US Restores Foreign Aid Programs, Including Assistance for Armenia

The US administration has decided to restore funding for foreign aid programs from 2019, including American assistance earmarked for Armenia this year. This was reported by "Voice of America".

Trump's administration has backed away from the idea of reducing funding for foreign aid, implying a restoration of the frozen $4 billion in foreign assistance. As a result, the foreign aid programs approved for 2019 will be financed, including the American assistance intended for Armenia this year.

As for the allocations of American aid for 2020, including for Armenia and Armenian programs, discussions will continue in the US Senate in September when Congress returns from recess. This also pertains to the proposed amendment for an additional $40 million allocation for Armenia and the demining program in Nagorno-Karabakh.

It is noteworthy that President Trump’s administration aimed to cease funding for foreign aid programs, deeming them unnecessary and wasteful, and had frozen the disbursement of $4 billion already approved by Congress.

“The allocation process in the US is quite complex. Initially, the administration presents a proposal. Then the foreign aid bill is discussed by both chambers of Congress, reaching an agreement, after which the President either signs or does not sign the bill. Currently, the relations between President Trump and Congress are contentious,” says political scientist Emil Sanamyan.

However, the White House has retracted its idea of freezing and cutting foreign aid funding after it became known that several senior lawmakers opposed this idea. Both Democratic and Republican legislators opposed the reduction of approved funding in Congress.

“This administration wants to spend as little as possible on foreign aid programs, exerting political pressure to implement as many cuts as possible,” adds political scientist Emil Sanamyan.

At the same time, the administration expressed its dissatisfaction with the stance of US Congress members. The White House stated that it is evident that many Congress members do not support efforts to stop the senseless waste of funds.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, stated that halting this assistance would violate the trust between the parties regarding the budget approval process. Meanwhile, two influential Republican lawmakers, Senator Lindsey Graham and Congressman Hal Rogers, noted that freezing foreign aid would harm national security and counter-terrorism efforts, as well as create problems in negotiations over budget matters between the White House and Congress.