Fifty House members call to maintain military aid parity to Armenia and Azerbaijan

17.03.2006 15:01

YEREVAN (YERKIR) – Congressmen Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and George
Radanovich (R-CA) were joined by forty-eight of their House colleagues
on March 16 in urging the leadership of the House Foreign Operations
Subcommittee to support pro-Armenian provisions in the fiscal year
2007 foreign aid bill, reported the Armenian National Committee of
America (ANCA).

Members of Congress cosigned a letter, addressed to the panel’s
Chairman Jim Kolbe (R-AZ) and Ranking Member Nita Lowey (D-NY), which
would strengthen the hand of pro-Armenian members of the Subcommittee,
most notably Armenian Caucus Co-Chairman Joe Knollenberg, Steve Rothman
(D-NJ), Mark Kirk (R-IL), and John Sweeney (R-NY). Rep. Sweeney, who
joined the panel last year, is one of only two Members of Congress
of Armenian heritage.

The letter notes that members of Congress are “deeply troubled”
that the Administration’s request for military aid for Azerbaijan is
considerably higher then the request for Armenia.

By signing the letter, legislators will add their voice to the effort
to ensure that the agreement struck in 2001 between the White House
and Congress to keep aid levels to these two countries equal is fully
respected. In addition, the letter calls for a hard earmark of at
least $75 million for Armenia, a one-year $5 million allocation for
Nagorno Karabagh, and the preservation of Section 907 of the Freedom
Support Act.