US Congress approves $93 million immediate aid for Darfur crisis

By PAULINE JELINEK

WASHINGTON, Nov 20 (AP) — The United States will spend $93 million (A?71 million) next month on the humanitarian crisis in Sudan’s Darfur region and nearly $400 million (A?307 million) over the next 10 months in Africa’s largest country.

A UN cargo plane drops humanitarian aid packages on a prefixed site miles away from the western town of El-Geneina, close to the border with Chad.

Congress’ foreign aid priorities also include $2.3 billion (A?1.8 billion) to help fight AIDS in poor countries in Africa and elsewhere. That total is $99 million (A?76 million) more than President George W. Bush requested and nearly 40 percent more than is being spent this year.

Both measures are part of a $388 billion (A?298 billion) bill that Congress passed Saturday and sent to Bush, who was expected to sign it.

Lawmakers had planned to take money for Darfur from Iraq reconstruction funds that have been spent at what Congress and the Bush administration agree has been an egregiously slow pace.

But as congressional negotiators last week worked out the aid program for Darfur, they said $93 million (A?71 million) in new emergency funds must be spent in the next 30 days.

“A humanitarian tragedy is unfolding before our eyes, and the world’s response is inadequate,” said Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat.

Some $75 million (A?57.6 million) of the money is expected to go for the African Union’s peacekeeping force in Darfur. The other $18 million (A?13.8 million) is for humanitarian assistance.

The money is part of $19.8 billion (A?15.21 billion) foreign aid plan that also spends billions on fighting AIDS in Africa, military and economic assistance in the Middle East and on helping countries that promote democracy.

Congress decided to protect issues such as children and refugee programs that the administration wanted to cut. Lawmakers also pared back by $1 billion (A?770 million) the $2.5 billion (A?1.9 billion) that Bush wanted for a program that rewards countries deemed to have effective governments and attractive programs for foreign investors and are promoters of projects to meet their people’s basic health and education needs.

The conflict in Sudan’s western Darfur region started in February 2003 when two non-Arab African rebel groups who took up arms to fight for more power and resources. The Sudanese government responded by backing Arab militias now accused of targeting civilians in a campaign of murder, rape and arson.

The United States says the Arab militias have committed genocide. The United Nations considers the situation in Darfur to be the most serious humanitarian crisis in the world.

The House on Friday passed a nonbinding resolution urging other countries to stop importing Sudanese oil and freeze the assets of any Sudanese official involved in planning or carrying out genocide in Darfur.

“We need to show that there are consequences for directing and or participating in a campaign to destroy human life on such a massive scale,” said Rep. Tom Tancredo, a Colorado Republican.

The foreign aid package also includes:

– $1.5 billion (A?1.2 billion) for child survival and health programs; that is about $130 million (A?100 million) more than Bush requested.

– $980 million (A?753 million) for Afghanistan and some neighboring countries.

– $2.6 billion (A?2 billion) in military and economic aid for Israel, $1.8 billion (A?1.4 billion) for Egypt and less than $500 million (A?384 million) for Jordan.

– About $730 million (A?561 million) for anti-drug efforts in Colombia and other Andean countries.

– $85 million (A?65 million) for Haiti.