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Washington, D.C. --- U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issue, issued the following statement today after the State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Appropriations Subcommittee marked up its Fiscal Year (FY) FY 2009 appropriations bill.
"The Foreign Operations Subcommittee should be commended for rejecting the Bush administration's drastic cuts in assistance to Armenia. The president's proposal of $24 million was unreasonable, and the Subcommittee increased the assistance to $52 million for the next fiscal year.
"Chairwoman Nita Lowey, Ranking Member Frank Wolf and Caucus Co-Chair Joe Knollenberg once again worked together in strong bipartisan fashion to reach this funding level.
"The funding will be essential to the developmental assistance and investment in Armenia's democratic stability at a time when the country continues to face a dual blockade from Azerbaijan and Turkey.
"The Foreign Operations Subcommittee also approved $8 million for Nagorno-Karabakh, an increase in funding from previous years.
"Additionally, Armenia received $3 million in Foreign Military Funding, the same level of funding as Azerbaijan. As Azerbaijan rushes toward a dangerous military buildup, I am disappointed that the Bush administration continues to push for military funding for Azerbaijan."
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