    [House Hearing, 115 Congress]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                   AMERICA'S INTERESTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND
                         NORTH AFRICA: THE PRESIDENT'S
                             FY 2018 BUDGET REQUEST

    =======================================================================

                                    HEARING

                                   BEFORE THE

                                SUBCOMMITTEE ON
                        THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA

                                     OF THE

                          COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
                            HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                         ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS

                                 FIRST SESSION

                                   __________

                                 JULY 13, 2017

                                   __________

                               Serial No. 115-54

                                   __________

            Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs

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                          COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS

                     EDWARD R. ROYCE, California, Chairman
    CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey     ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York
    ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida         BRAD SHERMAN, California
    DANA ROHRABACHER, California         GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York
    STEVE CHABOT, Ohio                   ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey
    JOE WILSON, South Carolina           GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia
    MICHAEL T. McCAUL, Texas             THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida
    TED POE, Texas                       KAREN BASS, California
    DARRELL E. ISSA, California          WILLIAM R. KEATING, Massachusetts
    TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania             DAVID N. CICILLINE, Rhode Island
    JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina          AMI BERA, California
    MO BROOKS, Alabama                   LOIS FRANKEL, Florida
    PAUL COOK, California                TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii
    SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania            JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas
    RON DeSANTIS, Florida                ROBIN L. KELLY, Illinois
    MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina         BRENDAN F. BOYLE, Pennsylvania
    TED S. YOHO, Florida                 DINA TITUS, Nevada
    ADAM KINZINGER, Illinois             NORMA J. TORRES, California
    LEE M. ZELDIN, New York              BRADLEY SCOTT SCHNEIDER, Illinois
    DANIEL M. DONOVAN, Jr., New York     THOMAS R. SUOZZI, New York
    F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, Jr.,         ADRIANO ESPAILLAT, New York
        Wisconsin                        TED LIEU, California
    ANN WAGNER, Missouri
    BRIAN J. MAST, Florida
    FRANCIS ROONEY, Florida
    BRIAN K. FITZPATRICK, Pennsylvania
    THOMAS A. GARRETT, Jr., Virginia

         Amy Porter, Chief of Staff      Thomas Sheehy, Staff Director

                   Jason Steinbaum, Democratic Staff Director
                                     ------

                Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa

                     ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida, Chairman
    STEVE CHABOT, Ohio                   THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida
    DARRELL E. ISSA, California          GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia
    RON DeSANTIS, Florida                DAVID N. CICILLINE, Rhode Island
    MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina         LOIS FRANKEL, Florida
    PAUL COOK, California                BRENDAN F. BOYLE, Pennsylvania
    ADAM KINZINGER, Illinois             TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii
    LEE M. ZELDIN, New York              BRADLEY SCOTT SCHNEIDER, Illinois
    DANIEL M. DONOVAN, Jr., New York     THOMAS R. SUOZZI, New York
    ANN WAGNER, Missouri                 TED LIEU, California
    BRIAN J. MAST, Florida
    BRIAN K. FITZPATRICK, Pennsylvania

                                C O N T E N T S

                                  ----------
                                                                       Page

                                   WITNESSES

    The Honorable Stuart Jones, Acting Assistant Secretary, Bureau of
      Near Eastern Affairs, U.S. Department of State.................    22
    Ms. Maria Longi, Acting Assistant Administrator, Bureau for the
      Middle East, U.S. Agency for International Development.........    24

              LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING

    The Honorable Stuart Jones: Prepared statement...................     8
    Ms. Maria Longi: Prepared statement..............................    14

                                    APPENDIX

    Hearing notice...................................................    34
    Hearing minutes..................................................    35
    The Honorable Gerald E. Connolly, a Representative in Congress
      from the Commonwealth of Virginia: Prepared statement..........    36
    Questions submitted for the record by the Honorable Ileana Ros-
      Lehtinen, a Representative in Congress from the State of
      Florida, and chairman, Subcommittee on the Middle East and
      North Africa, and written responses from:
      The Honorable Stuart Jones.....................................    38
      Ms. Maria Longi................................................    42

                     AMERICA'S INTERESTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST
                       AND NORTH AFRICA: THE PRESIDENT'S
                             FY 2018 BUDGET REQUEST

                                  ----------

                            THURSDAY, JULY 13, 2017

                         House of Representatives,

               Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa,

                         Committee on Foreign Affairs,

                                Washington, DC.

        The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 1:00 p.m., in
    room 2167 Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Ileana Ros-
    Lehtinen (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.
        Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. The subcommittee will come to order.
        After recognizing myself and Ranking Member Deutch for 5
    minutes each for our opening statements, I will then recognize
    other members seeking recognition for 1 minute. We will then
    hear from our witnesses. Without objection, your prepared
    statements will be made a part of the record, and members may
    have 5 days to insert statements and questions for the record,
    subject to the length limitation in the rules.
        The Chair now recognizes herself for 5 minutes.
        Today we are here to discuss the President's budget request
    for the upcoming Fiscal Year 2018 for the Middle East and North
    Africa region. While I have always been an advocate of being
    efficient and effective in the use of taxpayer debt, American
    taxpayer dollars to fund our foreign assistance programs, I
    believe we have many good programs that should not be cut just
    for the sake of scaling back.
        To be sure, there has been plenty of waste, fraud, and
    abuse that needs to be addressed, but those should be addressed
    specifically, not simply by an across-the-board cut. But let us
    start with some of the positives.
        The current request represents $3.1 billion in foreign
    military financing, FMF assistance for our closest friend and
    ally, the Democratic Jewish State of Israel. This level is
    consistent with previous obligations and represents a final
    year of the previous 10-year Memorandum of Understanding, MOU,
    between the U.S. and Israel. We need to honor our obligations
    and guarantee that Israel is able to maintain its qualitative
    military edge, QME, over its neighbors.
        I am also pleased to see that the budget request honors the
    commitments we made to our ally, the Hashemite Kingdom of
    Jordan, under the current MOU between our two countries. Jordan
    remains a vital partner in the fight against ISIS, and its
    stability and security are top priorities for the region, for
    our ally Israel, and for the United States. This will be the
    final year of the current MOU. And I have offered a bill
    alongside Ted Deutch, Nita Lowey, and Hal Rogers that would
    authorize a new and expanded MOU for Jordan to ensure that the
    king can keep his country safe, continue fighting ISIS
    alongside us, and expand his economy.
        I strongly suggest for State to adequately address Jordan's
    economic and security needs as it examines the new MOU, which
    hopefully will be for 5 years, in order to reaffirm our long-
    term commitment to the Hashemite Kingdom.
        I am also happy to see that the request for Israel's (sic)
    economic assistance has been reduced, not because I think Egypt
    doesn't need any economic assistance--of course it does--but
    because we still have a considerable pipeline of unobligated
    money in the hundreds of millions of dollars from previous
    years that we have yet to spend. I see no reason to continue to
    ask taxpayers to add to that pipeline until we can clear out
    that backlog. And if that money cannot go out the door in Egypt
    for whatever reason, then perhaps U.S. interests would be best
    served if it was reprogrammed elsewhere.
        And by elsewhere I suggest Tunisia, which brings us to the
    bad in this budget request. First, I'm extremely disappointed
    to see a request for continued assistance for the Palestinian
    Authority. I know we will hear how none of this money goes
    directly to the Palestinian Authority or that a lot of this
    money actually goes to Israel to pay off the PA debt, and that
    we are going--that we are doing important humanitarian
    assistance in the West Bank and Gaza. But we all know that
    money is fungible. For every dollar of PA debt to Israel that
    we pay, that frees more funds for Abu Mazen to pay the salaries
    of terrorists.
        And it means that even though we continue to find that the
    P.A. and the PLO have not lived up to their obligations, they
    continue to incite violence, and they continue to support
    terror, and they continue to work against the interests of the
    Palestinian people. Rather than holding them accountable, we
    are rewarding them with continued U.S. assistance.
        Another disappointment in the budget request is for
    Tunisia. Tunisia has been one of the very few positive
    developments in the region over the past few years. It's not
    without problems, of course, but any country going through a
    transition like Tunisia in an earnest effort to become a
    democratic society is going to have some hurdles to overcome.
    Now is not the time to cut and run, now is the time to double
    down on Tunisia that is at the forefront of fighting terrorism,
    as it has to deal with the problem of foreign fighters coming
    from Tunisia.
        This year's request seriously undermines Tunisia's economic
    progress, and it completely cuts out all FMF assistance to a
    country whose security and stability are vital as it struggles
    to stay on a path toward democratic governance. Tunisia is not
    the only country that lost its FMF assistance under this
    request, which calls into question the dramatic shifts the
    administration has taken in the FMF program itself.
        I hope we hear more about this global FMF fund, which I
    believe is something like $200 million for everyone, and how
    the administration plans on distributing that and its plans for
    moving to loans rather than grants. I worry this may be a move
    by the administration to remove the State Department and,
    therefore, our Foreign Affairs Committee out of the foreign
    military sales realm by cutting FMF, yet making these countries
    eligible to receive Defense Department-funded security
    assistance.
        And though this is not a part of the budget request, this
    also calls into question the State Department's role in the
    Saudi counterterror center. And with Secretary Tillerson in the
    region at the moment, and with the announcement out of this
    Riyadh Summit, it raises questions regarding the agreements we
    just signed with Qatar, and how we will fund our commitments.
    There are also many questions that this budget request conjures
    up. And I have great concern with many aspects of it and how
    this budget will promote America's interests and help raise
    stability and security to the region.
        And with that, I am pleased to yield to the ranking member,
    my friend Mr. Deutch.
        Mr. Deutch. Thank you, Madam Chairman. Thanks to Ambassador
    Jones and Ms. Longi for being here today to discuss the
    administration's proposed FY 2018 budget.
        Ambassador Jones, I especially want to thank you for your
    distinguished career serving this country in some of the most
    challenging environments. And while we wish you well in your
    retirement, which I understand is coming in just a few short
    weeks, this country is losing a great diplomat and we are
    grateful for all that you have provided to us.
        Let me say that we appreciate the relationship that we have
    had with your respective bureaus. We hope we will continue to
    work together to address the very real challenges facing the
    Middle East and North Africa. And I want to commend the
    remarkable Foreign Service and career personnel serving at both
    State and USAID. We are fortunate to have tremendously talented
    people who are willing to dedicate their lives to public
    service, often in dangerous conditions. And we are grateful for
    that service.
        That said, I am deeply concerned that senior level
    positions at both State and USAID have yet to be filled. I am
    concerned that while both of you are extraordinarily capable of
    doing your job, you are still filling an acting role 7 months
    into this administration. And I continue to read articles that
    refer to no one being home at the State Department. That is not
    a good message for our friends. It is not a good message for
    our allies. And it is a terrible message to send to our
    adversaries around the world.
        Diplomacy and development should be driving our foreign
    policy decisions, not taking a back seat to whatever decision
    the President cedes to the Defense Department. State and DoD
    should be working hand-in-hand to craft consistent policy
    messages that are amplified coherently across the entire
    government. And I just don't see how this budget request in any
    way prioritizes either diplomacy or development.
        When the Pentagon receives a $54 billion increase and the
    State Department receives a 32 percent decrease, I have a hard
    time hearing the argument that this is about efficiency and
    saving money for the taxpayers. The budget for the Middle East
    and North Africa is by far the largest of the regional funds.
    And the Trump administration is proposing an 11 percent cut in
    bilateral aid to the Middle East and North Africa over the FY
    2016 enacted levels. Most of these cuts are coming from our
    foreign military financing.
        The proposed restructuring of our FMF into one $200 million
    global fund that might be in the form of grants or might be in
    the form of loans is one of the most perplexing things about
    this budget proposal. I can't quite understand why we would
    pull this critical security assistance from countries
    desperately in need of it, like Tunisia and Lebanon. I don't
    understand what kind of message it sends when we tell a country
    that is our partner in the fight against terrorism that instead
    of a dedicated funding stream we are going to somehow figure
    out who will get or how much they get from this new global pot
    of money.
        I am also concerned that converting grants to loans will
    prevent poor countries from getting the assistance they need to
    protect their and our interests. So I would like to better
    understand how you envision the decisions related to the global
    FMF fund that you made, how the priorities will be decided, who
    gets what, and what are we telling our allies who have been the
    recipients of these grants.
        I understand that budget numbers can be deceiving when it
    comes to pipelines and funding streams and allocations of prior
    year funds, but this proposal in no way seems to reflect the
    serious challenges that the region faces. Egypt, which has
    hundreds of millions of dollars sitting in the pipeline because
    we have a fundamental difference with the Egyptians on how
    economic support funds should be used, is still receiving $75
    million in economic support funds.
        Where is the money going to be used, particularly after the
    government's decision to sign the restrictive new NGO law?
        How do these budget cuts reflect the need to bring
    stability or relief to Libya, and Syria, and Iraq, and Yemen
    while continuing to push for a political solution to those
    conflicts. We should be pursuing robust programs that
    strengthen these countries and their people so they can resist
    extremist elements.
        How will the budget help to shore up Jordan, one of our
    most reliable partners in the fight against ISIS, whose economy
    is in terrible shape? The chairman and I continue to work to
    advance our legislation that would secure a new 5-year MOU for
    Jordan, as well as set up an enterprise fund. And I would like
    to hear today about progress on both of these fronts.
        I will say I am pleased to see the FMF for Israel and
    assistance to the Palestinians remain relatively steady. The
    support will be vital as the administration works for a lasting
    peace that hopefully results in two states for two peoples.
        Finally, I am deeply concerned about the idea of folding
    USAID into the State Department, particularly when we hear that
    40 percent of missions across the world would be closed. I am
    quite certain that Congress recognizes the value that our
    humanitarian, global health, and food security programs provide
    to our own national security. And I understand that sometimes
    cuts are necessary, and we all want the government to run more
    efficiently, but simply cutting the four evaluations of the
    efficiency and effectiveness of the department are completed
    seems, frankly, irresponsible, especially when our national
    security is at stake.
        I hope today we will be able to address some of these
    concerns. Appreciate your being here. And I yield back.
        Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Thank you so much, Mr. Deutch.
        Now the members can make their opening statements. Mr.
    Chabot is recognized.
        Mr. Chabot. Thank you, Madam Chair, for holding this very
    important hearing.
        There is no shortage of crises to discuss here today. In
    recent years we have witnessed chaos ensue throughout the
    Middle East and much of North Africa from seemingly endless
    civil war in Syria, to the scourge of ISIS, to a very flawed
    deal with Iran, and on and on. And, unfortunately, the new
    administration adopted a real mess.
        The region has become even more complicated due to massive
    immigration of refugees, and Russia's increasing engagement
    there. And it just really does go on and on.
        Although we may be seeing some successes, such as the Iraq
    army finally reconquering Mosul; and our military taking a
    number of actions to target Syrian- and Iranian-backed forces,
    most notably the strike in response to Assad's use of chemical
    weapons; and the shooting down of a Syrian fighter plane last
    month, it appears Russia and Iranian forces will continue to
    cause trouble in the region into the foreseeable future. So
    that's something that has to be dealt with before the hearing
    in the administration today.
        Thank you for holding this hearing.
        Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Thank you so much, Mr. Chabot.
        Mr. Cicilline.
        Mr. Cicilline. Thank you, Chairman Ros-Lehtinen and Ranking
    Member Deutch for calling this hearing. And thank you to our
    witnesses for being here to discuss the important topic of U.S.
    priorities in the Middle East and North Africa for Fiscal Year
    2018.
        The proposed cuts that President Trump has submitted to
    Congress are dangerous, short-sighted, and undermine the
    important role the United States plays in supporting peace and
    security in the region. It is critical that the United States
    has the funds necessary to support the current complicated,
    unstable conditions in the region, something the President's
    proposal clearly does not take into consideration.
        At a time when threats from ISIS are unrelenting, Syria
    continues to face an unimaginable humanitarian and refugee
    crisis, and the threat from Iran is ever looming, U.S. foreign
    assistance is more important than ever. The Fiscal Year 2018
    request fundamentally overlooks the threats to security and
    human life that affect countries throughout the Middle East and
    North Africa and America's leadership role in the world. And
    many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle have expressed
    their concerns over the proposed cuts, both to diplomatic and
    development funding.
        I look forward to the testimony of the witnesses today. And
    I thank you, Madam Chairman, and I yield back.
        Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Thank you, Ms. Cicilline.
        Mr. Cook of California.
        Mr. Cook. Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
        After reading this and looking at the President's budget I
    am very nervous. I am on the House Armed Services Committee.
    Obviously we are interested in the plus-up on some of the
    military spending. But if we ignore our allies, our friends,
    anything else particularly in this region, with these cuts I
    think General Mattis said it, basically you are going to be
    paying for more ammunition.
        And so what you have to save today is extremely important.
    And I think I have been very fortunate to be on both committees
    because you have to work together on that. You can't solve it
    with just bullets, and bombs, and everything else. That if we
    don't have the money there to help these countries it is going
    to be in those terms that I have described.
        So thank you very much for being here. I look forward to
    the hearing.
        Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Thank you, Mr. Cook.
        Mr. Kinzinger.
        Mr. Kinzinger. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you all
    for being here.
        In case I don't get to ask questions I just wanted to make
    a brief statement, which is I think not only executing the war
    on terror is important, and using the funding to do that, but I
    think we are forgetting about what I call the next generational
    war on terror, which is the 7- and 8-year-olds of today that
    are IDPs or that are in refugee camps that have denied
    opportunities to get an education, or for hope, or economic
    opportunity.
        And with the evil dictator Assad in power and denying this
    opportunity, I actually believe that Assad is the reason ISIS
    exists, and he is the continued incubator for ISIS. So there
    can be no defeat of radical terrorism in Syria with the
    existence of this dictator continuing to foster the conditions
    for this recruitment.
        But when we look at things like USAID, the importance of
    the State Department, and soft power exercise, I think we would
    be very remiss in a few years looking back to have ignored
    those tools in favor of just the military option because we
    would be finding ourselves fighting another generational war on
    terror.
        And so with that, I will yield back.
        Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Good point. Thank you, Mr. Kinzinger.
        Mr. Schneider of Illinois.
        Mr. Schneider. Thank you, Madam Chairman.
        I want to thank my colleague from Illinois for his topical
    comments because this is important. We are at a point in
    history where we have to be looking forward and dealing not
    just with the immediate threats such as ISIS but the sources of
    those threats. And it is visualizing these threats that go into
    the next step to stabilizing these regions, creating a future
    where there is hope.
        Right now we are spending a lot of effort in dealing with
    people and helping people in crisis. We need to be, I believe,
    able to get to a point where we can go from helping people in
    crisis, helping people with good governance, with economic
    development, with education. And I am very concerned, as has
    already been said, that we are cutting our budget at a time
    when the needs are growing. They are growing more diverse, they
    are growing more complex. And as others have said, if we cut
    our budget on diplomacy, if we cut our budget on development,
    it is going to impact what we have to do on defense.
        So, as you address these questions I look forward to
    hearing your answers. And I will also echo the concern that
    here we are 6 months into the year and you are still with the
    titles of acting.
        So, thank you. And I yield back.
        Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Thank you, Mr. Schneider.
        Ms. Frankel of Florida.
        Ms. Frankel. Thank you. And thank you both of you for your
    service. And I apologize you have to hear our frustration.
        So, the world is a dangerous place. And I, I heard that our
    President said he is inheriting a mess. Well, guess what, his
    budget is making a mess. That is my opinion. And his own
    defense secretary said something to the effect that we can't
    gain peace and security just with bombs and bullets.
        And I don't know how we are going to even explain to our
    military personnel or their families that have sent them to
    places, I will use Iraq as an example, where we spend billions
    of dollars to so-called ``win a war'' when we know a country
    has to become stable eventually with development and diplomacy.
    And this budget fails in that respect.
        So, I hope you will be able to explain these cuts. And,
    again, thank you for your service. And I yield back.
        Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Thank you. And thank you to all the
    members. And thank you especially to our witnesses because we
    will have a series of votes coming up shortly. And in the
    interests of time they have agreed to not give their opening
    statements. I will introduce them and then we will go right to
    questions. And I will start with Mr. Chabot.
        So, first, we are delighted to welcome back the Acting
    Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs Bureau,
    Ambassador Stuart Jones. Ambassador Jones previously served as
    the United States Ambassador to Iraq and Jordan. I have had the
    honor of visiting him in both countries. He is a good friend.
        Prior to this he served in a variety of positions in places
    like Turkey, El Salvador, Colombia, and in our mission at the
    U.N. It is good to see you again, Mr. Ambassador. And
    congratulations on your upcoming retirement. Thank you for your
    30 years of service. And I hope that you and Barbara enjoy
    retirement. Thank you for joining us today. We will look
    forward to hearing your testimony--well, we will look forward
    to reading your testimony and asking you questions.
        And we are delighted to welcome back another good friend,
    Maria Longi. Ms. Longi is USAID's Acting Assistant
    Administrator of the Bureau for the Middle East. Previously she
    served as the Deputy Assistant Administrator for USAID's Middle
    East Bureau. And prior to joining USAID, Ms. Longi served as
    the Director for Management, Policy, and Resources in the State
    Department Bureau of International Organization Affairs.
        So, welcome back. We look forward to you answering our
    questions.
        [The prepared statements of Ambassador Jones and Ms. Longi
    follow:]
    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

                                  ----------

        Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. And with that, we will begin the question
    and answer period with Mr. Chabot of Ohio.
        Mr. Chabot. Thanks very much, Madam Chair.
        And the first question would be, this past weekend at the
    G-20 Summit, a ceasefire was announced for portions of southern
    Syria to be overseen by the United States and Russia. However,
    the ceasefire only covers a small portion, as we know, of
    Syria, and many details remain somewhat unclear.
        Would you be so kind as to outline the terms of the
    ceasefire and how we expect it to be enforced? And does the
    ceasefire prevent Iran or Hezbollah from establishing a
    presence in the ceasefire areas?
        Ambassador Jones. Thank you, Congressman.
        First, Madam Chairman, thank you for your kind words. And
    thank you for your friendship and your support through these
    many years. And your announcement also will be, has been a loss
    for the House. So, thank you very much.
        Congressman, in regards to the ceasefire that was announced
    last week, this represents an agreement between the United
    States, Jordan, and Russia to establish a ceasefire in the
    southwestern quadrant of Syria. And the idea is, of course,
    initially to establish a ceasefire, but, ultimately, to create
    conditions in that area where people could start to return to
    their homes, where we would be able to deliver humanitarian
    assistance, and we would be able to create stability.
        Certainly an essential element of that is to have no forces
    threatening the line of demarcation, whether they be Syrian
    Regime forces, or Iranian forces, or Hezbollah forces. So that
    is certainly part of the expectation.
        That said, some of the details are still to be worked out.
    And we are still working through the mechanics of this. Since
    the ceasefire was announced last Thursday we have seen now
    several days of genuine stability and peace in that vicinity.
        And just right before I got here I got a report from
    Michael Ratney, our Deputy Assistant Secretary, who
    participated in that negotiation. And he said that reports
    today from the area around Daraa and this area where the
    ceasefire has been declared that the ceasefire is holding
    effectively.
        So this is good news for us.
        Mr. Chabot. Thank you very much.
        In the past, Iran and North Korea have cooperated, as we
    know, in missile development. What is the current state that we
    believe of ballistic missile cooperation between Iran and North
    Korea?
        Ambassador Jones. Thank you again, Congressman.
        So, the Iranian development of ballistic missiles we
    believe is a significant threat to stability in the Middle
    East. This is in complete violation of U.N. Security Council
    Resolution 2231. We know that the Iranians are providing
    ballistic missiles and ballistic missile technology to the
    Houthis, which is adding to the conflict in Yemen.
        And there are other instance, too, where the Iranians are
    providing the ballistic missile technology to Hezbollah and
    other terrorist organizations in the region.
        I am sorry, I am not prepared to speak to you about the
    nexus between North Korea and Iran. But, clearly, Iran is an
    evil, is an evil partner in this arrangement.
        Mr. Chabot. Thank you.
        And finally, let me turn to ISIS. Obviously Mosul has just
    fallen, although there are I guess a few things still to wrap
    up here and there. But overall it looks like the Iraqi forces,
    you know, with our assistance and others, have won out there.
    And I would assume that Raqqa will be soon.
        And the question is what--I assume the administration is
    planning on what happens with those who either go back to their
    country or go elsewhere. It will continue the terror in other
    parts of the world. What is the planning going on there, to the
    extent that you can tell us in an open forum?
        Ambassador Jones. Well, thanks for the question again,
    because it is very timely.
        Today, at the State Department, we are hosting a meeting of
    political directors from all the coalition members. And a key
    focus of this discussion has been, what are we going to do
    about the foreign fighters who are going to be now leaving the
    field in Iraq and Syria?
        There is a great deal of concern, as you would expect, in
    Southeast Asia. I had the Deputy Prime Minister--sorry, the
    Deputy Foreign Minister of Australia in my office yesterday
    talking about this very topic: How can we cooperate to make
    sure that we are sharing information and identifying these
    foreign fighters as they cross borders and present threats to
    other regions?
        So this is something that is very much under our attention.
    We are working closely with DoD partners. We are, of course,
    focusing on terrorist finance aspects through the Department of
    Treasury. This is a whole of government approach.
        And, again, this is something that was highlighted during
    the President's summit in Riyadh back in May. The GCC countries
    and, indeed, all of the Muslim countries who attended the
    broader summit pledged to support efforts to counter terrorism
    financing, to counter terroristic and extremist messaging, and
    also to counter the flow of foreign fighters across borders.
        Mr. Chabot. Thank you. My time has expired.
        Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Thank you so much, Mr. Chabot.
        Mr. Deutch of Florida.
        Mr. Deutch. Thank you, Madam Chairman.
        There has been a lot of attention on Capitol Hill paid to
    the so-called Palestinian martyr payments. And we all abhor
    this practice of incentivizing and rewarding terrorism.
    Certainly does nothing to advance the prospects for peace that
    we all desire.
        I have raised this issue directly with Palestinian
    Authority leaders on multiple occasions. It has been on the
    agenda for President Trump and his advisors in their meetings
    with President Abbas and other Palestinian officials.
        Yesterday the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a
    hearing on the Taylor Force Act. The legislation in its current
    form would bar aid from all West Bank and Gaza programs until a
    certification could be made that these payments have ceased.
    Now is clearly the time for action. There is momentum in
    Congress and in the administration, and many of our allies
    around the world have joined in decrying these payments.
        The witnesses at yesterday's hearing offered a number of
    suggestions for revisions to the legislation that would ensure
    that we maintain Israel's security, such as withholding PA debt
    payments or setting aside the money as incentive for the PA to
    retrieve it once changes to the practice are made.
        Does the department have a view on these potential pass-
    forwards so that the United States Congress can move ahead with
    the Taylor Force Act and finally move on legislation aimed at
    stopping these payments to terrorists?
        Ambassador Jones. Thank you, Congressman. And also thank
    you for your kind words. And I appreciated your visits to my,
    to my various Embassies and very much appreciate your
    friendship.
        Of course the administration shares Congress' commitment to
    ending the programs that incentivize acts of terrorism.
    President Trump has discussed this issue directly with
    President Abbas, emphasizing the need to make significant
    progress on this issue. And, in fact, we have seen some
    progress.
        For the first time in the 52 years of the Palestinian's
    Prisoner Payment Program, the Palestinian Authority cut funding
    to 277 Hamas-affiliated former prisoners last month. Now that's
    not sufficient. None of us think that's sufficient, but it is a
    step forward. We know they have to do more.
        It is not clear that the Taylor Force Act, as currently
    drafted, would help accomplish the objectives that are needed.
    But we--but I agree with you that the hearing yesterday was
    very constructive, some interesting ideas proposed. The
    administration has not yet taken a position on those proposals.
        Mr. Deutch. All right. I appreciate that. I urge the
    administration to look closely at some of those proposals to
    see if there is a way to move forward on this quickly.
        Small investments in programs like the Middle East Regional
    Cooperation Program, which started over 35 years ago, which
    helped foster cooperation between Israel and their Arab
    neighbors, can go a long way. This particular program has never
    received more than $5 million. And it brings together
    researchers from across the region.
        Why, at a time when the White House seems to be pushing a
    regional approach to peace, would we zero out a program like
    this?
        Ms. Longi. Thank you for your question. And thank you for
    all of your support for and words for USAID, and for
    development of humanitarian assistance. We appreciate hearing
    that.
        The Middle East Regional Cooperation Program was zeroed
    out. I will say they do some wonderful programs and there are a
    significant number of grants in their pipeline. So, as a
    practical matter, that program can continue for a little while.
        But we do have several other cooperation programs in the
    Middle East with the Israelis and Palestinians we implement
    between civil society groups, between educators, between
    businesses. So, while this is one of the programs where we do
    have a cooperation between the different players, we do have
    others that support that objective.
        Mr. Deutch. I know that we do. I would also point out it is
    a decision to make a small cut to a program that will
    effectively be eliminated, a program that contributes to peace.
    And I would urge you to reconsider that.
        I am deeply concerned--I wanted to follow up on Mr.
    Chabot's point--I am deeply concerned that the administration
    has been willing to let Russia lead in Syria. And Russia has
    shown no willingness to divorce itself from Assad, from Iran,
    or from Hezbollah.
        You had spoken about the current ceasefire. But I would
    like to just look ahead and ask whether the United States would
    ever agree to a political solution that allows a sustained
    Iranian or Hezbollah military presence in Syria?
        Ambassador Jones. Thank you, Congressman.
        We are very troubled by the Iranian military presence, by
    the Hezbollah presence in Syria. This is a significant risk and
    poses a terrible threat to stability, not only in Syria but to
    the entire region. So we are very troubled by that.
        Our engagement with Russia is aimed at reducing the levels
    of violence inside of Syria today. And so far if this ceasefire
    in southwestern Syria holds, that would be a step forward in
    terms of the reduction in violence and just trying to improve
    people's lives at a very basic level.
        In parallel, the Russians have established a process called
    the Astana Process in which they are working with the Iranians
    and the Turks. And they have also in that forum proposed three
    other de-escalation areas to reduce the, to reduce the levels
    of violence. And, indeed, since they proposed those areas we
    have seen a reduction in violence in those areas.
        So, we will work with the Russians if they continue to be
    able to help us reduce the levels of violence in these areas.
    Hopefully, as we reduce areas of violence we can create greater
    levels of stability, we can provide more humanitarian
    assistance. And then the idea is to move toward a political
    process. And we hope that that political process will remove
    Bashar al-Assad.
        Mr. Deutch. Well, I understand. Let me just be clear
    though. And I understand the step-by-step approach. But my
    question was about a political solution, about a long-term
    plan.
        And I would suggest to you, respectfully, that the idea
    that there can be stability in Syria with a permanent presence
    of Iran and Hezbollah is not a serious one. And that is what I
    am suggesting.
        Ambassador Jones. And I am sorry, I should have, I should
    have said that I agree with you. We agree. We agree on this
    point. There cannot be stability in Syria as long as Iran and
    Hezbollah maintain this current military presence. That is our
    position as well.
        Mr. Deutch. I appreciate it, Mr. Ambassador. Thank you
    both.
        Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Thank you, Mr. Deutch. Thank you.
        Mr. Cook of California.
        Mr. Cook. Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
        My questions are about there is a whole laundry list of
    countries here that we could address, but let me start off with
    there are two I want to talk about: Bahrain and the huge cut in
    a country where, obviously, our military, the fleet is
    stationed right there. Anyone who has ever gone there they know
    how important that is.
        And then you have the situation with a government that is
    primarily Sunni with the majority of the population Shia. And I
    am afraid that is on the at least my watch list for future
    problems from Iran and what have you. And could you comment on
    that situation?
        And, of course, to see that cut there it like, wait a
    minute, does anybody know what is going on? And whether you
    share my angst in that regard.
        Ambassador Jones. Thank you, Congressman.
        We, we certainly agree that Bahrain is an important
    security partner for the United States. It is the base of the
    6th Fleet. It is an important partner in the coalition against
    ISIS. It is playing a role in the Saudi-led coalition on Yemen.
    We have important security interests and investments in
    Bahrain.
        Bahrain also faces tremendous security challenges. I was
    there recently in March and I met with the Minister of
    Interior. He told me that in the last year he had lost 50
    police officers to Iranian-sponsored terrorism in Bahrain. So,
    we need to stand by Bahrain.
        Again, we will have this regional--sorry--this global
    foreign military financing fund where we will have the
    flexibility to support our partners as needed going forward.
    The Pentagon will also have funds, counter-ISIS funds through
    which they can support programs in Bahrain.
        And, also, to a great degree Bahrain can support its own
    security. And it also receives significant support from its
    Gulf partners. So I am confident that there will be no gaps in
    our approach to Bahrain.
        We are concerned about human rights in Bahrain. But this
    administration has de-linked the conversation on human rights
    to our security support. We are still talking about human
    rights. We are very concerned about the arrest of dissidents
    and the lack of due process, but we have de-linked that from
    the important security support that you mentioned.
        Mr. Cook. Thank you. The other country I wanted to talk
    about was Tunisia. You know, I look at the figures for Libya
    and I understand that. But Tunisia, you know, where the Arab
    Spring and everything like that, where it all started, and that
    was a year, 2 years ago. And saw the remnants where they shot
    up the museum and things like that.
        More telling, at least from an economic standpoint, and all
    the beach resorts and the cruise ships that are now in Croatia,
    or what have you, and the whole economy is, is just basically
    hurting. And it is very, very worried about that country.
        In this, my thoughts on this were reinforced. I was just in
    Italy a few months ago, and the Italians are very worried about
    the human trafficking coming from sub-Saharan Africa, through
    Libya, through Tunisian, some of those countries that are, you
    know, landing every night there.
        And that is going to be basically the same question: Do you
    share my same anxiety about that country where in many ways
    that was our hope for the future for the Arab region?
        Ambassador Jones. Thank you, Congressman.
        As you say, Tunisia is an important partner for the United
    States. Prime Minister Chahed was here this week. He met with
    the Vice President. He met with Secretary of Defense, Secretary
    of Treasury. The Tunisians have been doing a terrific job. They
    are building democratic institutions. They are defeating ISIS.
    They definitely merit our support.
        I think this budget reflects significant support for
    Tunisia. We straight lined our economic support funds with the
    exception of just $20 million. That reflects the fact that we
    have paid up the Enterprise Fund commitment in Tunisia. And the
    Enterprise Fund is succeeding in Tunisia.
        We also, thanks to the support of Congress, were able to
    provide $40 million in supplemental FY 2017 funds in counter-
    ISIS funds to Tunisia. Thirty million of that is FMF. So that
    is money that will be going into the system relatively soon.
        As the chairman mentioned, although we have not--this
    budget does not provide for FMF in FY 2018, Tunisia will be a
    higher priority recipient under the global FMF fund, $200
    million FMF fund. I think all of us recognize the principles
    that you have outlined, that we need to stand with Tunisia.
        Let me just say very quickly, too, Tunisia will also
    continue to qualify for DoD 333 funds, also DoD CTEF funds.
    And, also, Tunisia is now the beneficiary of a MCC, Millennium
    Challenge Corporation, compact agreement which will bring a
    significant U.S. investment, multi-hundred million dollar
    investment in infrastructure into Tunisia.
        So, I think we can say we are standing by the Tunisians.
        Mr. Cook. Thank you very much. I yield back.
        Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Thank you, Mr. Cook.
        And before I recognize Mr. Cicilline, we are going to be
    cutting the time for Q&A to 4 minutes because we want to give
    as many members the opportunity to ask questions before the
    votes are called.
        Mr. Cicilline is recognized.
        Mr. Cicilline. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you to our
    witnesses, and not only for your service but for the service of
    the men and women you represent. And I regret that we are
    living in a time where there is such an absence of leadership
    in important positions in both your agencies.
        But I want to just quickly move to my questions. First is,
    ISIS control over Syrian land has drastically reduced over the
    past year, particularly of course in the northern part of the
    country. How does the budget that is being presented today
    support the humanitarian aid which will be necessary to promote
    stability in these areas?
        And what can we do, and what does the budget support to
    ensure that these areas are not taken advantage of by new and
    different extremist groups going forward?
        Ms. Longi. Thank you for your question.
        I can start on the humanitarian and development support
    that we provide through this budget, primarily in Iraq and
    Syria, which is where the issues are most prominent right now.
    I think the request on the humanitarian account will continue
    to support the needs that we are seeing in both Iraq and Syria.
        Just this week, we announced another $190 million for the
    humanitarian crisis in Syria. So, we will continue to support
    that issue.
        In Syria, the U.S. Government has already provided over $6
    billion since the Syria crisis began on the humanitarian front.
    And as with Iraq, we have requested sufficient funds, we
    believe, to continue to support those needs.
        For the request on the stabilization front, we are
    anticipating that those needs will be great. The estimates that
    we are hearing from Mosul just this week with the coalition in
    town are upwards of $1 billion. We just announced the
    contribution of $150 million to the UNDP stabilization fund
    there. And so we are working very hard to encourage other,
    other coalition partners to contribute as well. And, hopefully,
    we will be successful on that front because they are already
    seeing returnees because of some of the stabilization efforts
    that they have made.
        In Syria for the stabilization effort, we have requested
    funding in our budget for that. The landscape is unknown for a
    lot of that now. But I think our goal, and what we are
    discussing with our coalition partners, is focusing on
    stabilization once areas are liberated. And so, we are all
    working to tee up partners to do that work and funding.
        Mr. Cicilline. Thank you.
        As Iran and North Korea are enhancing their abilities to
    disrupt military communications and navigation in order to
    degrade information networks, does the Fiscal Year 2018 budget
    propose enough spending to fight this global threat of
    electronic warfare by two of our most serious adversaries?
        Ms. Longi. Could you repeat that?
        Mr. Cicilline. Sure. They are, both North Korea and Iran
    are enhancing their capabilities to disrupt military
    communications and navigation in order to degrade information
    networks. And does the Fiscal Year 2018 budget propose enough
    spending to fight the looming global threat that these
    adversaries present through electronic warfare?
        Ambassador Jones. So, I apologize, Congressman. I am not
    well prepared on what we are doing on electronic warfare. Those
    activities wouldn't come out of the NEA budget. But I can
    assure you that this is a topic of frequent discussion in the
    inter-agency, and both the Pentagon, our intelligence services,
    and others are looking at these issues and are preparing
    approaches.
        Mr. Cicilline. Thank you.
        And my final question. According to Freedom House, freedom
    in the world has been in decline over the last decade. The
    President's request for democracy rights and governance is down
    to $1.5 billion, a reduction in more than $700 million, and 30
    percent compared to the $2.3 billion appropriated by Congress
    in Fiscal Years 2016 and 2017.
        And my question is how does the President's request, that
    dramatic reduction, reflect our country's commitment to
    democracy, human rights, and good governance at a time when the
    threat of instability, violent extremism, and tolerance, and
    authoritarianism seem to threaten more and more people around
    the world? It seems as if we are retreating from that work by
    this very substantial reduction in this budget proposal. And I
    would like to hear your response to that, please.
        Ms. Longi. Thank you. I can say from USAID's perspective
    that democracy and human rights is no less of an emphasis for
    us as we go forward.
        Mr. Cicilline. I understand. But can you do the work that
    is necessary with a 30 percent reduction?
        Ms. Longi. In the Middle East region, we have not requested
    a 30 percent reduction so, hopefully, we are confident that the
    funds that are there will allow us to do what we are able to do
    in these countries. As you acknowledged, that space is getting
    tighter and it makes it more difficult, which makes it tough to
    kind of up our game on the diplomacy and the conversation part
    with the countries, but I think assistance-wise we have
    sufficient funds to do that.
        Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Thank you.
        Thank you, Mr. Cicilline. And we regret that votes have
    just been called. We have 11 votes. But I think that we will be
    able to get in Mr. Kinzinger and Ms. Frankel's question, and
    I--questions, and I would ask the members to submit the other
    ones, their questions in writing.
        Mr. Kinzinger.
        Mr. Kinzinger. Thank you, Madam Chair. And, again, thank
    you all for being here.
        I was actually watching a cable news show yesterday, and
    that is not one I usually watch, and there was a respected
    scholar Max Boot on it. And in that exchange with this cable
    news host, this cable news host was talking about basically how
    wonderful it would be to work with the Russians in the Middle
    East and how, you know, the Iranians actually aren't really all
    that bad, and said that, you know, there was no terrorist
    attack by the Iranians against Americans in the United States.
    Although Mr. Boot reminded him that there are about 900 dead
    Americans from Iraq as a result of Iranian involvement and
    influence.
        And I say all that to say there is this kind of like really
    kind of sick narrative out there that we no longer need to
    fight for values, and human rights, and beliefs, and freedom,
    which is very counter to President Reagan, that, you know, I
    became a Republican because of. And now it is this idea that we
    lean again on strongmen, and that dictators can keep order in
    the Middle East, and that somehow repressing human desires is
    possible, even in the age of technology when people can
    communicate and come together.
        I think, you know, when you make the case on Syria for
    instance, people often point to Libya as a disastrous result.
    And there is huge challenges in Libya. I would argue that it
    was our leaving Libya afterwards that has been a big problem.
    But if I compare Libya to Syria, there is no comparison in
    terms of which is the bigger tragedy. In Syria there was no
    intervention; Libya there was intervention. Much different of a
    situation.
        I say all that to ask this: Instead of relying on other
    countries and encouraging them to use military hard power to
    oppress humans, and bomb hospitals, and kill 500,000 Syrians in
    this case, as I mentioned in my opening statement, it is about
    winning over the next generation. We are engaged in a war that
    is going to take as long or longer than the Cold War. The Cold
    War was won not because we had a great military--we did--but it
    was won because multiple generations began to reject the
    philosophy of communism and desire more. That is what is going
    to have to happen in this fight.
        So I guess the question for both of you is, when we talk
    about the next generational war on terror, we talk about the
    budget request, we talk about giving people hope and
    opportunity, not all just us, but working and leveraging our
    allies and partners in the region together, do we have
    sufficient enough resources and strategy to engage in that
    understanding that this is a long-term fight, when ISIS' flag
    falls there is still going to be this ideology and see this
    through to the end?
        I will start with you, Ambassador.
        Ambassador Jones. Well, thank you, Congressman.
        And I think if we look at what happened in May, the Riyadh
    Summit where the President met first with the Saudis and then
    with the GCC and then with the broader Islamic community, and
    in all of those sessions they mutually agreed to fight
    extremism, to counter extremism, to defeat terrorism, and also
    to stand up against the malign Iranian influence that is
    destabilizing the region, that has caused so many deaths and
    destruction in Syria.
        So I think that the Riyadh Summit was an historic event.
    And I think it is important to look at what came out of those
    meetings. And that has created a platform for this
    administration to move forward.
        In the GCC, although there has been this falling out with
    Qatar, we still have a document that creates a platform for
    both counterterrorism and counter-extremism cooperation, but
    also security cooperation throughout the region, blunting the
    malign influence of Iran, and working together to build those
    economies.
        As you know, one of the deliverables from the President's
    visit to Riyadh was the establishment of the ETIDAL Center for
    Counter-Extremism in Riyadh. The director of the center is here
    this week; he has been meeting with U.S. Government officials
    all week. He is taking back new ideas. And this is not just
    about stopping negative messages in the cybersphere, this is
    about addressing the core issues that you have raised in your
    question.
        So I think it is exactly where we are.
        Mr. Kinzinger. Thank you.
        Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Thank you.
        Ambassador Jones. Sorry.
        Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Thank you.
        Mr. Kinzinger. Thank you.
        Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Excellent question. Thank you for the
    answer.
        Ms. Frankel of Florida.
        Ms. Frankel. Thank you, Madam Chair.
        Let me start by saying that the ignorance of the State
    Department budget is appalling and frightening. We are
    withdrawing from the world at a time when our leadership is
    needed more than ever. And buddying up with Vladimir Putin is
    not a substitute for a well thought out plan for peace and
    security.
        I am not going to ask you any questions because you are
    here to defend what I think is the indefensible. And I think
    you two are just very fine public servants. And I don't want to
    do that.
        So I am going to yield to Mr., the rest of my time to Mr.
    Schneider who wants to take a shot at asking you a question.
        Mr. Schneider. Thank you. I appreciate the moments. And I
    appreciate your service to our country and you being here to
    discuss.
        Two things. One, what was spoken about earlier with the
    ceasefire negotiated in southwestern Syria and the idea of the
    presence of Iran, Iranian troops, Hezbollah troops there, are
    you aware, this ceasefire I assume includes Daraa where this
    started. And I don't know how we can have a process that is
    going to lead to peace by having the same people who have
    oppressed an entire nation because 15 young children spoke out
    against the government, and yet there it is. It includes the
    area to the west of Daraa along the Damascus-Amman Highway,
    which not only borders Jordan but borders Israel. And the idea
    of Iranian troops, the possibility of them ever being there is
    of grave concern.
        So I guess that is a statement more than a question.
        My question is budgets reflect our values, they reflect our
    goals, they ultimately, in theory, should reflect our strategy.
    It seems to me that this budget is a budget developed first
    with numbers, and then we will see if the strategy follows.
        So to each of you, given the draconian cuts, I will argue
    indefensible, unwise, misguided cuts of this budget, what
    impacts is that going to have on A) the ability to achieve our
    goals; are we changing our goals, and B) the strategy that
    follows to achieve those goals?
        Ms. Longi. Yes, thank you.
        I think that the budget for the Middle East is reflective
    and supportive of our goals. I am not going to speak to the
    military piece of it. But on the development and stabilization
    piece, I do think that we have asked for sufficient resources
    to support what our goals are. And those include defeating ISIS
    and stabilizing the regions afterwards, as well as the longer-
    term development goals in the countries such as Jordan and
    Egypt, in countries where there is more stability and the
    ability to do that.
        Mr. Schneider. And if I may, I am sorry to interject, but
    because of time.
        Defeating ISIS is critical. We have to defeat ISIS. It is a
    milestone, it is not the endpost. The endpost is a region that
    is stable, a region that is not a threat to the countries
    around it, and to the United States.
        Ms. Longi. And I will just add on that in our strategic
    planning and thinking about the assistance, how we spend the
    assistance in these countries, we do look longer-term to the
    development impacts. And so, we are not just doing the
    immediate stabilization work, we are looking at primary
    education, and jobs creation, and things that do have a longer-
    term impact.
        Mr. Schneider. I guess, Ambassador Jones, put you on the
    spot. And I with you great happiness in your retirement. We
    will miss you.
        But as you look back on your career, the budget being
    proposed is it going to make your successors, and those who
    come, the men and women who put their lives on the line day in
    and day out working on behalf of our nation as diplomats in
    development, is their job going to be easier or is it going to
    be more difficult?
        Ambassador Jones. Thank you for your kind words.
        So speaking for NEA, speaking for the Middle East Bureau,
    we, we are looking at an 11 percent cut here. I think we have
    been able to digest these cuts. Clearly, I think there is
    concern about the zeroing out of some of the foreign military
    financing accounts. We will look at how to address that through
    the $200 million FMF Global Fund.
        Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Thank you, Mr. Ambassador. Thank you,
    Brad.
        Ambassador Jones. Thank you.
        Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. I know that your wife, Barbara, is
    itching to have you leave as well.
        Ambassador Jones. Thank you.
        Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. But we have 2 minutes left to vote. And
    with that, the subcommittee is adjourned.
        Thank you for your testimony. Thank you.
        [Whereupon, at 2:13 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]

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