[Economic Outlook, Highlights from FY 1994 to FY 2001, FY 2002 Baseline Projections]
[III. Major Functions of the Federal Government]
[3. International Affairs]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]
[[Page 53]]
3. INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
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Table 3-1. Federal Resources in Support of International Affairs
(Dollar amounts in millions)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent
Function 150 1993 2001 Change:
Actual Estimate 1993-2001
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spending:
Discretionary budget authority \1\........................................ 21,194 22,706 7%
Mandatory outlays......................................................... -4,322 -8,815 104%
Credit Activity:
Direct loan disbursements................................................ 1,943 2,862 47%
Guaranteed loans......................................................... 9,531 11,110 17%
Tax expenditures............................................................ 4,510 18,060 NA
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NA = Not applicable.
\1\ Excludes $12,063 million in 1993 for an increase in the U.S. quota at the International Monetary Fund.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
International affairs activities support America's critical interests
by reaching key strategic goals: fostering worldwide economic growth,
supporting the establishment and consolidation of democracy abroad,
enhancing America's national security, improving the global environment,
and addressing other key global issues, such as AIDS. The Clinton-Gore
Administration capitalized upon the new post-Cold War architecture by
working to expand the global economy and the benefits of globalization,
supporting the liberalization of trade, and aiding countries in their
transition to democracy.
Promoted Free Trade, Open Markets, and Economic Prosperity
Completed Successful Trade Negotiations--the North American Free Trade
Agreement and the Uruguay Round: Strong U.S. growth over the past eight
years accompanied America's increased integration into the world
economy. Between 1992 and 1999, the U.S. economy, as measured by real
gross domestic product, grew at an average annual rate of 3.7 percent,
while real exports of goods and services increased on average by 6.8
percent per year. Imports have grown at an average annual rate of 10.6
percent per year. This reflects both stronger growth in the United
States than in the rest of the world over much of this period, and the
crucial role of imports--now dominated by capital goods such as the
computers and machinery--in supporting U.S. investment. Indeed,
increased globalization has come at a time of rapid growth that has
produced a dramatic increase in the number of new jobs and the reduction
of unemployment to the lowest levels in 30 years.
These developments have been facilitated by the Administration's trade
policy accomplishments, including passage of the Uruguay Round trade
agreements, the North American Free Trade Agreement, and over 200 post-
Uruguay Round negotiations that have yielded additional market access
commitments in financial services, basic telecommunication services, and
information technology. Several studies recently reviewed by the Council
of Economic Advisers estimate an annual income gain to the United States
of between $27 billion and $37 billion with full implementation of the
Uruguay Round's results.
Successfully Managed Financial Crises in Mexico and Asia: Since 1993,
the Administration has confronted and successfully responded to two
serious financial crises that threatened to undermine regional and
global
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economic stability. In December 1994, the rapidly depreciating Mexican
peso jeopardized the economic progress and reforms made by the
government of Mexico up to that point. In response, the Administration
extended up to $20 billion in available credits through the Exchange
Stabilization Fund (ExSF), and worked with the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) to extend a line of credit based on the implementation of
further reforms. The rapid response proved instrumental in restoring
investor confidence and allowing the Mexican economy to resume growth.
As a measure of this success, by January 1997, Mexico had repaid ahead
of schedule all of the $11.5 billion it drew from the facility.
A more serious crisis emerged in the fall of 1997 when the devaluation
of the Thai currency began a series of currency crises in Asia that soon
engulfed Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, and South Korea--and later
Russia. This crisis, because of its size and the region's integration
into the global economy, threatened the stability of the global economic
and financial system. The Administration responded to this crisis by
advancing steps to strengthen the international financial architecture,
by maintaining open markets, by making the ExSF available as part of a
secondary line of defense against further instability, and by achieving
authorization and appropriation for an IMF quota increase and the
establishment of the New Arrangements to Borrow (NAB). Coupled with the
macroeconomic and structural reforms implemented by the Asian
governments, much of the region has resumed positive growth rates in a
more sustainable fashion just two years after the crisis.
Passed the International Monetary Fund Quota Increase and the New
Arrangements to Borrow: In cases of severe international financial
crises, the IMF plays a key role in mobilizing official assistance
conditioned on policy reforms--and is the one institution situated to
mobilize such substantial support quickly--and provides the predominant
share of official financing needed to help stabilize the global monetary
system. In September 1997, the 11th quota review resulted in a call for
a 45-percent increase in the resources of the IMF to allow it to carry
out its normal operations while preserving the ability to respond to
such crises in a rapidly growing and increasingly complicated world
economy. In addition to the IMF quota increase, the G-7 nations proposed
the creation of the New Arrangements to Borrow, which would complement
the existing supplemental credit line, the General Arrangements to
Borrow.
The call for an increase in available IMF resources coincided with the
decade's gravest threat to the global financial and economic system, the
East Asian Financial Crisis. With this event as a backdrop, the
Administration requested and received authorization and appropriations
for both the quota increase ($14.5 billion) and the NAB ($3.4 billion)
in 1999. That legislation resulted in both the needed resources being
made available and a bi-partisan agreement on policy priorities in the
IMF, which included a commitment to greater IMF transparency, resulting
in the adoption of a number of reforms by the Fund. With the quota
increase and credit line in hand, the IMF was able to play a critical
role in responding to the crisis and help the affected countries along
the path of reform and sustainable growth.
Facilitated the Continued Transition to Democracy Throughout the World
Helped Integrate Poland, Hungary, and Czech Republic into the West:
The integration of Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic into the
democratic, free-market family of nations and Western institutions such
as NATO is one of the key foreign policy achievements of the past eight
years. Since 1993, U.S. efforts in these countries focused on building
democratic institutions and achieving economic reforms. Timely and
effective U.S. assistance played a key role in their governments'
efforts to privatize industries and put in place the judicial and
regulatory structures needed for a market economy and a society based on
the rule of law. As a result of these efforts, by 2000, these three
countries had graduated from being Support for Eastern European
Democracy aid recipients to becoming NATO allies, all within one decade
of the dismantling of their Communist regimes.
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As a measure of the success of U.S. assistance efforts, according to
Freedom House, all three countries have achieved political rights and
civil liberties that are roughly comparable to those found in Western
Europe, with their Freedom House ratings, based on a 1 to 5 scale,
improving from 4.2 in 1992 to 4.7 in 1999. Similarly, U.S. assistance in
implementing economic reforms has helped all three countries develop
effective market institutions and flourishing private sectors. Because
their transformations have been so successful, Hungary, Poland, and the
Czech Republic are among the first tier of countries that will be
considered for membership in an expanded European Union.
Helped Democratic Transitions in Russia and Ukraine: Since 1993, the
Administration's assistance strategy for the states of the former Soviet
Union has been designed to foster their transition to democracy and
market-based economies and to facilitate their integration into the
larger global community, while advancing U.S. national security
interests in such areas as nonproliferation and arms control. The
strategy has achieved notable successes during the past eight years. In
Ukraine, for example, U.S. assistance made possible Ukraine's complete
denuclearization and helped develop and implement a successful
privatization program for small- and medium-sized enterprises. Similar
assistance efforts in Russia, particularly in the threat reduction area,
have helped ensure implementation of landmark arms control treaties and
ensure that weapons of mass destruction do not fall into the wrong
hands. In both countries, U.S. assistance has helped promote the growth
of independent media and non-governmental organizations. The transitions
in Russia and Ukraine are incomplete, but both countries have made
important strides toward development of democratic institutions and the
rule of law. Their successful completion will depend upon continued
commitment on the part of both governments to overcome challenges such
as crime and corruption as well as economic inequality, combined with
the implementation of effective reform programs and improvements to the
investment climate.
Promoted Peace in the Middle East: During the last eight years, the
United States has been a strong and continuous supporter of the search
for a comprehensive peace in the Middle East. United States diplomatic
and financial support has been indispensable for progress towards peace
and stability in the region. Our efforts have focused on promoting
progress and stability through bilateral negotiations between Israel and
the Palestinians, Syrians, and Lebanese; through supporting allied
nations with diplomacy, military deployments, and security assistance;
and, through regional economic development and containment of Iraq and
other threats to stability in the region. U.S. assistance has
contributed to and helped sustain the progress achieved as a result of
the Oslo Accords, the supplementary Wye River and Sharm el Sheik
agreements, the Jordanian-Israeli peace treaty, and the Camp David
negotiations this past year. Most recently, the Administration submitted
a request of $750 million in supplemental 2001 funding and recommended
an additional $500 million in 2002 funding to assist those countries and
parties in the Middle East that take constructive steps in the search
for peace. In the current tragic circumstances of continued violence in
the region, the United States has worked closely with the parties to end
the violence and has supported international efforts, such as the
International Fact Finding Committee, designed to diffuse tensions and
restore confidence among the parties in the region.
Promoted U.S. Assistance for Plan Colombia: The U.S. assistance to
Plan Colombia is a $1.3 billion bi-partisan, integrated set of programs
developed with the government of Colombia and designed to reduce the
supply of drugs coming into the United States and to bring greater
stability to the Andean region. This emergency supplemental
appropriation was signed by the President in July 2000, and includes
funding for interdiction of trafficking, eradication of illicit crops,
alternative development, human rights strengthening, displaced persons,
and justice system reforms in Colombia and other Andean countries. Even
as implementation proceeds, the United States continues to lead efforts
to encourage cooperation and contributions from the international
community. Success of this program will depend upon the successful
coordination of its different, inter-related facets, and upon the
direction taken by Colombia's internal conflict.
[[Page 56]]
Helped Democracy in Guatemala: After 36 years of civil war that led to
the death of up to 200,000 people, the government of Guatemala signed a
peace agreement formally ending the conflict in 1996. The peace accords
established the framework for a more participatory and equitable society
involving the integration into society of ex-rebels and a comprehensive
restructuring of the military, justice system, tax policy, and social
services.
As part of a multilateral effort to support the peace accords, the
United States doubled its assistance to Guatemala, and has provided over
$110 million in Economic Support Funds since 1997 to support the
implementation of the accords, the demobilization of thousands of ex-
combatants, infrastructure reconstruction in war-affected areas, land
titling, fiscal reform, and literacy of women. With strong multilateral
support, Guatemala is now entering its fifth year of successfully
implementing the peace accords. These structural reforms have started
the process of transforming Guatemala into a more participatory and
equitable society, but significant challenges remain. The Agency for
International Development (USAID) plans to continue support for the
peace process until 2003 to address remaining challenges, including
continuing income disparities, land distribution issues, and civic
violence.
Debt Forgiveness: In 1999, under United States leadership, the G-7
nations agreed at the Cologne summit to an initiative to provide
expanded debt reduction to heavily indebted poor countries (HIPCs). This
initiative will provide the 33 countries likely to meet HIPC eligibility
requirements with debt reduction of up to $90 billion, or 70 percent of
their total debt. For 2000 and 2001, the Congress appropriated the
Administration's full request of $545 million ($185 million for the
reduction of U.S. bilateral debt and $360 million as a contribution to
the HIPC trust fund to reduce the debt held by regional development
banks) for the expanded HIPC initiative. In order to fully implement the
initiative, $375 million in additional funds will need to be
appropriated in 2002 and 2003.
Many poor countries, particularly in Africa, have developed
unmanageable debt burdens to official bilateral and multilateral
creditors, and the debt servicing payments to these creditors often
prevent these countries from making desperately-needed social
investments in poverty reduction, primary education, child immunizations
and other health programs, or clean water and sanitation. In the vast
majority of HIPCs, per capita Gross National Product amounts to less
than $1 per day and the average for all HIPCs is only about $360 per
year. In response to the needs of these countries, the United States
proposed to expand the HIPC initiative (originally adopted in 1996) to
provide deeper, broader, and faster debt reduction for more countries,
contingent on economic reforms and application of savings on debt
servicing to social concerns. While the Administration's efforts have
been a leap forward in addressing the debt burden of poor countries,
long-term success ultimately will depend in large part on whether the
beneficiary countries continue the economic reforms begun under this
initiative and remain committed to the alleviation of poverty and
support of social programs.
Developed and Expanded Programs to Assist African Countries: The HIPC
debt reduction initiative is just one of a series of measures that this
Administration has undertaken during the past several years to assist
sub-Saharan African countries to strengthen their economies and deal
with difficult economic, social, political, and environmental
conditions. These initiatives have been a response to the clear
understanding that many countries in sub-Saharan Africa have failed to
participate in the benefits of the growing economic globalization.
Rather, these countries have failed over the past three decades to
sustain positive, real, per-capita economic growth, with serious
negative consequences for their populations. In addition to debt
reduction, some of the key measures undertaken by the Administration to
assist sub-Saharan Africa have included:
the increase in bilateral assistance levels, and the economic,
social, and political programs they support, back to past peak
levels;
the passage of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which,
by reducing U.S. tariffs on goods from sub-Saharan African
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countries as well as other measures, seeks to encourage
increased trade and investment between the United States and
sub-Saharan African countries;
the implementation of the Africa Trade and Investment Policy
Program, which helps reform-oriented African countries to
improve the enabling environment for trade and private
investment;
the provision of disaster assistance to countries seriously
impacted by natural disasters, including $160 million to
respond to flooding in southern Africa in 2000; and,
the rapid scaling up in 2000 and 2001 of broader HIV/AIDS
initiatives to combat the pandemic in south and eastern
Africa.
The results of these efforts are somewhat mixed--while South Africa
successfully ended apartheid and Mozambique peacefully concluded its
decades-long civil war, civil strife continues in Sierra Leone, the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, and other countries. However, the
outrage expressed by African, as well as Western, countries at the
recent military coup in Cote d'Ivoire is an encouraging sign that more
and more Africans expect their governments to adhere to the rule of law
and improve their standards of living.
Grappled with Global Problems
Increased AIDS Awareness, Development of Preventative and Ameliorative
Programs: The HIV/AIDS pandemic is the defining public health crisis of
our time, which threatens to undo four decades of progress in
international development. At the start of the 1990s, health experts
estimated that between 15 and 20 million people would be living with HIV
by the beginning of the 21st Century. Ten years later, the true
magnitude of the epidemic is far more alarming: over 36 million people
are living with HIV; and, HIV/AIDS prevalence among adults exceeded 20
percent in seven countries in sub-Saharan Africa. In the hardest hit
African countries, infant mortality is twice as high as it would have
been without AIDS.
The U.S. Government has been the world leader in responding to the
global pandemic of AIDS. Since 1993, the United States, through USAID,
has dedicated over $1.5 billion for the prevention and mitigation of
this epidemic in the developing world. USAID's support was instrumental
in reducing the prevalence of HIV in Uganda and Zambia and in
stabilizing low HIV prevalence rates in Senegal, Philippines, and
Indonesia. By 1999, however, it became apparent that international
efforts to combat the HIV pandemic needed to be stepped up and the U.S.
Government responded. The United States' global AIDS funding has
increased from $139 million in 1999 to an estimated $455 million in
2001. These increases are focused on high- prevalence countries and low-
prevalence countries at risk of impending epidemics in sub-Saharan
Africa, Asia, and Latin America, where countries have been selected for
``rapid scale-up'' and ``intensive focus'' under the Leadership and
Investment in Fighting an Epidemic initiative. The U.S. Government
effort has brought together a host of Federal agencies in the first ever
Government-wide mobilization against AIDS.
Kyoto Protocol and Related Environmental Programs: Global climate
change is one of the most far-reaching threats to sustainable
development worldwide. As the world's number one emitter of greenhouse
gasses, the United States has recognized the need to work with
developing countries to stem global climate change. The Administration
announced at the UN in 1997 a plan to invest $1 billion over the next
five years in programs and activities to help developing countries to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and the 2001 appropriation funds the
fourth tranche of this commitment. USAID is also addressing other
critical global environmental challenges such as clean energy, natural
resources management, and biodiversity conservation, for which the 2001
appropriation provides a significant increase in funding.
President Clinton signed the Kyoto Protocol in November 1998,
reaffirming the Administration's commitment to work with other countries
to meet the challenge of global warming. The Kyoto Protocol is an
historic step forward in international efforts to address global
warming, incorporating environmental targets with market-based
mechanisms to minimize the cost of meeting them. However,
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ratification of the Protocol requires passage by the U.S. Senate.
Lasting progress in combating global warming will require ratification
by the United States, as well as meaningful participation by key
developing countries in addressing climate change.
Protected American Lives and Changed America's Foreign Policy Machinery
Greatly Expanded Embassy Security: As the President stated on the
second anniversary of the bombing attacks on our embassies in Nairobi
and Dar es Salaam on August 7, 1998, the terrorists took from us our
colleagues, friends, and loved ones, but they have failed utterly to
deter us from advancing our principles around the world. Addressing the
security vulnerabilities of the Nation's diplomatic presence has been
given the highest priority. Since the embassy bombings, the
Administration has embarked upon an unprecedented program of security
initiatives around the world. It initiated a long-term capital program,
because it will take a multi-year effort to address these
vulnerabilities and proposed advanced appropriations of $3.4 billion
over the 2002-2005 period to sustain that program. Efforts have focused
on bringing our diplomatic facilities up to heightened security
standards and on maintaining necessary security upgrades. These have
included enhanced local guard services, physical security equipment and
technical support upgrades, increased deployment of armored vehicles,
increases in American security personnel, security and crisis management
training, and a worldwide program to build new, secure facilities.
Through 2001, the Administration has invested about $3 billion in this
effort. These funds have been used to upgrade comprehensively the
security at our overseas facilities, including enhancing the physical
security at U.S. missions through construction projects, the
installation of security equipment, inspecting all vehicles entering
U.S. diplomatic facilities, expanding anti-terrorism assistance training
to aid foreign police in combating terrorism, and hiring additional
diplomatic security agents. These funds are also being used to support
the initial stages of a worldwide embassy security construction program
with a goal of replacing up to 220 diplomatic and consular facilities
worldwide with new, secure buildings. A major challenge currently being
addressed is the need to pursue fully regional efficiencies and security
planning that will have an impact on the need for overseas staffing. The
results of such analysis then will be used to ensure that facility
design addresses both the size and functional needs of all U.S.
Government staffing needs at each location.
Enhanced the Security of U.S. Borders: The Administration has
implemented a comprehensive strategy to improve the Department of
State's equipment, technology systems, and support needed to carry out
the vital function of U.S. border security. Major initiatives over the
last eight years have included a comprehensive, worldwide upgrade of
computer equipment and consular systems at the Department's overseas
posts; increased data sharing with other border security and law
enforcement agencies; continued improvements to the automated name
checking system capabilities; expanded implementation of the Border
Crossing Card program in Mexico; and, modernization of the security and
delivery of U.S. passports to American citizens, including completion of
the initial deployment of passport photo digitization technology. These
improvements were made possible by the establishment of a new fee paid
by persons seeking non-immigrant visas for travel to the United States.
Improved security has not come at the expense of customer service. To
the contrary, under the Vice President's National Performance Review,
reinvention goals have been met by eliminating long lines at high volume
passport agencies and vastly increasing consular information and
services available via the Internet. Appointment systems that allow
customers to schedule a convenient time to apply for a passport are now
installed at passport agencies in New York, Boston, Chicago, Houston,
Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Stamford, and
Washington, D.C., and the Department of State has eliminated the
requirement to stand in line while waiting for service by introducing
customer-numbering systems. The Department of State's Consular Affairs
web site (travel.state.gov) went on-line in 1996. Since then, the amount
and variety of information on the site have grown enormously and it now
includes downloadable passport
[[Page 59]]
applications, announcements and warnings on safety abroad that are
posted on the web site immediately upon approval, tips for students and
travelers, and other information and services to assist Americans
abroad.
Integrated the United States Information Agency (USIA) and the Arms
Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) into the State Department: The end
of the Cold War and efforts to reinvent Government provided the
opportunity to seek a new approach to the conduct of foreign policy and
a reorganization of foreign affairs agencies. Under the Foreign Affairs
Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998, USIA and ACDA were consolidated,
and the missions, personnel, and programs of these agencies were
integrated into the State Department and the newly-independent
Broadcasting Board of Governors, which was established as an independent
executive branch agency. One year following the October 1, 1999,
implementation of the Act, the integration of USIA's programs into the
State Department has already strengthened U.S. foreign policy by making
public diplomacy an integral component of foreign policy. ACDA's
integration on April 1, 1999, has made the State Department better able
to contribute to the coordination of foreign and security policy and
deploy more effectively the broad tools of diplomacy to promote arms
control and nonproliferation. As integration is fully implemented, the
challenge remains to streamline activities and effectuate significant
management improvements and resource reductions in years to come.
Provided Multilateral Solutions to Multilateral Problems
UN Reform and Arrears Clearance: The Administration, in cooperation
with the Congress, has made substantial progress toward reducing U.S.
arrears owed to the UN and bringing about badly needed reforms in that
organization. The United States has used its influence to push for
management improvements, organizational streamlining, and the budget
discipline needed to ensure zero nominal growth in the UN and
specialized agencies' budgets. The United Nations Reform Act of 1999
provides the foundation for this process by conditioning U.S. payments
for specific arrearage amounts to the implementation of reforms at the
UN and reductions in the U.S. assessment rate for the UN regular,
peacekeeping and other specialized agencies' budgets. The Administration
obtained congressional approval for $926 million to be available upon
those conditions being met. The first set of conditions was met last
year, allowing an initial payment of arrears of $100 million. As a
critical element in the effort to bring about the other reforms that
must be achieved prior to releasing the remaining arrearage payments,
the Administration successfully concluded negotiations to establish a
new scale of assessments for UN dues that will reduce the U.S. share of
the UN budget and result in substantial future budgetary savings.
Expanded UN Peacekeeping: The Administration has used its leadership
at the UN in support of a number of peacekeeping operations to contain
flashpoints that threatened international security in Bosnia, Kosovo,
East Timor, and other locations. UN peacekeeping operations have
directly supported U.S. national interests by helping nurture new
democracies, reducing refugee flows, and preventing small conflicts from
developing into regional or international wars which would be far more
costly in terms of lives and resources. The United States has been a
driving force behind efforts to identify and implement reforms at the UN
to improve the efficiency and efficacy of peacekeeping operations. As
part of this process, the United States recently concluded negotiations
with the other UN member countries to reduce the level of U.S.
assessments for UN peacekeeping activities.
Non-Proliferation: The Administration supported several initiatives in
the area of non-proliferation.
Enhanced Threat Reduction Initiative: Over the past eight years, the
United States has provided extensive assistance to Russia and the other
New Independent States (NIS) to help reduce the risk of proliferation of
weapons of mass destruction and associated delivery systems, materials,
technology and expertise, and to enhance regional stability. Such
assistance has enabled Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine to become non-
nuclear-weapons states and helped deactivate over 5,000 strategic
nuclear warheads. The 1998 economic crisis in Russia and other NIS
increased the risks of
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weapons and weapons expertise proliferation. In response, the
Administration proposed the Expanded Threat Reduction Initiative in
January 1999 to accelerate and expand non-proliferation assistance to
the NIS. As a result, with congressional support, over $870 million was
made available in 2000 and 2001 for high priority non-proliferation
programs of the Departments of Defense, Energy, and State. These
programs have enhanced nuclear material security at tens of NIS sites;
provided thousands of former Soviet weapons scientists employment
opportunities in peaceful research and development ventures; enhanced
border controls; and provided other assistance to reduce regional and
global threats. Success in continuing to reduce such threats will be
dependent upon continued cooperation between Russia, the other NIS, and
the West to address global security concerns raised by economic
uncertainty in the region.
Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO): The United
States has been committed to preventing the destabilizing manufacture
and deployment of nuclear weapons by North Korea. Through focused
diplomatic efforts, the United States and North Korea concluded in
October 1994 an Agreed Framework to address concerns about the
intentions of North Korea's nuclear program. Under the terms of the
Agreed Framework, the United States pledged to assist North Korean
civilian energy requirements--with non-proliferation safeguards--through
the newly created KEDO in exchange for North Korean termination of its
own nuclear program and for coming into line with international nuclear
non-proliferation norms. Since the conclusion of the Agreed Framework,
the United States has worked with the North Koreans toward full
implementation, which has also led to improved relations between the
countries, culminating in the visit of the Secretary of State to North
Korea in the fall of 2000.
Other Non-Proliferation Successes: More generally, the United States
has invested in major efforts over the last eight years to strengthen
the international regimes aimed at curbing weapons of mass destruction
and ballistic missiles. In 1995, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty,
which originally was set to last only twenty-five years, was extended
indefinitely. In 1997, the Chemical Weapons Convention, which prohibits
the development, production, transfer, and use of chemical weapons,
entered into force following ratification by the U.S. Senate. While
Senate ratification for the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty remains to be
secured, 160 countries have signed--and 67, including Russia, have
ratified--this treaty prohibiting all nuclear explosions. At the same
time, the United States has led the drive to strengthen both the nuclear
safeguards system administered by the International Atomic Energy Agency
and the constraints on biological weapons embodied in the Biological and
Toxin Weapons Convention.
Responded to Humanitarian Crises
Aggressive Responses to Hurricanes Mitch and Georges: In response to
Hurricanes Mitch and Georges, which devastated Central America and the
Caribbean, respectively, in the fall of l998, the U.S. Government
civilian and military authorities cooperated to mount quickly and
effectively one of the largest emergency relief responses to an
international natural disaster in U.S. history. In the space of a few
months, the United States provided supplies and food to millions of
victims, as well as to effect emergency repairs to bridges, roads, and
schools. In May 1999, the Congress approved the Administration's request
for $956 million in supplemental funds for the Central American and
Caribbean countries affected by the hurricanes. It contained $621
million in reconstruction assistance to replace lost housing,
rehabilitate damaged schools, implement disaster mitigation and
watershed restoration, and support local governments. More than $100
million of the funding is being implemented with the cooperation of 12
other U.S. agencies including the Department of Transportation,
Department of Health and Human Services, Peace Corps, and the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers.