This individual is a guest contributor. MEI is not able to assist with contact requests.
Harry William Baumgarten served as Legislative Director and Counsel to Members of the House of Representatives. He is currently co-chair of the American Bar Association’s Middle East Committee and an opinion contributor to the Hill. Baumgarten’s writings have appeared in the Jerusalem Post, Georgetown Public Policy Review, and elsewhere. He is a member of the New York Bar and the U.S. Supreme Court Bar.
Education:
Juris Doctor, Georgetown University
Master of Public Policy, Georgetown University
Middlebury Language Schools — Arabic Immersion Program
Bachelor of Arts, The George Washington University
Languages:
English, Hebrew, Arabic.
Countries of Expertise:
The Levant.
Issues of Expertise:
Congressional foreign policymaking, democratic governance, and the Middle East.
A view from the Hill: Congressional action targeting the MENA region, July-September 2021
This article chronicles select congressional action concerning the MENA region during the third quarter of 2021. Congress introduced less legislation targeting the MENA region during the third quarter than in previous quarters this year. Yet, it made incremental progress on must-pass legislation and expressed strong interest in Afghanistan during this period.
A view from the Hill: Congressional actions targeting MENA, April-June 2021
Six months into the 117th Congress, legislators continued to grapple with the complexities of a region in the midst of change. The reasons for this phenomenon were myriad. The Biden administration espoused a divergent worldview from that of its predecessor, the balance of power in Congress shifted, the international community continued to struggle with the ramifications of COVID-19, the Abraham Accords altered the dynamics between Israel and other regional actors, while the outbreak of violence between Israel and Gaza attracted attention from both sides of the aisle. Legislators offered an increased number of proposals to address these and other realities in the second quarter of 2021, marking a sharp uptick in legislation focused on MENA compared to the first quarter of the year.
