Washington (November 10, 2023) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) joined 20 colleagues, led by Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), along with Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Brian Schatz (D-Hawai'i), in a letter to Democratic and Republican Senate and Appropriations leadership urging the inclusion of the full $10 billion in humanitarian assistance requested by the President in the national security supplemental.

“Beyond the moral significance of continuing our country’s tradition as the world’s leader in delivering life-saving humanitarian aid, this assistance promotes global stability and security by helping manage and provide for displaced populations, preventing recruitment to extremism, and mitigating economic pressure on partner governments,” wrote the senators.

The letter highlights the ongoing conflicts in Europe and the Middle East and the devastating impacts these global crises have on millions of innocent civilians caught in the middle. The Senators urge U.S. leadership in ensuring aid reaches sick, wounded, and displaced civilians.

“Without these funds, global efforts led by the United States to address ongoing and expanded crises in Sudan, Nagorno-Karabakh, Burma, Syria, and other humanitarian responses will suffer reductions in support. This would directly threaten U.S. national security and the security of our partners,” the letter continues.

Joining Senators Markey, Merkley, Van Hollen, Kaine, Welch, and Schatz, this letter is signed by Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

Full text of the letter can be found here.

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