Ernst Leads Bipartisan Call for Increased Response, Humanitarian Aid to the Kurdistan Regional Government

Statement

U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) along with Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), David Perdue (R-GA), and Mike Rounds (R-SD), today sent a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry raising serious concerns about the need for support of the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) continued care and shelter for hundreds of thousands of refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) as they fight to combat ISIS on the ground. The senators called on the State Department to enhance its efforts to engage American allies in Baghdad and the broader Middle East to secure appropriate resources for the KRG.

"According to the KRG, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq currently hosts over 1.6 million refugees and IDPs, including Christians and other religious and ethnic minorities. Moreover, it has been estimated that the vast majority (approximately 97%) of the Syrian refugees in Iraq reside in the Kurdistan Region," the group of bipartisan senators wrote in the letter to Secretary Kerry.

The senators continued, "Confronted with the loss of expected fiscal transfers from Baghdad, a funding shortfall, the refugee and IDP crisis, and the war on ISIS - the KRG cannot maintain its current level of contribution and open-door policy without putting the safety and welfare of the population of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and the stability of the region at risk."

"Despite these fiscal challenges, the character of the Iraqi Kurdish people is an example for others in the region to follow. The U.S. Government must enhance its efforts to work with the KRG, the Iraqi central government in Baghdad, and our international allies to ensure that the KRG receives the financial resources it needs to continue to support those fleeing ISIS terror and to defend its territory against ISIS," the senators concluded.

Source