US House committee votes to boost Sudan aid

WASHINGTON, March 8 (AFP) — The House of Representatives Appropriations Committee narrowly voted Tuesday to boost emergency US food aid to Sudan by 150 million dollars.

The committee approved the measure by a vote of 32 to 31.

“Congress and the President have already declared that genocide occurred in Sudan, and America has a moral responsibility to act,” said Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr., who sponsored the aid amendment.

“Considering the turmoil in Sudan, especially the Darfur region, now more than ever, US aid and emergency assistance to Sudan is especially critical,” Jackson continued. “In Darfur, Sudan some 30 percent of the resident population is food insecure.

Nongovernmental organizations, like the World Food Program, estimate that they will need to provide food assistance for 5.6 million people in Sudan, of whom 2.3 million are in Darfur.”

The vote on the measure came as lawmakers on the panel met to consider an 81.9 billion dollar White House supplemental funding request for military and reconstruction operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.