Mr. Speaker. I will gladly support the supplemental appropriation for Iraqi refugees. The bill responds to the tragedy unfolding in the mountains of Iraq and Turkey where some 320.000 Kurdish refugees have moved to escape the oppression of Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi army. Many of these distressed people are at risk uf death from severe malnutrition and related diseases. Particularly vulnerable are the infants and elderly. who have been dying at alarming rates in these camps. The bill will provide some $236 million in humanitarian aid for Kurdish refugees and for international peacekeeping operations. This is $85 million above the Presidents request and every penny is needed. However. the bill is funded in a fiscally responsible way because $150 million comes from foreign contributions or interest on them and the $85 million balance Is transferred from unobligated economic support funds.
Keywords matched
refugees