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BUSH SEEKS DRASTIC CUT IN U.S. AID TO ARMENIA
By Emil Danielyan
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Feb 6 2007
The administration of President George W. Bush has proposed a drastic
reduction in regular U.S. assistance to Armenia, provoking strong
criticism and resistance from Armenian-American lobbying organizations.
The Bush administration's budget request for the fiscal year 2008,
unveiled on Monday, calls for $35 million in economic aid to the
country, sharply down from the 2006 level of $69 million. It would
also cut U.S. aid to the Armenian military by more than 30 percent
to $3.3 million.
The proposed cuts came just days after the U.S. House of
Representatives set the 2007 aid package for Armenia at about $75
million. The Senate is expected to approve a similar aid allocation
soon.
The two main Armenian-American advocacy groups were quick to denounce
the more modest aid levels sought by the administration, pledging to
lobby Congress to revise them upwards.
"This budget request represents more than a 50 percent reduction in
assistance," said Bryan Ardouny, executive director of the Armenian
Assembly of America. "This is simply unacceptable." "We will work with
Congress to correct the glaring deficiencies in the Administration's
request," he added.
"We look to our friends in Congress ... to substantially increase
aid levels to Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh that reflect Armenia's
growing partnership with the United States," Aram Hamparian, executive
director of the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), said
in a separate statement.
The Assembly and the ANCA have been instrumental in making Armenia
one of the world's leading per-capita recipients of U.S. economic
assistance, which has totaled over $1.6 billion since 1992.
Highlighting their political clout, Congress has always significantly
boosted the White House's aid allocations for Armenia. It has also
made sure that Washington provides equal amounts of military assistance
to Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Armenian-American leaders are particularly dismayed by the fact that
the Bush administration is again trying to change that parity by
asking for $5.3 million in military financing for Azerbaijan.
Administration officials have previously argued that Azerbaijan needs
more such help than Armenia in order to secure its much longer border
with America's arch-rival Iran and Caspian Sea coast.
The proposed funding cuts seem to stem from a broader reduction
in U.S. assistance to former Soviet republics that began in the
late 1990s. U.S. officials will also point out that Armenia is on
course to receive $235.6 million in additional U.S. aid under Bush's
Millennium Challenge Account program. Washington says the release of
the five-year aid package is conditional on the democratization of
Armenia's political system.
By Emil Danielyan
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Feb 6 2007
The administration of President George W. Bush has proposed a drastic
reduction in regular U.S. assistance to Armenia, provoking strong
criticism and resistance from Armenian-American lobbying organizations.
The Bush administration's budget request for the fiscal year 2008,
unveiled on Monday, calls for $35 million in economic aid to the
country, sharply down from the 2006 level of $69 million. It would
also cut U.S. aid to the Armenian military by more than 30 percent
to $3.3 million.
The proposed cuts came just days after the U.S. House of
Representatives set the 2007 aid package for Armenia at about $75
million. The Senate is expected to approve a similar aid allocation
soon.
The two main Armenian-American advocacy groups were quick to denounce
the more modest aid levels sought by the administration, pledging to
lobby Congress to revise them upwards.
"This budget request represents more than a 50 percent reduction in
assistance," said Bryan Ardouny, executive director of the Armenian
Assembly of America. "This is simply unacceptable." "We will work with
Congress to correct the glaring deficiencies in the Administration's
request," he added.
"We look to our friends in Congress ... to substantially increase
aid levels to Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh that reflect Armenia's
growing partnership with the United States," Aram Hamparian, executive
director of the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), said
in a separate statement.
The Assembly and the ANCA have been instrumental in making Armenia
one of the world's leading per-capita recipients of U.S. economic
assistance, which has totaled over $1.6 billion since 1992.
Highlighting their political clout, Congress has always significantly
boosted the White House's aid allocations for Armenia. It has also
made sure that Washington provides equal amounts of military assistance
to Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Armenian-American leaders are particularly dismayed by the fact that
the Bush administration is again trying to change that parity by
asking for $5.3 million in military financing for Azerbaijan.
Administration officials have previously argued that Azerbaijan needs
more such help than Armenia in order to secure its much longer border
with America's arch-rival Iran and Caspian Sea coast.
The proposed funding cuts seem to stem from a broader reduction
in U.S. assistance to former Soviet republics that began in the
late 1990s. U.S. officials will also point out that Armenia is on
course to receive $235.6 million in additional U.S. aid under Bush's
Millennium Challenge Account program. Washington says the release of
the five-year aid package is conditional on the democratization of
Armenia's political system.