16:48,
YEREVAN, MARCH 29, ARMENPRESS. The Biden Administration called for just $24 million in U.S. assistance to Armenia in the White House Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 budget proposal released today – $21 million less than what Congress allocated and the President approved for FY 2022 just weeks ago, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).
“We are disappointed that President Biden’s annual budget – released in the wake of a government watchdog report documenting over $164,000,000 in U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan – flat-lines U.S. aid to Armenia at just over $24 million and fails to include any specific dollar amount for U.S. assistance to Artsakh,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “We look to our Congressional allies, coalition partners, and community activists to work through the foreign aid appropriations process to dramatically boost U.S. aid numbers for both Artsakh and Armenia.”
Similar to his budget request for FY2022, the President’s FY2023 budget includes $23,405,000 in foreign aid and $600,000 in military assistance to Armenia. A separate line item in the budget calls for $6,050,000 in International Narcotics and Law Enforcement spending in Armenia. Following broad-based Congressional outreach by the ANCA and the Armenian American community last year, the final FY2022 aid package for Armenia was increased to $45 million and included an additional $2 million in U.S. demining assistance for those affected by the 2020 Azerbaijan and Turkey-led attacks on Armenia and Artsakh.