Second-Largest Recipients of U.S. Aid, Armenians Fight To Get Ahead
August 9, 2005 Edition
New York Sun
BY MICHAEL MAINVILLE - Special to the SunAugust 9, 2005
YEREVAN, Armenia - A close ally of Russia, with a grossly corrupt economy and a ruler accused of increasing authoritarianism, Armenia hardly seems a prime candidate for massive doses of American aid money.
Yet this tiny South Caucasus republic receives more American aid per capita than any other country except Israel - a total of more than $1.6 billion since 1992. When the White House tried to cut sizably American assistance to Armenia earlier this summer, Congress blocked the move, bumping up the administration's allocation from $55 million to $75 million for 2006.
Armenians can thank one of the most effective and well-organized ethnic lobbies on Capitol Hill for the windfall. With wealthy backing and strong grassroots support, America's million-strong Armenian population, concentrated in the Northeast and California, has for years successfully lobbied for increased aid.
[...]
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
New York Sun
BY MICHAEL MAINVILLE - Special to the SunAugust 9, 2005
YEREVAN, Armenia - A close ally of Russia, with a grossly corrupt economy and a ruler accused of increasing authoritarianism, Armenia hardly seems a prime candidate for massive doses of American aid money.
Yet this tiny South Caucasus republic receives more American aid per capita than any other country except Israel - a total of more than $1.6 billion since 1992. When the White House tried to cut sizably American assistance to Armenia earlier this summer, Congress blocked the move, bumping up the administration's allocation from $55 million to $75 million for 2006.
Armenians can thank one of the most effective and well-organized ethnic lobbies on Capitol Hill for the windfall. With wealthy backing and strong grassroots support, America's million-strong Armenian population, concentrated in the Northeast and California, has for years successfully lobbied for increased aid.
[...]
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
posted by Vahe Balabanian at 12:11 PM
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