Obama suggests axing financial aid to Armenia to record-low $24.7 mln, ANCA says

YEREVAN, April 11. /ARKA/. Obama-Biden administration proposed Thursday a record-high 38% cut in US financial assistance to Armenia for 2014. If the Congress passes this Fiscal 2014 Foreign Aid Bill, next year Armenia will receive the lowest financial aid since the 1988 earthquake, Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) told Novosti-Armenia.

According to the report, $24,719,000 proposed by the US president is less than half of what was asked by the ANCA and the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues ($50mln) in the beginning of this year. In 2013, US financial aid to Armenia was $40mln. 

Yet, the White House will continue maintaining parity in Armenia-Azerbaijan military assistance. In particular, international military training and education (IMET) aid will amount to $600,000 and foreign military financing (FMF) will be $2.7 million.

The foreign aid bill has no provision for Nagorno-Karabakh, despite the fact that over the last years USAID has allocated $2mln annually for this purpose. This level of Nagorno-Karabakh funding is considerably less than the intent expressed by Congress over the course of many years - including the minimum level of $5 million approved in the House Appropriations Committee's version of the FY13 foreign aid bill, according to the report.

"President Obama, who came into office pledging to maintain aid to Armenia and increase bilateral trade and investment, has consistently cut Armenian assistance programs, while failing to take any meaningful steps to promote the growth of economic relations through investment treaties, tax accords, trade missions, or other commonly utilized policies and practices," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.-0-