The Department Of State, Foreigh Operations And Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2008

Floor Speech

THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE, FOREIGN OPERATIONS AND RELATED PROGRAMS APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2008 -- (House of Representatives - June 21, 2007)

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Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

My amendment would repeal a section of U.S. law that require s a report to Congress 15 days before any U.S. assistance can be obligated for Liberia. The obligating agency, whether State or USAID, would be required to submit this paperwork in addition to information they may have already provided in their annual budget documents.

I should note that the only other countries that are currently subjected to this requirement are Sudan, Zimbabwe, Serbia, Pakistan and Cambodia.

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Mr. Chairman, as you and many of my colleagues know, for over 20 years, the people of Liberia have been subjected to the ravages of poverty, conflict, coups, and corruption. As one observer put it, ``seldom has a country sunk as far as Liberia did under the leadership of Charles Taylor and his predecessors.'' I do think I need to recount the number of casualties from wars, including the last civil war which only a few years ago with the assistance of U.S. leadership, which killed a quarter of a million of the country's 3 million people and displaced most of the rest.

In 2005, the people of the Republic of Liberia had the opportunity to go to the polls, some lining up for many hours, and open a new chapter in that country's tortuous history. When it was all said and done, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was elected President, becoming the first female president of any African country. In recognition of this historic election and the tremendo us opportunity presented by these elections, last March, the House welcomed President Johnson-Sirleaf on her visit to the U.S. during which she addressed Congress, the U.N. Security Council, and met with President Bush.

In the year and a half since then, President Johnson-Sirleaf has been busy trying to rebuild the nation's education and health system, devastated by years of war, oversee the deactivation and reintegration of the old security forces and ex-combatants, and accommodate the return of thousa nds who fled the country during the wars.

Today, I am offering a very small and simple amendment which I believe would help make a difference in helping President Johnson-Sirleaf succeed in the monumental task--and it is monumental--that lays before her.

My amendment would repeal a section of U.S. law that requires a report to Congress 15 days before any U.S. assistance can be obligated for Liberia for any purpose. The obligating agency (whether State or USAID) must submit paperwork for all obligated funds in addition to any information they may have already provided to Congress about these projects in the annual budget documents. I should note the only other countries that are currently subjected to this requirement are Sudan, Zimbabwe, Serbia, Pakistan, and Cambodia.

According to State Department and USAID officials, such requirements impose reporting, program review, and other requirements that, in some cases, substantially slow the disbursement of reconstruction assistance to Liberia. This requi rement was placed on Liberia funds beginning in the early 1990's and were put in place to give Congress the ability to exercise additional oversight when the ruthless and corrupt Charles Taylor and his predecessors ran Liberia and when U.S. assistance was relatively small. From 1996-2003, U.S. assistance ranged from $3 to $6 million.

As you know, in light of the recent elections and optimism about the future of Liberia, Congress in the last few years has significantly increased U.S. assistance to Liberia. However, some have expressed concerns, including President Johnson Sirleaf, that the current laws notification requirements are delaying the receipt of these funds for important projects to help rebuild Liberia as it emerges from conflict. According to the State Department, these delays can be as long as 4 to 6 weeks and dependent on the Appropriations Committee being available to receive them--such as in the middle of the August recess. Given Liberia's 6-month rainy season (May to October) when much work cannot be done on many projects, these delays could push projects on the ground much farther behind schedule in reality.

My amendment would prevent U.S. assistance from Liberia from being subjected to these additional reporting requirements in FY 2008. The State Department supports removing Liberia, noting that it will speed up the oblig ation of U.S. funds to this important country. The State Department notes, as do I, that these reporting requirements have outlived their usefulness with respect to Liberia. In the past, when we were dealing with the regime of Charles Taylor, they were absolutely useful and necessary.

Today, as Congress continues to express its support to President Johnson-Sirleaf and the people of Liberia, including $100 million more in aid in the bill before the House, let us support efforts to speed up--and likewise re move obstacles that would hinder--the establishment in Liberia of social and economic conditions that foster reintegration, economic growth, and rebuilding of infrastructure--including access to basic education and health services.

In these crucial but surprisingly fast moving first few months of President Sirleaf Johnson's administration, it is critical that we not only support her with words of encouragement, but remove bureaucratic obstacles that help prevent needed aid from being timely delivered to im plement reforms and show that a democratically elected government can meet the people's needs.

Removal of Liberia would not set a new precedent. Over the years. the following countries have been under and then removed from this reporting requirement: Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Colombia, Panama, Peru, Nicaragua, Jordan, and Uganda, just to name a few. It can hardly be argued that Congress exercises less oversight over assistance to those countries now than it did when they were s ubject to the obligation reporting requirement. Additionally, the FY 2006 Foreign Operations Appropriations bill that was passed by the House removed Liberia from this provision.

Why would we want to delay development assistance such as education funds to a country where more than half of the people today cannot read or write? Where male li fe expectancy at birth is slightly under 38 years and for females, slightly under 42 years. Infant mortality: 157 infants per 1,000 live births die before there first birthday.

I certainly appreciate the need for Congress to retain and exercise oversight over these funds to ensure that they are being properly used, just as we do with the other nations receiving under this bill. Indeed, most of the countries receiving funding in this bill are not subjected to this reporting requirement. Once removed from these requires, the same regular Congressional Notification process would apply to Liberia that applies to all other countries.

Let me be clear. Removing this requirement does not mean that Liberia is somehow a perfect country without problems or challenges. In fact, removing this requirement would recognize those challenges and serve to remove one more obstacle to ensure that this country and its new leaders have every opportunity to succeed.

As President Sirleaf-Johnson said in her address before Congress last March: ``They (the Liberian people) are counting on me and my administration to create the conditions that will guarantee the realization of their dreams. We must not betray their trust. All the children I meet, when I ask what they want most, say, ``I want to learn.'' ``I want to go to school.'' ``I want an education.'' We must not betray their trust.

I know that the gentlewoman from New York, the chairperson of the subcommittee, Ms. LOWEY has been keenly aware of this issue. I cer tainly appreciate the efforts made by her, her staff, and Members of the Committee as they put together this very important bill and note the Committee's appropriate role in oversight and ensuring that funds are properly spent.

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I would like to yield to the distinguished gentleman from North Carolina, Mr. David Price, for 2 minutes.

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Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Thank you so much, sir.

I just want to acknowledge that this administration has done a great deal for Liberia. Certainly Chairwoman Lowey has been exceptional. Liberia is a huge priority for her. I noted that my c olleague, Ms. SHEILA JACKSON-LEE, earlier, Mr. Chairman, added money to this bill, and as my colleague, Mr. Price, has said, this will make or break, I think, this administration that we are all so hopeful of the beautiful democracy that is budding in Liberia. This would be a precedent-setting form of assistance that will cost us no extra money.

Thank you so much.

I yield to the gentlewoman from New York.

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