Open letter

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