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January 01, 2005
U.S. Boosts Tsunami Aid to $350M
President Bush on Friday pledged $350 million to help tsunami victims, and didn't rule out sending even more U.S. aid to help people recover from what he is calling an "epic disaster."

"Our contributions will continue to be revised as the full effects of this terrible tragedy become clearer," Bush said in a statement issued in Crawford, Texas, where he is staying at his ranch. "Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by this epic disaster."

The pledge of $350 million is 10 times the previous $35 million U.S. assistance package that critics called miserly considering America's vast wealth. In New York, Secretary of State Colin Powell also said more U.S. aid could be forthcoming.

"We had to wait and see what those needs were," Powell said. "I'm not sure $350 million is the end number. It's the number that we settled on for now."

[...]

Bush spoke on the phone Friday with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi and Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin. He said he increased U.S. assistance based on recommendations by Powell and Andrew Natsios, administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Powell said he wanted to make sure his recommendation to drastically increase the aid was based on accurate assessments of the need and not just a daily game among nations of "Can you top this?"

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Posted by Michele at January 1, 2005 06:12 AM | TrackBack
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