[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 116 (Tuesday, September 26, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9257-S9258]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR DEMOCRACY

  Mr. LUGAR. Mr. President, I rise to call attention to report language 
in the Senate version of the Commerce, Justice, and State, the 
Judiciary, and related agencies appropriations bill, which directs the 
National Endowment for Democracy (NED) to spend 20 percent of its 
budget on ``nation-building'' activities in four war-stricken areas. 
The language appears in the committee report. Although the language is 
not mandatory, it sends a strong message that compliance by NED is 
expected. I believe that the language should be deleted.
  I would like to commend the work of the chairman and ranking member 
of the CJS Appropriations subcommittee, Senator Gregg and Senator 
Hollings, for providing the NED with the resources to conduct its vital 
work. NED and its four core institutes do an exceptional job in 
assisting grassroots democrats in more than 80 countries around the 
world. NED has a strong track record, developed through involvement in 
virtually every critical struggle for democracy over the past fifteen 
years. NED supported the democratic movements that helped bring about 
peaceful transitions to democracy in Poland, the Czech Republic, Chile, 
and South Africa. NED is also playing an important role in supporting 
some of the newer democracies, such as Indonesia, Nigeria, Croatia, and 
Mexico.
  I am very familiar with the work of NED and its institutes because I 
serve on NED's Board of Directors. I serve on the Board along with two 
other Senators and two Members of the House representing both political 
parties. We

[[Page S9258]]

are all concerned about the implications of the committee's report 
language on the operations and mission of the Endowment.
  In its report, the committee recommends that NED spend 20 percent of 
its entire budget to reconstitute civil governments in four seriously 
troubled areas--Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kosovo, 
and East Timor. I am pleased to report that NED is working in each of 
these areas on long-term democratic development. The Endowment is 
helping non-governmental organizations, whose leaders are facing grave 
danger to their personal safety, as they report on human rights abuses, 
campaign for peace, and provide independent news and information to the 
public.
  We need to keep in mind that NED's mission is not to ``build'' 
nations or governments, but to help promote democracy. It does this 
giving a helping hand to those inside other countries through financial 
and technical assistance to nurture a strong civil society and market 
economy. NED is successful precisely because it targets its assistance 
to grassroots democratic groups.
  I do not support the report language because its implementation would 
undermine NED's mission while forcing NED to withdraw scarce resources 
from other priority countries. It would be a mistake to divert NED's 
modest budget to a handful of crisis situations which are already 
receiving enormous sums of international assistance. It is unlikely 
that the funds suggested in the report language could positively impact 
these war-torn areas, but by consuming 20 percent of NED's budget, the 
language will hamstring NED's ability to perform its work in many other 
critical countries.
  NED is a cost-effective investment that advances our national 
interest and our fundamental values of democracy and freedom. It is 
crucial, therefore, that we address the committee's goals in the report 
language without compromising the ability of NED to carry out its work 
effectively.
  I urge the Senate and House conferees on the Commerce, Justice, and 
State, the Judiciary, and related agencies appropriations bill to 
delete the report language directing the NED to expend funds for 
nation-building activities in four troubled conflicts.

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