By Gabriella Landeros
A collection of House Democrats Wednesday scoffed at Republicans for opposing legislation to prevent interest rates on student loans from spiking based on a $6 billion price tag but simultaneously voicing support for the Ryan budget.
During a press conference, House Democratic caucus chair Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) noted that the Ryan plan represents a “$46 billion windfall for the wealthiest.”
Rep. Xavier Becerra, (D-Calif.), the caucus vice-chairman, echoed the complaint.
“$46 billion added to the deficit should it become law and they did it without a blink,” Becerra said. “Yet here we see 7 million students about to see the costs of going to college increase where it could lead them to have to decide not to continue with their education.”
If Congress fails to act, recipients of Stafford loans will see their interest rates spike from 3.4% to 6.8%.
Read the original article on the Talk Radio News Service site.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Mexican President Attributes Immigration Drop To Economic Improvements
By Gabriella Landeros
Mexican President Felipe Calderón told the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Tuesday that an apparent decrease in immigration from Mexico to the U.S. can be attributed to improved economic conditions.
“We are reducing migration to the United States almost to zero in net terms,” Calderón said. “Because we are creating job opportunities in Mexico, educational opportunities for young people, health services and health care for [the] entire nation.”
Calderón added that American efforts to combat illegal immigration also played a role.
Calderón’s statement comes one day after the Pew Research Center released a study displaying a freeze in immigration levels from Mexico. Pew attributed the shift to “the weakened U.S. job market, heightened border enforcement, a rise in deportations, the growing dangers associated with illegal border crossings” as well as the economic factors touted by Calderón.
In the rest of his remarks, the Mexican president painted a rosy picture of his country’s economy.
“We grew last year … 4% in our GDP and we were able to create almost 600,000 new jobs in the formal sector in net terms,” Calderón said.
The President named specific areas that have spurred conditions, including an expansive effort to rebuild or build “almost 20,000 kilometers of highways, country roads, and roads in Mexico” and efforts to ease the bureaucracy facing those wishing to open small businesses.
Read the original article on the Talk Radio News Service site.
Mexican President Felipe Calderón told the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Tuesday that an apparent decrease in immigration from Mexico to the U.S. can be attributed to improved economic conditions.
“We are reducing migration to the United States almost to zero in net terms,” Calderón said. “Because we are creating job opportunities in Mexico, educational opportunities for young people, health services and health care for [the] entire nation.”
Calderón added that American efforts to combat illegal immigration also played a role.
Calderón’s statement comes one day after the Pew Research Center released a study displaying a freeze in immigration levels from Mexico. Pew attributed the shift to “the weakened U.S. job market, heightened border enforcement, a rise in deportations, the growing dangers associated with illegal border crossings” as well as the economic factors touted by Calderón.
In the rest of his remarks, the Mexican president painted a rosy picture of his country’s economy.
“We grew last year … 4% in our GDP and we were able to create almost 600,000 new jobs in the formal sector in net terms,” Calderón said.
The President named specific areas that have spurred conditions, including an expansive effort to rebuild or build “almost 20,000 kilometers of highways, country roads, and roads in Mexico” and efforts to ease the bureaucracy facing those wishing to open small businesses.
Read the original article on the Talk Radio News Service site.
Activists Rally Against Arizona Law In Lead-Up To Court Case
By Gabriella Landeros
As the Supreme Court prepares to hear the federal government’s challenge to Arizona’s controversial immigration law, proponents of SB 1070 are taking to Capitol Hill to emphasize the negative impact the law and copy-cat pieces of legislation have had on their communities.
“We need an immigration system that allows agricultural communities like mine to thrive,” Mayor Paul Bridges from Uvalda said during a press conference with fellow advocates.”Those who are living here without papers are very much a part of our communities and they have contributed to the economic growth that we’ve had over the years.”
Arizona’s SB 1070 Act allows officers to question and request identification from individuals they suspect of being illegal immigrants. Several states have taken on similar laws, a development that Andre Segura, staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) represents a “race to the bottom.”
Segura, the lead litigator in the suits against anti-immigrant laws in South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Utah, emphasized that the bills are not just hurting communities, but are also proving to be unpopular.
“Where states were once recklessly attempting to outdo each other to see who can be the most anti-immigrant … attempts to pass more copycat legislation have failed in every state this year, even in states where legislators vowed to pass sweeping new anti-immigrant measures.”
Read the original article on the Talk Radio News Service site.
As the Supreme Court prepares to hear the federal government’s challenge to Arizona’s controversial immigration law, proponents of SB 1070 are taking to Capitol Hill to emphasize the negative impact the law and copy-cat pieces of legislation have had on their communities.
“We need an immigration system that allows agricultural communities like mine to thrive,” Mayor Paul Bridges from Uvalda said during a press conference with fellow advocates.”Those who are living here without papers are very much a part of our communities and they have contributed to the economic growth that we’ve had over the years.”
Arizona’s SB 1070 Act allows officers to question and request identification from individuals they suspect of being illegal immigrants. Several states have taken on similar laws, a development that Andre Segura, staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) represents a “race to the bottom.”
Segura, the lead litigator in the suits against anti-immigrant laws in South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Utah, emphasized that the bills are not just hurting communities, but are also proving to be unpopular.
“Where states were once recklessly attempting to outdo each other to see who can be the most anti-immigrant … attempts to pass more copycat legislation have failed in every state this year, even in states where legislators vowed to pass sweeping new anti-immigrant measures.”
Read the original article on the Talk Radio News Service site.
Senators Speak Out Against Joseph Kony In New Video
By Gabriella Landeros
Senators in support of the capture of Joseph Kony and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in central Africa marked a coming day of action in raising awareness of the brutal warlord by releasing a video featuring lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), John Kerry (D-Mass.), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Mary Landrieu (D-La.), and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) take part in the video as does former U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wis.).
Pursuing Joseph Kony: A Message from the United States Senate
According to reports from Senator Coon, Chair of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs, “Kony and the LRA have terrorized central Africa targeting civilians in a brutal campaign of abduction, murder, and forced displacement of innocent people.” Reported acts have included sexual violence, and turning boys into soldiers.
So far, there have been two resolutions aimed at Kony. In 2010, the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act, Senator Feingold’s bill passed.
The second resolution was introduced last month by the Senate, S. Res. 402.
“In it we condemned Jospeh Kony and the Lord’s Resistance Army for their horrific crimes against humanity,” Sen. Chris Coons said. “[It is] a bill to make it the policy of the united States to work with governments in the region to stop the LRA and help Central Africa to recover.”
Read the original article on the Talk Radio News Service site.
Senators in support of the capture of Joseph Kony and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in central Africa marked a coming day of action in raising awareness of the brutal warlord by releasing a video featuring lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), John Kerry (D-Mass.), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Mary Landrieu (D-La.), and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) take part in the video as does former U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wis.).
Pursuing Joseph Kony: A Message from the United States Senate
According to reports from Senator Coon, Chair of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs, “Kony and the LRA have terrorized central Africa targeting civilians in a brutal campaign of abduction, murder, and forced displacement of innocent people.” Reported acts have included sexual violence, and turning boys into soldiers.
So far, there have been two resolutions aimed at Kony. In 2010, the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act, Senator Feingold’s bill passed.
The second resolution was introduced last month by the Senate, S. Res. 402.
“In it we condemned Jospeh Kony and the Lord’s Resistance Army for their horrific crimes against humanity,” Sen. Chris Coons said. “[It is] a bill to make it the policy of the united States to work with governments in the region to stop the LRA and help Central Africa to recover.”
Read the original article on the Talk Radio News Service site.
Senate Dems Unveil Legislation To Protect Education Investments
By Gabriella Landeros
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) unveiled new legislation Wednesday aimed at ensuring tax dollars intended to help college students goes to fund education and service instead of marketing, advertising, and recruitment.
The Protecting Financial Aid for Students and Taxpayers Act targets Pell Grants, federal student loans, the Post- 9/11 G.I. Bill and other federal education funds.”In these tough economic times, we need to protect taxpayers’ investment of billions of dollars in student financial aid by ensuring that it is used to help students succeed in college, not on out-of-control advertising, marketing and recruitment budgets,” said Hagan. “Find the money elsewhere, not from taxpayers.”
“In these tough economic times, we need to protect taxpayers’ investment of billions of dollars in student financial aid by ensuring that it is used to help students succeed in college, not on out-of-control advertising, marketing and recruitment budgets,” said Senator Hagan.
Harkin cited his committee’s investigation into for-profit colleges as grounds for the legislation.
“[It] revealed a staggering amount of money is being spent on advertising and recruiting from for-profit colleges that fail their students. Taxpayers should not be picking up the tab for colleges with dismal graduation rates that spend up to 30 percent of their revenue on marketing machines.”
Read the original article on the Talk Radio News Service site.
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) unveiled new legislation Wednesday aimed at ensuring tax dollars intended to help college students goes to fund education and service instead of marketing, advertising, and recruitment.
The Protecting Financial Aid for Students and Taxpayers Act targets Pell Grants, federal student loans, the Post- 9/11 G.I. Bill and other federal education funds.”In these tough economic times, we need to protect taxpayers’ investment of billions of dollars in student financial aid by ensuring that it is used to help students succeed in college, not on out-of-control advertising, marketing and recruitment budgets,” said Hagan. “Find the money elsewhere, not from taxpayers.”
“In these tough economic times, we need to protect taxpayers’ investment of billions of dollars in student financial aid by ensuring that it is used to help students succeed in college, not on out-of-control advertising, marketing and recruitment budgets,” said Senator Hagan.
Harkin cited his committee’s investigation into for-profit colleges as grounds for the legislation.
“[It] revealed a staggering amount of money is being spent on advertising and recruiting from for-profit colleges that fail their students. Taxpayers should not be picking up the tab for colleges with dismal graduation rates that spend up to 30 percent of their revenue on marketing machines.”
Read the original article on the Talk Radio News Service site.
Biden Corrals Younger Voters At D.C. Rally
By Gabriella Landeros
Vice President Joe Biden energized a large group of young voters on Tuesday night during an appearance at the historic Howard Theatre in Washington, D.C.
Biden spent the majority of his 15 minutes on stage drawing lines between President Obama and his likely opponent in the general election this Fall, Mitt Romney. He did that mainly by focusing on the issues young voters are more apt to care about.
A vote for Obama, Biden said, would yield a country where the “environment is protected and we’ve moved to clean and renewable energy, education is a national priority, responsibility to continue to fight to end the combat going on in Afghanistan, an immigration policy worthy of national values, and an economy that has built to last and grow the middle class.”
“Does anybody in this audience think that had the other team won, the war in Iraq would be over right now?” Biden asked. The crowd unanimously roared, “No!” Biden also reminded those in attendance that Obama has installed two female Supreme Court Justices, passed the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act for women, and repealed the military’s ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ policy regarding gays and lesbians.
“What else will we be revisiting if there’s a Romney presidency and a Republican Congress?” Biden asked. “What do you think will happen to your grandparents’ Medicare and Medicaid? How about children and pre-existing conditions, what do you think will happen to them?”
President Obama rode a record wave of youth support to victory in 2008, and both he and Biden understand that if they are to repeat this year, younger voters will again have to play a large role.
“It’s a very bad bet to bet against you because your know better, you know what’s at stake,” Biden told the crowd. “You showed up before…I’m confident your generation’s going to show up again.”
The fundraiser was organized by Gen 44, the under-40 outreach arm of the official Obama campaign. According to a pool report of the event, “tickets for the event started at $25 each and all proceeds were for the Obama Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee of Obama for America, the Democratic National Committee and several state Democratic parties.”
Read the original article on the Talk Radio News Service site.
Vice President Joe Biden energized a large group of young voters on Tuesday night during an appearance at the historic Howard Theatre in Washington, D.C.
Biden spent the majority of his 15 minutes on stage drawing lines between President Obama and his likely opponent in the general election this Fall, Mitt Romney. He did that mainly by focusing on the issues young voters are more apt to care about.
A vote for Obama, Biden said, would yield a country where the “environment is protected and we’ve moved to clean and renewable energy, education is a national priority, responsibility to continue to fight to end the combat going on in Afghanistan, an immigration policy worthy of national values, and an economy that has built to last and grow the middle class.”
“Does anybody in this audience think that had the other team won, the war in Iraq would be over right now?” Biden asked. The crowd unanimously roared, “No!” Biden also reminded those in attendance that Obama has installed two female Supreme Court Justices, passed the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act for women, and repealed the military’s ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ policy regarding gays and lesbians.
“What else will we be revisiting if there’s a Romney presidency and a Republican Congress?” Biden asked. “What do you think will happen to your grandparents’ Medicare and Medicaid? How about children and pre-existing conditions, what do you think will happen to them?”
President Obama rode a record wave of youth support to victory in 2008, and both he and Biden understand that if they are to repeat this year, younger voters will again have to play a large role.
“It’s a very bad bet to bet against you because your know better, you know what’s at stake,” Biden told the crowd. “You showed up before…I’m confident your generation’s going to show up again.”
The fundraiser was organized by Gen 44, the under-40 outreach arm of the official Obama campaign. According to a pool report of the event, “tickets for the event started at $25 each and all proceeds were for the Obama Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee of Obama for America, the Democratic National Committee and several state Democratic parties.”
Read the original article on the Talk Radio News Service site.
Democrats Push Anti-Profiling Measure
By Gabriella Landeros
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) teamed with civil rights leaders and victims of racial profiling on Tuesday to bring awareness to a bill making its way through Congress.
Cardin’s End Racial Profiling Act, a bill he introduced last October, would prohibit law enforcement officials from discriminating against potential suspects based on their race. He testified about his bill during a hearing today before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee on Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights.
“Racial profiling is un-American,” Cardin told reporters following the hearing. “It is against our values, it wastes valuable resources, and it should have no place in modern law enforcement. It’s a time that we move forward in guaranteeing to every American in the country equal justice under the law.”
The issue of racial profiling has taken on new life in the weeks following the death of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin, who was gunned down by a neighborhood watchman following an alleged physical dispute between the two. At the time, police officers decided not to detain the shooter, George Zimmerman, due to the state’s Stand Your Ground laws, which protect shooters in cases of self-defense. Zimmerman, who is Hispanic-American, said that Martin, an African-American, attacked him. Meanwhile, those to the victim say that Martin was completely innocent.
Zimmerman reportedly went missing for days, but then turned himself into authorities last week after being charged with 2nd-degree murder.
It is unclear whether Cardin’s bill would be able to prevent a similar situation from occuring in the future. Though the measure explicitly forbids the use of profiling by state and local law enforcement units that apply for federal funding, it does not super-cede state laws, such as Stand Your Ground.
Cardin, however, said that Zimmerman may have not been charged initially due to Martin’s race.
“Trayvon may have been a victim of racial profiling, and I want make sure we have a federal and state investigation that prosecutes offenders to the fullest extent of the law.”
Rev. Jamal Harrison Bryant, a pastor of a mega-church in Baltimore who is serving as an adviser to Martin’s family, spoke at today’s event, and said that he likes what he sees in the bill.
“This piece of legislation being offered by my senator…is the last missing piece for the civil rights bill from 1965 that says there ought to be equality regardless of one’s gender or one’s race. Racial profiling is in fact an extension of racism in America that has been unaddressed and this brings closure to the divide in this county.”
“African Americans continue to face racial profiling on the streets and sidewalks of American cities,” added Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who chaired today’s hearing.“Racial profiling undermines the rule of law and strikes at the core of our nation’s commitment to equal protection for all.”
Geoff Holtzman contributed to this article.
Read the original article on the Talk Radio News Service site.
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) teamed with civil rights leaders and victims of racial profiling on Tuesday to bring awareness to a bill making its way through Congress.
Cardin’s End Racial Profiling Act, a bill he introduced last October, would prohibit law enforcement officials from discriminating against potential suspects based on their race. He testified about his bill during a hearing today before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee on Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights.
“Racial profiling is un-American,” Cardin told reporters following the hearing. “It is against our values, it wastes valuable resources, and it should have no place in modern law enforcement. It’s a time that we move forward in guaranteeing to every American in the country equal justice under the law.”
The issue of racial profiling has taken on new life in the weeks following the death of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin, who was gunned down by a neighborhood watchman following an alleged physical dispute between the two. At the time, police officers decided not to detain the shooter, George Zimmerman, due to the state’s Stand Your Ground laws, which protect shooters in cases of self-defense. Zimmerman, who is Hispanic-American, said that Martin, an African-American, attacked him. Meanwhile, those to the victim say that Martin was completely innocent.
Zimmerman reportedly went missing for days, but then turned himself into authorities last week after being charged with 2nd-degree murder.
It is unclear whether Cardin’s bill would be able to prevent a similar situation from occuring in the future. Though the measure explicitly forbids the use of profiling by state and local law enforcement units that apply for federal funding, it does not super-cede state laws, such as Stand Your Ground.
Cardin, however, said that Zimmerman may have not been charged initially due to Martin’s race.
“Trayvon may have been a victim of racial profiling, and I want make sure we have a federal and state investigation that prosecutes offenders to the fullest extent of the law.”
Rev. Jamal Harrison Bryant, a pastor of a mega-church in Baltimore who is serving as an adviser to Martin’s family, spoke at today’s event, and said that he likes what he sees in the bill.
“This piece of legislation being offered by my senator…is the last missing piece for the civil rights bill from 1965 that says there ought to be equality regardless of one’s gender or one’s race. Racial profiling is in fact an extension of racism in America that has been unaddressed and this brings closure to the divide in this county.”
“African Americans continue to face racial profiling on the streets and sidewalks of American cities,” added Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who chaired today’s hearing.“Racial profiling undermines the rule of law and strikes at the core of our nation’s commitment to equal protection for all.”
Geoff Holtzman contributed to this article.
Read the original article on the Talk Radio News Service site.
Friday, April 6, 2012
The Impact Of Student Loan Debt
By Gabriella Landeros
Like many college students, I am about to graduate from college. and one of the biggest concerns we all share is loans. How do the banks/government expect us to pay back money we don’t have, especially when jobs are so scarce? Should we take the risk in hoping to find a job after graduation or attend graduate school?
All the debt that accumulates during a college student’s experience creates a new mode of thinking where instead of taking a break after college, we decide to pursue all the education we can now, and suffer later. This approach is guided by the hopes that the future job after graduate school will be enough to help pay back the amass amount of loans.
Although loans are commonly needed to help afford college tuition, debt possessed by students has reached an extreme height.
According to a 2009 briefing report entitled, “Drowning in debt: the emerging student loan crisis,” authored by Kevin Carey and Erin Dillon, “If [loan debt] continues, the consequences will be severe: reduced access to higher education, diminished life choices, and increasing rates of catastrophic loan default.”
“Surging above $1 trillion, U.S. student loan debt has surpassed credit card and auto-loan debt. This debt explosion jeopardizes the fragile recovery, increases the burden on taxpayers and possibly sets the stage for a new economic crisis,” wrote the Associated Press‘ Tom Raum. This causes many implications for taxpayers because “8 in 10 of of the loans are government based,” Raum added.
Education plays a vital role in everyone’s lives, and the program President Lyndon Johnson created in 1965 to help fund college education has been altered so many times that there is now an array of public, government, and private loans.
According to The Economist, “The result is a shifting, difficult landscape only barely understood even by insiders. For students, the task is that much larger. They must choose between an array of products, including subsidized and unsubsidized ‘Stafford’ loans (named after a Republican senator) via the William D. Ford loan programme (named for a Michigan congressman), loans directly from the government, ‘Plus’ loans (for parents of dependent children) and ‘Perkins’ loans (named after a congressman from Kentucky), plus an array of private options.”
President Obama has offered many proposals to fix the system and make loan repayments easier. According to John Hechinger from Bloomberg, the administration has “proposed requiring that debt collectors let student-loan borrowers make payments based on what they can afford, rather than on the size of their debt.” Although this is some progress, college tuition still continues rising, faster than the rate of inflation. Not only is skyrocketing tuition burdening students, but the overall economy, as well.
“Student loan debt recently topped $25,000, up 25 percent in 10 years” wrote Raum.
“Universities and colleges just raise their tuition. It doesn’t improve affordability and it doesn’t make it easier to go to college” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics. He added, “of course, it’s very hard on the kids who have gone through this, because they’re on the hook. And they’re not going to be able to get off the hook.”
Student loan debt is not just something that impacts the 20-to-30-something crowd. According to government research, “Americans 60 and older still owe about $36 billion in student loans.” This fact complicates the situation even more because unlike other debts, student loans can’t be dismissed or lowered in bankruptcy proceedings.
William Brewer, president of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys summed it up by saying, “This could very well be the next debt bomb for the U.S. economy.”
Because of these continued onset difficulties, there is an abundance of people forced into financial problems.
In a report by Brewer’s group (National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys), “Missing just one student loan payment puts a borrower in delinquent status. After nine months, the borrower is in default. Once a default occurs, the full amount of the loan is due immediately. For those with federal student loans, the government has vast collection powers, including the ability to garnish a borrower’s wages and to seize tax refunds and Social Security and other federal benefit payments.”
When this occurs, “debts are going to be transferred from the borrower to the taxpayer” said Nigel Gault, chief U.S. economist at IHS Global Insight. This will then cause more economic turmoil for housing in the U.S. since young adults are usually the ones buying first-time homes. If they don’t have money to pay the mortgage, economic downfall will continue in the U.S. until something drastic gets done.
Obama stressed the interest rate of student loans in his State of the Union Address, “At a time when Americans owe more tuition debt that credit card debt, this Congress needs to stop the interest rates on student loans from doubling in July.”
The president said he wanted Congress to “Extend the tuition tax credit we started that saves millions of middle-class families thousands of dollars, and give more young people the chance to earn their way through college by doubling the number of work-study jobs in the next five years.”
“We can’t just keep subsidizing skyrocketing tuition; we’ll run out of money. States also need to do their part, by making higher education a higher priority in their budgets. And colleges and universities have to do their part by working to keep costs down,” Obama added.
According to Pat Garofalo from Think Progress, “Unless Congress acts, the interest rate on federal student loans will double this summer from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent.”
This has given way to a predictable clash between Democrats and Republicans over what to do.
“Obama’s administration has called for Congress to prevent the increase of interest rate, while House Republicans are claiming that spending $6 billion to prevent the interest rate increase would require cuts to other higher education programs,” added Garofalo.
“So let me put colleges and universities on notice: If you can’t stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down. Higher education can’t be a luxury- it is an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford” added Obama.
Two sides to this situation, but the bottom line is that student loan debt exceeding $1 trillion is having a negative trickle-down effect upon the economy, causing families to suffer. Doubling the interest rates would only make things more severe.
Let’s not put down education, let’s embrace it.
Read the original article on the Talk Radio News Service site.
Read the original article on the Talk Radio News Service site.
U.S. Announces Additional Humanitarian Relief To Syria
By Gabriella Landeros
The U.S. is working toward providing deeper humanitarian relief to Syria and securing access for humanitarian organizations to reach citizens in need of help.
In an announcement on Sunday, the U.S. State Department said that it had agreed to provide an additional $12.2 million in humanitarian assistance, which brings total U.S. assistance to nearly $25 million since the government-led crackdown in Syria began.
According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS), the U.S. Governmental Humanitarian Aid will be supplied by the State Department, the Department of Defense and USAID, which is the main agency that regulates U.S. government and private sector foreign assistance.
According to the State Department, the money will support domestic and international humanitarian partners, with $10.5 million going to the World Food Program (WFP), $8.5 million going to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), $3 million going to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and $2.8 million going to non-governmental organizations (NGO).
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will provide supplies such as medical services, food, water, blankets, hygiene kits, and heaters to support Syrians now living in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, and also include aid to host families who are sheltering Syrians because of the continuous violence.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced their concern for humanitarian aid on March 14th, stating it was “voicing serious concern over the state of food security, especially for vulnerable groups.
“WFP [World Food Program] estimates that 1.4 million people have become food insecure as a result of the violence,” the group added.
Not all nations, however, are on board with the continued funding to Syria. According to Reuters, a senior US representative who visited Moscow said that getting Russia to join the effort has been difficult.
“We have a difference of approach, clearly, on Syria, but there’s not been an end to communication between Moscow and Washington on this matter,” said U.S. Acting Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Rose Gottemoeller. “We are talking very very closely every day about what’s happening in Syria and trying to make common cause where we can make common cause, but it’s clear that there are areas where we have a very significant disagreement on how to handle the Assad regime.”
The mission for the World Food Program (WFP) is to provide aid to displaced Syrians and host families, households that have lost breadwinners or livelihoods, female-headed households, and unaccompanied minors. Records show that WFP is providing food assistance to 100,000 people affected by the civil conflict in 11 governorates in Syria. Over 94 percent of their target (around 85,000) people received food assistance in the latest cycle of WFP distributions, while the remaining were delayed due to insecurity. When security allows, distributions will continue lending aid to the worst-affected areas.
Read the original article on the Talk Radio News Service site.
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