US increases cyclone aid for Myanmar

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The additional commitment of funds, announced by press secretary Dana Perino, comes as Myanmar continues to resist entry for a U.S. disaster assessment team. The Bush administration insists that permission for such a team to enter the Southeast Asian nation and look at the damage would allow quicker and larger aid contributions.

In the meantime, the decision was made to funnel $3 million more to the disaster-stricken zone. Perino said the money would be allocated by a USAID disaster response team that is currently positioned in neighboring Thailand.

Citing United Nation estimates, Perino said the most urgent needs included plastic sheeting, water purification tablets, mosquito nets, food and emergency health kits.

The death toll from Tropical Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, also known as Burma, has soared above 22,000. The storm hit early Saturday with winds of up to 120 mph and left hundreds of thousands of people homeless.

"For Americans who want to assist the people of Burma, we encourage you to make cash donations" to reputable non-governmental groups, she said.

Meanwhile, the Treasury Department moved to make it easier for relief agencies and religious organizations to provide assistance to cyclone victims by issuing a blanket license for them to receive financial contributions from United States. Under existing U.S. sanctions on Myanmar, such transactions normally require individual licenses.

Earlier Tuesday, President Bush called on Myanmar's military junta to allow the team in.

"The United States has made an initial aid contribution but we want to do a lot more," Bush said in the Oval Office. "We're prepared to move U.S. Navy assets to help find those who have lost their lives, to help find the missing, to help stabilize the situation. But in order to do so, the military junta must allow our disaster assessment teams into the country."

Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman, said the U.S. military is ready to move Navy ships to Myanmar but will not do that until assistance is authorized. The Navy said it would take the ships about four days to make the trip.

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