Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel. (202) 775-1918
Fax. (202) 775-5648
Email anca@anca.org
Internet
PRESS RELEASE
March 3, 2008
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918
REPS. LOWEY, KNOLLENBERG EXPRESS CONCERN ABOUT ADMINISTRATION
ATTEMPTS TO SLASH AID TO ARMENIA
Washington, DC – House Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign
Operations Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-NY) and senior panel member,
Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), expressed concern
about the Administration’s proposed drastic reductions in U.S.
foreign aid to Armenia during recent Congressional hearings on U.S.
foreign assistance, reported the Armenian National Committee of
America (ANCA).
"We would like to thank Chairwoman Lowey and Rep. Knollenberg for
their efforts to reverse the proposed cuts in U.S. assistance to
Armenia," stated ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. "We look
forward to working with members of the House and Senate
Appropriations committees to secure appropriate levels of aid to
Armenia, direct development aid to Nagorno Karabagh, and to block
the Administration’s latest bid to break its own agreement to
maintain parity in military assistance to Armenia and Azerbaijan."
Armenian Americans can express their concerns about proposed cuts
in Armenia foreign aid by sending a free ANCA WebFax to their
Senators and Representative at:
1011351&type=CO
During a hearing featuring the testimony of Millennium Challenge
Corporation (MCC) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Amb. John
Danilovich, held on February 26th, Chairwoman Lowey questioned the
wisdom of reducing U.S. aid to countries like Armenia when the
effect of MCC assistance to the country "may not be felt for
years." Rep. Lowey explained that "current program implementation
data shows that these programs are not yet demonstrating
significant impact. Yet, these countries are losing health and
development resources quickly."
Armenia signed a $235.7 million compact with MCC, focused on rural
development and poverty reduction programs. In his testimony, Amb.
Danilovich cited successes in compact countries around the world,
including Armenia, where "more than 2,450 participants, of which
almost a quarter are women, have been trained in on-farm water
management to increase production." Amb. Danilovich’s complete
testimony may be read at:
houseappropssubcmte.pdf
During a subsequent House Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign
Operations hearing with Henrietta Fore, U.S. Director of Foreign
Assistance and Administrator of USAID, held on February 27th, Rep.
Knollenberg expressed concerns about the Administration’s bid to
reduce U.S. aid to Armenia by 44% in light of the ongoing illegal
blockades by both Turkey and Azerbaijan. Fore noted that "Armenia
is a very important country for us." She indicated that Armenia
"has made great strides" and is "one of the success stories,"
stating that, per capita, Armenia has the highest foreign
assistance rate in Eurasia.
The President’s Fiscal Year 2009 (FY2009) budget recommends cutting
U.S. economic aid to Armenia from the FY2008 estimated level of $58
million to a proposed level of $24 million – a cut of nearly 60%
and $11 million less than his FY2008 request. This dramatic
reduction to Armenia, a nation economically blockaded by Turkey and
Azerbaijan, takes place against the backdrop of assistance
proposals to other Independent States of the Former Soviet Union
that are either remaining constant or experiencing increases.
According to the President’s figures, Georgia, for example, would
receive $52 million, while Azerbaijan, which is collecting billions
in oil revenues, is set to receive $19.5 million. The President’s
budget proposal does not include any specific assistance figures
for Nagorno Karabagh.
In a related foreign aid matter, Virginia Republican Frank Wolf
urged the MCC to add a "genocide" indicator to its assistance
criteria, to ensure that no country receiving U.S. assistance is a
perpetrator or enabler of the act of genocide. Rep. Wolf has
indicated that he would advance an amendment to the foreign
assistance bill in this regard.
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