IVAW to Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman: Fulfill Our Nation's Moral Obligation to Iraqi Refugees

On 25 February 2011, IVAW submitted a letter to Sentor Dan Inouye, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, urging his committee to continue to provide the financial resources needed to address the long term humanitarian situation in Iraq and neighboring countries. An estimated 1.5 million Iraqi refugees have been forced to find shelter throughout the Middle East region and another 1.5 million are internally displaced. The latter figure includes an estimated 500,000 squatters with little to no access to basic public services. 

The policies of the Coalition Provisional Authority under Paul Bremer played a major role in triggering widespread insurgency and sectarian conflict that forced millions of Iraqis from their homes in search of safe havens from the fighting. The United States  has a moral obligation to help support and resettle these refugees over the long term. The Senate Appropriations Committee's vote on the federal budget will determine whether USAID, the State Department and other foreign aid agencies operating in Iraq have the resources to accomplish this task.

IVAW's letter to the Committee Chairman can be found below.  Please contact Senator Inouye and urge him to honor our nation's moral responsibility to Iraq.

IVAW_Letter_to_Senate_Appropriations_Committee_Chairman_Concerning_Foreign_Aid_Budget.pdf