Armenian Reporter:

Saying thank you for aid to Armenia

Published: Saturday December 12, 2009

The United States will allocate $41 million in economic, technical and humanitarian aid to Armenia, $8 million for Karabakh, and $3 million each in military aid to Armenia and Azerbaijan in fiscal 2010. This decision was made by negotiators for the House of Representatives and the Senate, who sought to reconcile the two chambers' versions of the year's foreign aid bill.

The United States Agency for International Development is the main vehicle for spending the economic aid allocation. It has programs in place to increase Armenia's competitiveness, strengthen democratic governance, ensure energy security, increase access to primary healthcare, and protect the socially vulnerable.

In the area of energy security, for example, USAID is working to help Armenia diversify its energy sources (including nuclear and renewable) and ensure efficient and economically sustainable usage.

Any reduction in U.S. aid numbers, then, has a real impact on the work being done on behalf of the American people to help Armenia.

The House of Representatives had opted to maintain the fiscal 2009 allocation of $48 million. But the Senate had opted to cut aid to $30 million, as suggested by the Obama administration. Leaders who met to reconcile the two versions chose a figure that was closer to the current figure than to the Senate's lower figure.

The senators and representatives also chose to follow the lead of the House and allocate $8 million to Karabakh, while also maintaining military aid parity between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Aid to Azerbaijan is problematic because the country's president explicitly threatens to initiate war against Armenians again, and because many millions are expended on offensive weapons intended to threaten Armenians. Aid, set at $22 million in fiscal 2010, is conditional on the administration's certification to Congress that it would not undermine the Karabakh peace process or be used against Armenia.

Several people have played a leadership role in ensuring that aid levels were not cut as drastically as the Obama administration had proposed. Rep. Nita Lowey, chair of the House Subcommittee on Foreign Appropriations, deserves special mention, as do the co-chairs of the Armenian Caucus, Reps. Frank Pallone and Mark Kirk. As members of the House subcommittee, Mr. Kirk, Reps. Adam Schiff, Frank Lobiondo, Steve Rothman, Jesse Jackson, and Steve Israel are among the representatives to have played an important role in support of the U.S.-Armenia relationship.

Over the course of the appropriations process, we have urged readers to contact members of Congress to seek their continued support for Armenian-American priorities. Many readers did just that. It is now important to call our elected officials and thank them for following through to this point.

To reach the House switchboard, call 1-202-225-3121.

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