Global Fragility and Violence Reduction Act of 2018

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the bill I wrote with Mr. Engel, my good friend, the Global Fragility and Violence Reduction Act.

Mr. Speaker, one of our greatest national security challenges is preventing violent conflict around the world. Violent conflict creates hostile environments and displaces and deprives citizens. It costs the global economy over $14 trillion annually.

They also provide fertile recruiting grounds for terrorist groups and transnational criminal organizations, which I have tracked in my role as chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security. Often, these environments thrive in states that are fragile, where the government loses legitimacy in the eyes of its own people and, ultimately, its ability to govern.

When ignored, these breakdowns in a government ultimately can lead to lengthy and costly involvement by the United States. That is why, today, Congressman Engel and I are proposing an innovative, new way of thinking about these challenges.

The Global Fragility and Violence Reduction Act requires the administration to launch an initiative to reduce this fragility and violence. This will guide our efforts to reduce violent conflict and help fragile states down a path towards stability.

This bill also requires the Department of State, in coordination with USAID and the Department of Defense, to identify 10 countries or regions as a pilot program to start this new initiative. This initiative ensures local partnerships are at the core of any solution in order to deliver better long-term results.

Since each fragile state is different, this initiative is flexible to address the causes of fragility. What may work to solve the economic and migration issues of Venezuela are likely to be different than the solutions needed to help curb terrorist groups in west Africa.

By integrating the Department of State, USAID, and DOD together and prioritizing, we are reshaping how we think about how we deliver aid and development resources, preventing them from spiraling into chaos.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank, again, the ranking member; I would like to thank Chairman Royce for his friendship, as well as Mr. Poe and Mr. Smith; and I hope everybody will attend the chairman's portrait unveiling at the National Archives this evening.

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