Seven congressmen have called on the US state department to lift its ban on Sinn Féin raising funds in America.
The congressmen, led by Republican James Walsh and Democrat Richard Neal, said the ban was unfair and could have a negative impact on the political situation in the North.
"We believe that the Sinn Féin leadership has kept its word and honoured its commitments. At this critical moment in the peace process, they should not be penalised for delivering on their promises. Every political party from Northern Ireland has the right to fundraise in the United States. We are simply calling for a level playing field. The ban that prevents Sinn Féin from fundraising in the United States should be lifted promptly," they said.
The state department imposed the ban on Sinn Féin last January in response to Robert McCartney's murder and the Northern Bank robbery. Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness was not allowed to raise funds during a visit to the US this month. The party's president Gerry Adams will visit the country next month. Political parties in the North will only be allowed to raise money abroad until 2007 when the law governing fundraising will change.
The US administration wants Sinn Féin to join the North's policing board and fundraising permission is a potential lever to influence it. But the congressmen said the IRA's abandonment of violence, the decommissioning of its weapons and last week's International Monitoring Commission report showed that the Republican movement was on the right track.