CRS-20 for either governance or economic recovery efforts.92 This reflects a substantial increase from previous years; $23.2 million was obligated in FY2007 and $22.9 million in FY2008. Democracy and governance assistance has been augmented by funding from USAID’s global Elections and Political Processes fund (EPP). These resources support political party strengthening, voter registration, and training of election monitors. According to the State Department’s Congressional Budget Justification (CBJ), “in anticipation of a more moderate government arising in 2008,” FY2009 funding will support programs to “re-establish and strengthen democratic institutions, processes and systems, and to build legislative consensus on democratic reform.” Such programs would support legal reforms, national dialogue on key issues, civil society advocacy, and enhanced media capacity. In the event of no change in government in 2008, the CBJ proposes to reprogram these resources to aid opposition efforts to press for reforms. Congressional Interest. Several Members of Congress have issued statements highly critical of the Mugabe Administration, the delayed release of the election results, and the ongoing political violence. Some have written letters to Bush Administration officials or African leaders. On April 25, the Senate passed S.Res. 533, introduced by Senator John Kerry, calling for the immediate release of the presidential results, an end to the political violence and intimidation, and a peaceful transition to democratic rule. The resolution also supported calls for an international arms embargo and other targeted sanctions against the Mugabe regime, and encouraged the creation of a comprehensive political and economic recovery package in the event a democratic government is installed. The House passed H.Res. 1230, sponsored by Representative Donald Payne and all the House Members of the Congressional Black Caucus, among others, condemning the violence and calling for a peaceful resolution to the political crisis. H.Res. 1270, sponsored by Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, was also passed, calling for an international arms embargo, urging the United Nations to deploy a special envoy to Zimbabwe and encouraging the parties to discuss the creation of a government of national unity. Prior to the June runoff, Representative Adam Schiff introduced legislation calling on the Zimbabwe government to postpone the election. Representative Tom Tancredo has also recently introducted legislation, H.Con.Res. 387, calling for the United States to sever diplomatic ties with Zimbabwe. President Mugabe frequently claims that Western sanctions are to blame for the collapse of the country’s economy, despite the absence of trade sanctions against Zimbabwe. In 2001, Congress passed the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (ZDERA) (P.L. 107-99), criticizing the “economic mismanagement” and “undemocratic practices” in Zimbabwe. This legislation called for consultations with allies on economic sanctions and a travel ban. It also prohibited U.S. support for financial assistance to Zimbabwe by international financial institutions until the President has been able to certify that certain conditions pertaining to the rule of law, democratic elections, and legal and transparent land reform have been met. Zimbabwe is, however, already ineligible to receive loans from the International 92 This amount does not include food aid, which is allocated throughout the year in response to need.