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

    DEVELOPMENT, DIPLOMACY, AND DEFENSE: PROMOTING U.S. INTERESTS IN AFRICA

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

                                     HEARING

                                   BEFORE THE

                          COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
                            HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                         ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS

                                 SECOND SESSION

                                   __________

                               DECEMBER 12, 2018

                                   __________

                               Serial No. 115-176

                                   __________

            Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs

    [GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

    Available: http://www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/, http://docs.house.gov,

                           or http://www.govinfo.gov

                                     ______

                       U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
    33-669PDF                  WASHINGTON : 2018

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Publishing Office,
    http://bookstore.gpo.gov. For more information, contact the GPO Customer Contact Center,
    U.S. Government Publishing Office. Phone 202-512-1800, or 866-512-1800 (toll-free).
    E-mail, gpo@custhelp.com.

                          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
    MO BROOKS, Alabama                   AMI BERA, California
    PAUL COOK, California                LOIS FRANKEL, Florida
    SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania   TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii
    RON DeSANTIS, Florida [until 9/10/   JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas
        18] deg.                         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
    JOHN R. CURTIS, Utah
    VACANT

         Amy Porter, Chief of Staff      Thomas Sheehy, Staff Director

                   Jason Steinbaum, Democratic Staff Director

                                C O N T E N T S

                                  ----------
                                                                       Page

                                   WITNESSES

    The Honorable Tibor P. Nagy, Jr., Assistant Secretary, Bureau of
      African Affairs, U.S. Department of State......................     4
    Mr. Ramsey Day, Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator, Bureau for
      Africa, U.S. Agency for International Development..............    16

              LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING

    The Honorable Tibor P. Nagy, Jr.: Prepared statement.............     8
    Mr. Ramsey Day: Prepared statement...............................    18

                                    APPENDIX

    Hearing notice...................................................    56
    Hearing minutes..................................................    57
    The Honorable David Cicilline, a Representative in Congress from
      the State of Rhode Island: Material submitted for the record...    59

    DEVELOPMENT, DIPLOMACY, AND DEFENSE: PROMOTING U.S. INTERESTS IN AFRICA

                                  ----------

                          WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2018

                           House of Representatives,

                         Committee on Foreign Affairs,

                                Washington, DC.

        The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:00 a.m., in
    room 2172 Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Edward Royce
    (chairman of the committee) presiding.
        Mr. Royce. This hearing will come to order. This hearing is
    on Development, Diplomacy, and Defense: Promoting U.S.
    Interests in Africa, and today we will hear from the
    administration on U.S. policy toward Africa. This is
    particularly timely as tomorrow the administration will roll
    out a new Africa strategy.
        There is longstanding bipartisan consensus in Congress that
    the U.S. must be fully engaged on the continent of Africa. U.S.
    diplomacy and assistance saves lives. It increases our
    security. It builds capacity. It advances conservation. It
    spurs economic opportunity for both Americans and Africans.
        Africa is a continent of immense opportunity and challenge,
    blessed with tremendous resources, newly empowered consumers,
    entrepreneurial youth. In many places, this means significant
    potential for U.S. companies to increase their trade and
    investment. In other areas, however, despotic leaders continue
    to exploit power and pilfer resources for personal gain,
    ignoring pressing social and economic needs.
        Meanwhile, unfortunately, in some parts of Africa,
    terrorists and transnational criminal organizations have found
    safe haven in vast, ungoverned spaces. This committee has been
    at the forefront in responding to these opportunities and
    challenges. Landmark legislation like the Africa Growth and
    Opportunity Act and Electrify Africa have energized U.S.
    economic engagement on the continent, and more recently the
    President signed into law the BUILD Act which increases our
    ability to support private sector investment.
        These and other initiatives are helping the next generation
    of entrepreneurs and civil society leaders to create jobs in
    their communities and demand more accountability from their
    governments. Improved health, thanks in large part to programs
    like PEPFAR and the Global Food Security Act, means Africans
    are living longer and healthier lives.
        The committee has also been a leader in efforts to crack
    down on poaching and illicit trafficking so that elephants and
    rhinos and magnificent natural resources are preserved and
    local communities there benefit rather than be plundered by
    criminal and terrorist organizations. In tackling these
    challenges, we shouldn't engage with only the countries who are
    our friends. Our interests are diverse and continent-wide. We
    simply must work in the toughest places to defend these
    interests.
        And we know what happens when the U.S. fails to engage. We
    know who fills that void, it is China and Russia. They already
    are by ramping up business investment, access to finance, arms
    sales, and military partnerships. Several of us on the
    committee have seen this firsthand. Last year, China opened its
    first permanent military base co-located with the U.S. base in
    Djibouti. We must get this right. Our diplomatic, economic, and
    national security interests are at stake.
        We must deploy adequate resources to support our interests
    in Africa. We must continue to not back away from building
    partner capacity, to improve security, to foster trade, to
    foster economic development, strengthen health systems, combat
    wildlife trafficking, and support good governance. We must be
    steadfast in our support of the men and women, Americans and
    Africans, working to advance democracy, stability, peace, to
    ultimately create better lives. That is the foundation of an
    effective Africa strategy.
        And I would like to thank Ranking Member Eliot Engel, as
    well as Chairman Chris Smith, and Ranking Member Karen Bass of
    the Africa Subcommittee for their dedication to these issues.
    This is my last hearing as chairman of this committee. It has
    been the honor of a lifetime to work with my colleagues to
    strengthen our country and advance neoliberal values worldwide.
    I am forever grateful to your support.
        And, lastly, I want to thank Staff Director Tom Sheehy and
    Chief of Staff Amy Porter who are leaving the committee. They
    have been essential to our many successes. I now turn to the
    ranking member, Mr. Eliot Engel.
        Mr. Engel. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for calling
    this hearing. As you mentioned, I am guessing this will be the
    final hearing of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the 115th
    Congress and, Mr. Chairman, your final hearing as chairman. And
    so, this is a fitting subject to focus on, because there is not
    a member of this body who has done more than you when it comes
    to American engagement across the African continent.
        Legislation to expand access to reliable electricity, to
    provide better sources of food and nutrition, to crack down on
    wildlife trafficking and the criminal networks responsible for
    it, to help foster growth and development and stability. Bill
    after bill after bill passed through this committee and the
    Congress are now law, thanks to the leadership and vision of
    Chairman Ed Royce.
        And the committee's work on Africa has looked like the vast
    majority of the work this committee has done under Ed's
    chairmanship. It has been thoughtful, it has been bipartisan,
    it has reflected the commitment of this committee's members to
    push legislation that advances American interests and values
    leaving politics aside.
        So, Ed, let me just thank you for the way you have run this
    committee. If I am elected chairman by the Democratic caucus it
    is my full intention to handle things with the same sort of
    fairness and collegiality that you have. So I want to thank you
    for everything you have done. Thank you for being our
    colleague, thank you for being our friend. And we have made the
    lives of countless people better because of your hard efforts.
        We always say that the Foreign Affairs Committee is the
    most bipartisan committee in Congress and we always say that
    partisanship should stop at the water's edge. And that is what
    you and I have tried to do and it has been a pleasure working
    next to you and working with you. Thank you.
        Mr. Royce. Thank you.
        Mr. Engel. Turning to today's hearing, I want to welcome
    our witnesses. It has been rare in the last few years that we
    have had administration officials before the committee, so we
    hope this begins a new trend. So we are glad to see you.
        We have seen a number of promising developments in Africa
    lately. In Senegal, a new Millennium Challenge Corporation
    compact worth more than $.5 billion will help meet the growing
    demand for reliable electricity in one of Africa's fastest-
    growing economies. In Ethiopia, after months of protests in a
    violent, destabilizing crackdown, the Prime Minister committed
    to reform has risen to power. We need to help sustain the
    momentum of the country's positive trajectory.
        Nigeria's elections, planned for February of next year,
    will be massively consequential. The progress Nigeria has made
    demonstrates the importance of continued American support for
    Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission and other
    organizations like it.
        At the same time, we are keeping an eye on some seriously
    troubling trends when it comes to human rights: In Uganda, the
    arrest and torture of opposition politicians even as that
    country receives massive American counterterrorism assistance;
    in Tanzania, crackdowns on free speech and press along with
    threats to the LGBTQ community; Cameroon's longtime leader just
    elected to a seventh term continues to cling to power in the
    face of a growing insurgency; and Zimbabwe, where July's
    elections were marred by fraud and intimidation and where the
    government has shown little interest in enacting desperately
    needed reforms.
        So there are plenty of areas that demand our continued
    focus and I think that we need to work hard to make sure that
    these things are taken care of. After the Nigerian army
    massacred 40 unarmed civilians, they tweeted a clip of the
    President suggesting our own military use lethal force against
    asylum seekers on our southern border.
        In August, the President tweeted a white nationalist
    conspiracy theory that offended our partners in South Africa, a
    country to which he has nominated an Ambassador. And in
    January, the President referred to African countries in general
    using a term that I won't repeat here. So these words send a
    troubling message, but our country's actions are even more
    important and that is why I am opposed to the administration's
    trying to slash funding for global health efforts.
        The ongoing Ebola outbreak in the DRC's North Kivu province
    is the second largest in history and the region is so unstable
    that we have had to withdraw CDC personnel from the area. This
    crisis underscores why strong funding for global health is so
    critical. We want countries to be able to stop epidemics
    quickly and effectively, hopefully before they start and
    definitely before they reach our shores. So we can't go along
    with fewer resources and it troubles me that the administration
    seems to be pushing in that direction.
        And, broadly speaking, we should not have a foreign policy
    of withdrawal and isolation because we leave a void that our
    adversaries are only too happy to fill. Africa is a prime
    example. If we fail to stay engaged, there is no doubt that
    China and Russia will swoop in and exert influence. In my view,
    we simply cannot let that happen. So I am eager to hear from
    our witnesses about how we are going to advance American
    interests and values in this critical region.
        Mr. Chairman, I thank you again and I want to point out the
    wonderful work that Karen Bass and Chris Smith have done in
    order to get to the point where we are really making a
    difference in people's lives. So thank you again, I yield back.
        Mr. Royce. Thank you very much, Mr. Engel. I appreciate it,
    Eliot.
        So this morning I am pleased to welcome the Honorable Tibor
    Nagy, Jr. and Mr. Ramsey Day to the committee. Ambassador Tibor
    Nagy currently serves as Assistant Secretary of State for
    African Affairs. Prior to his appointment, he served as U.S.
    Ambassador to Ethiopia, Ambassador to Guinea, and as the Deputy
    Chief of Mission in Nigeria. In total, Ambassador Nagy has 20
    years of experience working across Africa.
        Ramsey Day is with us, currently serving as the Senior
    Deputy Assistant Administrator for Africa at USAID. Previously,
    Mr. Day was the Senior Director for the Center for Global
    Impact at the International Republican Institute. He has held
    numerous positions within the international development and
    foreign policy communities both in the United States and
    various overseas posts.
        And so we appreciate you both being with us today. Without
    objection, the witnesses' full prepared statements will be made
    part of the record. Members will have 5 calendar days to submit
    any statements or questions or extraneous material for the
    record.
        Before proceeding, I would like to take a moment and
    recognize in the audience Florie Liser of the Corporate Council
    on Africa for her steadfast leadership to increase trade and
    investment in Africa; Troy Fitrell, who worked as a fellow on
    this committee, is just back from serving as Deputy Chief of
    Mission in Addis Ababa, in Addis; Kathleen Moody of the State
    Department who has been working on African issues for as long
    as I have; Tony Carroll who is with us, former Peace Corps, who
    has testified in front of this committee before on Africa.
        So, and we see many other old African hands in the audience
    as well, so it is great to have you with us here in the
    audience. And so, Ambassador Nagy, I would ask you, please
    summarize your remarks. Thank you.

       STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE TIBOR P. NAGY, JR., ASSISTANT
     SECRETARY, BUREAU OF AFRICAN AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

        Ambassador Nagy. Thank you, Chairman Royce, Ranking Member
    Engel, members of the committee for the opportunity to testify
    today on U.S. policy toward Africa, and to my colleague and
    friend, Ramsey Day of USAID, here with me today. I also want to
    express my gratitude and on behalf of the Africa Bureau at the
    State Department to Chairman Royce for his decades of service
    to Africa, Africa relations, and other members for your
    longstanding interest in Africa.
        Today's hearing comes at an opportune time. We are at a
    critical juncture for the relationship between the United
    States and the nations and people of Africa. Africa faces an
    uncertain and challenging, but by no means predetermined
    future. The choices we make now will affect not only our
    relationship with the continent but will have ramifications
    worldwide.
        Africa is facing a demographic tsunami. Its population will
    double by 2050 to around 2.5 billion people, 50 percent of whom
    will be under the age of 24. Challenges with infrastructure,
    corruption, and terrorism continue, and China is asserting
    itself on the continent economically, militarily, and
    politically.
        We must remain a positive alternative and make clear that
    engaging with the United States will mean greater prosperity
    and security for Africa. I am very fortunate to be in my
    current position. Virtually, my entire career centered on
    Africa, much of it living there in eight different countries.
        Since my first diplomatic assignment 40 years ago, Africa
    has changed dramatically. I recently concluded two trips to the
    continent in West Africa and East Africa where I also addressed
    the African Union. Let me assure you of this, our potential
    with Africa is limitless. With every challenge there is
    opportunity and we must capitalize on our successes.
        Here, I would like to articulate some of the focus areas of
    the Bureau of African Affairs. First, we are promoting stronger
    trade and commercial ties between the United States and Africa,
    working with our African partners to build a level playing
    field across the continent's markets. African governments need
    to increase transparency and fairness in their commercial
    environments to attract more business and have predictable
    policies, laws conforming to international standards, and a
    credible dispute resolution process.
        Second, more than 60 percent of sub-Saharan Africa or 600
    million people is below the age of 25, representing 40 percent
    of sub-Saharan Africa's unemployed. We are working to match
    American investment and ingenuity with a dynamism and
    entrepreneurial spirit of young Africans, anchoring them to
    their countries and keeping them from resorting to migration,
    militancy, or crime.
        The third area is working to advance peace and security
    through partnerships with African governments and effective
    regional mechanisms. Finally, we are focused on countering the
    Chinese narrative and setting the record straight. The United
    States has a longstanding commitment to Africa as a partner
    positively supporting economic growth, good governance, rule of
    law, enhance gender equality and the health of the African
    people.
        Let me begin with the promotion of stronger trade and
    investment ties. Everywhere I speak to an African audience I
    emphasize we seek to do business not just in Africa but with
    Africa. Our promotion of free trade agreements with the United
    States communicates to Africans that transparency, fairness,
    and good governance attract U.S. investment and we hope to
    negotiate a first-ever free trade agreement with a sub-Saharan
    country.
        Trade has greatly expanded. Under the African Growth and
    Opportunity Act, from 2000 to 2016, U.S. investment in sub-
    Saharan Africa increased from $7 billion to $29 billion,
    providing opportunities for hundreds of thousands of Africans.
        Since 2000, U.S. exports to Africa rose from 6 to more than
    $14 billion last year, and U.S. imports from Africa total
    nearly $25 billion. The total two-way trade of $39 billion in
    2017, up 5.8 percent from 2015. The U.S. Millennium Challenge
    Corporation provides assistance to the world's poorest
    countries who demonstrate commitment to good governance,
    economic freedom, and investing in their citizens.
        This week I attended a ceremony with Secretary Pompeo where
    MCC and the Government of Senegal signed a $550 million compact
    that will modernize Senegal's power sector to increase economic
    growth and reduce poverty through improved access to
    electricity. The BUILD Act, and thank you very much to Congress
    for the BUILD Act which President Trump signed into law in
    October with strong bipartisan support, will establish the U.S.
    International Development Finance Corporation. This new law
    consolidates, modernizes, and reforms the U.S. Government's
    development finance capabilities.
        Africa is the largest regional exposure totaling more than
    $6 billion and the BUILD Act will help mobilize additional
    private sector investment. With our second focus, we go beyond
    investing in Africa to invest in Africans. Through the Young
    African Leaders Initiative or YALI, we equip the next
    generation of Africans with leadership and entrepreneurship
    skills. The YALI network, a virtual community of more than .5
    million members, helps young Africans develop skills and
    connections needed to make change in their communities.
        Our third focus, promoting peace and security, is essential
    to secure Africa's opportunities and prosperity. We support
    African-led efforts against terrorism and other transnational
    threats. U.S. assistance has brought some success in the Lake
    Chad region, Somalia, and elsewhere. And we seek burden-sharing
    opportunities with non-African actors as well.
        We have provided training to peacekeepers from more than 20
    African countries with substantial impact. Ten years ago,
    Africans comprised only 40 percent of the continent's
    peacekeepers. Now that figure has exceeded 60 percent. U.S.-
    funded programming is vital to these forces as it is to the G5
    Sahel Joint Force and African-driven efforts in the Lake Chad
    region to counter terrorism in West Africa.
        Our African partners are working to ensure stability and
    defeat terrorist organizations in East Africa as well. The
    AMISOM mission composed of regional states is helping Somalia
    become more stable and prosperous and we are providing
    development and security assistance to the Somalis to govern
    themselves. Additionally, we support efforts by African
    partners to strengthen their maritime and border security and
    their efforts to address trafficking in arms, drugs, and
    wildlife.
        Finally, we want to be clear to all Africans that the
    United States has an unwavering commitment to the continent
    shown through our longstanding partnerships and support for
    good governance, security, human rights and economic growth,
    and provision of humanitarian assistance. African countries
    should know that some infrastructure projects and seemingly
    attractive loan terms from other countries can lead down a
    dangerous path to indebtedness, loan defaults, and
    concessionary extraction of natural resources stifling the
    economic growth needed to create jobs.
        In contrast, the United States is pursuing sustainable
    alternatives for African growth and development. U.S. programs
    like AGOA, PEPFAR, Power Africa, and Feed the Future opened the
    U.S. market to African goods, countered HIV/AIDS, brought
    electricity to rural areas, protected vulnerable women and
    children, supported youth entrepreneurship, and helped Africans
    in innumerable ways.
        As we continue to engage with Africa we must assess how to
    best work with each country and multilateral institution to
    advance our mutual interest and priorities. The State
    Department cannot do this alone. We need to continually
    synchronize our approach among all elements of national power.
    Only by balancing resources among development, diplomacy, and
    defense can we speak with a coordinated voice to the
    governments and the people of Africa.
        I do not exaggerate when I say Africa is the continent of
    the future, but a future envisioned by Africans and not one
    seen as forced upon them, and success must ultimately come from
    developing African solutions to African problems. We must look
    at Africa through the windshield not through the rearview
    mirror.
        Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. I look
    forward to your support as our nation continues our engagement
    with Africa.
        [The prepared statement of Ambassador Nagy follows:]
        [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

                                  ----------

        Mr. Royce. Thank you, Ambassador.
        Mr. Day? And feel free, Mr. Day, to just summarize those
    remarks. Try to keep to 5 minutes.

         STATEMENT OF MR. RAMSEY DAY, SENIOR DEPUTY ASSISTANT
    ADMINISTRATOR, BUREAU FOR AFRICA, U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL
                              DEVELOPMENT

        Mr. Day. Thank you, Chairman.
        Mr. Royce. Thank you, sir.
        Mr. Day. Chairman Royce, Ranking Member Engel, members of
    the committee, I am grateful for the opportunity to testify
    before you today. I would like to extend a special thank you to
    the committee and your colleagues in Congress whose longtime
    bipartisan commitment to the peoples of the African continent
    provides the foundation for USAID programs and the springboard
    for their success.
        And while challenges remain, I truly believe that Africa's
    future is bright. The investments and commitment of the
    American people to the people of Africa are paying off and
    USAID has set its priorities to capitalize on the region's
    emerging opportunities. Under Administrator Green's leadership,
    USAID is focusing its resources in places where the conditions
    are right to establish and sustain progress.
        U.S. assistance in Africa certainly saves lives and it also
    spurs trade and investment and advances peace and security.
    Take the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief or PEPFAR,
    this program is a powerful expression of the compassion and
    generosity of the American people. In 2016, a PEPFAR assessment
    showed the first evidence of the epidemic becoming controlled
    in three key African countries--Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
        These same countries have reduced the new HIV infections by
    as much as 75 percent since the start of the PEPFAR program.
    And with continued focus, the U.S. Government is poised to help
    control the HIV epidemic in ten African countries over the next
    4 years. The United States is also the world's leading
    humanitarian donor. USAID provides humanitarian assistance
    across the continent including in Nigeria, South Sudan, and
    Somalia where conflict and instability are fueling food
    insecurity and displacement.
        USAID experts have also been deployed to the Democratic
    Republic of Congo or DRC to help respond to the current Ebola
    crisis. But even as USAID mobilizes the best of American
    generosity, we also work to prepare for future shocks and equip
    countries with the tools they will need to feed themselves.
        USAID is also highly focused on the immense trade and
    international investment opportunities, which we believe is the
    fastest way for Africa to boost its economic growth, which is
    in the interest of the United States. We believe that African
    nations can tap the trillions of dollars in private sector
    resources needed to advance the continent's development and
    ultimately eliminate the need for unsustainable foreign-backed
    loans.
        One area where we are using a market approach or private
    sector engagement is the power sector, an area where we greatly
    appreciate Chairman Royce's leadership with the enactment of
    the Electrify Africa Act. Power Africa, a whole of government
    effort led by USAID, employs a partnership approach to engage
    U.S. Government agencies, international donors and finance
    institutions, host country counterparts, and of course the
    private sector. Power Africa has helped add over 12.5 million
    new electrical connections, which means more than 57 million
    people have access to electricity who did not have access prior
    to the initiative's launch.
        USAID Trade and Investment Hubs in Africa are helping to
    transform African economies and deepen the U.S.-Africa trade
    and investment relationship. They reduce regional trade
    barriers and promote trade and investment under the Africa
    Growth and Opportunity Act or AGOA, legislation that this
    committee championed. The Trade and Investment Hubs have also
    directly leveraged $1.3 billion in African exports under AGOA
    and many of the jobs created are held by women who tend to
    invest job-related income into their families and communities.
        However, we can't talk about successful economic future for
    African countries without addressing peace and security. USAID
    works with our African partners to address the underlying
    factors that allow transnational crime, violent extremism, and
    internal conflict to flourish. Working in partnership with
    African governments and civil society, our support strengthens
    institutions; protects the democratic gains that have been made
    all across the continent.
        USAID is also combating the threat of wildlife trafficking
    in countries across sub-Saharan Africa. USAID and its partners
    are making it more difficult for people to poach, move, and
    sell wildlife products across borders. This helps secure our
    natural resources and fight the criminal networks that threaten
    security and the rule of law and ultimately undermine
    development progress.
        Our focus is on helping countries on their journey to self-
    reliance. USAID's goal is to end the need for foreign
    assistance. As Administrator Green has said, it is our core
    belief that each country must lead its own development journey.
    We are focusing on ending the need for foreign assistance not
    because we wish to retreat from our friends, but because we
    believe in them.
        If a country is willing to take on the difficult journey to
    self-reliance, we want to walk alongside them along that
    journey. At USAID, we are looking toward the day when the
    transition to a new kind of relationships that move beyond
    traditional assistance and enduring relationships, a
    relationship in which countries move from recipients of aid to
    partners to even fellow donors.
        And on a personal note, I am truly honored to be here
    today. I am deeply committed to USAID's goals and the
    integrated role that USAID plays with the Department of State
    as well as the Department of Defense in advancing U.S. policy
    and national security objectives. So thank you for the
    opportunity to be here and I look forward to your questions.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. Day follows:]
        [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

                                  ----------

        Mr. Royce. Thank you, Mr. Day.
        Let me bring up some testimony last December. Deputy
    Secretary Sullivan and Department of Defense Under Secretary
    Trachtenberg testified that as terrorist groups are facing
    defeats in the Middle East, we are seeing activity increase and
    expand elsewhere, including and especially in Africa.
        So we know that terrorist groups benefit from poor
    governance and instability, which is present in parts of
    Africa, and we know that terrorists abroad pose a direct threat
    to U.S. interests even here at home. The State Department leads
    on our counterterrorism efforts through train and equip
    authority and other law enforcement capacity programs. The
    committees work to ensure that this remains the case.
        And I know it has been reported that the administration
    intends to shift to combating great power competition in Africa
    and shift away from the robust counterterrorism engagement that
    we have had our eye on here, and I wanted to ask you,
    Ambassador, how will this shift in priorities impact our
    progress toward building the capacity of partner nations in
    Africa to counter these dangerous security threats themselves?
        Ambassador Nagy. Thank you very much, Chairman. During my
    last two trips to the continent just concluded a couple of days
    ago, that is one of the questions and one of the issues that I
    looked into extensively both in discussions with the host
    government, also I stopped off both in London and Paris to
    discuss with some of our allies some of those considerations.
    And this time I was with AFRICOM Commander General Waldhauser
    both in Ethiopia and then I stopped off in Stuttgart to have
    extensive discussions there and I also visited Camp Lemonnier
    in Djibouti again to discuss that various issue.
        And while I have to leave any details and specifics to the
    Department of Defense, I just want to assure you that that is
    at the top of our list in discussions to make sure that we
    continue to move forward with the counterterrorism, because as
    you say it is extremely problematic. Also during my time in
    West Africa, I had held discussions with the Prime Minister of
    Togo and with the President of Guinea, and both the Guineans
    and the Togolese now are concerned over the terrorism seeping
    into their own countries from the previous area in the Sahel.
        So I assure you that issue is very much front and center
    and we are going to continue focusing on it and coordinating
    with our friends at AFRICOM.
        Mr. Royce. I understand. But I reached out to the
    Department of Defense and they are not here today and so it
    falls on you----
        Ambassador Nagy. Yeah.
        Mr. Royce [continuing]. To convey to us the intentions
    here, because this committee is going to continue to have a
    focus on exactly this issue.
        But I will ask both of you, we have got to engage with
    countries across Africa even the most challenging countries
    with which we have significant differences. Too many policy
    priorities, frankly, depend on it. You know better than we do
    just how true this is, just as we are dealing now in Congo with
    the Ebola crisis in the East.
        So if we were take an example of wildlife trafficking, we
    have a tenuous relationship with a number of East and Central
    African countries yet we support their park rangers. We support
    their law enforcement agencies to combat poaching and
    trafficking. We try to enforce the bill we passed here to
    abolish the ivory trade, right.
        So if we shift away from working with challenging nations
    what happens to these partnerships? I would like to hear you
    articulate, Ambassador, and Mr. Day as well, what is the intent
    here? I haven't seen the plan rolled out yet so I would like to
    hear your thoughts on this.
        Ambassador Nagy. Exactly, Chairman. The partnerships in
    those critical areas will certainly go on. We have both a
    bilateral strategy and we will continue our discussions with
    AFRICOM with a region-wide strategy.
        During my visit to Stuttgart, we discussed some of these
    very issues both for the Sahel, for Lake Chad, for East Africa,
    Somalia, for Djibouti, and then also especially for providing
    for the safety and security of U.S. personnel and properties
    throughout Africa.
        So again I can't give you any specifics, but I can assure
    you that that is an ongoing discussion. We had a general
    meeting here with AFRICOM several weeks ago. I met with the
    entire AFRICOM staff when I was in Stuttgart, had the same
    discussions in Djibouti at Camp Lemonnier, so that goes on.
        Mr. Royce. My time has expired, so we will follow up----
        Ambassador Nagy. Absolutely.
        Mr. Royce [continuing]. Afterwards with you.
        Karen Bass of California.
        Ms. Bass. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Let me just
    begin by saying that, one, I want to join in with my colleagues
    to thank you for your leadership and say that it is
    particularly meaningful that you chose your last hearing to be
    on this region of the world.
        And I just wanted to take note of that and to let you know
    that when I am in the community or in the press or whatever,
    when they are always attacking us for never working on a
    bipartisan basis, I always use this committee and I especially
    talk about your leadership, as over these years you have always
    led this committee in a bipartisan way and you will be missed.
    But I will also put you on notice that you are from Southern
    California, as am I, and so you might be retiring from Congress
    but I don't intend to let you just retire. I will be calling on
    you, in other words.
        Mr. Royce. Thank you.
        Ms. Bass. Let me fire off a series of questions and then
    leave it to the two of you to respond. You mentioned,
    Ambassador, about AGOA. And I appreciate you mentioning that
    because a number of African countries are getting concerned
    with a push toward free trade agreements that what does that
    mean for AGOA and especially recognizing that some countries
    might be ready but others aren't. And so what does the future
    of AGOA hold?
        In terms of elections coming up, we have DRC in just a
    couple of weeks, we have Nigeria in February and want to know
    what role we are playing and particularly concerned in DRC. And
    you mentioned, Mr. Day, about Ebola and that we are there, but
    it is my understanding that CDC is not allowed there and so
    maybe you can respond to that.
        So if you two could respond to both of those.
        Ambassador Nagy. Thank you very much. I think on AGOA I
    want to make it clear that AGOA goes on for another 5 years.
        Ms. Bass. Right.
        Ambassador Nagy. So we have that time to figure out how we
    want to move beyond it because we do want to move beyond it. Up
    to now, I didn't even know this until I came back to work in
    the diplomatic side, we don't have any free trade agreements
    with sub-Saharan Africa.
        Ms. Bass. Right.
        Ambassador Nagy. The only one we have on the African
    continent is with Morocco.
        Ms. Bass. Morocco, right.
        Ambassador Nagy. Meanwhile, the Africa Union is heartily
    pursuing the continent-wide free trade agreement----
        Ms. Bass. Yes.
        Ambassador Nagy [continuing]. Which we totally support. We
    think that is a phenomenal idea and hopefully at some point we
    can engage with them through that format. But right now, and
    this is of special interest to me, we would like to identify,
    start with one sub-Saharan country to explore a model free
    trade agreement that we can then perhaps expand on with other
    countries. We have had several, about a handful of countries
    come to us and ask specifically to engage with them.
        Ms. Bass. So let me--and I am sorry. I am going to have to
    cut you off to make sure I can cover it all.
        Ambassador Nagy. Sure.
        Ms. Bass. In those 5 years we know that a lot of countries
    are not even taking, aren't even able to utilize AGOA.
        Ambassador Nagy. Exactly.
        Ms. Bass. But we might think about a two-tiered approach
    because for AGOA to just go away in 5 years doesn't seem to
    make sense. But could you respond to the DRC.
        Ambassador Nagy. Elections?
        Ms. Bass. Yes.
        Ambassador Nagy. Absolutely, okay. In Nigeria, when I
    visited Nigeria I specifically looked at what we were doing on
    the elections and I was so proud of Ambassador Symington and
    his mission. They engaged with everybody. They sent everybody
    everywhere. He had me meet with the National Electoral
    Commission chair. He had me meet with the chairs of both
    parties, ask them to sign a peace agreement. Last night
    President Buhari and his party did sign a peace agreement.
        Ms. Bass. Great. DRC?
        Ambassador Nagy. DRC, 2 weeks to go, some major concerns
    remain especially with the voting machines. They have 100,000
    voting machines coming. We will see. They have a great
    opportunity to have the first peaceful transition of power
    since 1960.
        Ms. Bass. And there is also some signaling that maybe the
    elections are premature too, so coming from both sides which we
    know that that is false, but just to flag that.
        Ambassador Nagy. It is false. Hopefully, I see no reason
    why they cannot go forward.
        Ms. Bass. Ebola in DRC?
        Mr. Day. On Ebola, thank you for the question,
    Congresswoman. We are deeply concerned about the Ebola outbreak
    in the DRC. This is the tenth outbreak. It is the largest we
    have seen.
        Ms. Bass. Is CDC allowed?
        Mr. Day. The security environment in the immediate area of
    Beni town is not permissible for U.S. Government employees, but
    we do, USAID in partnership with CDC and WHO and the Ministry
    of Health of the Government of DRC does have, we have
    contractors on the ground and we are working in partnership.
        Ms. Bass. So what are we doing specifically then? We are
    providing what?
        Mr. Day. So we are doing everything from disease
    surveillance, case management, risk communications, ensuring
    that information is getting out and getting out properly.
        Ms. Bass. And you can let me know later who our partner is
    that we have on the ground there?
        Mr. Day. Of course.
        Ms. Bass. Thank you.
        Mr. Royce. Mr. Chris Smith of New Jersey.
        Mr. Smith. Thank you very, very much, Mr. Chairman. And I
    do want to join Eliot Engel and other members of the committee
    in thanking you for your extraordinary leadership especially on
    Africa. As former chairman of the committee, I thank you for
    that leadership, but it continues to this moment. So thank you,
    Ed, great job.
        I want to welcome our two very distinguished witnesses,
    thank them for their leadership as well, and Greg Simpkins, our
    former staff director on the Subcommittee on Africa, Global
    Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations
    working over at USAID on behalf of the continent.
        Let me just ask very quickly some questions. The festering
    crisis in Cameroon, Ambassador Nagy, you had said that the last
    thing we need is a growing radicalization in response to the
    actions of security forces. You compared it to the response to
    Boko Haram and how that actually caused it to worsen not get
    better. You might want to please speak to that and what we are
    doing to try to mitigate that danger.
        Congratulations on the breakthrough with Ambassador
    Yamamoto being deployed to Somalia. Your historic meeting in
    Eritrea, which I think is just incredible, you might want to
    comment on that briefly. And Karen Bass and I visited Ethiopia
    and met with Prime Minister Abiy in Addis last August. We were
    very impressed. We held a follow-up hearing about what we
    thought were significant progress, release of prisoners and
    all. Obviously there is so much more to be done. Please, if you
    could spend a little time on that.
        On the issue of China, we know that China is attacking the
    dollar as the world's reserve currency and of course if that
    goes our ability to hold countries to account is diminished, it
    is lessened. Fourteen African countries met in Zimbabwe in
    early spring talking about looking at the yuan as a potential
    reserve currency.
        A few months ago, African leaders met in Beijing and were
    offered some $60 billion in financing, which shows--and we know
    what they are after. They are after minerals. They are after
    wood. They are after fossil fuels, and the spread of a bad
    governance model under Xi Jinping who is cracking down in his
    own country on Muslims.
        I just had a hearing on the Uyghurs, the fact that 1
    million people are now are in concentration camps in Xinjiang,
    the autonomous region. Just the wrong country to be partnering
    with African countries given the fact that their abuse of human
    rights almost has no, maybe North Korea has very parallels
    anywhere in the world. So if you could speak to this Chinese
    influence, I know there is not much time, but on those issues.
        And on Chemonics, we did have a hearing and the
    subcommittee and the full committee has been on oversight on
    the lateness of ARVs, you know, if you are late that could be a
    death sentence. Is that being rectified, Mr. Day?
        But Ambassador?
        Ambassador Nagy. Thank you, sir. I will make this as quick
    as possible. On Cameroon, not much improvement. We were hoping
    that after the election of President Biya he would make some
    moves to open up some dialogue with the Anglophone provinces,
    he has not. Extremely disappointing, the problem goes on. We
    continue to engage, but right now unfortunately not much
    optimism, just pessimism.
        On Isaias, absolutely. I spent 2 hours with the President,
    extremely interesting points of view on the region. I hope that
    it leads to further discussion because of course we continue to
    have our bilateral problems with Eritrea and hopefully we can
    resolve them in the future going forward, but Eritrea is one of
    the key participants in the region and thanks to Prime Minister
    Abiy for opening up that political space.
        Yes, sir, your views on Ethiopian Prime Minister are right
    on. I had a chance to engage with him as well. He is continuing
    to move forward energetically not getting much sleep at night,
    so let's hope for the best with him on both his external and
    his internal changes.
        On China, very interesting. I engaged about China with all
    of my contacts and with the business communities at all of my
    stops. I do have to say that I think the bloom is finally
    starting to wear off as countries realize that China represents
    a lot of debt, not much employment created, and not necessarily
    the types of companies and business environments that they
    want, especially the young people. I think if the United States
    can capture the young people, I will leave the venal autocracy
    to the Chinese and I will stop there.
        Mr. Day. Thank you, Congressman. On the program that you
    are referencing, the Global Health Supply Chain, I will get the
    latest status on--I know there was a report that was released
    last month, but I would like to say that we certainly
    appreciate the oversight role that the committee plays and we
    are absolutely committed to ensuring the highest standards of
    accountability. But I will get a status on the report.
        Mr. Smith. Finally, I just want to thank the President.
    Yesterday, he signed into law a 5-year reauthorization of
    PEPFAR. And, obviously, I was here with many of us who were
    here when George W. Bush and our former chairmen, Henry Hyde
    and Tom Lantos, led the effort for what is now, in my opinion,
    the most successful global health initiative ever, anywhere in
    the world.
        It has ended largely the pandemic, 16 million to 17 million
    people's lives have been saved, 2 million kids have been born
    without HIV/AIDS, which they probably would have gotten as they
    were being born through mother to child transmission. So
    congratulations on that signing yesterday and thank you and I
    yield back.
        Mr. Royce. Mr. Brad Sherman of California.
        Mr. Sherman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It has been an honor
    to serve with you and I want to join the praise from the entire
    chorus here.
        And, Ambassador, I am thrilled to see you here, not out of
    personal respect, although I certainly have personal respect
    for you, but an administration witness who is actually
    confirmed and not holding the position temporarily, it has been
    2 years since I remember that occurrence.
        Uganda is one of the largest recipients of U.S. security
    assistance. Bobi Wine is free but still has this charge held
    over him. Has the United States made it clear to the government
    and Museveni that we are watching how Bobi Wine is treated?
        Ambassador Nagy. Absolutely. As a matter of fact, I met
    with the Angolan Prime Minister on the margins of the United
    Nations and underlined that fact and a number of other
    concerns.
        Mr. Sherman. You said the Angolan?
        Ambassador Nagy. Pardon me? The Ugandan----
        Mr. Sherman. Ugandan, okay.
        Ambassador Nagy. Ugandan Prime Minister on the margins and
    underlined that fact very strongly. We continue to do that with
    our engagements. Unfortunately, President Museveni shows no
    signs of thinking about a transition and unfortunately----
        Mr. Sherman. I want to move on to Uganda to talk about the
    North Korean contractors to their security forces. Obviously
    the North Koreans don't bring a dedication to the rule of law
    and conduct of military operations in a humane manner. The Wall
    Street Journal did a major report on this just a few days ago
    and says, in part, U.S. officials say that Trump administration
    has been instructed to remain quiet on North Korean involvement
    in Uganda over concern that speaking out would undercut the
    image of an effective sanctions regime.
        Have you been instructed to, or I will put this in the
    positive, can you now speak out against and describe what the
    North Koreans are doing in Uganda?
        Ambassador Nagy. Absolutely, Congressman. Our instructions
    are and it is always included in our points of engagement with
    all governments in Africa to urge them to comply with all
    Security Council resolutions to minimize----
        Mr. Sherman. Is Uganda complying?
        Ambassador Nagy. I cannot answer that technically. I can
    get back to you on that. I don't want to give you the wrong
    answer. I do know that we urge them at every opportunity----
        Mr. Sherman. Given the importance of the North Korean
    nuclear program how would that not be something you would
    already have an opinion on? I know the chairman has already
    answered the question for us, so I yield to him.
        Ambassador Nagy. I don't want to say that they are
    compliant right now if they are not, but I will double check
    that and get back to you. But I can assure you that that is one
    of our strongest points in every engagement with every African
    government.
        Mr. Sherman. China is using this debt trap. They have used
    it in Sri Lanka where they offer and then say, well, you didn't
    pay so we are taking this or that over. And these are sovereign
    countries, so they could simply say no, we are not going to pay
    and no, you are not going to take our port. The problem they
    have is that American and other financial institutions would
    regard that as a default.
        I wonder if you could work with me and perhaps others on
    this committee to establish an international financial order
    where if you don't pay a China debt trap debt your FICO score
    still remains at 800, that there is basically no harm, no foul.
    What can we do to make it plain to the financial markets that
    it is simply illegal for them to count against a country that
    its failure to pay one of these debt trap debts to China?
        Ambassador Nagy. I would look forward to further discussion
    on that and see exactly what we could do, because that is the
    last thing we also want to do is see these countries get into
    that trap.
        Mr. Sherman. And I assume the State Department could look
    at individual deals, identify which ones constitute this debt
    trap financing, and declare that those are particular debts
    with the nonpayment of which should not be considered by any
    financial institution doing business in the United States.
        Finally, Human Rights Watch has reported that the
    Government of Tanzania is shutting down basically everything
    involving the LGBTQ community. What is our approach to protect
    the community in Tanzania?
        Ambassador Nagy. Our approach is to raise our extreme
    concern with that, to engage with civil society every means
    that we can possibly do that to protect them, because Tanzania
    is closing political space everywhere.
        Mr. Sherman. Thank you.
        Mr. Royce. Mr. Rohrabacher of California.
        Mr. Rohrabacher. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and
    congratulations to you for making it through this difficult
    assignment of being the chairman of this committee. And I know
    I have made it a little more difficult myself for you at times,
    but we certainly appreciate your effort and those of Eliot. You
    have been a good team and done good things for America and the
    world.
        So let me just suggest that the job that our witnesses have
    had to do has been equally difficult and that trying to balance
    off stability with reform and progress in Africa has got to be
    one of the most daunting tasks of any group of our
    professionals that are out there in our Foreign Service. And I
    would note that I am going to mention a couple of negative
    things, but let me just say that that does not mean that I
    don't also recognize the positive things.
        I think one of the worst things that we have done in our
    country in terms of Africa is when our government suggested to
    Ethiopia that they could negate and they could just ignore the
    arbitration of the fight between Ethiopia and Eritrea. That did
    more to undermine peaceful solutions in Africa than anything I
    have seen in my lifetime.
        And the fact is that the peace between Ethiopia and Eritrea
    seems to be something that came from within and not something
    that we actually pushed on. In fact, the repression and the
    corruption of the Ethiopian Government over the years was not
    ended because we, the United States, pulled back from that
    corrupt and repressive regime. Instead, it came from within
    even when there were signs for all of us.
        I don't think that--I would hope that we learn from that,
    that we should really be supporting reformers as came to power
    in Ethiopia via a people's movement. And the signs of
    corruption were everywhere in Ethiopia before the current
    government, before the current Abiy came forward and led his
    people toward peace with Eritrea and actually reforms.
        Let me note that for years I have been active in pressuring
    Ethiopia to try to give back the property, especially the
    property of Americans that was confiscated by the Ethiopian
    Government. Now the chairman and I have a family in Orange
    County which we represent, the Berhane family, who owned some
    very important and valuable assets, property in Ethiopia, and
    the Ethiopian Government in the past never gave it back and
    that is because some people were profiting from that.
        I think that we should have been much more aggressive on
    that and I would hope the Ethiopian Government, the current
    government, moves on this problem because we have an American
    family whose property is not being returned. And that is wrong
    and it should be a symbol to us that that Ethiopian Government
    is not going to be, or it will be corrupt. We are going to
    watch to see what happens there and other pieces of property.
        And to the degree that we had OPIC even denied Ethiopia the
    right to have OPIC funds until that and other issues were
    resolved, I suggest we continue that but I would hope we can
    discard that type. I would hope that we could discard all of
    those pressures on Ethiopia and Eritrea and promote their peace
    and progress rather than looking at their faults. But it is up
    to them to give us the sign that they mean real reform.
        I would, as I say what can we do? We just had some
    reference to China and how that makes these countries
    vulnerable and I want to add to that but what can we do that
    would prevent corruption in these African countries? What can
    we do to regulate our own bankers not to profit by taking money
    that was earned by corruption in these African countries?
        Ambassador Nagy. Thank you very much for that. In my view,
    the best thing we can do is encourage civil society because
    they are a great watchdog on government wrongdoing. You know,
    sir, in many of these countries there has not been a tradition
    of any kind of civil society, and governments, especially
    corrupt governments, are scared to death of civil society. That
    is why they often go after them and try to close the political
    space exactly because they hold them accountable.
        And also of course a free and vigorous press, because the
    media tends to be a wonderful watchdog as well, and then a
    level playing field so that other businesses besides the ones
    from the large country in East Asia have an equal chance at
    contracts and dispute resolution. Thank you, sir.
        Mr. Royce. Greg Meeks, New York.
        Mr. Meeks. Mr. Chairman, I want to join the chorus in
    thanking you for your leadership as chairman of this committee
    and the way that you have conducted yourself and I do think it
    says a lot about this hearing being your last is to show your
    continued focus on the continent. I have traveled with you
    several times to the continent. I have seen firsthand and I was
    so inspired by what you do on this committee I decided to take
    your old office. [Laughter.]
        Thank you, gentlemen, for being here. I actually just came
    back from South Africa with Global Citizens and they had
    pledges to raise for worldwide $7 billion as a result of what
    they are doing to eradicate poverty by 2030 and moving quite
    briskly in trying to get attention particularly to the
    continent of Africa as to what we need to do.
        Unfortunately, oftentimes or as just happened at this time
    while I was in Africa I asked about U.S. involvement, U.S.
    investment, U.S. trade, and they are saying that they don't see
    enough of us and so they have to deal with the individuals that
    seem to have interest. Oftentimes that has been China.
        And so I know and I am, as you have indicated how Africa's
    on track to have 25 percent of global population in just 30
    years, I believe that leveraging the resources of the U.S.
    Government to support greater private sector investments which
    I think is key is a win-win. And so from your perspective,
    especially with DFI's ability to make equity investments in
    Africa, will it encourage U.S. financial investors such as
    pension funds, because that is, you get everybody to scale up
    their investments alongside the new DFI, putting it together,
    working in a combination way to help our presence and make a
    difference and have some real equity investments in Africa.
        Ambassador Nagy. Thank you, sir, absolutely. I have found
    so much enthusiasm amongst American businesses wanting to take
    their money to Africa because they have so much money available
    right now looking for a place. And at the same time, in all my
    travels I found the African governments equally enthusiastic at
    wanting to bring U.S. businesses because U.S. businesses offer
    something totally different than what Chinese investors do.
        That is why I really want to thank you all for the BUILD
    Act, because I think it finally puts some arrows in our quiver
    that we didn't have before because it offers, with its $60
    billion plus the possibility of equity investment, it offers
    opportunities that we have not had before. And I can tell you
    that the U.S. business community in Africa is enthusiastic
    about it and all of the African governments we engage with
    really wanted to know more about it. So we are going to
    energize our Embassies to be there to come up with bankable
    projects and to engage directly. And I told the African
    governments, I can push you as businesses, but they need to do
    the pulling by putting in place environments that actually
    welcome and are fair to you as businesses. Thank you, sir.
        Mr. Meeks. And we need to work and continue that because I
    know even if you look at the work of China doing in there, but
    even in China, China looks at the U.S. businesses, at least the
    Chinese they wouldn't want to work for our companies in China.
    So I know what we can do a better job in Africa than what we
    have.
        And also I know that USAID created a partnership with NASP
    which was very important to target infrastructure investments
    in Africa and I know that some of my New York pension funds
    have been involved including the New York State Common
    Retirement and the New York City Employees Retirement Funds.
    And I think this is a tremendous initiative that moves in the
    right direction and we oftentimes before when we want to divest
    from bad things, we want to make sure now we are investing in
    that regard.
        And so I am a big supporter of initiatives like NETA,
    however, what my concern is and what I think that would give us
    even greater more investments would be is the fact that there
    is a lack of diversity and inclusion of small, women, and
    minorities in development finance opportunities at USAID and
    OPIC. So how can we do better, because I think that diversity
    will help us more on the continent also in that regards.
        Mr. Day. Thank you, Congressman. You are absolutely right.
    We at USAID believe we are facing immense challenges of course
    on the African continent and we truly believe that those
    challenges cannot be addressed with USAID official development
    assistance alone. The private sector is absolutely critical to
    this. In fact, Administrator Green is actually rolling out a
    USAID private sector engagement policy as we speak.
        So this is something that is at the forefront of our vision
    for how USAID is going to be engaging with our African partners
    so we fully agree with your vision as well.
        Mr. Meeks. I yield back. And I just look forward to working
    with you because we have small, minority, and women owned
    businesses that I know are very interested if we can work
    together on that.
        Mr. Chabot [presiding]. Thank you very much. The
    gentleman's time has expired. I now recognize myself for 5
    minutes and I would like to start off with, a couple of our
    colleagues have already talked about, China. I know Mr. Sherman
    did and I think Mr. Smith did as well.
        But Ambassador Nagy, let me ask you this. If you were in a
    room with a number of, let's say, African countries
    specifically, but they could be from other parts of the world,
    where they were really trying to decide whether it made sense
    to take advantage of the loans and opportunities that China is
    putting out there versus working with the United States or
    other countries, banks, et cetera, what would you tell--and we
    have already talked about some of this. But what would you tell
    them to look out for with China versus why it makes sense to
    work with the U.S. or the West?
        Ambassador Nagy. Thank you very much for that question.
    What I would tell them to look out for is, number one, are they
    going to bring over every single employee above turning a
    shovel from China instead of hiring locally? How much
    technology and professional transfer will there be when the
    project is done? How good is the quality of the work that will
    be done? Will they also bring over shopkeepers who will open up
    shops to service the company's employees who will then displace
    African mom and shopkeepers?
        And when everything is done how much debt will there be
    left, and by the way what will the environmental impact be?
    Will there also be wildlife trafficking? Maybe timber cutting
    in addition to that. So I would urge them to look at the
    entirety of the project and what will be the true benefits not
    only to putting down that road but to the country at large.
        Mr. Chabot. Thank you. And having seen and followed this
    closely firsthand for quite a few years now, what do you if
    they said, well, what do you think on these things will happen,
    what would you expect? Could you answer those questions that
    you just asked what is likely to happen?
        Ambassador Nagy. Well, I think that there is, as I said, a
    shift in perceptions of the type of projects that they provide.
    I just have to tell you one of the things that really, really
    irritated me during my trips to Africa is you go to an African
    city and there is a stadium invariably built by the Chinese.
        And then the people say to me, well, what have the
    Americans--I said, well, what about the millions and millions
    of people we keep alive because of PEPFAR, what about the
    tremendous educational programs that we have done to educate
    the young people. And as I mentioned before, the young people
    in Africa really do get this. They want American companies.
    They want the type of expertise Americans have. They want the
    transfer.
        So I am actually very encouraged by the future and I think
    that this BUILD Act will now really give our businesses some
    weapons to compete fairly.
        Mr. Chabot. Thank you very much. Ms. Bass was asking a
    question before about and you were talking about the bilateral
    free trade agreements, because I know the administration,
    bilateral agreements are more appealing than regional deals, I
    understand that. I am basically a free trader and I will accept
    both.
        But getting back to the bilateral agreements in sub-Saharan
    Africa, you were about to say, I think, what countries are we
    kind of working with or thinking about and then she had a
    limited amount of time so you never really got into that.
        Ms. Bass. Thank you.
        Mr. Chabot. What countries are we talking about?
        Ambassador Nagy. Can I respectfully not mention them yet,
    because we haven't really fully engaged on that yet. So we are
    at the point of actually just looking at possibilities and I
    would not like to offset progress before we can start.
        Mr. Chabot. How many are we talking about?
        Ambassador Nagy. At least four have come forward and then
    there are a couple of others that we would like to look at on
    our own.
        Mr. Chabot. Okay. Thank you.
        Ambassador Nagy. Thank you, sir.
        Mr. Chabot. We mentioned, I think, briefly before Museveni
    in Uganda too. My very first codel was back in 1997 and one of
    the countries we visited was Uganda and I remember particularly
    memorable because Lady Di happened to die while we were on that
    version so I remember specifically when this was. And I
    remember Museveni at that time was being talked about as the
    new African leaders and he had been in office, what, 12 years
    or so then, so he was getting a little long in the tooth at
    that point.
        Well, we are two decades later. And don't get me wrong, I
    think compared with previous and obviously in Uganda what a
    breath of fresh air. He has been there awhile now. Could you
    comment on that without asking a specific question about?
        Ambassador Nagy. Absolutely. I have to tell you, sir, that
    actually Museveni was one of my early heroes because of his
    willingness to engage on HIV/AIDS when others were not. And at
    that time Uganda's ABC strategy was the world leader in
    confronting HIV/AIDS and also he did quite a lot of empowering
    women politically in Uganda.
        Unfortunately that was decades ago and the decades go on
    and at some point leaders have to consider political
    transitions and right now there seems to be an awful lot of
    focus on keeping in power instead of the future of Uganda.
        Mr. Chabot. Thank you very much. My time has expired.
        The gentleman from New Jersey, Mr. Sires, recognized for 5
    minutes.
        Mr. Sires. Thank you. First, I would like to thank the
    chairman. He is not here, but 26 years of service always in a
    bipartisan fashion in this committee and I just want to thank
    him even though he is not here.
        Mr. Ambassador, I sit here and I listen to all the things
    that you have said, all the things that you are accomplishing,
    and I can only imagine it must be a very difficult job for you
    to do especially with the rhetoric coming out of the White
    House when he calls shithole countries, he calls people from
    Western Hemisphere criminals, sick, and everything else.
        When you get off the plane how do you deal with that? I
    mean do you ignore what the President says? I don't want to put
    you on the spot, you don't have to answer if you don't want to.
    But I have got to tell you, it has got to be very difficult for
    you getting off a plane and trying to work these deals.
        Ambassador Nagy. Congressman, I have to be absolutely
    honest. I have never had a problem getting off the plane
    because I engage and talk about the wonderful things that
    America as a whole is doing and I also talk about Africa is one
    of the leading nonpartisan issues of our day and programs,
    involvement, engagement.
        Mr. Sires. I mean we all know China's effort in Africa and
    certainly in the Western Hemisphere. Basically it is the same
    tactics, wouldn't you say so, what they are doing in the
    Western Hemisphere in countries? I mean I just read an article
    where in Panama, China bought a big piece of property and what
    they are trying to do is build this warehouse to equal Amazon
    and they want to be the Amazon of the Western Hemisphere. I
    guess the tactics are the same and how do you coordinate
    fighting this?
        Ambassador Nagy. I have to admit, and this is one of the
    things I told my African interlocutors is that up to now I have
    not blamed them in dealing with China, because when there was a
    knock on the door for an investor and they opened it and only
    China was standing there that is who they had to deal with. I
    want to make sure that the next time there is a knock on the
    door that there is American investors standing there as well
    and that we can present what is more attractive about dealing
    with the United States of America. So I would like to be very
    aggressive in pursuing that, sir.
        Mr. Sires. And in terms of you are talking free trade, free
    trade, free trade, and again the rhetoric out of the White
    House seems to be let's look inward, not let's look outward. I
    mean it is just, to me it is two and two don't really add to
    four with this particular administration.
        Ambassador Nagy. Well, I get a lot of support from the
    White House on expanding the free trade agenda and on engaging
    U.S. businesses in Africa, so I can tell you that is my
    experience, sir.
        Mr. Sires. All right. I won't put you on the spot anymore.
    Thank you very much. I yield back.
        Mr. Connolly. Would my friend yield?
        Mr. Sires. Absolutely.
        Mr. Connolly. I thank my friend.
        Ambassador Nagy, I appreciate the diplomatic skill with
    which you answered my friend from New Jersey, but that White
    House support certainly doesn't extend to USAID programming in
    Africa. I mean last year he cut it 37 percent in his budget and
    this year he has cut it 33 percent. How do you explain that to
    African nations when you travel? We don't mean it? We are
    kidding? We are counting to Congress to restore it? Don't read
    anything into it in terms of the value we put in the
    relationship or Africa? And what does it mean in terms of the
    void it creates vis-a-vis China that has fortyfold increased
    its trade posture vis-a-vis Africa in the last 20 years.
        Mr. Day?
        Mr. Day. Thank you, Congressman. I would also echo
    Assistant Secretary Nagy's comments in that every time I am on
    the continent USAID and our officials are welcomed with open
    arms. And that is, I think, a reflection of the seven decades--
    --
        Mr. Connolly. Mr. Day, excuse me. That really was not my
    question. I have been to Africa too. I know USAID very well. I
    helped write the last foreign aid bill passed by Congress in
    1985. I have been around awhile. My question wasn't are you
    welcome, my question was how do you explain the fact that the
    administration you represent cut their budget 37 percent last
    year and another 33 percent this year?
        We didn't go along with it because we actually see the
    primacy of the relationship and the fact that is the world's
    fastest-growing market. But nonetheless, a statement of value
    is being made to those African countries and I am asking you
    how you handle that on the ground. I am repeating, I am
    building on the question my friend Mr. Sires asked Ambassador
    Nagy.
        Mr. Day. Congressman, at USAID we are laser-focused on
    ensuring that taxpayer investments on the African continent are
    deployed in the most efficient and effective manner and to the
    benefit of the American people and the African people as well.
        Mr. Chabot. The gentleman's time has expired.
        Mr. Connolly. Well, thank God, because I don't know what
    that answer meant.
        Mr. Chabot. I thought it was a great answer.
        The gentleman from South Carolina.
        Mr. Connolly. I bet you did.
        Mr. Chabot. Mr. Wilson is recognized for 5 minutes.
        Mr. Wilson. And thank you, Mr. Chabot. And I want to join
    with everyone commending Chairman Royce for his service. It is
    really an indication of our appreciation of his service, the
    portrait which is hanging up front which indicates again what
    an extraordinary person Ed and his wife Marie have been on
    behalf of our country.
        And, Ambassador, thank you for being here. Mr. Day, thank
    you. I saw your background with the International Republican
    Institute. I was a volunteer with IRI. I know what a difference
    it makes promoting freedom and democracy around the world.
    Also, your work now with USAID with Administrator Mark Green,
    how incredible.
        As we travel around the world it is so impressive to see
    the signs as I saw in rural Afghanistan of a school that had
    been built by USAID, to see the food supplies being provided to
    the refugees in Sudan, to be present with Chairman Royce in
    Tacloban, The Philippines, to see the recovery efforts for
    persons from Super Typhoon. USAID makes such a difference and I
    hope more American citizens find out how significant it is.
        With that, Ambassador, this year has been very hopeful with
    Ethiopia and Eritrea signing an agreement in September that
    ended the 20-year conflict and reopened land crossings to allow
    people and goods to move freely between the countries--a 20-
    year war concluded. To what extent can the very positive
    reforms implemented by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in Ethiopia
    have toward assisting internal challenges in Eritrea?
        Ambassador Nagy. Indeed, sir, the changes have been
    incredible. In my 40 years of following Africa, I don't think I
    have ever seen anything that positive. And I would like to
    ensure you that the United States Government is engaged in a
    whole of government response to figure out how best we can
    support those openings both on the internal side with Prime
    Minister Abiy opening political space for his own citizens, but
    also on the external side as literally waves of peace wash over
    the whole subregion.
        And as Ethiopians like to say, they are renaming the Horn
    of Africa to the Hope of Africa and in many respects that is a
    true characterization. So we are sending teams to engage
    directly with different components of the government and we
    have been invited to engage with many sectors and institutions
    in Ethiopia to help rebuild them in a noncorrupt, totally
    different model. Thank you, sir.
        Mr. Wilson. Well, again, your positive attitude just is
    reflected by the hope of Africa. That is great. Additionally,
    what are the prospects for reestablishing diplomatic relations
    between Eritrea and the United States?
        Ambassador Nagy. Sir, thank you for the question. As I
    said, when I was in Eritrea my dream is to eventually for the
    United States to have the same positive relations with Eritrea
    that we have with Ethiopia now. We have started the first
    steps. We will continue the steps and hopefully it will lead
    there. We still have some outstanding bilateral issues, which
    they very well know, but we will deal with them one at a time
    and it is a very valuable country to have as a friend and we
    look forward to that, sir.
        Mr. Wilson. Well, again it has just been so hopeful to see
    the developments in Ethiopia and now Eritrea too, hopefully.
    Next, what is the extent of African-based terrorist groups,
    what challenges do they have as a direct threat to the American
    people?
        Ambassador Nagy. Thank you, sir. The problems with those
    terrorist groups are as they occupy space which is not occupied
    by governments it gives them freedom of action. And they may
    start off as local terrorist groups, but as we can see that
    they can then develop into interregional and even
    intercontinental types of terrorist groups especially once they
    affiliate with global ISIS or al-Qaeda. So they present an
    imminent and a long-term danger, sir.
        Mr. Wilson. And we saw, sadly, the attack last night in
    Strasbourg.
        Ambassador Nagy. Exactly.
        Mr. Wilson. So we need to be ever-vigilant. And with that,
    what more can the United States working with our African
    partners do to prevent the spread of extremist ideologies to
    protect the people of Africa and around the world?
        Ambassador Nagy. Sir, that involves what we are doing is
    closely working with the African states with outside interested
    parties such as France, the European Union, the United Kingdom,
    African Union, and the United Nations, and with the various
    U.N. peacekeeping forces, because they are an imminent threat,
    sir.
        Mr. Wilson. Well, again thank you for your efforts. And the
    thought of having the agreements between Eritrea and Ethiopia,
    which would have been unimaginable, have occurred so best
    wishes for continued success. Thank you.
        Mr. Chabot. Thank you. The gentleman's time has expired.
    The gentleman from Rhode Island, Mr. Cicilline, is recognized
    for 5 minutes.
        Mr. Cicilline. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I too want to begin
    by thanking outgoing Chairman Royce for his extraordinary
    leadership of this committee and the bipartisanship which he
    has always demonstrated. And I hope the letter that you sent to
    us about your tenure as chairman you will make an official part
    of the record, because I think it really recounts in a very
    meaningful way the great work that has been done under your
    leadership. And I just want to thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Mr. Chabot. Without objection, so ordered.
        Mr. Cicilline. Thank you.
        Thank you to our witnesses. Ambassador Nagy, I would like
    to start with you. As I am sure you are aware, U.N.
    peacekeeping missions are currently deployed in several
    countries on the African continent including South Sudan, Mali,
    Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of Congo
    where they work to promote stability in conflict-torn
    societies, protect civilians from violence, and facilitate
    humanitarian assistance to communities in need as well as
    monitoring human rights abuses and supporting the rule of law
    and the creation of democratic institutions.
        The U.N. successfully wound down two peacekeeping missions
    in Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire just this year. The United States
    has long supported U.N. peacekeeping operations as a cost
    effective method of conflict mitigation that helps prevent
    fragile states from collapsing, keeps civil wars from morphing
    into unwieldy regional disputes, and creating the conditions
    necessary for long-term, sustainable peace.
        In fact, the GAO recently found that U.N. peacekeeping
    missions are eight times more cost effective than a unilateral
    U.S. military engagement. Yet, Secretary Pompeo recently made
    some troubling assertions about U.N. peacekeeping missions
    claiming that they drag on for decades and bring us no closer
    to peace.
        I would certainly welcome a clarification on the
    Secretary's remarks. And, specifically, my first question is,
    does the Trump administration, which has voted to renew the
    mandates of 12 U.N. peacekeeping missions since it took office,
    still find value in their work?
        Ambassador Nagy. Thank you very much, Congressman. Yes,
    absolutely. There are phenomenally effective U.N. peacekeeping
    missions, then there are some others that may be less
    effective. And I think that is the whole focus of the
    administration is to evaluate each mission on its own terms to
    see if it is accomplishing its tasks, or if it is not do the
    tasks need to be realigned. For example, I would like to point
    to the one in Mali.
        In February, the Secretary General, the U.N. Secretary
    General will be issuing a report specifically on how that
    peacekeeping mission is achieving its mandate and will take a
    look to see if it needs to be modified or adjusted or whatever
    else needs to be done, because as you know, sir, Mali is in a
    very critical situation and there are a number of other
    peacekeeping missions like that.
        So absolutely, I agree with you totally, even though we are
    paying, I think, right now 28 percent of the total cost of
    peacekeeping missions. Some are phenomenal.
        Mr. Cicilline. At a fraction of the cost of what it would
    be if it were a military engagement obviously.
        Ambassador Nagy. Absolutely.
        Mr. Cicilline. I hope you will share those strong
    sentiments with Secretary of State Pompeo. Do you see, Mr.
    Ambassador, any missions today that you think should close?
        Ambassador Nagy. Not any today, sir.
        Mr. Cicilline. Okay, thank you. As you are aware, the U.N.
    peacekeeping mission to Liberia wound down this year after
    nearly 15 years in that country. Would you characterize that
    mission as a success and can you also tell us what assistance
    the U.S. is currently providing bilaterally to continue the
    progress and the momentum in Liberia?
        Ambassador Nagy. I would consider that one a success,
    absolutely, because I remember when it started under ECOWAS and
    then it transgressed to the U.N. But I will turn that over to
    my colleague from USAID for what we are doing to continue to
    support the country.
        Mr. Day. Sure. Thank you, Congressman. We of course have
    had a tremendous partnership with the Liberian Government for a
    number of years and we have a robust program based in Monrovia,
    everything from humanitarian assistance to health to supporting
    civil society, democratic governance. There are still
    tremendous challenges of course. Extreme poverty is one of the
    major issues that we are dealing with.
        But we have a good partner in the Liberian Government and
    the new President, President Weah, has been actively engaged
    with USAID programs. And so where we have good partners and
    good partnerships we feel like USAID programs are the most
    successful, so we have a very good partnership with the
    Government of Liberia.
        Mr. Cicilline. And, finally, if I would ask both of you to
    comment on the current status of our work in the Central
    African Republic. I traveled there at a time when I think it
    was sort of a very critical moment and either the progress
    could continue or there could be a significant retreat of that.
    And I know there has also been some new reporting that the
    Russians have engaged in a significant way. So if you could
    each share the current status of CAR.
        Mr. Day. From the USAID perspective we are primarily
    focused on health and humanitarian assistance for the people of
    CAR.
        Ambassador Nagy. From the diplomatic perspective we are
    really, really encouraging the African Union to be hyper-
    engaged in the peace process there, because the Russians are
    looking at the Central African Republic as an opportunity and
    they are very much trying to work into a parallel peace process
    to put themselves forward. So we really are calling on the
    African Union to be very engaged and to make sure that there is
    only peace process to bring the country back, sir.
        Mr. Cicilline. Thank you very much. I yield back, Mr.
    Chairman.
        Mr. Chabot. Thank you. The gentleman's time has expired.
        It was noted earlier today it is the last Foreign Affairs
    Committee meeting for a number of members of this committee and
    one of those is Darrell Issa from California, who I would just
    note for the record has been an extremely valuable and
    thoughtful member of this committee for a long time and thank
    him for his service as well. And the gentleman is recognized
    for 5 minutes.
        Mr. Issa. Thank you. That is very kind. It has been a quick
    18 years, but I am leaving it with good people behind and this
    committee, I am sure, will function next Congress in the same
    bipartisan way it has for so many years.
        I have got a bunch of questions and let me try to go
    through them. The first one is an umbrella one. With EXIM Bank
    currently not able to fully function, with good intention by
    USAID and the funding you have, obviously USTDA could be
    mentioned in that group and OPIC, all of it together in Africa,
    if you had to say what is our effort worth and what is China's
    effort worth in dollars and capability, how would you measure
    those, our dollars and capability and their dollars and
    capability, based on the effort they are placing and the money
    they are putting in?
        Mr. Day, you probably see it every day.
        Mr. Day. Thank you, Congressman. I say that is an excellent
    question. I think when we think about how USAID and the
    Americans engage with our partners on the African continent
    compared to other potentially----
        Mr. Issa. No, and I want you to answer that. I fully buy
    that we go in there giving. We go in there with a real effort
    to develop countries and their own independence. We go in there
    as a gift to the rest of the world for safety and security, and
    perhaps the Chinese have a different intent.
        I want people to understand for the record, if we are
    looking at the size of the army, so to speak, the size of the
    guns, the size of the programs coming in from just China, there
    are players, Russia and so on, and their effort in dollars and
    capacity regardless of our good intention and regardless of the
    goodwill we have, what are you faced with, their efforts, your
    efforts, and some of the results?
        Mr. Day. From a cash perspective in terms of an infusion
    into Africa, we are not on the same level with China. However,
    the value, the superior value proposition----
        Mr. Issa. Meaning we give more almost anywhere in the
    world, but they put more into Africa in dollars.
        Mr. Day. In cash dollars. However, the superior value
    proposition of American innovation and American companies
    investing and two-way trade between Africa and the U.S., I
    don't think that is a comparison either. I would put my money
    on America every day.
        Mr. Issa. Well, and there is one follow-up question that I
    have been keenly looking at for many months. The difference in
    a country which goes to based on, if you will, the 20- or 30-
    year cost of building out, and particularly Power Africa, if
    they go out based on lowest initial cost, isn't it true that
    China wins every time?
        And if they go out based on what is going to happen over
    the life of those loans and support and maintenance that in
    fact many Western countries including the United States almost
    always would be better choices. Is that a fair statement?
        Mr. Day. I believe that is a fair statement.
        Mr. Issa. So one of the questions I have because a lot of
    what we do as America is to help people temporarily, but we
    always use that term that if you teach someone how to fish they
    will be fed for a lifetime. What are the winning programs in
    Africa that you either have or want to have that are funded,
    but you might want to have funded more to teach them how to
    fish so that the decisions and the programs and the long-term
    Power Africa are sustainable and go further? What is it that we
    need to do?
        Mr. Day. You are absolutely right. I think Power Africa is
    probably the shining example of a successful program in Africa
    that really catalyzes American investment. I certainly believe
    that a whole of government effort to coordinate all of the
    interagency resources to bring those to bear to actually go to
    our African partners and demonstrate the superior value
    proposition that the U.S. has I think would be well received.
        Mr. Issa. Okay. One last question, if I may. I was at the
    change of current leaders in Zimbabwe some time ago. It is one
    of those things you only get to do every 36 years or so. We,
    the United States Government, are currently keeping out of
    Zimbabwe, either a little bit here and maybe more for the
    record.
        What is it that you could accomplish if you were allowed to
    come up with systems that would isolate the current government
    from USAID or programs but at the same time would have some
    positive? You are engaged in war-torn countries, you are
    engaged in other dictatorships. Zimbabwe uses only $20 bills
    for their money and they have been cut off from everyone except
    basically the South Africans for a long time.
        So, let me rephrase that. The Chinese are actively in
    there, but would you give me your, for that particular country
    because I was so recently there.
        Ambassador Nagy. Yes, sir. And, interestingly enough, we
    had a trade delegation from Zimbabwe not long ago visit here
    and they were warmly welcomed. They had some of the government
    ministers with them. And we told them exactly as did I in my
    meetings with the high level officials, if they could take a
    couple of steps then we could start reevaluating our whole
    relationship because Zimbabwe has phenomenal potential.
        And I am passionate about Zimbabwe because my triplets were
    born there and I know what the country can do. So if they could
    very quickly return to a prosperous path if the government
    would just--they are saying the right things. It would be nice
    if they actually did some of the things that they are talking
    about.
        But I think the United States business community would
    stand ready to engage with them very quickly because there are
    a number of sectors where we could have very fruitful
    relations, sir.
        Mr. Chabot. The gentleman's time has expired.
        Mr. Issa. Thank you. And if you would just for the record
    share with us, if you can, the request you made that would
    allow for that.
        Ambassador Nagy. Is that okay, sir?
        Mr. Chabot. Yes, briefly.
        Ambassador Nagy. All right. Yes, very quickly. There are
    two acts that they have passed, one is the Public Order and
    Security Act and the other is the Access to Information and
    Protection of Privacy Act, which is if they would just withdraw
    those that would be quite significant. Thank you.
        Mr. Issa. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Mr. Chabot. Another gentleman from California, Mr. Bera is
    recognized for 5 minutes.
        Mr. Bera. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I will echo the
    remarks of our colleagues with thanks to Chairman Royce as he
    moves on to his next endeavors as well as the other members of
    this committee. And certainly with incoming chairman Eliot
    Engel hopefully we will continue to operate in a bipartisan
    way.
        Also, while I disagree with the President's approach to
    foreign policy, I appreciate the lifetime of service of our
    diplomats and our aid and development workers all around the
    world and applaud the work that both of you are doing. We have
    had Ambassador Green in front of this committee several times
    and I do think USAID is moving in the right direction looking
    at capacity building and certainly expect Congress to support
    that.
        So given we have talked about the potential in Africa. If I
    were to just frame the challenges that we see, we obviously see
    a tremendous youth bulge that is occurring. Thirty thousand
    Africans entering the job market on a daily basis, that is a
    tremendous challenge. We see millions of people displaced
    throughout Africa. We see future challenges of food and water
    and security on the continent which will continue to create
    some instability.
        I was just in Sierra Leone, a fledgling democracy that is
    coming out of years of civil war and had tremendous challenges
    with the West African Ebola crisis where we are engaged, but I
    would say I saw more Chinese while I was there as well, which
    again presents a challenge that many of my colleagues have
    talked about.
        So we are framing the challenges, but I am an optimist and
    we have been spending some time trying to understand how PEPFAR
    came about being in a Republican administration with Democratic
    Members of Congress. And really underlying that was a national
    security threat assessment that if millions of people died of
    HIV/AIDS it would create massive instability on that and create
    governmental instability. And what we have just laid out
    suggests that if we don't take a long-term view of these
    challenges in Africa you will continue to have an unstable
    continent.
        I think my question to both of you is as Congress reasserts
    its authority and Members of Congress tend to be here longer
    than one administration to another, we have to take a
    nonpartisan approach to looking at Africa in the long term and
    often we don't. We shift from one administration. So that is if
    we were looking at long-term strategies, what would that time
    frame look like and then if you were recommending Congress
    looking at what the foundational strategies would be for the
    continent, what would you recommend our focus be? And I think
    the BUILD Act is a real strong first step.
        Ambassador Nagy. Exactly, sir. I want to again congratulate
    the Congress with the BUILD Act because that has strengthened
    my talking points when I go to Africa. The other one I would
    really point to is the Young African Leaders Initiative,
    because as you said, sir, Africa's future is its youth and
    there is going to be millions and millions and millions of
    young Africans that are going to be wanting good jobs and if
    they don't get them they will either go to Europe or choose a
    very destructive path.
        So programs such as that I have found to be so successful
    because everywhere I go to visit in Africa I run into the Young
    African Leaders Initiative network and those people are so
    dynamic, so entrepreneurial, and we are teaching exactly the
    skills that the future Africa will need.
        Mr. Bera. The programs like that don't require a lot of
    taxpayer dollars and in fact they are capacity building.
        Ambassador Nagy. No, they don't. And no, they are just
    phenomenal programs. So those are the two that--how we can
    encourage foreign direct investment from U.S. businesses and
    how we can build on this huge youth bulge to make sure that
    they look to the Western models for the future and not other
    places.
        Mr. Bera. And then, Mr. Day, if I could just ask a quick
    question. As we think about aid and development in the 21st
    century, we have already touched on it won't just be U.S.
    taxpayer dollars, it will be trying to leverage private
    investment, public investment, and then also working with the
    international community as well. And if you could just briefly
    give a vision of what you think aid and development looks like
    in the 21st century.
        Mr. Day. Thank you, Congressman. I think Administrator
    Green has laid out a very clear vision for how he views USAID's
    future and that future is what we term the journey to self-
    reliance, which is working with our African partners to help
    them on their path toward self-reliance, which we ultimately
    define as their ability to plan, finance, and implement their
    own development solutions to their own challenges.
        And so if we have the level of commitment which is so
    critical and we have a good partner on the ground, then in many
    cases our programs are more successful, we get much better
    results. And so the private sector is absolutely a critical
    component of this, but it is also important that we have good
    partners on the ground. And in many cases we do, in some cases
    we do not.
        Mr. Bera. All right. My time has expired.
        Mr. Royce [presiding]. We will go to Mr. Mike McCaul of
    Texas.
        Mr. McCaul. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just got out of my
    monthly threat briefing as chairman of the Homeland Security
    Committee, and I think the good news is that in the last--well,
    in 2016, the threat from ISIS was extreme. External operations,
    we were arresting one per week in the United States it seemed
    like, and I think over the last 2 years we have crushed them
    and the so-called caliphate.
        But the threat hasn't completely gone away. I think the
    good news is it has been downgraded to some extent, but then
    they have moved. They are still maybe in the Euphrates area,
    but the threat seems to be emerging more in Africa. And so I
    know there are about 10,000 ISIS and al-Qaeda jihadists in
    Africa today and to put that in perspective, before 9/11 there
    were about 100 al-Qaeda that existed.
        So it concerns me. I think, and I look forward to next
    Congress in this committee focusing on this issue because I
    think we are going to be looking at foreign adversary nation
    states, but I think the threat of radical Islamist terror is
    going to be focused in northern Africa and the Sahel.
        Then-Congressman Pompeo and I, we traveled to Sinai and the
    Egyptian Sinai Peninsula, Camp North, they evacuated it the day
    we left due to the threat. We were in Tunisia, got briefed by
    the Libyan team in exile. It is very much a hot threat there
    and it is very hot in the Sahel region. We passed, thanks to
    the chairman, my Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership Act
    out of this committee which authorizes a program that you all
    are working on. I think it is very valuable and I just wanted
    to maybe just get your general assessment of what I am talking
    about in terms of the threat in Africa and what can we do.
        And we also passed a fragility of states bill which I think
    deals with fragile nations where terrorism can breed out of.
    Can you kind of talk about holistically what the State
    Department is doing to counter this threat?
        Ambassador Nagy. Yes, sir. Thank you very much. Indeed, the
    threat is increasing in Africa especially in the Sahelian
    region, a whole number of reasons which would take a long time
    to discuss, but basically the fundamental issue remains. We can
    get rid of the terrorists thanks to the efficiency of forces
    and allies and people that we are with, but once you get rid of
    the terrorists you have to fill that space with the government
    because if you don't then another group of terrorists will come
    along, which is in many cases worse than the last group, which
    is exactly what had happened in Somalia up to now.
        So we are working very, very closely with the French, with
    the Malians, with the Nigerians, with the Chadians, with this
    new G5 force that five of the countries have set up and we are
    supporting them exactly, so that not only is it a military
    campaign but it is also a governance campaign that once you
    recapture territory then you do start providing the services
    that the people demand so it is not another terrorist group
    that comes along and does the exact same thing, sir.
        Mr. McCaul. I agree. I think Libya is a good example where
    even the military can't get General Haftar in the east and one
    in the west and they can't get--if you have no military, you
    have no governance and so it is a big problem there.
        Mr. Day?
        Mr. Day. I certainly agree with the Assistant Secretary's
    comments. Particularly in the Sahel there are just chronic
    vulnerabilities, water scarcity, low access to education, low
    access to health services and we think that this is absolutely
    critical to address. And so we have robust programs throughout
    the region, particularly in Burkina Faso and in Niger that is
    where our best partnerships are, but we continue to be very
    concerned about the situation.
        Mr. McCaul. Well, thank you. And I look forward to
    addressing this again next Congress. And with that, Mr.
    Chairman, I am going to yield back the balance of my time.
        Mr. Royce. Well, thank you, Mr. McCaul. Thanks for
    introducing that resolution for wildlife trafficking and rhino
    horn in China. I think keeping Beijing engaged on this issue is
    important.
        Mr. McCaul. And will the gentleman yield? I think that is
    another issue where they illegally sell rhinos and wildlife and
    then it is a terror-financing operation. And so I look forward
    to--thank you, Mr. Chairman, for----
        Mr. Royce. Yeah, we appreciate the fact that when we put
    the legislation forward to abolish the ivory trade that Beijing
    stepped up and closed those carving stations. But keeping the
    pressure on is going to be important.
        We go to Lois Frankel of Florida.
        Ms. Frankel. Thank you. It is sort of sad that I say thank
    you, Mr. Chair, to you, Mr. Royce, for the last time here. I
    just want to thank you. It has been such an honor and a
    pleasure to serve with you. And I think it is very fitting, I
    think of how many times I have ended up being here with you at
    the end with hardly anyone around.
        So I think it is----
        Mr. Royce. You always saw these hearings through and thank
    you.
        Ms. Frankel. And so did you.
        And I want to thank you two gentlemen for the work that you
    do. I want to start with a story and then I will make a point,
    and it is the story of a 30 year old HIV positive mother of two
    living in Mozambique who lost her husband to AIDS last year and
    she turned to a local clinic for help when she discovered she
    was HIV positive, the clinic gave her medicine to stay alive
    and healthy.
        Now because of the expansion and expanded global gag rule,
    her clinic is one of dozens in Mozambique that has been forced
    to shut down and she has nowhere to go. Now I want to be kind
    to you because I don't think you invented this policy, but I am
    very alarmed. I am very worried about what is happening to
    women all over the world because some of the policies of the
    Trump administration.
        And I will say this. No matter what you want to talk about
    and talk about progress, if we don't advance girls and women
    there will be no progress. There will not be economic progress,
    there will not be progress in security of the world. Now I saw
    a chart that has shocked me and this chart shows me what the
    Trump's global gag rule is doing.
        Now what we have had other administrations have gag rules
    which is basically prevents, they have prevented U.S. foreign
    aid for family planning to be cut off if even there is a
    mention of abortion or referral to a service that does
    abortion. Now under the Trump version--and that cut off $575
    million in foreign aid which is terrible. I don't think the
    original gag rules are good. I think it is inhumane and I think
    it is stupid, all right.
        But here is Trump's version. It can cut up to $8.8 billion
    in U.S. foreign aid for health programs including family
    planning, HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, maternal and child health
    because it is cutting off funding to these entities even if
    with their own money either perform a legal abortion or they
    refer to a legal abortion or they give all the information that
    is necessary for women to understand what her choices are.
        And I just, it would be absolutely, you would be outraged--
    I don't mean you personally, but we would be outraged and we
    are if women were forced to have abortions. That would be wrong
    and inhumane, but to force women to have children against their
    will is also to me inhumane. And now that is not all that is
    going on though. I wish I could say that.
        The Trump administration has also cut off millions and
    millions of dollars in funding to the U.N. Population Fund
    which works in 150 countries to provide critical services
    including maternal care, treatment for survivors of sexual
    violence, and combating harmful practices like child marriage,
    genital mutilation. So, I mean, you can talk all day about
    advances, but if we are holding women back, we are pushing them
    back, there is not going to be advances. So I guess my question
    to you is what is the replacement for all these maternal and
    women's health services that are being cut off?
        Mr. Day. Thank you, Congresswoman. And I certainly agree
    with you that for communities to progress women and children
    must progress as well. That said, the U.S. remains by far the
    largest donor of global health programs in the world and we
    remain committed to supporting the health of women and
    children. And we have programs all around the world. I will
    certainly check on the particular issue----
        Ms. Frankel. Thank you.
        Mr. Day [continuing]. In Mozambique, but ending child
    marriage, ending FGM, gender-based violence, these are all
    issues that USAID continues to have robust programs in support
    of all across the continent of Africa.
        Ms. Frankel. Well, to just finish up here, Mr. Chair. This
    is not a criticism of USAID which does very, very good work.
    But what, from my point of view, the Trump administration has
    been eliminating many, many good partners and what I would ask
    is that you bring back to this committee a full report as to
    who is making up the difference for all these programs that are
    potentially defunded because of the expansion of the global gag
    rule and because of the cutting off of the money to the U.N.
    Population Fund.
        And I thank you again for your service and with that, Mr.
    Royce, I am so sorry for the last time to yield back, but again
    it has been an honor.
        Mr. Royce. Congresswoman Frankel, it has been an honor for
    me to work with you. Thank you very much.
        And I want to thank Ted Yoho here because we have been
    talking about the BUILD Act and as we have heard today that is
    going to double your book of business and all the new
    authorities that you have there. I appreciate his travels to
    Africa, his work also in Asia, but on this BUILD Act as a
    counterweight to Beijing, this is really critical. And I also
    thank him for his work on wildlife trafficking.
        And Congresswoman Frankel, thank you for your work and
    traveling with me on so many occasions. I really appreciate it.
        Congressman Yoho?
        Mr. Yoho. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I too want to
    reiterate what everybody says. But I know I am in good hands
    because I have got you looking right over my shoulder up there
    on the wall of the Foreign Affairs past chairmen looking over
    us, so I know we will do well. We will miss you and I thank you
    for your leadership and your mentorship.
        Moving on, it is apparent that the U.S. must be fully
    engaged in Africa as the chairman stated in his opening
    statement, because if we do not, a void is created and grows as
    Africa grows and others will fill that, primarily China,
    Russia, or terrorist organizations. With the right lack of
    governance and all that they can expand, as we have seen. And
    with Boko Haram, there are 2 million displaced because of them
    and so that void has to be filled.
        But how we engage matters and I know you will agree with
    that, we can engage post breakdown of societies or not the
    development of societies or then conflicts are there and it is
    a rougher way to go in there to try to fix something that is
    broken, or we can be proactive and help direct the direction of
    those countries to be able to fulfill the needs of what those
    wants are in that country. And the best way is through smart
    investments and infrastructure leading to economic development
    and to develop those countries it is essential that we move.
        And, Mr. Day, I heard you talking about transitioning from
    the aid and trade, and our mantra has been saying we want to
    transition countries from aid to trade as quick as we can and
    if we look at our top 15 trading partners, of those where 12 of
    them were once recipients of foreign aid. Saying that, my
    questions are recognizing the diversity among African
    countries, what is your assessment on the region's economic
    growth and how do you choose the best country to work with?
        We will start with you Ambassador Nagy.
        Ambassador Nagy. How do we choose the best countries to
    work with. That would come through our engagement with them on
    which countries are really, really ready to move forward and to
    accept the types of business environments which exactly you
    were talking about, low levels of corruption, being really
    interested in their own people bilaterally, but also there is
    another factor because the regions also matter.
        And this time I am really, really encouraged because the
    MCC is able to do regional projects, so that is also very
    important because Africa's natural units are in fact its
    regions because of the old colonial boundaries----
        Mr. Yoho. Right.
        Ambassador Nagy [continuing]. But often regions make a lot
    more sense. So we can really engage to see which of the regions
    are ready, which of the countries are really ready to move
    forward to put into policies and priorities which will benefit
    their own people.
        Mr. Yoho. It perplexes me, because we look over there and
    there are places that don't have water. They don't have
    electricity. This is the 21st century. We know how to do these.
    And what we see prohibiting that are bad government or the
    despots they don't care about the people, they care about their
    personal gain.
        We can't fix every country today, but if we can build on
    the success. And you were talking about the mission in Liberia
    was a success and we know success breeds success. So can we
    build around countries in that same area and that same region
    that say I want what they have and we are willing to come to
    the table and do what we have to, are you finding that, Mr.
    Day? We will ask you.
        Mr. Day. We are, the short answer. And I think also to
    answer your question about how do we choose, how USAID engages
    with our partners on the ground, USAID is transforming the way
    that we do business and that is all part of the journey to
    self-reliance.
        But part of that is we want to be more data-driven in our
    decision making. In fact, we have developed these self-reliant
    road maps that actually can bring together 17 third-party
    objective open source data sources so that we can have a better
    picture as to where these countries are on that path and then
    also helps us guide some of those investments. It is not
    determinative, but it is a conversation starter and a tool that
    we use.
        Mr. Yoho. Okay. We wanted, when we started to draft the
    BUILD Act our goal was to move countries from aid to trade.
        Mr. Day. Yeah.
        Mr. Yoho. We wanted to build on the OPIC model that has
    returned money to the American taxpayers 40 out of 41 years.
    How will the BUILD Act improve U.S. companies' competitiveness
    in Africa and what should their key areas of focus be as they
    look to better support U.S. companies? And I have only got a
    few seconds.
        Ambassador Nagy. With each country that will be different,
    sir, because in some, for example, the tourism sector could
    really, really be exploited to create work. Others it is
    agricultural development and productivity and processing, so it
    depends country to country. But thanks to the BUILD Act it is a
    wide spectrum and again I heard that from the American business
    community and the African leaders themselves.
        Mr. Yoho. Thank you.
        Mr. Chairman, I take this opportunity to yield back to you
    for the last time and it has been an honor.
        Mr. Royce. It has been an honor, Mr. Yoho, to work with
    you.
        Ambassador Ann Wagner.
        Mrs. Wagner. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for hosting this
    hearing and I will echo my colleagues. I cannot think of a more
    fitting way for you to close out your esteemed time and
    leadership on this committee than to reflect on the immense
    progress we have seen in relations between the United States
    and our African partners and a chart path toward future shared
    growth.
        Ambassador Nagy, I am deeply concerned about China's
    attempts to expand its control over the global cobalt market to
    African producers. It has recently come to my attention that
    China is now seeking to derail a U.S.-Cameroonian memorandum of
    understanding on cobalt production. This strikes me as a
    serious national security risk. Already the U.S. military buys
    most of the cobalt it uses for guided missiles production from
    China, and frankly a partnership on cobalt production with
    Cameroon would greatly benefit both countries.
        How is the State Department working with the Cameroonian
    Government to get the memorandum of understanding back on
    track?
        Ambassador Nagy. Thank you for the question. Unfortunately
    I am not familiar with the issue so I will have to get back to
    you on that.
        Mrs. Wagner. Mr. Day, anything?
        Mr. Day. I will defer to the Assistant Secretary.
        Ambassador Nagy. But I will--can I just add one quick--
    during my last visit to West Africa, interestingly, the
    President of Guinea said that they had some potential cobalt
    there and we are following up on that one.
        Mrs. Wagner. We could use the extra partnership. It would
    be helpful to both, and I do not want China once again
    interfering in a very important memorandum of understanding.
        So moving on, my colleagues and I have long sought to
    counter Boko Haram's campaign to use unspeakable violence
    against schoolgirls to gain international notoriety. Last
    February, I was appalled to learn that Boko Haram had abducted
    112 schoolgirls from a town in northeast Nigeria. While most
    were thankfully released a month later, one brave little girl,
    a 15-year-old, Leah Sharibu, remains in captivity because she
    refused to abandon her Christian faith.
        Ambassador Nagy, how is the United States working to secure
    Leah's safe release?
        Ambassador Nagy. Leah Sharibu definitely remains a priority
    for us. Our Ambassador is seized with it as is the rest of the
    mission. We bring her up and as a matter of fact President
    Buhari himself is following up on that on a continuous basis.
    But one of the things that we have avoided is mentioning it too
    much in public because then the value to the terrorists keeps
    going up. But I can assure you that we are working very
    energetically as much as possible to obtain her release.
        Mrs. Wagner. Thank you. Although Rwanda's authoritarian
    government under Paul Kagame recently acquitted opposition
    leader Diane Rwigara of trumped up charges brought against her,
    many worry that the government's intent is to intimidate its
    critics and political enemies.
        Mr. Day, what does Ms. Rwigara's acquittal mean for dissent
    and free speech in Rwanda?
        Mr. Day. USAID has been working in Rwanda for quite some
    time and with a wide variety of different programs. And you
    will have to forgive me, I will have to look into that
    particular issue. Our primary support has been for the Rwandan
    people. We certainly have been concerned with some of the
    closing spaces in Rwanda, but we continue to work with civil
    society and a variety of different groups to support the people
    of Rwanda so that they have a voice into their own future. But
    I will look into that particular issue.
        Mrs. Wagner. Thank you. A few months after Emmerson
    Mnangagwa replaced strong man Robert Mugabe as President of
    Zimbabwe, we have seen disappointingly few improvements. Mr.
    Day, what is the situation on the ground in Zimbabwe and how
    does USAID support the growth of Zimbabwe's civil society?
        Mr. Day. I will defer this to the Secretary on the
    political analysis, but similar to Rwanda we are certainly very
    concerned about the political situation in Zimbabwe in terms of
    an operating space. Our priority of course continues to be the
    support of the Zimbabwean people who have been under tremendous
    distress for a number of decades. And so our programs are
    focused on humanitarian assistance and supporting civil society
    so they again can have a voice in their own.
        Mrs. Wagner. Thank you. Ambassador Nagy?
        Ambassador Nagy. Yes, ma'am. On the ground, the Zimbabwean
    Government is saying some fairly positive things, but we are
    still waiting for some action on the two laws that I mentioned
    previously.
        Mrs. Wagner. Right. All right, well, thank you. I look
    forward to some responses to some of the questions that I had
    and I appreciate your service and your time today.
        Mr. Chairman, I also for the last time yield back. It has
    been an honor and a privilege to work with you here in
    Congress.
        Mr. Royce. Thank you, Ambassador.
        We go to John Curtis of Utah.
        Mr. Curtis. Thank you. Mr. Chairman, I would, like many of
    my colleagues, like to emphasize two themes that we have heard
    throughout these hearings. One is thank you for your service.
    It has been an honor to be the youngest member of your
    committee and to be here.
        The second theme is this influence of China, and I think
    you have adequately answered this over and over in today's
    hearing, so I am not going to really ask you a question other
    than to join my colleagues in expressing concern and
    acknowledging that despite the amazing work that we do, the
    over $8 billion of investment that we make there, that sometime
    China comes in and negates all of that with these tempting
    short-term offers. So just add my voice to the concern and the
    reality of that. Usually around the globe you see as a partner
    in crime Russia in many regions and we haven't really touched
    on that. Could you share with us the influence of Russia on the
    continent and tell us what concerns you have there?
        Ambassador Nagy. Thank you very much, exactly right.
    Russia, while in no way bringing the amount of resources that
    China has, they are trying to be very opportunistic and
    transactional where for a low investment they can maximize
    their influence. I point specifically to the Central African
    Republic where the Russians used an authorization from the U.N.
    Security Council to provide some weapons to the Central African
    Government to bring in several hundred private security people.
        Now the President's security advisor is a Russian. The
    Russians have trained the presidential guard. They are also
    exploiting some mineral resources, so they have inserted
    themselves into the Central African Republic at relatively low
    cost. Those are the types of opportunities that they are
    looking at and they will continue looking at and we have to be
    very vigilant and monitor their activities closely, sir.
        Mr. Curtis. Thank you. Botswana is home to a large
    population or a high percentage of the elephants in the region.
    And we talked and you have referred a little bit to the illegal
    hunting and problems that we have had and we have had almost no
    discussion about potential legal opportunities there, and the
    ban on elephant hunting is viewed in many regions in Botswana
    as harmful. Some of the economic development of the small
    villages is dependent, was dependent on that.
        So while the illegal trafficking is going on, we have kind
    of shut this down, the folks on the ground will tell you they
    don't mind reasonable restrictions based on scientific data,
    but that there has been almost no scientific data put behind
    the ban. What role would be appropriate for the United States
    in determining what is good for legal harvesting of elephants
    in the region?
        Mr. Day. I would be happy to look into the issue and get
    back to you. The only thing I will say is that we have had a
    longstanding and good partnership with the Botswanan Government
    and we have robust wildlife trafficking programs. Our programs
    particularly in Botswana have been focused on HIV and AIDS, but
    I will look into the particular issue of them.
        Mr. Curtis. Thank you. I walked in--I was here for almost
    all 2\1/2\ hours of the hearing but stepped out for a moment
    and when I came back in you were talking about Rwanda. And so I
    don't know if you touched on this while I was gone, but if not
    could you address the problem with the closing of the churches?
    And Rwanda has made so much progress it seems to be a step
    backward. Is that on the radar of the administration and are we
    seeing some improvements there?
        Ambassador Nagy. It is. We have not seen any improvements
    lately, but it is very much on the radar screen of the
    administration because we believe that that particular law was
    very counterproductive. We understand the purpose that they
    were trying to get at, but we felt that the mechanism was
    totally wrong because it was infringing on freedom of religion
    instead of--if there is a problem with certain churches that
    are breaking the law or are not real churches, then you use the
    law to affect them, not with a sledgehammer.
        Mr. Curtis. That is what it felt like.
        My final question is that oftentimes in these voids of
    uncertainty and disruption you will find ISIS and al-Qaeda. We
    haven't talked about that much today. Can you tell us what you
    are seeing in the region with the growth of these terrorist
    organizations and what we need to be looking for?
        Ambassador Nagy. Absolutely. Both of those are very
    opportunistic and different terrorist groups in Africa have
    aligned themselves with one or the other global organizations.
    And sometimes they do that as a mark of trying to be
    recognized, and other times, for example, the new group that
    has crept up in Mozambique are also calling themselves that
    even though there is absolutely no ties to them.
        Mr. Curtis. Right.
        Ambassador Nagy. But as I mentioned before, the terrorist
    threat is growing. It is becoming much more serious. It is
    creeping into places and countries where it has not existed
    before. That is why we have to be very, very active and
    engaging with international partners, with the African
    countries, and all of our friends to confront them wherever
    they exist. Mozambique is a good example because it has just
    started and there is still an opportunity to stop it in its
    infancy. So it is critically important to give it attention
    there, not to let happen what happened with, say, Boko Haram,
    sir.
        Mr. Curtis. Good. Thank you. I am out of time. Mr.
    Chairman, I yield back.
        Mr. Royce. Thank you very much, John. We go now to Mr. Ted
    Poe of Texas.
        Mr. Poe. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to echo my
    colleagues' comments. Thank you for chairing this committee for
    so many years. It has been a wonderful privilege to be here
    with you. We are both leaving Congress. I am back to Texas and
    you are back to the foreign country of California. It has been
    a pleasure working with you and best wishes in the future. I
    think the country is better because of your leadership over the
    last 6 years and even longer than that. You chaired the same
    subcommittee that I am chairing, the Terrorism,
    Nonproliferation, and Trade Subcommittee, so thank you on
    behalf of the people of Texas for your leadership in foreign
    affairs.
        Mr. Royce. Thank you, Judge. I might come see you sometime
    in the winter in Texas.
        Mr. Poe. You are always welcome. You are always welcome,
    sir.
        Gentlemen, thank you for being here. I want to cut right to
    the chase. Wildlife trafficking in Africa is a great concern
    especially as I see things taking place and it is not getting
    better for the animals. You have corruption with governments in
    Africa. You have the slaughter of rhinos for their horns. And
    the horns, I understand, are grounded down into powder and
    shipped illegally to Vietnam.
        You have the elephants and the tusk being sold in China on
    the illegal market, but the bottom line is you got the
    disappearance of wildlife in Africa that may become extinct. My
    12 grandkids, it may be the only time they see rhinos or
    elephants are in Disney movies or Disney cartoons in the
    future. I am not being facetious. So what is the plan to
    improve that situation especially in those two areas, those two
    animals?
        Mr. Day. Thank you, Congressman. As you said this is an
    absolutely critical issue. Biodiversity conservation is
    absolutely critical to the health of African communities. USAID
    has prioritized this issue and will continue to do so. Twenty-
    five percent of the agency's biodiversity funding goes directly
    toward wildlife trafficking. We have 65 projects in 25
    countries and so it is something that we work tirelessly at
    protecting.
        Mr. Poe. Excuse me, Mr. Day.
        Mr. Day. Yes.
        Mr. Poe. Are we winning, are we losing?
        Mr. Day. It is a complex issue and it is----
        Mr. Poe. That means we are losing. We are losing. Complex
    means we are losing. I am not faulting you, I am just, I want
    to know because this is a--I guess, really, the question is
    what can we do better to make sure that these animals don't
    become extinct. What can we do, Congress, administration?
        Mr. Day. I think from our perspective if we had more
    greater engagement both at the host country level, the
    international donor community, as well as the private sector,
    as I mentioned earlier in the testimony we can't do this
    without the engagement of the private sector. And that is not
    to say that they are not engaged now, but we do need more
    engagement from the private sector. We believe that that is
    where the vast majority of the force and the power is going to
    come from.
        Mr. Poe. And I agree with you on that too, the private
    sector as well.
        Ambassador, do you want to weigh in on this?
        Ambassador Nagy. The only thing I would add, sir, is that I
    think it is also critically important to engage local
    communities, because if you can persuade them of the value of
    the wildlife for their own livelihood when it is tourism,
    economic development, and factors like that, then that helps us
    win that much easier because the local folks know what is going
    on.
        Mr. Poe. It seems to me I can understand why the bad things
    are happening. You have everybody involved. You have the local
    game wardens, if I can use that phrase, who make almost nothing
    a year, all of a sudden being given a bribe to look the other
    way while terrorists or whoever wants to kill animals on the
    property and it just seems that the international community,
    especially the United States, needs to be directly involved in
    this before it is too late. And then we will wring our hands
    and say, oh, I wish we would have done something different in
    the past.
        I don't know if it is going after the Vietnamese
    Government, going after the Chinese Government, certainly going
    after the terrorists who were involved in doing this and
    getting rid of those do-bads, in my opinion. I would just hope
    that Congress, the administration, the private, and God bless
    those private entities that are trying to do what they can to
    preserve animals.
        Is there any talk about--one last question, Mr. Chairman--
    any talk about removing those species from certain areas of
    Africa and relocating them somewhere else?
        Mr. Day. I would have to check on those types of
    discussions. I do know that removal of certain species from
    certain areas is extraordinarily expensive, so I know there are
    resource issues there. But I am happy to look into what the
    current discussions are.
        Mr. Poe. I would appreciate you getting back with me on
    that. We certainly can bring some of them to Texas, it would be
    fine with me. I am just speaking on my behalf.
        Thank you both, gentlemen. Thank you again, Mr. Chairman.
    And that is just the way it is.
        Mr. Royce. Well, thank you. I share the judge's sense of
    urgency on this and I think that is why we need fully funded
    programs. That is why we need full diplomatic engagement and
    also why we need the Departments of State and Defense, both
    working with the game wardens whose lives are on the line there
    in Africa who are trying to stand off these poachers where they
    are outgunned and outnumbered.
        But let me thank Ambassador Nagy and Mr. Day for being here
    to testify before us and I hope the entire administration is
    listening to us today. Clearly there is strong bipartisan
    support for well-resourced, broad engagement in Africa. We have
    got to be present there. We have got to continue our effort
    there to be active in Africa, to build partner capacity, to
    combat terrorism, to foster trade and development.
        As the judge said, to end wildlife trafficking there, to
    strengthen health systems there, and of course to support good
    governance. Too much is at stake, too much for Americans, too
    much is at stake for Africans alike. And with that, this
    hearing is adjourned.
        [Whereupon, at 12:21 p.m., the committee was adjourned.]

                                A P P E N D I X

                                  ----------

    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

                                     [all]