U.S. funding for Karabakh rehab among ANCA foreign aid priorities

PanARMENIAN.Net - Among the Fiscal Year 2017 foreign aid priorities being advanced by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is an appropriation of at least $5 million in aid to Nagorno Karabakh for humanitarian and developmental programs.

As ANCA said in a press release, the package includes the urgently needed expansion and modernization of the Lady Cox Rehabilitation Center, a regional clinic serving children and adults with physical and mental disabilities in Nagorno Karabakh.

In addition to supporting the vital, life-saving work of the Center, the ANCA is encouraging House and Senate appropriators to support a broad range of other foreign aid priorities of special concern to Armenian Americans and other friends of Armenia, including:

- Zeroing-out U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan until its leaders agree with the Royce-Engel peace proposals to withdraw snipers and heavy arms, add OSCE observers, and deploy gunfire locator systems.

- Allocating at least $40 million in U.S. economic assistance to Armenia, targeted to growing the U.S.-Armenia trade and investment relationship.

- Appropriating at least $10 million in emergency aid to help Armenia settle the nearly 20,000 people who have fled to Armenia from Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East.