[Senate Hearing 117-623]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 117-623
FISCAL YEAR 2023 BUDGET
REQUEST FOR AFRICA
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HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON AFRICA
AND GLOBAL HEALTH POLICY
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
JULY 27, 2022
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Relations
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available via http://www.govinfo.gov
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
51-544 PDF WASHINGTON : 2023
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COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey, Chairman
BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland JAMES E. RISCH, Idaho
JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire MARCO RUBIO, Florida
CHRISTOPHER A. COONS, Delaware RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
CHRISTOPHER MURPHY, Connecticut MITT ROMNEY, Utah
TIM KAINE, Virginia ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts RAND PAUL, Kentucky
JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon TODD YOUNG, Indiana
CORY A. BOOKER, New Jersey JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming
BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii TED CRUZ, Texas
CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, Maryland MIKE ROUNDS, South Dakota
BILL HAGERTY, Tennessee
Damian Murphy, Staff Director
Christopher M. Socha, Republican Staff Director
John Dutton, Chief Clerk
SUBCOMMITTEE ON AFRICA AND
GLOBAL HEALTH POLICY
CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, Maryland, Chairman
CORY A. BOOKER, New Jersey MIKE ROUNDS, South Dakota
TIM KAINE, Virginia MARCO RUBIO, Florida
JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon TODD YOUNG, Indiana
CHRISTOPHER A. COONS, Delaware JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming
RAND PAUL, Kentucky
(ii)
C O N T E N T S
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Page
Van Hollen, Hon. Chris, U.S. Senator From Maryland............... 1
Rounds, Hon. Mike, U.S. Senator From South Dakota................ 3
Phee, Hon. Mary Catherine, Assistant Secretary of State for
African Affairs, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC...... 5
Prepared Statement........................................... 7
Putman, Dr. Diana, Acting Assistant Administrator, Bureau for
Africa, U.S. Agency for International Development, Washington,
DC............................................................. 8
Prepared Statement........................................... 9
Additional Material Submitted for the Record
Responses of Ms. Mary Catherine Phee to Questions Submitted by
Senator Chris Van Hollen....................................... 28
Responses of Ms. Mary Catherine Phee to Questions Submitted by
Senator Tim Kaine.............................................. 30
(iii)
FISCAL YEAR 2023 BUDGET
REQUEST FOR AFRICA
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WEDNESDAY, JULY 27, 2022
U.S. Senate,
Subcommittee on Africa
and Global Health Policy,
Committee on Foreign Relations,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:13 p.m., in
room SD-419, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Chris Van
Hollen presiding.
Present: Senators Van Hollen [presiding], Kaine, and
Rounds.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN,
U.S. SENATOR FROM MARYLAND
Senator Van Hollen. This hearing of the Senate Foreign
Relations Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy will
come to order.
I want to start by recognizing my colleague and partner on
the committee, Ranking Member Rounds, and thank him and his
team for all their work and collaboration.
It is a honor to welcome our two witnesses, Assistant
Secretary of State for African Affairs, Molly Phee, and Acting
Assistant Administrator in USAID's Bureau for Africa, Dr. Diana
Putman. Welcome to both of you.
Today, we will focus on the Biden administration's Fiscal
Year 2023 budget request for AFRICOM. The full slate of
Africa's policy priorities across nearly 50 countries in sub-
Saharan Africa cannot be distilled into just one hearing and we
will not be able to address every item in the budget.
Fortunately, the full Senate Foreign Relations Committee
has invested considerable time in addressing many of the issues
that impact the African states with recent hearings focused on
the Sahel region, food security, and security assistance, as
well as hearings earlier this year on Ethiopia and Sudan.
We may look for some updates on some of those areas, but we
have covered a lot of territory in the earlier hearings and I
appreciate the work of our colleagues through that process.
I also want to highlight that 1 year ago this subcommittee
organized and held a hearing on trade and investment in Africa
where we discussed the real promise and the potential of
African states now and into the future.
We explored practical ways to bolster U.S. investment in
African states and harness the power of targeted economic
engagement to unlock opportunity, build prosperity, and bolster
security both on the continent and here in the United States of
America, and I hope that same spirit will drive today's
conversation on the budget.
I think we all know that new opportunities in Africa are
growing and continue to grow at a rapid pace. In the next 30
years, the population of the entire African continent is
expected to double and one-quarter of the world will live in
Africa by the year 2050.
It is also the continent with the greatest number of young
people with 60 percent of Africans under the age of 25, and
this wave of young people provides new opportunities for
innovation, for consumption, technology, and growth.
Of course, it also brings challenges, making sure that
there are job opportunities and the resources are there to
serve that growing population, and those are opportunities and
challenges faced not just in those countries and not just on
the continent, but where we all share an interest around the
world.
Today, I hope we can address several key themes through the
lens of the budget that are central to seizing these
opportunities, meeting the challenges, and strengthening our
relationship with African states: First, by looking at how we
can help promote peace and security; second, how we can address
the most pressing and urgent challenges of food insecurity,
global health crises, and climate change through development
and humanitarian aid; third, how we can position the United
States as the partner of choice for African states by
strengthening our bilateral economic ties and fully utilizing
the tools that we have available to promote trade and
investment, including tools like AGOA, which I think will be up
for reauthorization in a few years, Prosper Africa, Power
Africa, and Digital Africa; and fourth, what we can do to
promote democracy, fend off the forces of autocracy, and stand
up against violations of human rights.
I would like to just briefly end by dwelling on the final
point because this is an issue of crucial importance in the
ongoing fight between democracy and autocracy as that battle
unfolds around the world, not just in Ukraine, but everywhere
else including on the African continent.
I am deeply concerned about the democratic backsliding in
Africa. We saw this acutely in Sudan where a peaceful
revolution leading to a democratic transition was thwarted by
an unconstitutional military takeover.
According to Freedom House, fewer than 10 countries in sub-
Saharan Africa are considered ``free.'' The Council on Foreign
Relations asserts that more Africans live under fully or
partially authoritarian states than at most points in the last
two decades.
This trend toward autocracy has been accelerated by the
pandemic and by the growing influence and pressure tactics from
other autocratic nations like China and like Russia, which
attempt to use economic incentives and disinformation to export
their models of authoritarianism to developing countries.
This includes opaque security agreements that prop up
undemocratic regimes, economic investment that is really used
as leverage and debt traps for African countries, but used to
help silence them from taking action at the U.N. or other
bodies about Chinese human rights abuses, Russia weaponizing
its grain exports to Africa, which we see right now as we
gather.
That said, I have been optimistic about democratic bright
spots and I think it is important to dwell on the positive as
well as the challenges. We see positive developments in
countries like Botswana, Ghana, South Africa, Namibia, and
others.
Moving forward, we must ensure that we are strengthening
our relationships with these states while encouraging others to
adopt policies that allow for greater democracy and freedom.
I am glad that President Biden will be hosting leaders from
across the African continent here in our nation's capital on
December 13 to help move these objectives forward, and my
ranking member on the committee, Senator Rounds, and I have
been very invested in the YALI program and hope to make that
program permanent through authorization.
Let me just close by urging our witnesses here today to
focus on many of these issues, but obviously we will have a
great back and forth with questions.
Again, a lot to cover. We will not get to all of it today.
We are grateful for your being here today, and let me turn
it over to Ranking Member Rounds.
STATEMENT OF HON. MIKE ROUNDS,
U.S. SENATOR FROM SOUTH DAKOTA
Senator Rounds. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
It is a pleasure to serve as the ranking member here today
and to work with you, Mr. Chairman, and your team as we do this
hearing on the Biden administration's Fiscal Year 2023
Department of State foreign operations and related programs
budget request for sub-Saharan Africa.
Last month, the NSC previewed the Biden administration's
Africa strategy to this committee. That strategy is
aspirational, as many strategies of this sort are, but today we
are talking about one of the central topics of importance in
implementing an Africa strategy, financial resources.
I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today about
how the fiscal year budget request sets up the State Department
and USAID to implement President Biden's Africa strategy.
The staff at our embassies and USAID missions on the
continent are critical for the implementation of the new Africa
strategy. Unfortunately, it is no secret that our embassies and
USAID missions in Africa are some of the most critically
understaffed in the world.
I am eager to hear more about staffing in the context of
this budget request and want to know if there is more that
Congress can do to help make sure posts in Africa are
adequately staffed with well qualified members of the Foreign
and Civil Service.
I am glad to see that the White House has finally announced
dates for the second U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit. That is
December 13 through 15 of 2022.
I hope it will be an opportunity for substantive engagement
with our Africa partners on important topics that also have
budget implications for discussion today, including economic
engagement, democracy and human rights, food security, and
peace and security.
Within the Fiscal Year 2023 budget request for Africa there
is funding for a number of regional initiatives that I am sure
will be part of the discussion at the summit, some long-
standing such as the Power Africa and Young African Leaders
Initiative, which have strong bipartisan support.
I was also happy to partner with Senator Van Hollen to
introduce the YALI Act of 2021 in the Senate last year. Others
are new, like Digital Africa. I look forward to hearing more
about plans for this new initiative today.
Another regional initiative I hope to discuss today is
Prosper Africa, a Trump administration program that has been
fully embraced by the Biden administration. Prosper Africa has
bipartisan support here in the Senate. I am eager to hear from
USAID and the State Department about the current state of
Prosper Africa.
Over the last 2 years we have seen some dramatic
backsliding of democracy in Africa, as Senator Van Hollen has
indicated, most clearly demonstrated by numerous coups without
a single case of return to constitutional democratic rule.
We have also seen some encouraging democratic victories
such as the peaceful democratic transfer of power in Zimbabwe.
Our support to democracy, human rights, and governance in
Africa is a relatively small portion of our budget, but perhaps
one of the ways in which the U.S. best supports our African
partners to build strong, resilient, citizen-oriented
institutions.
I am looking forward to discussion about how the resources
requested for Fiscal Year 2023 will be put to impactful use.
Finally, we have had a number of discussions including last
week in a full committee hearing about the impact of the war in
Ukraine on food security around the globe. Certainly, Africa is
one of the hardest hit regions, but food security is about more
than emergency food aid.
It is about making sure that our partners are resilient to
shocks, including through domestic agricultural production. We
also know that some of the areas hardest hit by the global food
crisis are also beset with conflict and instability like South
Sudan, Somalia, and Ethiopia.
I look forward to discussion about how the Fiscal Year 2023
budget request addresses these root causes of food insecurity
beyond catastrophic shocks currently being felt in the region.
I look forward to today's conversation.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Senator Van Hollen. Thank you, Senator Rounds.
Now I will introduce our witnesses for today.
Ambassador Molly Phee was sworn in as United States
Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs on September
20 of last year.
She has worked to advance the administration's strategic
priorities in African nations through efforts to support
stability, good governance, and self-reliance in African states
and advance trade between the United States and Africa.
She served previously as the Deputy Special Representative
for Afghanistan Reconciliation from 2015 to 2017 and
represented the United States abroad as our ambassador to South
Sudan.
As a career member of the United States Foreign Service she
has held posts in Ethiopia, Sudan, Jordan, Egypt, and Kuwait.
Ambassador Phee has also served as Acting Assistant Secretary
for the Bureau of International Organization Affairs, Deputy
Security Council Coordinator at the U.S. mission at the United
Nations, and director for Iraq on the National Security
Council.
She is a graduate of Indiana University and earned a
master's degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.
It is great to have you back. Thank you.
Dr. Diana Putman is the Acting Assistant Administrator in
the Bureau for Africa at USAID where she oversees efforts to
improve access to health services, support democratic
institutions, encourage business growth, and strengthen
communities on the African continent.
Dr. Putman has worked for USAID for 39 years and is a
career member of the United States Foreign Service with posts
in Timor-Leste, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia,
Tunisia, Tanzania, Kenya, and Jordan.
In addition, Dr. Putman spent 3 years on detail at the
U.S.-Africa Command where she oversaw humanitarian health and
pandemic response activities and was acting senior development
advisor for significant periods of time.
Here at home, Dr. Putman has held posts on both the Newly
Independent States Task Force and the Democracy Working Group
for West Bank Gaza Task Force at USAID, and holds degrees in
anthropology from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania and a
master's in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College.
As you can see, both of our witnesses have a great depth of
knowledge and experience. Welcome to both of you.
Why do we not start with you, Assistant Secretary Phee.
STATEMENT OF THE HON. MARY CATHERINE PHEE, ASSISTANT SECRETARY
OF STATE FOR AFRICAN AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
WASHINGTON, DC
Ms. Phee. Thank you, Chairman Van Hollen, Ranking Member
Rounds. It is my pleasure to see you again to discuss the
Biden-Harris administration's Fiscal Year 2023 budget request.
My opening remarks will review the resource requests and
then we are looking forward to a conversation about specific
countries of interest.
I would like to start by expressing our deep appreciation
to Congress for the supplemental funding for Ukraine, which
included over $5 billion specifically to mitigate the global
food security impacts of Russia's invasion.
To date, more than $1 billion in humanitarian food security
assistance from the additional supplemental has been provided
to countries in Africa. An additional $337 million will be used
for the Feed the Future Initiative and other programs to meet
the immediate needs of people in Africa suffering from food
insecurity exacerbated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
This budget request will reinforce the actions by Secretary
Blinken and his team to build partnerships across Africa in
support of U.S. interests and our shared goals with African
leaders and peoples.
State and USAID remain focused on advancing peace and
security, promoting democracy and human rights, supporting
economic growth, and building resilient societies. The State
and USAID joint regional strategy and the forthcoming U.S.
strategy towards sub-Saharan Africa will guide our diplomatic
and development work.
We are also, as you noted, preparing to host a U.S.-Africa
Leaders Summit in December. President Biden's budget request of
$7.8 billion for the State Department and USAID will provide us
with the resources needed to continue to elevate our engagement
and build upon our previous efforts.
With this funding, we will continue working to fulfill our
commitment to provide COVID-19 vaccines. To date, we have
provided more than 160 million doses to 44 countries in sub-
Saharan Africa. We have provided more than $2 billion in COVID-
related assistance for emergency health and humanitarian
support.
Because the pandemic underscores the need for additional
investment to strengthen African health systems to deal with
future challenges, we are requesting $5.7 billion, including
$3.8 billion for PEPFAR.
Simultaneously, we are relentlessly working to mitigate the
continuing economic impact of the pandemic including by
increasing engagement with the American private sector and
engaging young people across the continent.
This request includes funding for administration
initiatives for the Leaders Summit, including boosting trade
and investment through our signature U.S. Government programs
such as Prosper Africa and Power Africa.
It includes funding for a new digital initiative to expand
affordable and inclusive digital connectivity and a request to
scale up YALI regional leadership centers.
As we discussed earlier this month, recent extra
constitutional changes of government in several African
countries highlight the need for greater investment in
democracy and governance programming, and increased development
assistance to target underlying social, environmental, and
economic deficiencies.
The President's request includes $285 million to strengthen
democratic institutions, promote respect for human rights, and
directly respond to the democratic backsliding across the
continent that you identified, Mr. Chairman.
We are requesting increases in democracy funding as well as
resources to promote health and economic growth to advance the
Sahel strategy. In support of these shared priorities, the
President's budget includes $438 million to strengthen the
ability of African regional and subregional organizations,
government institutions, and civil society to better confront
state fragility and armed conflict.
We appreciate your commitment to and dedicated resources in
support of the Global Fragility Act and are working hard to
bring that project to life.
None of these critical efforts, however, would be possible
without our greatest resource, our people. It is an honor and a
privilege for me to represent the incredibly talented dedicated
public servants that work tirelessly every day to build and
advance U.S. relationships in Africa.
This fiscal year we will add 30 new positions that will
serve as an important start in reinvesting in our people and
strengthening our capability to achieve our desired policy
outcomes, but as you noted, Senator Rounds, this staffing start
is inadequate to properly address the complex challenges in
front of us, so we will also be requesting 95 new positions.
In partnership with this committee, I welcome your counsel,
resources, and flexibilities from Congress as we carry out this
important work. As you know, funding for sub-Saharan Africa is
heavily earmarked. There is only a limited amount of
discretionary funding for bilateral and regional priorities to
meet dynamic situations.
Additional discretionary programming would enable us to
seize opportunities and respond quickly to rapidly changing
conditions.
In closing, let me share my thanks for your support in
upholding our shared commitment to advancing democracy,
inclusive prosperity, and national security as the benchmarks
for the U.S.-Africa partnership.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Phee follows:]
Prepared Statement of Ms. Mary Catherine Phee
Chairman Van Hollen, Ranking Member Rounds, it is pleasure to see
you again and thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today
to discuss the Biden-Harris administration's FY 2023 Budget Request.
Before I start, I would like to express my appreciation to Congress for
the additional supplemental funding for Ukraine, which included over
$5.1 billion specifically for addressing the global food security
impacts of Russia's invasion. To date, more than $1.27 billion in
humanitarian food security assistance from the additional supplemental
has been provided to countries in Africa. An additional $337 million
will be used for the Feed the Future initiative and to help address the
immediate needs of people suffering from food insecurity exacerbated by
the Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Thank you.
This Budget Request will continue to advance the priorities of the
Administration and the Secretary of State to build partnerships across
Africa in support of U.S. interests and shared goals of African leaders
and their citizens. State and USAID remain focused on advancing peace
and security, promoting democracy and human rights, supporting economic
growth, and building resilient societies through our efforts to combat
climate change, strengthen good governance, and promote healthier
lives. The State and USAID Joint Regional Strategy and the forthcoming
U.S. Strategy toward Sub-Saharan Africa will guide the diplomatic and
development work of posts and staff based throughout the region. We are
also preparing to host the second U.S. Africa Leaders' Summit in
December. President Biden's budget request of $7.8 billion will provide
the resources needed to continue to elevate our engagement and build
upon our successes.
With this funding, we will continue working to fulfill our
commitment to provide COVID-19 vaccines. To date, we have provided over
169 million doses to 44 countries in Sub- Saharan Africa. We provided
more than $2 billion in COVID-related assistance for emergency health
and humanitarian support. The pandemic continues to underscore the need
for investment to support African health systems and we are requesting
$5.7 billion, including $3.8 billion for the President's Emergency Plan
for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
Simultaneously, we are relentlessly working to mitigate the
continuing economic impact of the pandemic, including through increased
engagement with the American private sector and especially engaging
young people across the continent in these efforts. This request
includes funding for Administration initiatives ahead of the U.S.
Africa Leaders' Summit, including support to bolster trade and
investment through signature U.S. Government programs like Prosper
Africa and Power Africa. It includes funding for a new digital
initiative to expand affordable and inclusive digital connectivity and
the scaling up of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) Regional
Leadership Centers.
As we discussed during a hearing earlier this month, recent
extraconstitutional changes of government in several countries
highlight the need for greater investment in democracy and governance
programing and more development assistance that targets underlying
social, environmental, and economic deficiencies. The President's
Request includes $285 million to strengthen democratic institutions,
promote respect for human rights, and directly respond to democratic
backsliding across the continent. We are requesting increases in
democracy funding along with health and economic growth funding to
advance the Sahel Strategy. To that end, the budget also requests $440
million to continue Feed the Future programs to address global hunger,
nutrition, strengthen social safety nets and food insecurity. This
coupled with the emergency supplemental funding will help to offset the
impact of sharply increasing food prices and market disruptions.
In support of these shared priorities, the President's Budget
includes $438 million to strengthen the ability of African regional and
sub-regional organizations, government institutions, and civil society
to better address state fragility and armed conflict. We appreciate
your commitment to and dedicated resources in support of the Global
Fragility Act. We will utilize these critical resources to prevent and
reduce conflict in priority countries that include Mozambique and those
in Coastal West Africa.
None of these critical efforts, however, would be possible without
our greatest resource: our people. It is an honor and privilege to
represent the incredibly talented, dedicated public servants that work
tirelessly every day to build and advance U.S. relationships across
sub- Saharan Africa. This fiscal year, we will add 30 new positions
that will serve as an important start in reinvesting in our people and
providing the resources needed to achieve the policy outcomes we seek.
Still, as our partnerships on the African continent grow, more
positions are needed to sufficiently address the complex problem sets
we are tackling in DC and abroad; therefore, we are requesting 95 new
positions to advance the foreign policy priorities mentioned and to
provide support to our overseas posts.
In partnership with this Committee, I welcome additional input,
resources, and flexibilities from Congress as we carry out this
important work. As you know, funding for Sub-Saharan Africa is heavily
earmarked. There is only a limited amount of discretionary funding for
bilateral and regional priorities; discretionary programming would
enable us to seize opportunities and respond quickly to rapidly
changing conditions. In addition, we welcome additional resources to
continue addressing the dire global food security crisis and expand our
efforts to counter Russian misinformation. As stated earlier, the
funding to date has been invaluable for our programs and personnel
overseas.
In closing, let me reiterate my appreciation to this Committee for
your frequent engagements with me and my team. Throughout our
conversations, I have greatly valued your support in upholding our
shared commitment to advancing democracy, inclusive prosperity, and
national security as the benchmarks for a successful U.S.-Africa
partnership.
Senator Van Hollen. Thank you, Madam Ambassador.
Next, we will turn to Dr. Putman.
STATEMENT OF DR. DIANA PUTMAN, ACTING ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR,
BUREAU FOR AFRICA, U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT,
WASHINGTON, DC
Dr. Putman. Good afternoon, Chairman Van Hollen, Ranking
Member Rounds, and distinguished members of the subcommittee.
I am grateful for the opportunity to discuss the Fiscal
Year 2023 President's budget request for the U.S. Agency for
International Development Bureau for Africa and I, too, want to
thank you for the generous supplemental to deal with the crisis
in Ukraine, which is having major impacts on the continent of
Africa.
The United States has partnered with the nations of Africa
for decades, working alongside African governments, regional
institutions, civil society, and the private sector to address
challenges, foster opportunities, and improve people's lives.
The Fiscal Year 2023 budget request for Africa takes its
key policy considerations from the State-USAID joint regional
strategy for Africa and from the interim National Security
Strategy guidance.
The strategy details four strategic goals for engagement in
the region: increased mutually beneficial economic growth,
trade, and investment; advance mutual peace and security
interests; strengthen democracy, human rights and good
governance; and promote inclusive country-led development.
The Fiscal Year 2023 total funding request of $7.767
billion for foreign assistance accounts is a reflection of the
critical importance of development and humanitarian assistance.
Increased trade and investment between the United States
and African nations brings high-quality financing, products,
services to African nations, and creates jobs on both
continents while giving African businesses more open access to
U.S. markets.
The request of $100 million for Prosper Africa will enable
the U.S. to compete on a new scale, expanding the U.S. private
sector's engagement in Africa's fast-growing markets and
partnering with firms on innovative programs.
The request of $100 million in funding for Power Africa
will allow for accelerated energy access for the nearly 600
million Africans who still lack it and to lead on driving
Africa's transition to cleaner renewable energy sources.
To advance mutual peace and security, the Fiscal Year 2023
Budget request reflects the need to strengthen the intent and
objectives of key initiatives such as the Trans-Sahara
Counterterrorism Partnership and the Global Fragility Act.
The request of $284.9 million in democracy funds will
support a broad range of U.S. objectives with partner countries
and regional organizations.
This budget request places inclusive country-led
development at its center. As African countries continue to
battle the COVID-19 pandemic, USAID will provide robust funding
that strengthens local health systems and health security.
The President's request for Africa allocates approximately
$3.83 billion for PEPFAR and $1.84 billion for other health
programs including malaria, tuberculosis, and maternal and
child health.
The Fiscal Year 2023 request of $249.7 million for climate
recognizes this and will ensure African countries are building
capacity to adapt to climate change.
To catalyze agricultural-led growth, improve nutritional
status, and reduce future humanitarian needs, the budget
request of $440 million for agriculture includes assistance for
19 countries and five regional operating units implementing
Feed the Future.
This funding will respond to the global food security
crisis driven by supply chain shocks that stemmed from the
COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's war in Ukraine.
While the narrative about Africa is often dominated by its
challenges, it is a continent better characterized by
resilience and transformation, and with your support we look
forward to building a promising future together.
Thank you, and I look forward to responding to your
questions.
[The prepared statement of Dr. Putman follows:]
Prepared Statement of Dr. Diana Putman
Good afternoon Chairman Van Hollen, Ranking Member Rounds, and
distinguished members of the Subcommittee. I am grateful for the
opportunity to discuss the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 President's budget
request for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
Bureau for Africa.
The United States has partnered with the nations of Africa for
decades, working alongside African governments, regional institutions,
and civil society to address challenges, foster opportunities, and
improve people's lives. Today, our world is at an inflection point. On
the key issues we face--from the COVID-19 pandemic, to the climate
crisis and food insecurity, to conflict and mass displacements, to
global struggles to prevent democratic backsliding and preserve gender
equality and human rights--Africa is essential to our collective
progress.
Africa's increasing integration into global markets, demographic
boom, and thriving culture of entrepreneurship present a remarkable
opportunity for the United States to invest in Africa's future, and
thereby our own future. We have the chance to progress beyond the
pandemic and begin building a better, stronger, more secure, and
inclusive strategy for African nations and the United States.
The FY 2023 budget request for Africa takes its key policy
considerations from the State-USAID Joint Regional Strategy for Africa
and from the Interim National Security Strategy guidance. The Strategy
details four strategic goals for engagement in the region: 1) Increase
Mutually Beneficial Economic Growth, Trade, and Investment; 2) Advance
Mutual Peace and Security Interests; 3) Strengthen Democracy, Human
Rights, and Good Governance; 4) Promote Inclusive Country-led
Development.
The FY 2023 funding request of $7.767 billion for foreign
assistance accounts fully or partially implemented by USAID is a
reflection of the critical importance of development and humanitarian
assistance. Overall, the FY 2023 request is a 4.6 percent increase over
the FY 2022 request level. It includes vital assistance to respond to
the increasing importance of development priorities and continuing and
protracted humanitarian crises across sub-Saharan Africa. The request
will allow the United States to lead, and in leading, allow us to
mobilize allies, organizations, and private sector partners to
contribute more to the causes critical to our nation's interests.
increase mutually beneficial economic growth, trade, and investment
Increased trade and investment between the United States and
African nations brings high quality financing, products, services, and
expertise to African nations, creates jobs on both continents, and
gives African businesses more open access to U.S. markets. Through
Prosper Africa, USAID is committed to strengthening trade and
investment ties between African nations and the United States, and
spurring responsible private investment at a scale that could never be
matched by foreign aid alone.
The FY 2023 request of $100 million for Prosper Africa will enable
the U.S. to compete on a new scale, expanding the U.S. private sector's
engagement in Africa's fast-growing markets and partnering with firms
on innovative programs that will allow the U.S. to create a positive
alternative to the People's Republic of China's often-attractive but
dangerously non-transparent financing offers. Funds will mobilize
billions more of investment in African economies and support hundreds
of thousands of jobs beyond what is possible at current funding levels.
USAID will expand our private sector-led approach to advance recovery
from the COVID-19 pandemic and bolster resilience to global shocks from
the further invasion of Ukraine and climate change. Prosper Africa's
work will engage businesses and investors led by young people, women,
and the African Diaspora, as well as small businesses, which are
powerful job creators and the lifeblood of our economies.
The FY 2023 request of $100 million in funding for Power Africa
will allow Power Africa to accelerate energy access for the nearly 600
million Africans (75 percent of global total) who still lack it and to
lead on driving Africa's transition to cleaner, renewable energy
sources. Power Africa supports critical reforms to bolster
transparency, increase competition, and enhance host country partners'
technical capacity. The initiative promotes mutual economic prosperity
between the U.S. and African partners via technical expertise,
innovation, investment, and enabling environment reform. With a strong
emphasis on renewable energy and achieving the pledged climate
ambitions of both the U.S. Government and African leaders, the goal of
Power Africa remains to advance universal energy access--adding 30,000
megawatts and 60 million connections by 2030. This work is complemented
by USAID's regional trade and investment activities that continue to
focus on building a strong enabling environment for economic growth for
African countries.
advance mutual peace and security interests
USAID investments save lives, strengthen economies, prevent and
mitigate fragility, promote resilience, and enhance freedom around the
world. The Agency's work complements the efforts of the Departments of
State and Defense, helping reduce threats to both Africans and
Americans at home and abroad. The FY 2023 budget request reflects the
need to support the intent and objectives of key initiatives such as
the Trans Sahara Counter Terrorism Partnership, the Partnership for
Regional East Africa Counterterrorism, and the Global Fragility Act.
Through these efforts, we also advance women's meaningful participation
in preventing and resolving conflict, countering violent extremism and
terrorism, and building post-conflict peace and stability, all
important elements of the U.S. Strategy on Women, Peace, and Security.
strengthen democracy, human rights, and good governance
In large part due to years-long trends of democratic backsliding
and rising autocracies, we are at a critical moment for the United
States and fellow supporters of democracy around the world. Now is the
time to unite in the pursuit of a freer, more prosperous world. This is
especially true in sub-Saharan Africa, where 93 percent of the
population now lives in ``Partly Free'' or ``Not Free'' countries per
the 2022 Freedom House rankings.
The FY 2023 request of $284.9 million in democracy funds will
support a broad range of U.S. objectives with partner countries and
regional organizations, and will stabilize and build democratic
institutions; strengthen respect for human rights, good governance, and
effective service delivery; enhance gender equality and social
inclusion; and address causes of fragility and violence. These funds
will also empower local partners, provide transparency in political
systems, and address authoritarianism and disinformation through
activities like strengthening independent media and digital
technologies.
To address the projected doubling of population in Africa by 2050
to 2.2 billion people and to set them up for success, USAID will create
opportunities for Africa's children and youth with programs that
increase equitable access to foundational learning and encourage
talented youth, such as through the Young African Leaders Initiative
(YALI). The FY 2023 request level of $20 million for YALI will expand
opportunities to support transformational local leaders who contribute
economically to their communities and advocate for peace, security, and
democratic governance.
promote inclusive country-led development
Finally, this budget request places inclusive, country-led
development at its center. As African countries continue to battle the
COVID-19 pandemic, USAID will provide robust funding that strengthens
local health systems and health security. The President's FY 2023
request for Africa allocates approximately $3.83 billion for PEPFAR,
and $1.84 billion for other health programs including malaria,
tuberculosis, and maternal and child health.
Sub-Saharan Africa is vulnerable to natural resource degradation
and the effects of climate change, including shocks from extreme
weather events. The FY 2023 request of $249.7 million for climate
recognizes this and will ensure African countries are building capacity
to adapt to climate change while growing their economies and optimizing
the use of natural resources and human capital in a socially,
economically, and environmentally sustainable manner.
To catalyze agriculture-led growth, improve nutritional status, and
reduce future humanitarian needs, the FY 2023 request of $440 million
for agriculture includes assistance for 19 countries and five regional
operating units implementing Feed the Future. This funding will respond
to the global food security crisis driven by supply chain shocks that
stem from the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's war on Ukraine. These
funds will also enable the expansion of Feed the Future to eight new
target countries in addition to the existing 12. These target countries
reflect interagency consensus on where U.S. Government investments can
achieve sustainable reductions in poverty, malnutrition, and hunger
while meeting the statutory requirements under the current Global Food
Security Act.
It is crucial that USAID engage more frequently and sustainably
with a broader and more inclusive range of partners. That's especially
true of the community-led organizations and companies based in the
countries in which we work. Our approach to community-led development
builds on more than a decade of the Agency's prior experience working
directly on localization. It devolves more power and leadership to
local actors, elevates diversity and equity in our partnerships, and
addresses some of the systemic and operational constraints at USAID. We
have created intentional shifts in the way we design and implement our
programs, placing local communities and stakeholders in the lead, and
we continue to integrate this approach throughout our work.
conclusion
While the narrative about Africa is often dominated by its
challenges, it is a continent better characterized by resilience and
transformation. We saw this in the innovations that sprang up to
mitigate the impacts of COVID-19, the resilience shown by individuals
experiencing negative outcomes of climate change, and the thousands of
voices that have spoken out to safeguard democracy. These actions all
illustrate the spirit of Africa and USAID, and with your support, we
look forward to building toward that promising future together.
Thank you, and I look forward to responding to your questions.
Senator Van Hollen. Thank you, Dr. Putman.
We will lead off and take turns. The other members will
join us possibly, but let me start with a question for you,
Ambassador Phee, that also has a component for Dr. Putman at
USAID.
It has been a little while since we have had a hearing in
this committee that covered the situation in Sudan. I was in
Sudan in May of last year with Senator Coons at a very hopeful
moment after the peaceful revolution and a lot of excitement
about the transition toward democracy at that time.
That, of course, has been derailed with the repressive
crackdown. We saw just last week security forces killed more
than 30 people and injured a hundred during clashes with
protesters.
If you could update us on where we are in terms of using
our policy levers to try to put Sudan back on the road towards
stability and democracy and, Dr. Putman, back in I think it was
2020, we appropriated $700 million to support various programs
in Sudan, money that was channeled through USAID.
I know that a lot of that was put on hold. Some of it was
redirected to other purposes to make sure that it did not flow
through the regime, but if you could both address what we are
doing in terms of our policy and what we are doing with our
resources there, beginning with Ambassador Phee.
Ms. Phee. Thank you very much.
We share the disappointment of the Sudanese people that the
transition to democracy fell off the track.
Since January, there have been intensive discussions
throughout the country on how to move forward and restore a
civilian-led transitional government.
We helped energize a trilateral or tripartite process that
involves the U.N. mission in Sudan, an AU mission in Sudan, and
the regional organization IGAD. They held over a thousand
meetings with different Sudanese to discuss how to identify a
new path forward to restore the transition.
That process, however, has lagged and in June of this year
I traveled to Khartoum, in part because I was concerned about
the looming economic challenges and I was concerned that if the
Sudanese did not find a way forward to restore their
transition, that political process could be quickly overwhelmed
by economic problems, which are very grave and serious and
exacerbated by their dependence on commodities from Russia and
Ukraine.
I am happy to report to you today that conversations among
the parties have intensified and this is, I think, in large
part due to the strength and inspiring resilience of the youth
and the people of Sudan who continue to resist military rule.
Right now, there are serious conversations underway between
the military and the different components of civil society.
As you may have seen in recent days, both General al-Burhan
and General Hemetti have each issued statements claiming that
they are committed to leaving politics and to establishing a
civilian-led government.
The discussions have accelerated. They are looking at the
difficult issue of the role of the military during a
transition. There are positive ideas being exchanged.
We, in concert with our troika partners, issued a statement
on July 14 suggesting guidelines or benchmarks that would be
needed to be seen in any agreement that they reach.
These include that, again, the government--transitional
government should be civilian-led and have broad-based
nationwide support. There should be a clear timeline for free
and fair elections, procedures for selecting a transitional
prime minister and other key officials, and a dispute
resolution mechanism to avoid future political crises.
Most importantly, as I said, there must be full clarity and
oversight about the military's role and responsibilities and
that the military cannot define those roles and
responsibilities unilaterally. They must be agreed to by the
civilians.
We continue to work with our partners in Sudan, both
Sudanese and external parties, to encourage completion of these
active and dynamic discussions on a new constitutional
arrangement to restore the civilian-led transitional
government.
Senator Van Hollen. Thank you for updating us on that--on
your efforts.
Dr. Putman.
Dr. Putman. Sure. Thank you for the question.
Just to let you know, briefly, that of the $700 million
appropriated by Congress, we have allocated $108 million of
that, $30 million for programs focused on human rights,
elections, agriculture, and conflict mitigation, and $78
million for transition initiatives that support civil society.
Prior to the military takeover, we had been working with
the government, but we have pulled back and we are not doing
any activities with the government at all at this point.
We are having consultations with staffers of the full
committee to actually discuss what will be done with the rest
of the funding at this point in time.
Thank you.
Senator Van Hollen. I appreciate that.
There is the question of whether it is put to other
purposes within Sudan or reprogrammed elsewhere, at least until
things change in Sudan, but we look forward to continuing those
conversations.
Senator Rounds.
Senator Rounds. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you to both
of our witnesses for your opening statements.
Secretary Phee, Africa is home to the most critically
understaffed diplomatic corps in the world. I am glad to hear
that this budget addresses some of that and that they are
requesting some new positions.
However, it seems to me that the State Department is having
trouble just staffing the positions that already exist. How
will adding new positions address the understaffing of
positions that already exist in Africa?
Just to kind of push the conversation a little bit, what is
the department doing to encourage more qualified Foreign
Service Officers to bid on positions and serve in Africa?
Finally, what can Congress do to help make sure those posts
that are in Africa are adequately staffed and staffed with
well-qualified members of the Foreign and Civil Service?
Kind of a broad ranging question, but, really, I think, to
the heart of some of the challenges that you are facing right
now.
Ms. Phee. Thank you very much for your concern about this
issue.
We would all be more influential and impactful if we had
more personnel resources, and as you know well, sort of the
first ring of this problem is that the State Department as a
whole is understaffed because of a previous freeze in staffing
and failure to hire to address attrition.
If you consider us a free market where people move to
different regions of the world, every region and also here back
in Washington we are suffering from insufficient staffing.
Then the question becomes, first, how do we address that.
That is the Administration's strategic staffing initiative,
which I referred to.
Then the second question is what can we do in the Africa
Bureau to attract more talent and to encourage Foreign Service
Officers to serve in Africa, which is an enormous opportunity
and privilege, given the opportunities and the strength of the
peoples in Africa.
The good news I have for you is that the situation across
the bureau is not as dire as it is in the Sahel, which we just
discussed a few weeks ago. If you will allow me, if I look at
the numbers--and the numbers that we have are a little bit
confusing because they are a snapshot in time.
For example, I have numbers from last week. Some people
might be on leave, but we have in AF, as we call it, we have
about 1,757 authorized positions overseas and 1,527 of those
positions are staffed. Globally for the bureau, it is not as
dire as it is in the Sahel and also in Sudan, where we also
have shortages.
We have different options to address the challenges. As you
know, in unaccompanied posts or in countries with poor
educational or medical facilities it is hard, depending on
where you are in your life cycle in your family, to bring
certain colleagues to posts.
We look at financial incentives. We have pioneered in the
AF Bureau what we are calling the spoke bidding experience so
that we are actually sitting down and speaking with interested
bidders about different options throughout the continent,
specifically reaching out to talented officers to encourage
them to come in.
I think it is a combination of financial incentives,
helping address a family or individual's particular needs,
finding a post that works for them in Africa, focusing on
recruitment within the State Department and the continuing
support we see from our leadership about--and from you that
Africa matters for itself and our country and to encourage
people to serve there.
Those are some of the types of steps we are taking.
Senator Rounds. Do we really have to kind of take a look
more at focusing? I know there are some areas where we consider
them hardship or areas where flat out people just are not
applying because there is other places that they would prefer
to be, and yet, we need qualified individuals here.
Does Congress need to take steps to give direction or
guidance with regard to filling these in the near future or are
we going to see improvements in the filling of these here in
the next few months?
Ms. Phee. I am not sure about the time frame, but I
genuinely believe if the State Department as a whole had more
people that Africa would attract that talent.
I think we saw in the past 20 years and particularly in
Iraq and Afghanistan, when we use financial incentives we were
able to attract individuals to serve.
I am personally interested in looking at financial
incentives that would encourage a 2-year assignment. I think it
is very difficult to build relationships, which is the heart of
what we do, in a 1-year assignment.
That would be my preference for applying financial
resources.
Senator Rounds. Then one last question on it. Do you have
the resources to be able to make those financial commitments at
this time?
Ms. Phee. No.
Senator Rounds. Then would that not be something that we
need to address?
Ms. Phee. Yes, but that, of course, is not something that
I--as you know, I, individually, can address. That would be
part of the Administration's request and its partnership with
you.
Senator Rounds. I recognize that I am out of time, but my
point being we recognize that you have a challenge in filling
these and that you have identified, perhaps, one way to do
that, but if you do not have that tool available to you, you
will not get it done. My question straightforward is do we need
to make some modifications or policy recommendations that would
allow you to do what you have just suggested?
Ms. Phee. To the best of my understanding, Senator, and
with the support of the State Department leadership, which is
also focused on this question, I think it is a question of
resources both in hiring and providing incentives.
Senator Rounds. Thank you.
Ms. Phee. Thank you.
Senator Van Hollen. Thank you, Senator Rounds, and we look
forward to working with you to try to provide some of those
incentives.
Senator Kaine.
Senator Kaine. Thank you, Senator Van Hollen, Senator
Rounds, and thank you to the witnesses for your important
service.
Virginia has a fairly sizable Ethiopian diaspora community
and they are very, very focused on the challenges there.
As you know, since the war in Ethiopia began in November of
2020 there have been two million displaced, tens of thousands
of deaths. Observers have found credible reports of human
rights abuses including ethnic cleansing, massacres, sexual
violence, and the U.N. reports that the humanitarian situation
in Ethiopia has significantly deteriorated this year, leading
to dire humanitarian needs across the country.
Compounding these humanitarian needs driven by war there
has been a prolonged drought. Twenty-nine million people are
estimated to need humanitarian assistance and protection this
year, compared to 23.5 million last year and 8.4 million in
2020.
In May of 2021, the State Department--and this is,
Ambassador Phee, a question for you--the State Department
restricted some assistance to Ethiopia based on conflict and
human rights-related concerns.
How much and what type of assistance was affected by the
freeze and of that assistance what activities, if any, have
since resumed?
Ms. Phee. Thank you, Senator.
As you know, we have focused intensively on trying to stop
the war. That was the number-one priority in order to stop the
grave human rights violations committed by all fighting forces.
I am happy to report to you that in January of this year
the government effectively ceased air operations in Tigray and
there has been a durable effective cessation of hostilities
between the parties since March.
We continue to encourage talks between the parties to
consolidate that important beginning.
The second critical need was humanitarian access. As you
know, we intensively engaged the parties on improving
humanitarian access in Tigray and we have achieved enormous
success with our partners at USAID and our implementing
partners, and I am happy to report that this week the
government has started to allow duty-free import of fuel from
Djibouti to assist in the humanitarian response in the north.
That is about 2 million liters per month and that fuel was
the sort of critical last step to ensuring the humanitarian
assistance got moved around Tigray to people in need.
Services still have not been restored in Tigray so that
remains an area of concern that we continue to work on.
Thirdly, on human rights and accountability, we have been
working to arrange for the U.N. Human Rights Commission of
Inquiry to visit Ethiopia. That visit took place this week to
start discussions about accountability. That is a very critical
step forward.
I think we are in a much better place today than we were in
May of 2021. The most, I think, important program from the
Ethiopian perspective was because of the way we have structured
AGOA, we were forced to end AGOA because they were not meeting
the commitments under AGOA.
Those are the benchmarks that we are now looking at to
review whether or not we could resume assistance, whether it is
our development assistance, which I will defer to Dr. Putman,
or other types of engagement that we effectively ceased during
the conflict.
Is that----
Senator Kaine. That is a good way to get started. I am
going to follow up.
How much assistance--this is a budget hearing of the State
and USAID budget for Africa--how much assistance requested for
Fiscal Year 2023 would be focused on mitigating or resolving
conflict in Ethiopia or helping people there, both from the
State Department and the USAID perspective?
Ms. Phee. I do not have those numbers, but I am focused on
getting them in a position where they will be available. I will
come back to you on that.
Senator Kaine. That would be great.
Then from the USAID perspective, talk a little bit about
what we are doing to ameliorate the suffering on the ground
today.
Dr. Putman. Thank you, Senator.
As you know, USAID has put a tremendous amount of money
into humanitarian assistance. We have provided more than $1.2
billion in humanitarian assistance to Ethiopia since the crisis
began, including nearly $590 million from USAID and more than
$26 million from the U.S. Department of State this fiscal year.
We have just made a new announcement that we will be
providing another $488 million in critical humanitarian
assistance that will be both for northern Ethiopia, but
particularly in the areas affected by the ongoing drought,
which is basically unprecedented.
We also have--because of Congress' willingness to allow us
to use notwithstanding authority, we have been able to continue
a large amount of our development assistance to Ethiopia, but
we are not providing assistance through the government. We
stopped all of that assistance when the conflict began.
We are able to continue doing life-saving work in food
security, in health, COVID response, those sorts of activities,
and we have been able to maintain that as well as a focus on
educating children.
Senator Kaine. Thank you. I yield back, Mr. Chair.
Senator Van Hollen. Thank you, Senator Kaine, and thank you
for raising that.
I do want to pick up a little bit on the Ethiopia
situation.
Ambassador Phee, I want to thank you for your personal
efforts. I know how much time and effort you have put into
trying to bring the parties together to seek a political
solution.
As I understand the current state of play, you have got the
government that appointed their negotiating team. You have the
TPLF that appointed negotiators as well.
There is a dispute as to who should be--what should be the
forum for these negotiations with the TPLF wanting the Kenyan
President Kenyatta to mediate and Ethiopia asking that the
mediator be the African Union.
Number one, is that an accurate description of this current
state of play and what are we doing to resolve it? It seems to
be something we should be able to help them overcome if they
are both interested in getting to the negotiations.
Ms. Phee. Thank you.
First, I would observe that, generally speaking, Kenya and
Ethiopia have positive relations, including Prime Minister Abiy
and President Kenyatta.
I do not think--I think it would have been very possible to
work out an arrangement where Kenya hosted these first public
talks.
As you are aware, I am sure, because we are all excited
about it, the presidential election in Kenya is on August 9 and
it is our expectation that a natural focus on that event may be
affecting the scheduling of these talks.
Fortunately, our new envoy for the Horn, Ambassador Mike
Hammer, will be in Ethiopia this week and he will be having
discussions with the parties to see what we can do to move
forward on those talks.
That is the current state of play.
Senator Van Hollen. Thank you, and thank you for mentioning
AGOA.
As you know, in other conversations I have raised my
concern that the freezing of AGOA impacts the people throughout
Ethiopia. It does not specifically punish the government. It
hurts farmers no matter where they live and other
entrepreneurs.
I am glad that you are taking a look at that and making a
determination about whether or not that freeze can be lifted
and, as I understand it, you have the authority--you, the
President, the Secretary, have that authority once you make
such a determination.
Is that right?
Ms. Phee. I think USTR would say they have a primary voice
in this discussion.
The interagency is looking closely at that and I know
members of Congress are interested as well. We will try and
find a way forward that meets, I think, the interests and
concerns of all parties involved.
The points I outlined to Senator Kaine are, as you know,
components of the AGOA criteria that we are measuring. Thank
you.
Senator Van Hollen. Yes. Thank you.
Dr. Putman, let me turn to the request for the Digital
Africa program.
This committee has been--is, I think, more familiar with
Power Africa and Prosper Africa. This is a new request.
Could you speak a little bit to how USAID plans to invest
the $20 million that you are requesting for Digital Africa?
Dr. Putman. Yes. We are very excited about working in the
digital domain.
There are three components, and one is to expand affordable
and inclusive digital connectivity, the second is to build
digital resilience, and the third is to grow human capital
through digital approaches.
When my staff gave me that I said, what on earth are you
talking about? Because when I look at this, I see it as,
essentially, saying we are talking about building the
infrastructure, getting the internet and all the infrastructure
that is needed onto the continent and expanding that and access
to it.
Secondly, really thinking about the enabling environment
and hoping to build an enabling environment that will allow, we
hope, more of a democratic approach to the internet than we are
seeing in some of the authoritarian regimes, which are trying
to move into this space.
Then, lastly, training and getting particularly young
people who, as you so rightly stated, are over 60 percent of
the continent's population, giving them access to the skills
needed to work in the digital space.
It is infrastructure, enabling environment, and people.
Senator Van Hollen. My time is about to expire here. I may
pick up on in the next conversation because, again, I support
this initiative. Twenty million dollars is not a lot of money
when you are talking about connectivity for the African
continent, and when you compare it to the investments that some
of our competitors and adversaries are making in the digital
space in Africa, this is a small amount.
Again, I appreciate the request. I just think it will
require a longer conversation about what we really hope to
achieve in this space and whether you can also be helped by
other parts of the U.S. Government like the DFC, but let me
turn it over to Senator Rounds.
Senator Rounds. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I think that
both you and Senator Kaine have touched on the issues in
Ethiopia and I would like to follow up just a little bit with
Secretary Phee.
The Administration officials have described the U.S.-Africa
relationship as an enduring partnership and Secretary Blinken
has asserted that it is time to start treating Africa as the
major geopolitical player it has become, but the U.S.
Government has cut off Ethiopia from AGOA, recognizing we have
guidelines and so forth. Prime Minister Abiy is the duly
elected leader. He won the elections. The Tigrayans, who had
been in power, were ousted--Tigrayans in the northern part of
the country. Now we find a civil war and there have been
atrocities committed.
Rather than setting back and looking at the duly elected
government of Ethiopia as being just exactly that, we seem to
now set aside that recognition in this particular case, whereas
in Ukraine, where we have a duly elected leader and we support
that duly elected leader, we seem to play a different game in
Africa with another duly elected leader.
Is there a difference in policy here that we should
consider and perhaps reflect on?
Ms. Phee. Senator, we have been engaged with Prime Minister
Abiy.
You will recall that President Biden spoke with him in
January to encourage the cessation of the bombing campaign in
Tigray and a move towards resolution of the internal conflict.
I had the privilege of traveling to Ethiopia in January and
meeting with the Prime Minister. Our previous Special Envoys--
Jeffrey Feltman, David Satterfield, now Mike Hammer--have the
opportunity to meet with him.
Our Charge d'affaires, Ambassador Tracey Jacobson, meets
with him and members of his government and we are working to
support efforts in Ethiopia to address the unrest that is not
only in northern Ethiopia, but also affects, as you know, the
Amhara and the folks in the Oromo region, and as Dr. Putman
talked about, the drought.
Administrator Samantha Power was just in the Horn of Africa
and announced I think it is a billion dollars in aid for the
countries in the Horn including Ethiopia that are suffering
from drought.
I think it is fair to say that we are seriously engaged
with the government and with other parties in Ethiopia to help
them get back on their feet.
When I spoke with Prime Minister Abiy, I told him that I
did not want to be the Assistant Secretary of State for African
Affairs while there was a broken Ethiopia and a broken U.S.-
Ethiopia relationship.
All of our efforts are designed to help ameliorate the
suffering that has--the people of Ethiopia have endured to
promote stability and to put them back on their feet.
I would say I think we are legitimately and seriously
engaged.
Senator Rounds. I am pleased to hear that you are making
progress. I think Prime Minister Abiy, being the duly elected
prime minister, deserves our attention and our support and
hopefully we will be able to help them resolve the challenges
that they face.
On another issue--and this is for both you and for Dr.
Putman--this budget reduces funding for water and sanitation
programs by nearly 40 percent from the Fiscal Year 2021 Budget
although diarrheal disease, cholera, and other waterborne
diseases remain threats in the region.
At the same time, the fiscal year 2023 request proposes a
$174 million increase for climate change initiatives focused on
clean energy and sustainable landscapes.
It would appear to me like the Biden administration is
prioritizing its climate change agenda over global health
programs.
Have Africans asked us to reprioritize our foreign
assistance away from health programs and towards combating
climate change?
Dr. Putman. Senator, I am not familiar with all the details
of the changes in funding.
I know that sometimes our requests are based on making
tradeoffs between where the Administration has new priorities
and where we have seen interest on the part of others,
including your committees.
I think we are trying to determine how best to balance
everyone's different priorities in this arena.
Senator Rounds. This particular one kind of stands out
because this is one area in which, I think, our aid to these
areas within Africa has been appreciated and very clearly
accepted while at the same time it appears that the change--the
dramatic change in the funding--and we know we have got limited
funding in Africa right now.
I would just ask you to go back in and look and see if,
perhaps, this particular challenge might be one that we could
take a second look at.
Dr. Putman. Yes. I just want to mention very briefly that
we do look at--one of the issues in Africa is the increased
droughts and so partly we are trying to look at how do we
address that through our data adaptation programming, which
would allow us to then better respond to some of the health
needs as well as the economic needs.
Senator Rounds. I understand that there is a long-term
desire to address climate change and the focus within the
Administration, but it would seem to me that judgment would
suggest that if we really want to help these folks in Africa in
the near term that we not do it at the expense of taking care
of those programs, which have been appreciated and accepted by
them, including for water and sanitation programs.
It seems to me that that is kind of a tough place to have
the reduction at, but I would appreciate having that discussion
continued on, okay?
Ms. Phee. Senator, I will defer to USAID to look at the
WASH numbers, and you are absolutely right, I think we have all
experienced the positive impact that WASH investment has had
for our African partners and friends.
To your direct question as to whether we have been asked
for climate change support, I can tell you we have.
Most recently, in mid-May I joined Secretary Blinken in New
York where, you may recall, we hosted several meetings on the
food security crisis and we invited African ministers to come
and speak with us in a separate group in that day of sort of a
big focus on this issue and I will tell you, they said to us--
and I do not think that we were expecting this--they said,
first of all, thank you very much.
As Americans, you always show up and help us in crisis. We
really appreciate it, but what we are really concerned is about
having sufficiency and resiliency as we go forward in the
medium term and the long term, and we are quite concerned in
particular about the impact of climate change on our
agricultural production.
Senator Rounds. I do not mean to be argumentative--and my
time has expired, but I would just make it a point I think if
you said we are going to reduce the amount that we are going to
provide you for water and sanitation programs and we will put
it into climate change, I think you might have had a different
response.
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My time has more than
expired.
Senator Van Hollen. Sure. Sure. Not a problem.
Look, I want to pick up on that because I did want to
address the issue of food security and especially in the Horn
of Africa, where it is most acute.
We have had a number of hearings. I think we know, we need
to make sure the world knows, that a lot of people's immediate
food insecurity on the African continent and in the Middle East
and elsewhere is a direct result of Putin's war in Ukraine and
the fact that he has tied up over 20 million tons of grain in
the port of Odessa, but we also know that, especially in the
Horn of Africa, we have seen a long drought and ongoing food
insecurity.
While we address the immediate challenges that have been
brought on by Putin's war we also want to focus on the long-
term issue, and I imagine some of that climate change money can
go to address some of those mitigation pieces. I do think it is
important to get the details.
Can you both speak to our long-term strategy as opposed to
our sort of immediate relief efforts when it comes to food
insecurity?
Because obviously in the moment we provide, through the
World Food Programme and other programs direct food assistance,
but the ultimate goal is to increase agricultural production in
these countries and obviously continuing droughts make that
harder, but there are new agricultural techniques that can
help.
Can, maybe, you both speak to our efforts in that area?
Dr. Putman. Senator, I welcome the question.
My father is actually an agriculturalist and we started in
Africa in 1965 and so I have seen tremendous changes.
First of all, we are seeing an expansion of the numbers of
Feed the Future countries. The new countries will all be in
Africa. That is very important, but a former Ethiopian minister
of agriculture many years ago started talking about the
importance of looking at climate change actually on the
continent and saying that to the African researchers themselves
we have to start looking at alternative crops for when we see
different countries' climates warming up and starting to
develop the new technologies including drought-resistant seeds,
figuring out new micro irrigation schemes, better ways to feed
livestock.
All these new techniques, as well as the ability to trade
seeds and technologies across countries.
While we are seeing that adoption, it is not going to scale
fast enough and so the resources that we are getting and we are
requesting for agriculture are really intended to scale that up
in a whole range of countries.
The other area to look at--again, my dad, not just an
agriculturist, but actually a livestock man--I did my work--all
my work in my graduate days with pastoralists in Africa--is
looking at those places where pastoralism will be able to
continue and thinking about providing alternatives to those
pastoralists that are interested in looking at new forms of
livelihoods.
We are very much committed to and focused on increasing
agricultural production in Africa across a wide range of
countries.
Senator Van Hollen. Thank you for that.
Let me--well, we talked about food insecurity. I want to
briefly ask you for an update on our effort to fight COVID.
Obviously, part of this budget includes our efforts to work
with our African partners to address a whole range of diseases
on the continent and it is really important we not forget about
them, neglect those, as we move forward.
If you could give us a brief update on our efforts with
respect to fighting COVID on the African continent. My
understanding is at this point there is plenty of supply of
vaccines, but the issue is the distribution and getting
vaccines into people's arms and that is part of building out a
health network in these countries--a public health
infrastructure.
Could you just speak to where we are on that?
Dr. Putman. Absolutely. We are totally committed to getting
shots into arms and the Global VAX effort is aimed explicitly
at that, at trying to work with countries to speed up getting
those shots into arms--using existing health systems, but
getting the vaccines out to those people who are willing to be
vaccinated.
People talk about vaccine hesitancy and often we have
discovered when we really looked into it that it is less the
hesitancy, but people not having the ability to get to the
locales where the vaccines are available or the community
health workers not having the additional incentives to take on
this challenge.
We are working on that in a range of countries.
Senator Van Hollen. I appreciate that.
I mean, I think this is a global effort to address the
pandemic and make sure that we save lives, especially in those
countries where there may not be access to the antivirals and
therapeutics we have here, but it is also, of course, directly
in our interest because we have witnessed that, I believe, most
of the variations that have developed to date arose in Africa--
in African countries.
I think it is important that the American people and the
American taxpayer recognize that, yes, we want to provide
public health resources as a country that has been focused on
health, but it is also in our direct interest to do so.
Senator Rounds.
Senator Rounds. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I just want to touch base a little bit on what Chairman Van
Hollen has talked about here with regard to the food shortages
that have been caused by the war in Ukraine, and the Russia-
Ukraine war clearly has exacerbated the preexisting food
security crisis in parts of Africa.
I would like you, first of all, to perhaps describe what
you see as the current impact of the Russian invasion of
Ukraine and the limitation on their ability to bring out the
grain that, really, a huge amount of Africa depends on.
I want to do it in this light. Right now, Africans have
been receptive or, I should say, I hope they have been
receptive to our point of view on Russia's role in not only
increasing the insecurity with regard to food, but also what is
going on with the Wagner Group right now and the fact that they
are there right now in a real malign way.
How do we go about addressing and sharing with our friends
in Africa: number one, Mr. Putin is causing a food shortage
that they will see now this year; but second of all, there is a
malign influence, not just from Russia, but from China as well,
but specifically with the Wagner Group, and how do we go about
addressing that as a part of this discussion about where the
problems are coming from?
Ms. Phee. Thank you for raising that question. That is an
area where we are putting a lot of intensive focus, given
current events.
Very simply, the Russians are trying to weaponize food and
we are, through your generosity and the generosity of the
American people, are responding in a different way.
We are trying to help solve the problems with this
supplemental. That is a really powerful message. Administrator
Power's trip this past week begins to share that message
publicly. I expect travel in the next 2 weeks of other senior
officials to get that message out on the continent.
We also took on the canard that our sanctions were
disrupting the movement of trade and we have looked
specifically at the challenge of the suspension of the SWIFT
system and are working now to respond to any African company or
government that is having trouble. We have essentially
established a help desk if there really is a problem because of
the SWIFT suspension. We can help find a workaround.
Two weeks ago, the AU held a summit in Zambia. My principal
deputy, Ervin Massinga, attended for us and had the opportunity
to speak both with the AU Commission as well as many African
foreign ministers who were attending, and he had serious
discussions with them about Wagner, about Prigozhin.
He found that many of them are very aware and share our
concerns, and we intend to continue those consultations to make
sure that our African partners have the information that we
have.
Thirdly, we are working to do better in the--to countering
Russian disinformation and misinformation and get our message
out. Those are some of the ways in which we are trying to
respond to the challenge.
Senator Rounds. Thank you.
Dr. Putman, would you like to add anything to that?
Dr. Putman. Yes. I would like to mention just that, as
Ambassador Phee said, I think we do not always get our messages
out to everyone in a country and so frequently the technical
ministries, for instance, in Africa know exactly what we are
doing in the health or the education or the food security
sectors, but the senior leaders in countries are not always
aware of the full breadth and depth of American assistance.
I think we are making new plans to try to ensure that
knowledge is there at the top echelons and also expanding our
public messaging campaigns out to people in local communities,
again, so they recognize how much of the assistance they are
receiving is the generosity of American taxpayers.
Senator Rounds. Thank you.
Dr. Phee, what is the Digital Africa Initiative?
Ms. Phee. We have a lot of programs that try to get at
infrastructure. For example, we are concerned about
agriculture. If African countries do not have roads or
railroads or ports to move goods in and out, they are not going
to be successful.
I think we are looking at digital as the same type of
modern infrastructure that will help move ideas and markets.
That is why there is a focus on that.
I think you are right to be concerned about the modest
amount for the initial foray, but that will only be one
component of the U.S. Government effort. You know we have the
great tools of DFC, of MCC, and Prosper, and those tools also
look to see where they could contribute to build out the
digital infrastructure.
We should also be working more with the American private
sector and that is underway. I heard the skepticism in your
voice. I share that skepticism, but I think there is more we
can do and we can mobilize all the tools at our disposal.
Thank you.
Senator Rounds. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Van Hollen. Thank you. Thank you, Senator Rounds.
Look, I think this is a frustration we all share and I want
to sort of get at it a somewhat different way.
Ambassador Phee, there is polling data that was released in
June of this year from a prominent think tank in South Africa
that found that among African youths, 77 percent said that
China was the most influential ``foreign actor on the
continent.'' The United States was at 67 percent.
My first question is does that surprise you and, if not, if
you agree that that is likely accurate, what do you think the
reasons are?
Ms. Phee. Like many big problems, there are probably many
contributing factors. I think it is fair to say, perhaps, we
have not been in recent years as active on the continent as
many of us would like us to be.
I know that China has been extremely active in publicly
visible infrastructure projects. That could possibly account
for different views there.
I remain convinced that we remain the best partner for
Africans. We offer the best model, the best opportunities. We
are the best friends, as we have discussed today, for example,
with the COVID and food security responses.
That is not a great statistic, but I am confident that we
can address the gap that was reflected in that poll and, as I
said, you will see very shortly increased senior level
engagement on the continent. We will conclude this year with
the Leaders Summit.
These are the types of engagement activities that can help
turn that perception around.
Senator Van Hollen. I want to applaud you on the Leaders
Summit. I think that is a way to demonstrate that the United
States cares, is involved, and very focused on the continent,
but I agree with your assessment, which is that part of this
has to do with just our--first of all, our presence on the
ground and this is both governmental, private sector, and
investment, and I agree and want to work with my colleague, the
ranking member, on the staffing issue just in terms of the
people power that we have in our embassies and consulates.
I also think it reflects our priorities with respect to a
lot of our own public investment, and I remember decades ago we
made a lot of investments through USAID in dams, in schools,
and libraries, in things that were much more visible and,
certainly, as you said, Dr. Putman, more on the minds of the
government leaders who are trying to deliver services directly
to people.
We moved away from that, and this--I am not criticizing our
focus on health care and education and food security, but it is
more dispersed.
I am not arguing that we should displace any of that, but I
do think we have to come up with the resources to add in this
other dimension of investment in infrastructure because I
remember years ago landing in Uganda.
The road I drove in from was all just made by China, and I
think African countries are recognizing the problems that come
with that in terms of debt traps and all the conditions that
apply, and our assistance has been much more open.
I mean, we do not attach conditions to health care support
or education or any of these other things, but I think in terms
of the public mind some of those infrastructure projects that
we used to do decades ago did get a lot of attention in those
countries and I think it is something that we need to look at
more closely.
We had a hearing in the full committee this morning on
economic statecraft, and I was actually surprised that none of
the administration witnesses, at least in their opening
statements--I do not think in questions--raised what I
understand is the Biden administration's new big initiative in
the area of infrastructure coming out of the G-7, which is the
Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment.
I really hope that this is more than just an announcement
by these countries, but that we quickly put some meat on the
bone. I mean, we are talking $600 billion over 5 years.
I think I am expressing all of our frustration in those
numbers that we see reflected in public polls with respect to
our relative influence and we want to turn it around for a
variety of reasons.
Maybe you could just speak, Ambassador Phee, to your
understanding of how this new partnership for global
infrastructure and investment would apply in Africa and our
investment opportunities and challenges in Africa.
Ms. Phee. Sure. We are all very excited about PGII and I
believe our African partners are as well. I think the three
areas of initial focus, as I understand it, will be critical
minerals, ports, and railroads. It would get to, I think, what
you are referring to, Senator.
On a different program, I want to tell you that there is a
Nigerien delegation in town this week to talk to the MCC--
Millennial Challenge Corporation--about an innovative regional
program with Benin to build infrastructure between Niamey and
Cotonou so to allow movements from the port up into the desert.
We are continuing using these different tools and this new
tool, PGII, to get at the very point that you raised.
Senator Rounds. Just one serious one here, and it kind of
follows up on what the chairman has started talking about here.
The United States worked with China to establish Africa
CDC. Unfortunately, as part of its Belt and Road Initiative,
China is now building the headquarters where Africa CDC will be
located.
We know from China's construction of the Africa Union's
headquarters in Addis that the PRC bugged it, used it to spy
and otherwise exert influence over the AU's agenda.
What will be the effect of China's construction of Africa
CDC headquarters on our influence in the future and should the
United States Government consider backing large-scale strategic
infrastructure projects like constructing the Africa CDC
headquarters in the future, and is this something that we
should really take a hard look at and are these types of
projects, literally, putting us--can they put us back in front
of the populations within Africa similar to what China is
trying to do today?
Clearly, we would be a better partner. The question is, is
this an area where our resources would be appropriately used,
and I think that is a lot of what the chairman is asking as
well. Is that the direction we should be considering in the
future?
Ms. Phee. I think in the health sector my assessment would
be, starting particularly with the PEPFAR program, we have
really helped African health systems develop in a way that is
enormously significant.
It is essentially the backbone that helped Africa respond
to the COVID pandemic. Through our efforts in the past year, we
have, for the first time on the continent, manufacturing
facilities for vaccines, which, incredibly, did not exist
before.
Now in Kenya, South Africa, and Senegal, there are efforts
underway to develop that kind of manufacturing capability.
We have seen South African scientists, who are the
beneficiaries of partnerships with American scientists, help
identify the new strains that the chairman referred to.
It is, of course, of concern. You are right to raise the
concern, but if you compare a building to the decades of our
investment and our engagement and, in fact, it was our
initiative to help develop an Africa CDC, which the AU
Commission has played such an important role in responding to
the COVID pandemic, I think the fundamentals in this sector are
positive.
The idea of infrastructure does remain potent and powerful
to people, as you both have identified, and I certainly think
it is something we could review what type of infrastructure
would be most beneficial to advancing our interests.
Thank you.
Senator Rounds. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Van Hollen. Thank you, Senator.
Just on that last point, Ambassador Phee, I want to be
really clear. I am not talking about displacing the really
important long-term investment we have made in public health as
well as food security and education.
I think those are essentials and I think that the people at
the grassroots level in these countries, over time, recognize
that we have been there to help.
I do think that we need to up our game significantly when
it comes to infrastructure investment and that is why I want
to--I applaud the $20 million request for Digital Africa. I do
not want to diminish it.
We have got to make sure we have a multiplier effect, you,
USAID, working with DFC and others, because when you are
talking about competing with--and I know you are not in this,
you are competing with the big infrastructure investments of
China in the area. Huawei has got a lot of Africa wired.
We just need to, in my view, rethink our whole approach to
public infrastructure and work with our private sector partners
which I think bring great benefits to making sure that projects
are actually carried out in an efficient way and to the long-
term benefit of people in Africa.
I know you all share some of the frustrations that we do
and I am just grateful for all that you have done.
I do want to close by emphasizing the point that Senator
Rounds made regarding our personnel on the ground.
First of all, please, both of you, thank everybody who is
at the State Department and USAID for all their work on behalf
of our country. It does make a huge difference.
We are here today to try to outline areas where we can do
even better by working together, so please thank everybody.
Then I do agree with Senator Rounds about the urgent need
to increase our presence--our diplomatic presence in Africa,
and so I look forward to working with you and with him and
others on ways that we can do that.
Part of that is the overall resourcing of the State
Department. You are right, that hiring freeze that was put in
place, goodness, probably about 4 or 5 years ago now did have
long-term harmful impacts. No doubt about it. We have to regain
lost ground.
We want to work with you to do that and to build on it
because my view is even the pre-freeze presence in staffing was
not sufficient to meet our goals around the country--around the
world.
Thank you. I look forward to working with Senator Rounds on
that effort and with all of you, and unless you have any other
questions?
Senator Rounds. Mr. Chairman, no, I do not. I just want to
say thank you for the opportunity again today and thank you to
our witnesses today.
This is an opportunity that I think you can find bipartisan
support, moving forward, in terms of improving our standing in
Africa with a number of the different nations.
This is an important area of the world that clearly wants
to be our friends and they clearly want our attention, and most
certainly it is an area that can be very beneficial to the
citizens of the United States as we develop those friendships,
those relationships--those business relationships.
We just thank both of you for your service in this
endeavor.
Senator Van Hollen. There--of course, as you both well
know, there are large parts of the African continent we did not
get to today.
We did have a separate hearing on the Sahel recently and
thank all of you for your input on that, and we have a lot more
conversations and area to cover, going forward.
Again, I do think for today we have covered a lot of
territory, thanks to the two of you.
I am going to hold the record open for the subcommittee
until close of business, Thursday.
Thank you both very much for your service to our country.
The meeting is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 3:34 p.m., the hearing was adjourned.]
----------
Additional Material Submitted for the Record
Responses of Ms. Mary Catherine Phee to Questions
Submitted by Senator Chris Van Hollen
Question. AGOA: The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) has
been a cornerstone of U.S. trade policy toward sub-Saharan Africa since
2000 by providing duty-free access to the U.S. market for most exports
from eligible African countries. AGOA's current authorization expires
in September 2025. Total bilateral trade between the United States and
Africa has been hovering around an average of $60 billion for the past
10 years--down substantially from the 2008 peak of $141 billion.
Why has U.S.-Africa bilateral trade been frozen at these same
levels, despite our multiple programs of support and trade preferences,
like AGOA and Prosper Africa?
Answer. The peak years of U.S. imports from sub-Saharan Africa were
dominated by petroleum imports. Non-petroleum imports from the region
have seen a limited increase over the course of the AGOA program, but
have not kept up with overall increases in U.S. worldwide imports.
There are a number of factors at play, including the recent economic
downturn related to the COVID-19 epidemic, a lack of investment in
value-added manufacturing, and a lack of capacity to comply with U.S.
import requirements.
Targeted U.S. assistance in specific areas has produced positive
results. Apparel manufacturing is one example that has been a boon for
exports and employment for several AGOA partners. We continue to work
with our interagency partners to identify additional strategic
opportunities to improve AGOA utilization and overall economic growth.
Question. As we approach the expiration of AGOA's current
authorization, what improvements and reforms should we be considering
to encourage more investment, help small and women-owned businesses,
and assist countries to make better use of the program?
Answer. Our goal is to support responsible and sustainable trade
and investment that secures good livelihoods for both Africans and
Americans. Supporting small and women-owned businesses are important
parts of achieving this goal. We are working with our interagency
partners under the Prosper Africa initiative to increase our focus on
small and women-owned enterprises to include linkages to the African
Diaspora here in the United States. USAID's Africa Trade and Investment
Program is working to support these efforts and boost utilization of
the AGOA program.
The future of AGOA is a focus of our African partners and I look
forward to supporting USTR in any consultations with Congress on this
important issue. The AGOA-eligible countries are focused on: 1)
addressing the challenges facing AGOA's utilization and trade capacity
building efforts; and 2) securing trade and investment relations beyond
2025, including increasing the number of eligible countries and
products. The U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in December will be an
excellent opportunity to discuss the future of AGOA, as it will include
an AGOA Ministerial meeting led by USTR.
Question. In March, I teamed up with Senators Risch and Rounds to
introduce the Somaliland Partnership Act, which encourages the State
Department to enhance our cooperation and engagement with Somaliland.
We were glad to advance that legislation out of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee recently and look forward to moving it on the floor
as well. I also saw that in May, General Stephen Townsend, Commander of
U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), and U.S. Ambassador Larry Andre visited
Somaliland to meet with President Bihi and members of his cabinet and
tour the Port of Berbera and Berbera International Airport.
How would you characterize the contours of our current engagement
with Somaliland and what opportunities do you see to enhance our
cooperation in an effort to support broader regional stability?
Answer. The United States recognizes the sovereignty and
territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Somalia within its
1960 borders, which includes Somaliland. Within that framework, the
Administration engages with Somaliland as we do with other regions of
Somalia on political, development, humanitarian, and security issues of
mutual interest. We have expressed an interest in strengthening
cooperation on border security and terrorist watchlisting and are open
to expanded cooperation in other areas of interest to Somaliland.
AFRICOM has visited Berbera to assess its ability to support the U.S.
military pursuant to U.S. national security priorities.
While the Federal Government of Somalia supports U.S. engagement
with Somaliland within our single Somalia policy, the disagreement over
Somaliland's status is a politically sensitive issue within Somalia and
the region. U.S. legislative proposals, like the Somaliland Partnership
Act, that encourage the United States to explore a partnership with
Somaliland that could circumvent or undermine Somalia's sovereignty and
territorial integrity are strongly opposed by Mogadishu and could
jeopardize our relationship with the Federal Government of Somalia,
including its support for our current efforts in Somaliland.
Question. Do you support the application of Leahy vetting to
Section 127(e) security assistance to ensure that the United States is
not supporting foreign forces that have committed gross violations of
human rights?
Answer. Leahy vetting is an important tool for ensuring that U.S.
security assistance managed by the State Department is not provided to
any foreign security force unit or member that is credibly implicated
in the commission of a gross violation of human rights. For questions
about 10 U.S.C. 127(e) authority, I respectfully defer to the
Department of Defense.
Question. I'm concerned that the budget request calls for a sharp
decrease in environmental activities in Africa like conservation and
countering wildlife trafficking. I led, with 28 other Senators, a
letter this year to the State and Foreign Operations Appropriations
Subcommittee pushing for strong support to biodiversity programs and
countering wildlife trafficking programs. The destruction of tropical
forests and commercial trade in wildlife are major drivers of the
spillover of zoonotic diseases, such as COVID-19, and threaten to spark
future pandemics.
How would USAID support wildlife conservation and counter wildlife
trafficking efforts under this budget?
Answer. USAID is committed to robust biodiversity programming,
including responsive action to address wildlife trafficking. USAID
supports wildlife conservation and works to counter wildlife
trafficking through partnerships that focus on protecting threatened
species and biodiverse ecosystems, supporting protected and community
conserved areas, and reducing conservation crime. Our programs
contribute to Agency objectives related to climate, water, food
security, governance, conflict, inclusive development, and private
sector engagement. USAID programs also work to reduce deforestation,
forest degradation, and wildlife trade and consumption in order to
mitigate the risk of zoonotic disease spillover, making conservation
important for public health, economic resilience, and U.S. national
security.
We appreciate and share Congress' interest in conserving wildlife
and ecosystems in Africa. The FY 2023 request for biodiversity funds
balances this interest with the need to meet numerous priorities across
all areas of engagement. To maximize the impact of Agency resources,
USAID requests biodiversity funds for missions with the greatest need
and ability to combat wildlife trafficking.
Where appropriate, USAID extends the reach, impact, and
sustainability of biodiversity investments by designing programs that
receive multiple funding streams to address shared challenges,
including the root causes of biodiversity loss. We also leverage
private sector funding and market influence for greater impact, and
work with communities and civil society organizations to efficiently
engage and benefit people who rely on nature the most. The FY 2023
request for biodiversity funding in Africa reflects an expectation that
integration, private sector engagement, and localization will make each
dollar go further.
______
Responses of Ms. Mary Catherine Phee to Questions
Submitted by Senator Tim Kaine
Question. How much, and what type of assistance was affected by
that freeze?
Answer. In May 2021, the State Department assessed that the
restrictions in sections 116(a) and 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act
of 1961 (FAA) apply because the Government of Ethiopia (GOE) was
engaged in a consistent pattern of gross violations of internationally
recognized human rights. These restrictions cover all security
assistance for the country, defined to include Economic Support Funds,
and most assistance for the government.
As a result of these restrictions, we have paused State's
International Military Education & Training (IMET) and Peace Keeping
Operations (PKO) training programs. Ethiopia is also ineligible for
Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) funds and the armed forces,
police, intelligence, or other internal security forces of Ethiopia are
prohibited (under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations--ITAR)
from receiving military assistance or defense articles commercially.
While some USAID assistance was paused in the last Administration,
the vast majority of USAID programming continues or was resumed at the
beginning of the current Administration. Most USAID programs are in the
areas of humanitarian assistance, health, food security and education.
USAID programs that are still paused include economic growth activities
and support to most government institutions in certain areas such as
democracy and governance.
Question. Of the affected assistance, what activities, if any, have
since resumed? Can you speak to how the U.S. is continuing to support
the Ethiopian people directly?
Answer. Ethiopia remains subject to assistance restrictions under
sections 116(a) and 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA)
due to its engagement in a consistent pattern of gross violations of
internationally recognized human rights. USAID continues to aid the
people of Ethiopia where there is an available authority to provide the
assistance. The majority of USAID programs are in the areas of
humanitarian assistance, health, food security and education and are
all ongoing. Recently, USAID expanded education activities country-wide
and approved some support to government institutions in climate and
environment activities in light of the current drought.
Question. How much assistance requested for FY 2023 would be
focused on mitigating or resolving conflict in Ethiopia?
Answer. Resolving the conflict in Ethiopia is a top diplomatic
priority. In terms of what we can expect in assistance in FY 2023, the
bulk of our programming and financial assistance will go directly
toward ``basic human needs,'' which includes direct humanitarian aid,
sanitation and medical supplies, and other healthcare necessities. We
also plan to support transitional justice and national dialogue
organizations, though the exact funding will depend on how viable these
processes prove to be as the year goes on.
Question. Please provide funding data broken out by funding account
(ESF, DA, INCLE, etc).
Answer. It is difficult to give exact funding numbers across USG
programming given the time and geographic scope of some programs. Where
possible, the U.S. Government has resorted to notwithstanding
authorities to retain key programs, such as those related to basic
human needs, to mitigating and resolving conflict in Ethiopia, or to
U.S. national security.
To give one example, State's Bureau of International Narcotics and
Law Enforcement recently obligated $3 million in FY21 INCLE funding for
Ethiopia, focused on atrocity prevention and accountability in the rule
of law. Some USAID programs, which had been previously paused, have
also been deemed to satisfy the basic human needs criteria. State will
also continue to provide support via its PISCES border management
system.
The interagency has agreed to consult on any new programming if
there is any doubt on whether it is subject to the assistance pause.
Question. How is the Department engaging with the government and
international partners to prevent this violence, to investigate all
credible allegations of these killings, and to hold perpetrators
accountable?
Answer. The Department regularly engages at all levels with the
Ethiopian Government, both in Addis Ababa and here in Washington. Where
the security situation allows, our diplomats in Addis Ababa have made a
point of visiting sites in Amhara and Oromia to meet with local
populations, civic leaders, government officials, and others. Within
the UN Human Rights Council, the United States co-sponsored a
resolution mandating the International Commission of Human Rights
Experts on Ethiopia to investigate allegations of violations and abuses
in Ethiopia committed since November 2020 by all parties to the
conflict.
Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice Beth Van Schaack
traveled to Ethiopia August 8-9 to reinforce this message. Ambassador
Van Schaack and Charge d'Affaires Ambassador Jacobson met with the
deputy prime minister/minister of foreign affairs, minister of justice,
federal Supreme Court president, National Dialogue commissioners, and
civil society. They stressed the importance of including the voices of
the victims and affected communities in transitional justice,
accountability for human rights violations and atrocities in Ethiopia,
and offered U.S. assistance in pursuit of these efforts.
Question. How is the Department working with the government and
other international partners to ensure that Tigrayans receive the
humanitarian aid that they need?
Answer. The Department and USAID engage regularly with the
Ethiopian Government as well as international partners in Washington
and in Addis Ababa to coordinate and advocate for significant,
sustained, unconditional, and unhindered humanitarian assistance to all
Ethiopians in need. Our embassy works closely with UN humanitarian
agencies to assess and fill humanitarian assistance gaps.
We also partner with other stakeholders. The embassy regularly
convenes groups of like-minded diplomats to share assessments of the
developing situation, coordinate messaging, and encourage increased
humanitarian support. Similarly, the Department periodically hosts
high-level ``Contact Group'' meetings for representatives of other
concerned nations. Additionally, the Department and USAID conduct joint
high-level visits to the conflict-affected areas to advocate for
greater access and the unhindered movement of cash and fuel, and
restoration of basic services, which are crucial to the humanitarian
response. By keeping partner nations on the same page we ensure that
the international community presents a united front on the need for the
delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance.
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