Congress pushes for Syria funding boost
A bipartisan congressional effort is underway to maximize US aid intended for stabilization efforts in Syria.
The chairman of the House panel on foreign relations is leading a bipartisan push to maximize the US bankroll for the vast stabilization effort in war-torn Syria, after the Donald Trump administration zeroed out the American investment.
In a letter to the leaders of the House Appropriations Committee sent late last week, bipartisan members of the House of Representatives Syria caucus, led by Rep. Eliot Engel, D-Ny., pushed the panel’s leaders for the “highest funding possible” for State Department and USAID funding for Syria.
“Syria’s stability is essential to the long-term security of the United States and our regional allies. The fight against Al Qaeda and [the Islamic State] is not over,” read the letter, signed by a group of 18 Democrats and Republicans in the House. “By ignoring the important role these programs play in responding to radical threats, we will leave behind fertile recruiting grounds for the next generation of ISIS.”
Past funding for stabilization efforts in Syria supported efforts to get clean water running, rebuild schools, clear extensive rubble and demine areas so they are habitable again for returning Syrians, the writers said.
