January 10, 2005: Bush pledges $350 Million in Tsunami Aid, Lawmakers say amount may triple

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Thailand: Special Report: 2004 - Tsunami hits Southeast Asia: January 12, 2005: Headlines: COS - Thailand: Crisis Corps: Tsunami: Peace Corps: Over 200 RPCVs respond to Crisis Corps Call, Peace Corps to Send 30 Returned Volunteers to Thailand for Tsunami Aid: January 10, 2005: Bush pledges $350 Million in Tsunami Aid, Lawmakers say amount may triple
RPCVs and Peace Corps provide aid  Date: January 4 2005 No: 366 Latest: RPCVs and Peace Corps provide aid
Peace Corps made an appeal last week to all Thailand RPCV's to consider serving again through the Crisis Corps and more than 30 RPCVs have responded so far. RPCVs: Read what an RPCV-led NGO is doing about the crisis an how one RPCV is headed for Sri Lanka to help a nation he grew to love. Question: Is Crisis Corps going to send RPCVs to India, Indonesia and nine other countries that need help?


By Admin1 (admin) (pool-151-196-43-253.balt.east.verizon.net - 151.196.43.253) on Thursday, January 13, 2005 - 12:55 am: Edit Post

Bush pledges $350 Million in Tsunami Aid, Lawmakers say amount may triple

Bush pledges $350 Million in Tsunami Aid, Lawmakers say amount may triple

Bush pledges $350 Million in Tsunami Aid, Lawmakers say amount may triple

Bush Promises Long-Term Effort for Tsunami Victims

Mon Jan 10,11:54 PM ET

By Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush (news - web sites) pledged a long-term U.S. commitment to helping the tsunami-hit nations of South Asia on Monday and said the Banda Aceh area of Indonesia is going to require the most intense effort.

Bush was briefed by Secretary of State Colin Powell on Powell's tour last week of tsunami-hit countries. The White House said that of $350 million pledged by the U.S. government, $78 million had been spent.

Bush left open the possibility of an increase in U.S. assistance but told reporters he wanted to make sure it was "demand-driven" and to "make sure the money that is available actually achieves a coordinated objective."

 President Bush

Lawmakers and congressional aides have said they expected the Bush administration to increase the financial commitment to the region by as much as threefold to nearly $1 billion -- in an emergency budget request to be submitted to Congress in late January or February.

The emergency budget request for tsunami relief is expected to include extra funding to cover the cost of operating the Pentagon (news - web sites)'s military assets in the region -- estimated at $5 million to $6 million a day.

"This is one of these projects that is not going to happen overnight. The intense scrutiny may dissipate, it probably will. But our focus has got to stay on this part of the world. We have a duty," Bush said in remarks to U.S. officials overseeing the aid operation.

Talking to reporters in the Oval Office after his meeting with Powell, Bush said relief efforts had begun to shift from saving lives to rebuilding communities.

HARDEST HIT AREA

The Banda Aceh region of Indonesia was close to the epicenter of the Dec. 26 quake and took the biggest hit from the resulting tsunami. The province has accounted for almost all of Indonesia's 104,000 deaths from an epic disaster that has killed at least 156,000 people.

"Now we're in the process of helping to rehabilitate and reconstruct the societies. And the demand is beginning to focus on the Banda Aceh region. That is part of the world that is going to require the most intense effort by the governments around the world," he said.

In New York, former President Bill Clinton (news - web sites) announced a joint initiative with the United Nations (news - web sites) to raise $45 million to bring safe drinking water and sanitation systems to children and families affected by the tsunami.

Clinton, who was enlisted by Bush along with former President Bush to lead a nationwide appeal for assistance from the U.S. public, said he was confident of reaching the target, given the world outpouring of support.

Clinton and UNICEF (news - web sites), the U.N. Children's Fund, are seeking donations for the Tsunami Water and Sanitation Fund to www.clintonfoundation.org and www.unicefusa.org.

Later on Monday Bush was to meet with experts on the extent of tsunami monitoring around the world and whether the United States has sufficient safeguards to alert the country in the event of a similar natural disaster.

Bush was criticized for his initial reaction to the catastrophe when he pledged $15 million in U.S. government assistance to help tsunami victims but has since mobilized government, military and private aid for the victims.

(Additional reporting by Adam Entous in Washington and Larry Fine in New York)





When this story was posted in January 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:

Coleman: Peace Corps mission and expansion Date: January 8 2005 No: 373 Coleman: Peace Corps mission and expansion
Senator Norm Coleman, Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee that oversees the Peace Corps, says in an op-ed, A chance to show the world America at its best: "Even as that worthy agency mobilizes a "Crisis Corps" of former Peace Corps volunteers to assist with tsunami relief, I believe an opportunity exists to rededicate ourselves to the mission of the Peace Corps and its expansion to touch more and more lives."
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In the new session of Congress that begins this week, RPCV Congressman Tom Petri has a proposal to bolster Social Security, Sam Farr supported the objection to the Electoral College count, James Walsh has asked for a waiver to continue heading a powerful Appropriations subcommittee, Chris Shays will no longer be vice chairman of the Budget Committee, and Mike Honda spoke on the floor honoring late Congressman Robert Matsui.

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Persuading Retiring Baby Boomers to Volunteer 6 Jan
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NPCA Membership approves Board Changes 5 Jan
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Poland RPCV Rebecca Parker runs Solterra Books 2 Jan
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RPCVs and Peace Corps provide aid  Date: January 4 2005 No: 366 Latest: RPCVs and Peace Corps provide aid
Peace Corps made an appeal last week to all Thailand RPCV's to consider serving again through the Crisis Corps and more than 30 RPCVs have responded so far. RPCVs: Read what an RPCV-led NGO is doing about the crisis an how one RPCV is headed for Sri Lanka to help a nation he grew to love. Question: Is Crisis Corps going to send RPCVs to India, Indonesia and nine other countries that need help?
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Former Director Carol Bellamy, now head of Unicef, says that the appalling conditions endured today by half the world's children speak to a broken promise. Too many governments are doing worse than neglecting children -- they are making deliberate, informed choices that hurt children. Read her op-ed and Unicef's report on the State of the World's Children 2005.
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Rumors are swirling that Peace Corps Director Vasquez may be leaving the administration. We think Director Vasquez has been doing a good job and if he decides to stay to the end of the administration, he could possibly have the same sort of impact as a Loret Ruppe Miller. If Vasquez has decided to leave, then Bob Taft, Peter McPherson, Chris Shays, or Jody Olsen would be good candidates to run the agency. Latest: For the record, Peace Corps has no comment on the rumors.
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Story Source: Yahoo News

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Presidents - Bush; Tsunami

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