U.S. House passed the Pallone Amendment, cutting U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan, the Armenian National Committee of America reports.
The Pallone Amendment to the FY2022 foreign aid bill (H.R.4373) states, “None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act [H.R.4373] under ‘International Military Education and Training’ and ‘Foreign Military Financing Program’ may be made available for Azerbaijan.”
The provision does not block discretionary military equipment which may be transferred by the Department of Defense under U.S. laws Section 333.
Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ) welcomed the House passage of the Amendment.
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Pallone Amendment (H.R.4373) talking points:
Stop U.S. Arms and Aid to Azerbaijan:
— Amid so many pressing needs here at home, why would Congress send U.S. tax dollars to subsidize the oil-rich, anti-Armenian regime of Azerbaijani dictator Ilham Aliyev?
— In the wake of Azerbaijan’s ethnic cleansing of 100,000+ indigenous Armenians from Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) – and amid Azerbaijan’s invasion and occupation of Armenian territory – the U.S. should be sending a single U.S. tax-dollar to the oil-rich Aliyev regime.
— The more than $120,000,000 in military aid the U.S. has recklessly provided Azerbaijan has emboldened the tyrannical regime in Baku, materially empowering their ethnic-cleansing on Artsakh last September and encouraging Baku to continue invading and occupying Armenian land today.
— Now, more than ever, the Congress must act in a bipartisan manner to maintain the spirit and the letter of Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, a longstanding provision of law aimed at holding Azerbaijan accountable for its relentless aggression against Armenians.
Strengthen America Values as a Core Tenet of U.S. Foreign Policy:
— Sending U.S. military aid to human rights abusers like Azerbaijan not only recklessly enables Baku’s aggression, it undermines the Administration’s commitment to human rights as a core tenet of our foreign policy.
— The cost of green-lighting military aid to Azerbaijan extends well beyond the South Caucasus. Abetting one of the world’s most authoritarian regimes during a regional humanitarian and security crisis signals that the U.S. is willing to abandon our values for the sake of oil interests.
— U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide comes with the responsibilities, among them not sending arms or aid to states – like Azerbaijan – that are openly attempting to complete this crime.
Overwhelmingly Adopts ANCA-Backed Pallone Amendment to FY2022 Foreign Aid Bill
WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. House of Representatives today voted overwhelmingly to restrict U.S. foreign military financing and training assistance to Azerbaijan, passing a bipartisan, ANCA-backed amendment led by Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and twenty of his House colleagues. The vote sends a powerful signal to Azerbaijan’s dictatorial Aliyev regime that their ongoing aggression against Armenia and Artsakh will not be rewarded with U.S. taxpayer-funded military assistance.
“The House today took a principled, bipartisan stand against Azerbaijan – overwhelmingly voting down U.S. military aid in response to Baku’s ethnic-cleansing of Artsakh and ongoing aggression against Armenia,” said ANCA Chair Raffi Hamparian. “With power and purpose, the ANCA will continue our legislative advocacy until not a single U.S. tax dollar is sent to the army of the rogue, racist oil-rich dictator of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev.”
The Pallone Amendment states, “None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act [H.R.4373] under ‘International Military Education and Training’ and ‘Foreign Military Financing Program’ may be made available for Azerbaijan.” The provision does not block discretionary military equipment, which may be transferred by the Department of Defense under U.S. laws Section 333. The ANCA is working with Senate and House Members of the Armed Services Committee to address those concerns by strengthening Section 907 restrictions on U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan.
Congressional Armenian Caucus leaders Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Jackie Speier (D-CA), and David Valadao (R-CA) were joined by the following House members as cosponsors of the amendment: Representatives Tony Cardenas (D-CA), Judy Chu (D-CA), David Cicilline (D-RI), Jim Costa (D-CA), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Jim Langevin (D-RI), Andy Levin (D-MI), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Devin Nunes (R-CA), Linda Sanchez (D-CA), Brad Sherman (D-CA), and Dina Titus (D-NV).
The House vote on the Pallone amendment was included in a bi-partisan series of amendments voted “en bloc,” and overwhelmingly adopted. The House will vote on the broader Fiscal Year 2022 Foreign Aid Bill (H.R.4373) later Wednesday night. That broader bill is accompanied by a report which calls for not less than $50 million in U.S. assistance to Armenia, “for economic development, private sector productivity, energy independence, democracy and the rule of law, and other purposes.” It urges not less than $2 million for demining activities in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). The recommendation for U.S. assistance to Armenia is over twice that requested by President Biden in his FY2022 proposed budget, which remains silent on U.S. assistance to Artsakh.
With regard to President Biden’s waiver of Section 907, the report accompanying H.R.4373 states, “The Committee is concerned by the disparity in military assistance provided to Azerbaijan in comparison to Armenia that is enabled by the annual waiver of Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act by the Secretary of State, including the most recent waiver signed by the Secretary on April 23, 2021. The Committee directs the military balance between Azerbaijan and Armenia and the diplomatic consequences of such disparity in military assistance be considered by the Secretary in any decision with respect to the renewal of the Section 907 waiver during fiscal year 2022.”
The ANCA distributed a point-by-point analysis of the immediate need to block all military aid to Azerbaijan to Members of Congress, citing their ongoing attacks against Armenia and Artsakh, and the encroachment of over 1000 Azerbaijani soldiers on sovereign Armenian territory. The document is available at https://anca.org/
