Chairman Markey, Ranking Member Romney, Distinguished Members of this Committee: Thank you for the opportunity to testify about the important role that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) plays in addressing the climate crisis in Indo-Pacific. It is an honor to be here with you today. USAID works closely with the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, the Office of Global Change in the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, and the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the Department of State to tackle the climate change challenge in the Indo-Pacific region. USAID is grateful for the ongoing collaboration with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as we continue to align our efforts on climate change with the scope and complexity of the challenge.
Last month, I traveled to Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador to hear directly from the people impacted by the cycles of poverty, violence, climate shocks, and corruption and I travelled to assess and expand the impact U.S. assistance was having on their lives. What I saw there was a local reflection of global trends. People that continue to lose loved ones and suffer through lockdowns due to a still-raging COVID-19 pandemic that has already left 4 million people dead around the world. Families that have been traumatized by more frequent and intense hurricanes and rare weather events, many in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. And, as you indicated, everyday-citizens who are angered by poor governance, autocratic behavior, and corruption that limits opportunity, investment, prosperity, and personal freedom.
Nearly eight months after the start of the conflict, the humanitarian crisis in Tigray has deteriorated to shocking levels, and the need for action has become ever more urgent. USAID believes that a famine may already be happening in Tigray, threatening the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. If the conflict doesn’t end, and humanitarian access does not improve, this already devastating situation will get even worse.
We could see widespread famine occur in Ethiopia later this year一a situation the country has not faced since the 1980s.
The United States and our neighbors in the Caribbean remain strong partners with shared values and interests. For the past 16 years during the month of June, we have celebrated these values and the countless contributions of the Caribbean-American diaspora community as part of Caribbean-American Heritage month. And we look forward to deepening these ties in the months and years ahead. Our partnership with the Caribbean is based not only on shared culture and values, but also on the understanding that what affects one of us, affects all of us.
President Biden is committed to a foreign policy that unites our democratic norms and institutions with our leadership on the world stage—one that is centered on promoting democracy and advancing human rights. We know that societies that respect and defend human rights and protect fundamental freedoms are more stable, prosperous, and secure, make strong trade partners, and are better equipped to confront global challenges. Yet in the Indo-Pacific, significant deficits in citizen-responsive governance and respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms, and democratic norms and institutions compromise stability and prosperity in a region of the world home to the majority of humanity. While USAID and its partners have been adapting to meet these challenges, we also recognize that much more needs to be done, and we are looking forward to doing so in alignment with this Administration’s priorities and in consultation with the U.S. Congress
U.S. leadership will help to overcome this pandemic, but we cannot do it alone. Our partners are essential to our success. USAID is working closely with other agencies within the U.S. government, the global community, including the World Health Organization, our partner countries, non-governmental organizations, other donors, and the private sector. We are urging other countries to provide more funding for global COVID-19 response efforts and to advance information sharing, transparency, and accountability across these efforts.
It is not enough to only end the COVID-19 pandemic. USAID is committed to building back a better world, one that is better prepared to prevent, detect, and respond to future biological threats, and where all people can live safe, prosperous, and healthy lives.
Thank you, Chairwoman Lee, Ranking Member Rogers, Chairwoman DeLauro, and members of the Subcommittee. Let me start by expressing my deep gratitude for the continued bipartisan support for the work we do at USAID. This support for development and humanitarian assistance has saved and improved millions of lives and it is critically important in advancing U.S. interests around the world.
Humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia, how the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is providing life-saving assistance, and the ongoing challenges that impact our response efforts.
Thank you Chairman Coons, Ranking Member Graham, Chairman Leahy and distinguished Members of the Subcommittee. I am grateful for the opportunity to discuss the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 President’s discretionary request for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Our investments in development and humanitarian assistance have grown even more necessary in light of today’s challenges. A persistent pandemic has left 3.5 million dead, at least, and swelled the ranks of the extreme poor for the first time since the late 1990s. It has also exposed the pervasive inequities that continue to fray societies across the globe. Authoritarian regimes like China and Russia are acting more aggressively each year, exploiting not only the COVID-19 emergency, but vulnerabilities in our democracies. A rapidly changing climate is sending fiercer storms our way and inflicting droughts, deep freezes, and wildfires upon communities. Mass displacement is at its highest since World War II. Every day in fact, and Senator Coons, I’m assuming you have this experience as well but when you read the news, it seems as though a new horrific crisis has emerged, such as that in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, where Ethiopians are facing the worst food insecurity the country has seen since the 1983-84 famine killed over 1 million people. And of course, against this backdrop, China is increasingly using its financial power as leverage to advance its interests.
Chairwoman Lee, Ranking Member Rogers, Distinguished Members of this Subcommittee: Thank you for the opportunity to testify about the important role the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) plays in mobilizing climate finance and addressing the climate crisis. It is an honor to be here with you today. USAID is grateful for the ongoing collaboration with this Subcommittee as we work to align our efforts on climate change with the scope and complexity of the challenge.
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Last updated: September 26, 2021
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