The United States Congresswoman, representing the western State of Nevada – using her influential role in the House Foreign Affairs Committee – has taken an active role in getting the Congress and the State Department to assist the economically-devastated Sri Lanka, well reflected in her participation at a humanitarian assistance testimony in Capitol Hill last week.

She questioned two officials attached to the US Agency for International Development (USAID) who were summoned to give details of the economic calamity in Sri Lanka.The submission at the session of the Foreign Affairs Committee and her official discourses with the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has made Washington lawmakers and policymakers to bring their serious attention to Sri Lanka’s current economic recession.

The Sri Lankan expatriates, domiciled in the State of Nevada, and their organizations, such as the Sri Lanka-America Chamber of Commerce, a national organization to bring both nations together on economic cooperation promoting American investments in Sri Lanka, and their civic grouping Sri Lanka-America Association of Las Vegas, were instrumental in maintaining close discourses and rapport with U.S. Senators and House Members as well as their senior staff in Washington which has made this break-through possible.

Both organizations are headed by political activist Sanje Sedera who gets the active corporation and assistance of the expatriates who form the governing bodies of these two organizations to establish, maintain and strengthen these contacts especially during the past decade to bring significant focus on Sri Lanka.

The discourses between the Sri Lankan expatriate organizations and Congresswoman Dina Titus, among other lawmakers, is culminating in drafting two communications – from the Congresswoman scheduled for dispatch in the second week of August – to both Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Administrator of USAID Samantha Power calling for greater humanitarian assistance, and advocate greater U.S. effort to support democratic reforms in this South Asian nation.

The Legislative Director Joel Cohen of Congresswoman Titus confirmed to Sri Lankan expatriates in an email communication that over $179 million in aid already sent to Sri Lanka by the State Department was a result of Ms. Titus’ continued pressure on Washington lawmakers and policymakers.

Ms. Titus, in her new communication to the Secretary of State and Administrator of the USAID, is expected to emphasize speedy humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka, a spokesman for the expatriates said.Addressing the special session of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee last week Congresswoman Dina Titus alerted Washington that a large percentage of Sri Lankans are not sure whether or where they could get their next meal.

Concerned about getting speedy humanitarian assistance Ms. Titus queried from one of the two officials who represented the USAID at the Hearing “how would you know with whom you have to work with when the government is in turmoil” to which the answer was USAID is working with humanitarian personnel on the ground in collaboration with the World Food Program (WFP) for emergency assistance. The official noted that a group of US humanitarian team is already on the ground in Sri Lanka.

Further concerned about Sri Lanka’s dire situation, Congresswoman Dina Titus made her voice loud in stating “all these assistance programmes are great. You (addressing the two USAID officials) need to get specific details and data of the ground situation so that you can anticipate future issues and problems. Try to get ahead of them, because if it takes long to address those issues people continue to be starving”.

One of the USAID officials reacted by saying that they are focusing on short-term assistance of nutrition for children, and that they were very much concerned about a future shock in the economic front in Sri Lanka.

A spokesman for the Sri Lankan expatriates said that the diplomatic prowess of the two organizations – the Chamber and the Association – made it possible to bring Sri Lankan issues – some of which are critical – to the door step of Washington lawmakers and policymakers to go this far in getting their close attention to the plight the nation is facing. Sri Lankans who are on the governing bodies of the two organizations, the spokesman said, in the past decade or so constantly used their public affairs and public diplomacy skills to focus on Sri Lanka’s domestic pressing issues.

Congresswoman Dina Titus stands out as one of the prominent lawmakers using her rapport with the House Foreign Affairs and Appropriations committees as well as the top officials in the State Department to assist Sri Lanka at this hour of need, said the spokesman. It was her untiring efforts during the Covid-19 period that 600,000 vaccines were increased to 1.5 million last year.