If confirmed, I will work to strengthen the institution of USAID and invest in the capabilities of the agencies dedicated 10,000 foreign service officers, civil servants, locally employed staff, contractors and other personnel. This means seeking out and amplifying their insights, learning about specific local needs and adapting our programs. It means addressing the issues related to diversity, equity, inclusion and advancement within USAID's workforce. And it means emphasizing what President Biden himself and both of you, I think already have stressed, development is critical to America's ability to tackle the toughest problems of our time: economic, humanitarian, and geopolitical.
Since 2019, USAID has coordinated with Interim President Guaidó to implement democracy and governance programs, to support the interim government and the National Assembly structurally operate as best as possible under these challenging circumstances. In 2019, we formally established our cooperation when then USAID Administrator Mark Green signed a Development Objective Agreement (DOAG) with the Interim Government. However, USAID began our support for democracy in Venezuela long before this Agreement. For the past several years, with your bipartisan support, we have been assisting human-rights defenders, independent media, and civil society inside Venezuela. The United States, along with several other governments, has provided technical and financial support to the National Assembly, which helps this body remain operational as the sole source of legitimate, democratic, citizen-responsive governance in Venezuela.
Looking long term, we understand that COVID-19 will continue to have multiple effects in the months and years ahead. We remain committed to working with governments, civil society, faith-based organizations, academia, and the private sector in our African partner countries through this pandemic, now and into the future. No other nation can match our unparalleled generosity, our open, collaborative approach, or our long-term commitment to helping communities on their Journey to Self-Reliance. At the same time, other countries need to do their fair share, and USAID is working with the Department of State to increase burden sharing by other donor countries.
The world is constantly changing, and it is imperative that we at USAID change along with it. From the new nature of humanitarian and development needs, to shifts in government versus private financial flows, to innovative new technologies that have reshaped the way we work—today’s landscape is vastly different than it was just 20 years ago. Former Administrator Mark Green set USAID on a bold path of Transformation, through interconnected reforms to our workforce, structure, programs, and policies. We initiated this process with one goal in mind: building the USAID of tomorrow, an Agency better-placed to respond to dynamic challenges, foster self-reliance, and one day end the need for foreign assistance.
On June 16, 2020, USAID released its WPS Implementation Plan, which describes concrete steps we will take to expand and strengthen our work to empower women and girls in countries affected by crisis and conflict. Our Implementation Plan will help us advance the WPS Strategy through effective, coordinated actions across our development programs and humanitarian assistance and strengthen our programs to advance women’s leadership in preventing and resolving conflict, countering violent extremism, and supporting post-conflict recovery.
Throughout all our activities, USAID identifies and pilots innovative approaches; employs rigorous evaluation and metrics to identify what works and what does not work; and gathers and shares the evidence with partners, other donors, and the private sector to scale up programs that are effective and efficient. While the challenge is daunting, there are tremendous opportunities. USAID has significantly increased our work to address these challenges, and we will continue to expand our investments in this area using well-designed, sustainable approaches at the national and sub-national levels to make progress on the ground and reduce waste. With Missions around the world eager to engage, USAID is well-placed to support the USG in playing a leading role to confront ocean plastic pollution.
As you are fully aware, the COVID-19 pandemic is unique, in that it is causing widespread health and economic devastation across the world, in developed and developing countries alike. The challenges that COVID-19 brings forward have the ability, if unchecked, to magnify underlying and ongoing development challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean, which potentially undermines the significant investments made through the generosity of the American people. USAID recognizes that, to protect development efforts in the region adequately, we must begin to look to the future, adapt our processes and structures accordingly, and act. Of course, this is all in addition to the immediate priority of helping our hemispheric neighbors protect themselves from and combat COVID-19.
Today, faced with COVID-19, the United States is again demonstrating clear and decisive leadership. The United States has mobilized as a nation to combat the virus, both at home and abroad, by committing more than $12 billion to benefit the global COVID response overseas. USAID is working with the U.S. Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, and State, as part of an All-of-America response. With $2.3 billion in emergency supplemental funding generously appropriated by Congress, including nearly $1.7 billion for foreign assistance implemented by USAID and the State Department, we are financing health care; humanitarian assistance; and economic, security, and stabilization efforts worldwide.
Wednesday, March 11, 2020
In summary, members of the Committee, we believe the Sahel is a region that requires flexible programs that address localized conflicts and stresses, and recognizes people often self-identify in terms that cross borders and ignore modern government institutions. We seek to build resilience, increase constructive options and opportunities for individuals (especially youth), resolve conflict through tailored mediation and reconciliation programs, and promote peace-and-stability affirming messages to counter extremist propaganda. We would welcome the opportunity to expand our work. We pledge to continue to work closely with the Departments of State and Defense on a coordinated, whole-of-government approach in the region. We welcome your input, counsel, and appreciate your ongoing support.
The President’s Budget Request for FY 2021 for accounts that USAID fully and partially manages is approximately $19.6 billion. It proposes $2.1 billion for USAID-Global Health programs and $5.9 billion for the Economic Support and Development Fund (ESDF). In terms of USAID’s humanitarian assistance, it requests $6 billion for the International Humanitarian Assistance account, which—when combined with carryover resources from FY 2020—will enable us to support an average annual level of nearly $9 billion for FY 2020 and 2021 for overseas humanitarian assistance alone. This would be the second highest level ever and maintains the United States’ role as the largest humanitarian donor in the world. At the same time, we expect other donor countries to contribute their fair share.
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Last updated: June 22, 2022
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