A 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the Central and Western Regions of Nepal on April 25, 2015. More than 8,000 people were killed and an estimated 3 million people were displaced by the earthquake. An estimated half a million homes were destroyed. The cost of the disaster has been estimated at approximately $7 billion. The Nepali people face the immense challenge of trying to rebuild what was lost. A Nepal National Reconstruction Authority was established by ordinance, but reportedly has been slow to distribute the approximately $4 billion pledged for reconstruction at an international donors conference held in June 2015. While Nepal appears to have largely been spared a cholera outbreak in the aftermath of the earthquake, aid workers are concerned that little has been done to rebuild with winter approaching. Many observers believe the devastation wrought by the April 2015 earthquake acted as an impetus for the second Constituent Assembly, elected in 2013, to reach agreement on a new constitution. The long-awaited document was voted into effect in September, with 507 of 601 CA members voting in favor. Members of Madhese political parties, representing constituencies in the southern Terai plains, boycotted the vote. The Madhesi Jan Adhikar Forum won 10 seats in the 2013 CA election while the Terai Madhes Loktantrik Party won 11 seats. The new constitution does not delineate provinces along ethnic lines as is desired by some groups in Nepal (see " Political Developments " section below). It also reportedly has stirred agitation by including a provision that full Nepali citizenship only be granted to those individuals with two Nepali parents. Many of the Terai have a parent from India. While many analysts had hoped that the new constitution would provide unity and help to consolidate Nepal's fledgling democracy, upon its release it triggered violent protests from among disaffected groups in Nepal's south, who contend that it continues discrimination against them. According to a leader of the Unified Madhesi Democratic Front, an umbrella group of Madhesi political parties, "we are burning the document as it curtailed our rights." The United States recognized an independent Nepal in 1947 and established diplomatic ties in 1948. Relations between the two nations are described by the State Department as friendly. U.S. policy objectives toward Nepal center on helping it build a peaceful, prosperous and democratic society. The United States works with Nepal to promote political and economic development, decrease the country's dependence on humanitarian assistance, and increase its ability to make positive contributions to regional security and the broader global community. Nepal is the 17 th -poorest country in the world, with approximately one in four citizens living in poverty. As such, it has a great need for economic development and foreign assistance. United States assistance seeks to "cement gains in peace and security, further the democratic transition, support the continued delivery of essential social services, scale up proven effective health interventions and address the challenges of food insecurity and climate change." The United States has provided $1.6 billion in assistance to Nepal since 1951. The U.S Agency for International Development (USAID) Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) for the period 2014-2018 is focused on fostering "a more democratic, prosperous and resilient country." The CDCS features three key development objectives: more inclusive and effective governance, inclusive and sustainable economic growth to reduce extreme poverty, and increased human capital. These development objectives are designed to be mutually reinforcing. Assisting Nepal's efforts to respond to disasters and to stabilization operations and security sector reform are other key areas of United States assistance to Nepal. The FY2016 foreign assistance request for Nepal totals $82.4 million. A bipartisan Congressional Nepal Caucus is chaired by Representatives Anders Crenshaw and Jared Polis. The caucus serves as "an informal group of Members dedicated to educating the American public and policymakers on U.S. policy objectives toward Nepal including supporting democratic institutions and economic liberalization, promoting peace and stability in South Asia, supporting Nepalese territorial integrity, and alleviating poverty and promoting development." The House Democracy Partnership has also engaged with Nepal. More than 4,200 Peace Corps volunteers served in Nepal between 1962 and 2004, when the program was suspended due to civil war. The program was restarted in 2012 and there currently are about 70 volunteers working on food security projects in Nepal. Nepal is a parliamentary democracy led by the Prime Minister and cabinet with a largely ceremonial presidency. The Constituent Assembly (CA) has 601 seats, with 575 elected and 26 appointed by the cabinet. The Nepali Congress Party (NC), with 196 of 575 elected seats, and the Communist Party of Nepal Unified Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML), with 175 seats, led the government in coalition under the leadership of the NC until recently. Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli of the CPN-UML was elected prime minister by the CA in October 2015. He replaces Sushil Koirala of the NC. Oli has "articulated a tougher line towards India" and is seen as less sympathetic towards the Madhese of the Terai than his predecessor. Many observers see Oli's inclusion of the NC in his coalition as boding well for political stability within parliament. Parliament elected Bidhya Devi Bhandari as the country's first female President on October 28, 2015. The Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist, which was the largest party after the 2008 election, is now the third-largest party in the CA. With 371 of 575 elected seats, the NC and the CPN-UML together enjoy a strong majority. Ethnic, communal, ideological, and regional cleavages continue to be sources of conflict. An estimated 45 people were killed in violent protests over the Nepali constitution in August and September 2015. Most of those killed were in the Terai. This recent violence stems from a regionally-based, socio-political cleavage in Nepali society between the Madhese and Tharu people of the Terai and "hill" or Pahadi people who have traditionally held power in Nepal. The Madhese of the lowland Terai region that spans the southern border with India have expressed discontent with the political status quo for some time. Political agitation and violence in the Terai in 2007-2008 led to negotiations with the government to address discrimination against people from the Terai. According to some reports, strikes by Madhese and police curfews in the Terai have significantly restricted trade across the border with India. The state-owned Indian Oil Corporation also reportedly was instructed not to refuel Nepalese tankers. This has led to severe fuel shortages in Nepal, which Kathmandu has blamed on India. New Delhi denies imposing an unofficial blockade to force changes in Nepal's constitution that would be more favorable for the Madhese, who traditionally have closer ties to India than the rest of Nepal. India did seal the border for 13 months in 1988-1989. The Government of Nepal has responded to the fuel shortage by seeking to reduce its dependence on India and gain greater access to fuel from China. On October 28, 2015, Nepal signed a Memorandum of Understanding with China to import petroleum products from China, which has the potential to end India's monopoly and thereby reduce somewhat India's leverage over Nepal. Transport linkages between Nepal and China are limited at present. The Maoists previously supported opposition parties who have favored redrawing the country's district map based on ethnic identity in order to address grievances of ethnic groups that feel they have been underrepresented in the key institutions of the state. One concern with this approach is that it could exacerbate divisions within Nepali society by accentuating subnational ethnic, regional, and linguistic identities over identification with the overall state of Nepal. One lesson that disaffected groups may have learned from the Maoist experience is that armed insurrection can be translated into political leverage. The view reportedly held by many in Nepal—that the agitation in the Terai is in some way backed by India—may well have the effect of delegitimizing Madhese or Tharu demands in the eyes of much of the rest of the country. Religion has long been an important factor for Nepal's inhabitants, where 81% of the population is Hindu and 9% is Buddhist. Nepali is the official language, though there are over 100 regional and indigenous languages spoken in Nepal. The main geographic division in the country is between the low-lying and agriculturally productive Terai region and the more mountainous parts of the country. Never colonized, Nepal was almost totally isolated until the early 1950s. A transition from strict rule by the king to constitutional monarchy began in 1959, when then-King Mahendra issued a new constitution and held the country's first democratic elections. In 1960, however, the king declared the parliamentary system a failure, dismissed the fledgling government, suspended the constitution, and established a party-less system of rule under the monarchy. Although officially banned, political parties continued to operate and to agitate for a return to constitutional democracy. In February 1990, student groups and the major political parties launched the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy. The centrist Nepali Congress (NC) party joined with the leftist parties to hold peaceful demonstrations in Nepal's urban centers. Two months later, after more than 50 people were killed when police fired on a crowd of demonstrators, then-King Birendra turned power over to an interim government. This government drafted a constitution in November 1990, establishing Nepal as a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch as head of state. The king at that time retained limited powers, including the right to declare a state of emergency with the approval of a two-thirds majority of parliament.