[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 182 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 182

   Expressing the sense of the Senate that the United States should 
    allocate significantly more resources to combat global poverty.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 16, 2001

   Mrs. Feinstein (for herself, Mr. Smith of Oregon, and Mr. Leahy) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                          on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Expressing the sense of the Senate that the United States should 
    allocate significantly more resources to combat global poverty.

Whereas the World Bank estimates that 1,200,000,000 people in the world live on 
        less than $1 a day, and of these, more than 550,000,000 are in South 
        Asia, which is 40 percent of the South Asian population, and more than 
        290,000,000 are in sub-Saharan Africa, which is approximately 50 percent 
        of the sub-Saharan population;
Whereas 3,000,000,000 people, about half the world's population, live on 
        approximately $2 a day;
Whereas 1,200,000,000 people lack access to safe drinking water;
Whereas 2,900,000,000 people have inadequate access to sanitation;
Whereas at least 1,000,000,000 people in developing nations are unemployed or 
        underemployed;
Whereas according to a Congressional Budget Office report entitled ``The Role of 
        Foreign Aid in Development'', United States spending on foreign 
        assistance has fluctuated from year-to-year but has been on a downward 
        path since the 1960's;
Whereas in 1962, more than 3 percent of the Federal budget was spent on foreign 
        assistance;
Whereas in 2001, foreign assistance amounts to 0.79 percent of the Federal 
        budget, less than half of what it was 15 years ago, and less than a 
        third of what it was 40 years ago;
Whereas United States foreign economic and development assistance represents 
        less than 0.60 percent of the Federal budget;
Whereas United States foreign assistance amounts to only slightly more than 0.10 
        percent of Gross Domestic Product, or approximately $30 per American 
        citizen per year;
Whereas according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 
        the United States in recent years has ranked next to last among 21 
        industrialized donor countries in per capita foreign assistance 
        spending; and
Whereas reducing poverty, promoting equitable economic growth, and developing 
        democratic institutions advances United States national security 
        interests, and the failure to address these issues, and the resulting 
        social, economic, and political instability and violence, places United 
        States national security interests and the welfare and safety of United 
        States citizens at risk: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
            (1) widespread poverty in developing nations contributes to 
        social, economic, and political instability and violence which 
        can lead to failed states and the conditions in which terrorist 
        recruitment and terrorist organizations flourish;
            (2) United States bilateral assistance programs and 
        contributions to multilateral assistance programs must be 
        robust enough to effectively address development needs;
            (3) the United States, the world's wealthiest, most 
        powerful Nation, in order to promote its humanitarian, 
        economic, and security interests around the world, should 
        increase foreign assistance spending by at least 25 percent per 
        year for the next 5 years, and with the goal of reaching an 
        amount equal to or exceeding 3 percent of the Federal budget by 
        2010; and
            (4) the Administrator of the United States Agency for 
        International Development should--
                    (A) conduct a top-to-bottom evaluation of current 
                foreign assistance efforts to evaluate effectiveness;
                    (B) work with private voluntary organizations, 
                foundations, and corporations to identify areas where 
                increased, targeted foreign assistance could help 
                reduce poverty, and promote equitable economic growth 
                and the development of democratic institutions; and
                    (C) not later than 6 months after the date of 
                adoption of this resolution, submit a report to the 
                appropriate committees in Congress describing the 
                Administrator's findings and recommendations for 
                foreign assistance funding and policies to reduce 
                poverty, and promote equitable economic growth and the 
                development of democratic institutions.
                                 <all>