U.S. Humanitarian Assistance to Syria

The numbers are truly staggering. By most estimates, there have been at least a quarter million Syrians killed and possibly as much as nearly a half million. Nearly 5 million Syrians have fled to neighboring countries like Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan. There are nearly 7 million internally displaced Syrians and more than 13.5 million people are in need of assistance, with about 5.5 million people in besieged and hard-to-reach areas. In addition to the $5 billion already provided, Secretary Kerry announced $439 million in additional humanitarian assistance, and the President's budget request for Fiscal Year 2017 seeks nearly $2.1 billion through accounts that addresses the humanitarian impact of this crisis. The United States provide large sums of money and assistance every year and administer very large programs. We need to be doing everything we can to minimize the risk of waste, fraud, abuse, and diversion. The State Department and USAID are doing a good job with their humanitarian response, but we can always seek to do better.