ANCA Seeks $5 Million in Aid to NKR, Zero Military Aid to Azerbaijan as House Appropriations Subcommittee Casts Initial Vote on FY2016 Foreign Aid Bill
WASHINGTON—Armenian-American foreign aid priorities will be among a broad range of U.S. assistance issues addressed this week by members of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State-Foreign Operations, as they start drafting their Fiscal Year 2016 (FY2016) bill, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).
The subcommittee’s consideration of the FY2016 foreign aid bill will be webcast live on Wed., June 3 at 10:30 a.m. EST and can be viewed at http://appropriations.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=394225.
As in the past, the specific text of the measure will not be made available until after the subcommittee’s consideration. The ANCA will be sharing details on issues of concern to Armenian Americans as they become available.
The ANCA is urging friends of Armenia across America to reach out to their legislators by visiting www.anca.org/aid
In the run up to this Wednesday’s vote, the ANCA is urging friends of Armenia across America to reach out to their legislators by visiting www.anca.org/aid and supporting these aid priorities:
1) at least $5 million in U.S. developmental aid to Nagorno-Karabagh;
2) zero-out U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan until it agrees with OSCE Minsk Group calls to pull back its snipers, ceases its aggression, renounces violence, and commits to a purely peaceful resolution of regional conflicts;
3) at least $40 million in U.S. economic assistance to Armenia;
4) a special focus on addressing the difficulties in providing humanitarian and resettlement aid to Armenian, Assyrian, and other at-risk minorities in Syria, as well as targeted aid to help Armenia settle thousands fleeing from Syria;
5) at least 10 percent of U.S. assistance to Georgia to be used for job-creation programs in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region of that country; and
6) language strengthening Section 907 restrictions on U.S. aid to Azerbaijan.
“Please join with us in asking Congress to send a strong message of support for Artsakh, by increasing direct aid to Nagorno-Karabagh and Armenia, zeroing-out military aid to Azerbaijan, prioritizing assistance to Javakhk, and supporting our at-risk communities in the Middle East,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “U.S. foreign aid policy represents a vital tool both for promoting regional peace and also for complementing U.S. efforts—such as the recently signed U.S.-Armenia Trade and Investment Framework Agreement or the long overdue new U.S.-Armenia Double Tax Treaty—to expand U.S.-Armenia economic cooperation.”
Earlier this year, the ANCA’s Kate Nahapetian testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee, outlining the Armenian-American community’s foreign aid priorities. The video of Nahapetian’s presentation is below.
Click here to view the embedded video.
In February, the Obama-Biden Administration released its FY2016 budget that calls for yet another reduction in U.S. economic assistance to both Armenia and Azerbaijan, while maintaining parity in appropriated military aid to these two countries.
The president’s proposal of $18,360,000 in Economic Support Funds for Armenia in FY2016 would, if approved by Congress, represent a record low in such aid since Armenia’s independence. The White House’s proposal for Armenia is over $2 million less than FY2014’s actual economic aid allocation, and less than half of the $40 million requested in a Congressional Armenian Caucus letter and ANCA Congressional testimony submitted last year.
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Source: Weekly
Link: Aid to Armenia and Artsakh among Issues for Key House Panel This Week