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I was fortunate to collaborate
with Marla to establish this program. Through my work as
the ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s
Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related
Programs, I was able to negotiate the outlines of the
program with the Defense and State Departments and then
introduce and enact the legislation that chartered the
unprecedented aid program for war victims, first in
Afghanistan, and later in Iraq. These programs help the
innocent victims of war in both countries in a variety of
ways, ranging from medical needs to home and school
construction.
In April 2005, Marla was
tragically killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq, herself
becoming an innocent victim of war.
Marla devoted her life to
facilitating the relief effort by traveling widely through
both countries to document the needs of innocent war
victims. Nearly $20 million has been used for this effort
in Afghanistan and Iraq since enactment of this measure in
2003, and another $10 million was allocated in 2005 to
replenish the fund to continue its work. |
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Marla Ruzicka, seen here
with a young Iraqi child, devoted her life to
helping innocent victims of war in Iraq and
Afghanistan. Sen. Leahy has worked to secure
funding for her efforts to continue. |
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