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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release July 29, 1994

The President today transmitted to the Congress requests for emergency FY 1994 appropriations that would provide funds to assist in the humanitarian relief efforts for refugees of hostilities in Rwanda. The requested funds, totaling $320 million, are urgently needed at this time due to the emergency situation that has arisen from the sudden influx of refugees into areas bordering Rwanda.

The funds -- $270 million for the Department of Defense, $30 million for the Department of State, and $20 million for the Agency for International Development -- would assist the international community in coping with this human disaster.

Emergency funds provided to the Department of Defense would be used to:

Establish and operate airport services at Goma, Zaire, and at least one additional location;
Provide fuel, logistics support, and maintenance of vehicles and equipment for distribution of water, food supplies, and medical items;
Establish and operate an air distribution facility in Uganda, or another suitable location, for the collection, storage, and forward movement of relief supplies;
Transport supplies and equipment;
Provide safe water; and
Deploy and sustain approximately 4,000 U.S. troops.

Of the $270 million requested for the Department of Defense, $100 million would be available only upon the President transmitting a budget request to the Congress and designating the entire amount requested as an emergency requirement.

Emergency funds provided to the Department of State would enable the United States to respond to urgent appeals from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), as well as to fund private voluntary organization (PVO) humanitarian efforts in the region.

Emergency funds provided to the Agency for International Development would be used to:

Provide medicine and support medical teams;
Procure local foodstuffs; and
Safely bury refugees who have died of cholera in order to diminish the spread of disease.

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