. So he
watched with a sense of wonder these past two years as the White House changed hands between two presidents with
radically different styles.

Barack Obama, Araud said, was the “ultimate bureaucrat.” The Democratic president was famed for his attention to
detail and reliance on meetings, briefings and other processes to help him make decisions.
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/04/19/gerard-araud-france-ambassador-us-1279495
Senators urge Pompeo to address human rights during Egyptian leader’s visit
By KATIE GALIOTO04/08/2019 05:56 PM EDT
One day before Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s visit to the White House, senators from both parties sent a letter to
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday urging him to address “the erosion of political and human rights” in Egypt during his
discussions with the autocratic leader.

Lawmakers raised concerns about Sisi’s government ahead of Tuesday’s negotiations between the United States and Egypt to
discuss their strategic partnership and priorities in the Middle East. The letter was signed by 17 senators, including the Foreign
Relations Committee chairman, Jim Risch (R-Idaho), and ranking member, Bob Menendez (D-N.J.).

“It is critical to stress that our partnerships are stronger and more sustainable when rooted in shared values including democratic
governance, political and economic freedom, and fundamental human rights for all citizens,” the letter read.

Sisi’s visit to the White House will be his second since President Donald Trump took office. Trump’s relationship with the Egyptian
leader has largely consisted of public exchanges of praise, interactions that have drawn criticism from those who condemn the
bloody coup d’etat that brought Sisi to power or accuse his government of human rights violations.

In their letter, senators encouraged Pompeo to demand the release of more than a dozen Americans whom Egypt has “unjustly
detained,” and to pressure Sisi to reevaluate its deepening relationship with Russia.
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/04/08/senators-pompeo-egypt-visit-1261924