42 Members of Congress Met With the Egyptian Military Last Year

The list runs the gamut of political views

Egypt, it turns out, has a respectable presence in Washington.

Since protests swept through Cairo and Alexandria last week, the press has started delving into Egypt's relationship with the American government. The Egyptian government has spent $1.1 million per year employing some of the top lobbyists in D.C., and those lobbyists have orchestrated numerous meetings on Capitol Hill and with State Department officials.

Thanks to the transparency mavens at the Sunlight Foundation, we know that 42 members of Congress (three senators and 39 representatives) met with Egyptian military officials in 2010 alone. Such meetings are disclosed by the lobbyists who arrange them, and Sunlight has culled the information from available records.

The lawmakers on the list are quite different from one another. They range from high-ranking members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee like Reps. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) to members with high name recognition on the Hill like budget crusader Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Democratic Conference Chairman John Larson (Conn.), and former Victory in Iraq Caucus chairman Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) to members who, seemingly, have little to do with Middle East policy. Some retired or were defeated last year. Below, they're identified as "then-Sen." or "then-Rep."

Here's a list of the 42 who met with Egyptian military officials, with Sunlight's brief descriptions of what they did:

Accompanied Egyptian military delegation to their appointments
Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii)
then-Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.)
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.)
then-Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Miss.)
Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.)
Rep. John Carter (R-Texas)
Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.)
Rep. Steven Rothman (D-N.J.)
Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.)
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah)
Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.)
Rep. Larry Kissell (D-N.C.)
then-Rep. Bob Inglis (R-S.C.)
then-Rep. John Tanner (D-Tenn.)
Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Penn.)
then-Rep. John Boccieri (D-Ohio)
Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.)
Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas)
Rep. Dennis Rehberg (R-Mont.)
Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.)
Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.)
Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.)
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.)
Rep. Brad Miller (D-N.C.)
Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-La.)
then-Rep. Vic Snyder (D-Ark.)
Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.)
then-Rep. Ron Klein (D-Fla.)
then-Rep. Mark Schauer (D-Mich.)

Accompanied military delegation to lunch and introduced them to other members
Rep. Dan Boren (D-Okla.)
Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.)
Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.)
Rep. Sam Farr (D-Calif.)
Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.)
Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.)
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.)
then-Rep. Bob Inglis (R-S.C.)
Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wisc.)
Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.)
Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.)
Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.)
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.)
Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.)
Rep. Bill Owens (D-N.Y.)

And some members who did other things, not involving Egyptian military officials:

Accompanied Egyptian ambassador to appointments to discuss U.S./Egypt relations
Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.)

Attended a dinner at the Embassy of Egypt
Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas)

Met with Egyptian ambassador to discuss interparliamentary alliance initiative
Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.)