The full US Senate Appropriations Committee has – following the lead of Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) – voiced their continued support for direct US aid to Nagorno-Karabakh, a program that has, with bipartisan backing, provided humanitarian aid to the citizens of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (Artsakh) since 1998, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).
The Senate spending panel also recommended funding to support assistance for refugees in Armenia, a major ANCA legislative priority.
With respect to refugee assistance to Armenia, the Senate’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 State and Foreign Operations Spending bill includes the following report language:
“Armenia – The Committee supports assistance for refugees in Armenia, particularly minority groups from the Middle East who have fled persecution and conflict in Syria and Iraq.”