Congressional Testimony

Testimony of Mark Feierstein, Assistant Administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean, before the Senate Foreign Relations Western Hemisphere Subcommittee

sgruber — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 20:10:28 +0000

Testimony of Mark Feierstein, Assistant Administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean, before the Senate Foreign Relations Western Hemisphere Subcommittee

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

In Latin America and the Caribbean, USAID is increasingly focused on helping the region’s governments to reduce crime and violence. This is a matter of national security for the United States, as my colleagues have just noted, as well as an economic and political imperative for the affected countries. Crime and violence are a severe drain on private and public investment in the Americas and, according to studies by USAID and the Inter-American Development Bank, the leading constraint to economic growth in some countries. Criminal activity is also arguably the greatest threat to democracy in some countries in the region, corrupting governments, restricting citizen engagement and undermining freedom of the press.

Testimony by Assistant Administrator for Africa Earl Gast before the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Africa

sgruber — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 04:00:00 +0000

Testimony by Assistant Administrator for Africa Earl Gast before the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Africa

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

The negotiated resolution to Zimbabwe’s violent electoral dispute in 2008 brought with it an opportunity for the consolidation of democratic institutions and improved systems of governance in Zimbabwe. A Government of National Unity (GNU) was formed, composed of Zimbabwe’s then-ruling party, Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), and the two factions of the former opposition party, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)—MDC-T (Tsvangirai) and MDC-N (Ncube). Together, the parties of the unity government agreed on a roadmap to achieve sustained political stability through stronger democratic processes. Broadly, the General Political Agreement (GPA) required that the GNU would draft a new constitution, enhance basic freedoms (including media), and reform Zimbabwe’s security sector before the next elections were held.

USAID has strongly supported the unity government’s efforts to implement the GPA, including the development of a new constitution, which was adopted in May 2013. The U.S. Government worked with the Zimbabwean Parliament and civil society to ensure that the new constitution would expand protections under the bill of rights and enhance gender equity provisions. USAID support for civil society activities culminated in an awareness-raising program highlighting the need for youth to peacefully participate in the March 16 referendum through which a record voter turnout overwhelmingly endorsed the new constitution.

Testimony of Elizabeth Hogan, Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean, before the House Foreign Affairs Committee

sgruber — Fri, 24 May 2013 20:26:19 +0000

Testimony of Elizabeth Hogan, Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean, before the House Foreign Affairs Committee

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Mr. Chairman, the impressive progress in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) over the past several decades has enabled USAID to completely shift our development approach away from providing direct assistance and toward strengthening countries’ capacity to provide for their own people. While our relationship with Mexico has been a bit different than in other parts of the region, today our joint cooperation serves as a catalyst for the Mexican government, private sector and civil society to improve their ability to address the country’s biggest challenges and ultimately lead their own development.

USAID considers insecurity related to high levels of crime and violence in Mexico to be a grave threat to the remarkable development advances of recent decades. Cartels and criminal groups have diversified in recent years, expanding beyond drug trafficking and into extortion, kidnapping, murder and other crimes that adversely affect people’s lives. Analyses in LAC countries indicate that high levels of crime and violence are a leading constraint to economic growth, because it discourages investment and diverts resources away from productive investments to security.

Statement of Nancy Lindborg, Assistant Administrator for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance

sgruber — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:46:50 +0000

Statement of Nancy Lindborg, Assistant Administrator for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Last week, along with Acting Assistant Secretary Don Yamamoto, I attended a conference in Brussels where 80 nations came together to pledge support for Mali as it seeks a pathway back to democracy, peace and prosperity. President Traore of Mali began the meeting by thanking the international community for its help and expressing his gratitude for the fact that, in the north of Mali, people are no longer having their hands and feet cut off by terrorists, women are no longer being raped, and Islam is no longer being defamed as a tool of terrorists. In his speech, he emphasized that “we must learn our lessons from bad governance and realize that the collapse of this house of cards endangered our people as well as the entire region.” He commended all of us “to address the root causes of this crisis with good governance as the first priority.”

Testimony of Deputy Administrator Donald Steinberg before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations

sgruber — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:19:45 +0000

Testimony of Deputy Administrator Donald Steinberg before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

USAID makes critical contributions to the U.S. Government’s work to aid children in adversity. Our work to help children to first survive, then thrive, is an important piece of the efforts being coordinated under the recently-released U.S. Government Action Plan for Children in Adversity. The action plan represents the work of more than seven different agencies across the government—and is one of finest examples of interagency collaboration and coordination in recent years.

Testimony of Neil Boothby, PhD , U.S. Government Special Advisor and Senior Coordinator to the USAID Administrator on Children in Adversity, before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations

sgruber — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:24:38 +0000

Testimony of Neil Boothby, PhD , U.S. Government Special Advisor and Senior Coordinator to the USAID Administrator on Children in Adversity, before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

The U.S. Government Action Plan on Children in Adversity is the first-ever whole-of-government strategic guidance for U.S. Government international assistance for children. It is a requirement of Public Law 109-95. Seven U.S. Government agencies and departments have endorsed the Action Plan, which was cleared by OMB and launched at the White House on December 19, 2012.

Testimony of Administrator Rajiv Shah before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations

sgruber — Thu, 09 May 2013 20:57:16 +0000

Testimony of Administrator Rajiv Shah before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Thank you Chairman Leahy, Ranking Member Graham, and members of the Committee. I am pleased to join you to discuss the President's fiscal year 2014 budget request for USAID.

In his State of the Union address, President Obama called upon our nation to join with the world in ending extreme poverty in the next two decades. Today, we have new tools that enable us to achieve a goal that was simply unimaginable in the past: the eradication of extreme poverty and its most devastating corollaries, including widespread hunger and preventable child and maternal deaths.

Testimony of Administrator Rajiv Shah before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs

sgruber — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 20:21:51 +0000

Testimony of Administrator Rajiv Shah before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs

Thursday, April 25, 2013

The President’s fiscal year 2014 budget request responds to this call and the most critical development challenges of our time. It supports important global partnerships, including the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition and the Child Survival Call to Action, by increasing and focusing investments in food security and maternal and child health. It builds resilience in areas besieged by recurrent crisis and natural disaster, with a focus on the Horn of Africa and Sahel regions. And it advances a comprehensive food aid reform package that will enable us to feed two to four million additional people each year.

Testimony of Administrator Rajiv Shah Before The Senate Foreign Relations Committee

sgruber — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 19:02:29 +0000

Testimony of Administrator Rajiv Shah Before The Senate Foreign Relations Committee

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Testimony of Administrator Rajiv Shah before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations

sgruber — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 19:23:23 +0000

Testimony of Administrator Rajiv Shah before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations

Wednesday, April 24, 2013