WASHINGTON NOTEBOOK: Now is the time for community involvement (06/22/97)

WASHINGTON NOTEBOOK
by Myron Jarosewich
Ukrainian National Information Service

Now is the time for community involvement

The U.S. Congress is currently deliberating funding of U.S. foreign assistance to Ukraine for the government's Fiscal Year (FY) 1998, which will run from October 1, 1997, through September 30 of next year. This year there is a significant difference between President Bill Clinton's request for $900 million in assistance to the new independent states and proposals by Congress, which is considering amounts as low as $625 million.

Assistance to the region is allocated by Congress through the appropriations process. Last year, Congress allocated $225 million specifically to Ukraine by passing an earmark, an irrevocable allocation of funds for particular projects. Within that earmark for Ukraine, even more specific allocations, sub-earmarks, were made for individual reform efforts.

However, this year there is the possibility of radical reduction in foreign assistance for Ukraine.

Now is the time for the Ukrainian American community to work with their elected officials and voters are urged to contact their representatives and senators to support the president's request of $900 million for the NIS countries, of which $225 million is designated for Ukraine.

It is essential that during the next month, before Congress leaves for summer recess, the Ukrainian-American community become pro-active in the political process in order to ensure that Ukraine receives the assistance it needs.

Even though Ukraine is politically stable, it still needs continued assistance to revitalize its economy and reform the judicial system. While there is a greater understanding within the administration about the strategic importance of Ukraine, and certain members of Congress believe in the long-term positive prospects for Ukraine, many more are unaware or do not believe in Ukraine's significance. Furthermore, recent press coverage of corruption in Ukraine has caught the attention of Congress, especially Rep. Sonny Callahan (R-Ala.), chairman of the House Foreign Operations Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee. Many congressmen feel strongly that cutting off U.S. foreign assistance to Ukraine will shock Ukraine's leaders into acting on reforms.

However, a more rational course of action is to continue funding specific programs to combat corruption, reform commercial and tax laws, and help the economy.

For Ukraine-related issues, the most relevant congressional committees include: International Relations (House of Representatives); Foreign Relations (Senate), and the Appropriations Committees (in both the houses). Foreign assistance programs originate in the Foreign Operations Subcommittee, one of several issue-related committees within the Appropriations Committee. Members of the Ukrainian community should contact congressmen on these committees to inform them of the importance of improving U.S.-Ukraine bilateral relations.

Informing members of Congress can be best achieved by establishing personal contacts through meetings with their legislative assistants (LAs). Each senator or representative has several LAs who are responsible for staying informed on specific issues and, in turn, keeping their senator/representative informed; thus, LAs are very important in the formulation of a member's opinions.

The Ukrainian National Information Service (UNIS), as the only full-time public affairs office that represents the interests of the Ukrainian American community in Washington, calls upon the Ukrainian American community to become involved now. In light of the threat to continued assistance for Ukraine, the Ukrainian American community needs to once again become involved in the political process, as it has done so many times in years prior.

Without active engagement in informing Congress on the need to assist Ukraine and its positive aspects, misperceptions in Washington and throughout the U.S. about Ukraine will continue. Without such actions, members of Congress may vote against assisting Ukraine, claiming that they do not hear from constituents in their district. Our community must make its voice heard.

To help the community stay informed, UNIS relies on two major ways of disseminating information: Congressional Alerts and Action Items.

A Congressional Alert is an informational release sent to acquaint interested individuals with events in Congress that are important to Ukraine and to the community.

Most important is the Action Item, which calls upon the community to take a specific action. Action items often call for a letter-writing, faxing and telephone campaign. During a letter-writing campaign, the UNIS office will prepare a sample letter (such as the one in last week's issue of The Ukrainian Weekly) and encourage the community members to personalize it and send it to their respective member of Congress. It is essential that individuals, or groups, establish direct contacts with their elected officials.

If you wish to become involved, need additional information, or may provide UNIS with contacts for activists in specific districts, please contact Myron Jarosewich, director for public relations, at (202) 547-0018.

Following is a list of key members of Congress to contact on aid to Ukraine. Call (202) 224-3121 for Capital Information.

Senate Foreign Operations Subcommittee: Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), chairman; Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), Robert Bennett (R-Utah), Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo.), Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), ranking member; Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), and Patty Murray (D-Wash.)

House Foreign Operations Subcommittee: Sonny Callahan (R-1st CD-Ala.), chairman; John Edward Porter (R-10th CD-Ill.), Frank Wolf (R-10th CD-Va.), Ron Packard (R-48th CD-Calif.), Joseph Knollenberg (R-11th CD-Mich.), Michael Forbes (R-2st CD-N.Y.), Jack Kingston (R-1st CD-Ga.), Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-11th CD-N.J.).

Nancy Pelosi (D-8th CD-Calf.), ranking member; Sidney Yates (D-9th CD-Ill.), Nita Lowey (D-19th CD-N.Y.), Thomas Foglietta (D-1st CD-Pa.), Esteban Edward Torres (D-34th CD-Calif.). (Note: CD indicates congressional district)

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