Senate Okays Leahy-Kohl Effort To Boost
Humanitarian Aid To The People Of Iraq

WASHINGTON (Fri., April 4) -- A joint effort by Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) to increase food aid by $600 million for the people of Iraq and sub-Saharan Africa was approved by the Senate Thursday night as an amendment to the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations bill.  The Kohl-Leahy amendment, approved in a vote of 67 to 26, was the only Democratic amendment to the bill to pass by roll call vote.

Leahy, the ranking Democratic member of the Senate Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, and Kohl, ranking Democratic member of the panel's Subcommittee on Agriculture, teamed up to author and offer the amendment to provide food aid for the Iraqi people and reimburse food aid funds that were taken from Africa and other humanitarian aid missions to pay for operations in Iraq.  Their amendment was endorsed by more than 40 humanitarian, religious, and farm groups, including Catholic Relief Services, Save the Children and the American Red Cross.

"With the current problems for the UN's Oil-for-Food Program in Iraq, it was clear that the Administration's request falls short of the real needs," said Leahy.  "We also have to avoid a situation where we are robbing Peter to pay Paul.  Without this amendment, the Administration would not be able to restore funds diverted for Iraq that were taken from other food aid programs, including those aiding sub-Saharan Africa, where 38 million people are at risk of starvation."

The United Nations temporarily suspended the Oil-for-Food Program on March 17, 2003, leaving nearly 60 percent of the Iraqi population who depend on the program for food without adequate humanitarian aid.  Iraqi President Saddam Hussein refused to work with the United Nations to re-implement the program, which has been used to convert Iraqi oil revenues into 480,000 metric tons of food per month, distributed at distribution points throughout Iraq.

Earlier this year, during consideration of the Fiscal Year 2003 Omnibus Appropriations bill, Leahy worked with Sens. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) to include an amendment to add $500 million for food aid for sub-Saharan Africa.  Of this amount, $250 million was retained in the final version of that bill.

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