$75 million in U.S. assistance to Armenia. The $75 million is substantially higher than the $49.5 million requested earlier this year by President Bush in his FY 2004 budget.
Aid to Nagorno Karabakh
The two lawmakers said the $5 million in humanitarian assistance to Nagorno Karabakh helps fund the rebuilding of homes, improving water supplies and healthcare and providing income-generating opportunities for the most vulnerable groups.
U.S. Military Assistance to Armenia
The bill also includes $2.5 million in Foreign Military Financing and $900,000 in International Military Education Training assistance to Armenia to strengthen the U.S.-Armenia military relationship.
Maintain Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act
While the president continues to have the ability to waive Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act, Knollenberg and Pallone said they would continue to push the State Department to provide Congress detailed reports regarding events in the South Caucasus and the effects of assistance to Azerbaijan.
Peace Process (the Nagorno Karabakh conflict)
Finally, the spending bill provides for possible funding of confidence-building measures to help facilitate a peaceful resolution of the NKR conflict in the event that Azerbaijan chooses to engage in such measures.
The funds were included in the $328.1 billion spending bill that combined seven appropriations bills into one omnibus bill funding domestic programs and foreign operations for FY 2004, which officially began on October 1, 2003. The Senate is expected to approve the omnibus bill sometime in January, and then it will be sent to the president for his signature.