ANCA Backs Targeted $70 Million “Peace and Prosperity” Aid Package for Artsakh and Armenia

In testimony submitted today to the Senate panel drafting the Fiscal Year 2019 foreign aid bill, the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) called for a targeted $70 million aid package that would fund de-mining and rehabilitation in Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh), implementation of the Royce-Engel proposal to deploy gunfire locators along the line-of-contact, the expansion of U.S-Armenia economic and military partnerships, and support for Armenia as a regional safe haven for at-risk Middle East refugees.

ANCA Government Affairs Director Raffi Karakashian opened his testimony to the Senate’s Appropriations Subcommittee on State-Foreign Operations by marking the 100th anniversary of the first Armenian Republic, inviting the panel to join with him in celebrating a century of U.S.-Armenia relations. He then turned to the ANCA’s top-line priorities:

— Artsakh: $6 million to complete de-mining and rehabilitate the disabled, $4 million to promote peace

— Armenia: $30 million in economic aid, $10 million in military aid, $20 million for Middle East refugees