Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) called for $10 million in U.S. aid to Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) and pushed back against State Department efforts to end life-saving Artsakh demining assistance, ANCA reported.

She has called in powerful testimony offered before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, the body tasked to prepare the Fiscal Year 2021 Foreign Aid Bill.  Central Valley Congressman Jim Costa (D-CA) emphasized his commitment to Artsakh aid and demining efforts worldwide in separate testimony before the key aid panel, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

“USAID is trying to end support for this program with little to no justification," argued Rep. Chu, who continued to note, "this request of $10 million pales in comparison to the $100 million in security assistance given to Azerbaijan, so we can be sure that financial constraints are not the obstacle here.”

She concluded her testimony, noting, "if we are sincere in our commitment to peace, then we must support this request of $10 million, which will allow HALO to finish their work and remove the landmines and UXO that daily threaten the lives of civilians in Nagorno-Karabakh.”