Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street, NW Washington, DC 20036
Tel. (202) 775-1918
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Email. anca@anca.org
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PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release
December 9, 2009
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918

HOUSE AND SENATE AGREE ON FY10 $41 MILLION FOR ARMENIA, $8 MILLION
FOR KARABAGH, PARITY IN FOREIGN MILITARY FINANCING

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. House and Senate today agreed upon a far-
reaching Fiscal Year 2010 (FY10) spending measure that includes a
$41 economic aid package for Armenia, $8 million for "programs and
activities" in Nagorno Karabagh, and parity in Foreign Military
Financing for Armenia and Azerbaijan, reported the Armenian
National Committee of America (ANCA).

These figures were determined by a conference committee, comprised
of House and Senate appropriators tasked with reconciling the two
versions of the FY10 foreign aid bill. The House measure, overseen
by the State-Foreign Operations Subcommittee Chair Nita Lowey (D-
NY), included a $48 million allocation for Armenia, $10 for Nagorno
Karabagh, and across-the-board parity in military aid to Armenia
and Azerbaijan. The Senate version, presided over by the State-
Foreign Operations Subcommittee Chair Patrick Leahy (D-VT), set
aside just $30 million for Armenia, the figure proposed in
President Obama’s budget, and did not include any figures for
either aid to Nagorno Karabagh or military aid to Yerevan and Baku.
The President’s low aid request for Armenia – which represented a
dramatic 39% cut from the previous year, stood in stark contrast to
his campaign pledge to maintain aid levels and to foster the growth
and development of Armenia. Congress also rolled back President
Obama’s request to reverse the long-established policy of
maintaining military parity between Armenia and Azerbaijan in terms
of Foreign Military Financing. No figures were included in the
Conference Report regarding International Military Education and
Training.

"We want to thank all our friends, among them Chairwoman Lowey,
Adam Schiff, Mark Kirk, Steve Rothman, Jesse Jackson, Steve Israel,
and Frank Lobiondo, for restoring $11 million of the $18 million
reduction in aid to Armenia proposed by the Obama-Biden
Administration, and also for setting, for the first time,
unrestricted aid to Nagorno Karabagh at $8 million," said Aram
Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA. "While we remain
troubled by the overall decrease in support for Armenia, which is
now down to nearly half of what was appropriated just three years
ago, we are pleased that military parity in Foreign Military
Financing to Armenia and Azerbaijan has been maintained, and that
the Committee’s traditional description of aid to Nagorno Karabagh
as ‘humanitarian’ has been removed, reflecting a growing
appreciation among legislators of the need to implement development
programs with these funds."

The Conference Report includes language, added, by all accounts, at
the urging of legislators concerned about Azerbaijan’s escalating
war rhetoric, calling upon "all parties to the conflict to refrain
from threats of violence and the use of inflammatory rhetoric."
The report also notes the expectation of Congressional
appropriators that the Administration must continue to certify that
aid to Azerbaijan will not undermine a peaceful settlement to the
Karabakh conflict nor be used for offensive purposes against
Armenia before it can waive Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act.

In the months leading up to today’s decision, the Armenian Caucus,
in a series of letters and meetings, called for Senate and House
Appropriation Committee leaders to maintain $48 million in U.S.
assistance to Armenia, to increase aid to Nagorno Karabagh, and to
continue military assistance parity to Armenia and Azerbaijan. In
an October 26th letter to the Chairs and Ranking Republicans of the
Senate and House foreign aid subcommittees, several dozen Caucus
members reinforced these points, stressing that, "Armenia’s
cooperation in anti-terrorism efforts and its deployment of forces
to both Iraq and Kosovo are pivotal to U.S. interests. Armenia has
entered into a NATO Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) and
has worked closely with both NATO and the Defense Department on a
range of bilateral and multilateral agreements, joint training
programs, and military exercises."