U.S. AGREED ON ARMENIA AND NAGORNO-KARABAKH ECONOMIC AID PACKAGE IN 2010
Tert.am
12:30 ~U 10.12.09
The U.S. House and Senate agreed upon a far-reaching Fiscal Year 2010
(FY10) spending measure that includes a $41 million USD economic aid
package for Armenia, $8 million USD for "programs and activities"
in Nagorno-Karabagh, and parity in Foreign Military Financing for
Armenia and Azerbaijan, reports 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 USD allocation for Armenia, $10 million USD
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
USD 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 Chair Lowey, Adam
Schiff, Mark Kirk, Steve Rothman, Jesse Jackson, Steve Israel,
and Frank Lobiondo, for restoring $11 million USD of the $18
million USD 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 USD," said Aram Hamparian,
Executive Director of the ANCA.