US SENATE APPROVED OF $75 MILLION IN AID TO ARMENIA IN 2006

PanARMENIAN.Net - The U.S. Senate Wednesday voted 98 to 1 to approve the Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill which recommends $75 million in assistance to Armenia and an additional $3 million in humanitarian aid to Nagorno Karabakh. The overall assistance will make $31.8 billion. The level of funding, equivalent to the amount Armenia received in 2005, reflects a $20 million increase over the Administration request to Congress made earlier this year. The vote also allocated $5 million in Foreign Military Financing and $750,000 for International Military Education and Training to Armenia. It should be noted that Armenia's neighbors, Georgia and Azerbaijan, are set to receive $70.5 million and $38 million respectively. The next step in the legislative process is for the House and Senate to reconcile the differences in a conference committee.