[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 141 (Wednesday, October 8, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1998-E1999]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   HELPING ENHANCE THE LIVELIHOOD OF PEOPLE (HELP) AROUND THE GLOBE 
                             COMMISSION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, October 8, 2003

  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, women and children--the most innocent segment 
of our global community--comprise the majority of the poorest people in 
the our world.
  During my time in Congress, I have witnessed much of this suffering 
first hand in many of the world's poorest nations.
  While the names of the suffering and the causes of their pain differ 
from place to place, they all share common experiences of horror and 
human tragedy. Genocide, murder, slavery, famine, HIV/AIDS and 
corruption. Limbless children bearing the scars of endless civil wars. 
Child soldiers forced to fight. Babies so malnourished that they cannot 
even cry out in hunger. Refugee camps crowded by young orphans, robbed 
of their parents and all alone. A continuing cycle of hunger, 
homelessness, poverty and pain.
  America has been blessed with abundance. The Book of Luke in the 
Bible says, ``To whom much is given, much is required.'' When the 
American people--who I believe are the most generous people in the 
world--see suffering, see hunger, see homelessness and poverty and 
pain--they want to help. When they see people who are hurting, they 
want to help. The American people will open their wallets and they will 
support giving their tax dollars to reach out to those in need.
  That generosity has been the guiding principle of foreign assistance 
and humanitarian aid throughout our nation's history. I have no doubt 
whatsoever that generosity will continue.
  That principle also has guided the mission of the dedicated employees 
of the U.S. Agency for International Development, now under the bold 
leadership of Administrator Andrew Natsios, and the dozens of non-
governmental organizations and their volunteers, who reach out daily 
around the globe--from the deserts of Africa to the jungles of Central 
America to the rice fields of the Far East--to bring help to the 
poorest of the poor. I have seen the good work they do.
  There is an expectation, however, that the assistance sent abroad is 
reaching those who truly need the help, that it is having a long-term 
impact on improving lives, and that it is being wisely spent.
  I believe it is time to look at this issue with fresh eyes, assess 
our development and humanitarian assistance programs, both short- and 
long-term, evaluate who is receiving the assistance and how that 
assistance is provided, and determine if changes need to be made 
to allow the generosity of the American people to be felt throughout 
the world.

  That is why I am introducing legislation--``Helping Enhance the 
Livelihood of People (HELP) Around the Globe Commission Act''--with the 
goal to help our Nation do a better job of helping those who need it 
most. My bill will create a 21-member HELP Commission designed to bring 
the best foreign assistance minds together to focus on one primary 
question:
  How can the United States improve its ability to quickly and 
effectively provide foreign assistance which is meeting not only short-
term, immediate needs, but also has the long-term effect of making a 
difference in people's lives?
  I want to be clear in stating my motivation for this commission. From 
my work and travels on humanitarian issues, I have the deepest respect 
for and admiration of the thousands of U.S. aid workers, both 
government employees and non-governmental organizations, who, often at 
personal risk, are reaching out to try and help improve the lives of 
suffering people in every corner of this world. That is why I am also 
asking the commission to look at how we can better secure our aid 
workers.
  I believe this commission can help them do their jobs even better. 
Struggling nations face enormous obstacles to lasting development and 
political stability. It is critical that the international community 
continue to support and encourage struggling countries in their 
greatest hour of need. And we must find ways to improve our ability to 
do so.
  The United States has a vital national interest--and I believe a 
moral obligation--to help poor nations so that they can provide their 
people with freedom, economic opportunity, functioning governments and 
most importantly--healthy and productive lives.
  The HELP Commission also can find answers to other questions, such 
as:
  Do we need a new vision to guide our foreign aid efforts?
  Should we change the ratio between providing immediate humanitarian 
assistance and long-term assistance?
  As those questions are pondered, we must be open enough to admit if 
and how previous policies have failed, and smart enough to expand upon 
our prior successes.
  This panel must absorb the essence of our foreign assistance efforts 
and contemplate every aspect of our development, humanitarian and food 
aid programs, from the moment they are created to the moment the aid 
arrives on the ground.
  The commissioners also must identify the root causes of a country's 
decline, or barriers to another country's accession, and recommend 
long-term strategies for ways our Nation's aid can make the most 
successful impact.
  Over the past 50 years, according to information provided by the 
Congressional Research Service, the United States has given a total of 
$152.5 billion in development assistance and food aid to countries and 
their people all over the world. Reports indicate that many aid 
recipients may be no better off today than they were decades ago.

  I am asking this commission to also answer other questions:
  Can we say with honesty that our efforts have left the majority of 
intended recipients better off?
  While there are many success stories, are there better ways to do the 
job?

[[Page E1999]]

  This commission will look at aid contributed all over the world from 
Central America to the Balkins, from Africa to Asia.
  Take Sudan, for example. The United States gave $1.7 billion in 
development and food aid to Sudan over the last 50 years. Just in the 
last 20 years, more than 2.2 million people in Sudan have died as a 
result of the ongoing civil war there. I have been to Sudan four times 
and have seen the suffering.
  I have also been to Congo where the U.S. has sent $724 million worth 
of development assistance and food aid over the last 50 years, and much 
more when you consider the cost of peacekeepers and even though we have 
tried to help more than 3.3 million innocent people have died in just 
the last 5 years.
  Liberia is another example of a country with a long history of 
internal strife and instability yet they have continued to collect 
massive amounts of outside aid that directly benefitted the corrupt 
government. The United States gave $929 million worth of development 
assistance aid to Liberia. And just look at the suffering taking place 
by the people of Liberia.
  I have traveled to Ethiopia on two occasions, first in 1984 and again 
this past January, and over that span there remains little progress, if 
any, in land reform. Millions of people in Ethiopia are again at risk 
of starvation. This number is growing as millions more are on a ``watch 
list'' and in fear of starvation.
  The high profile media coverage of the troubled relationship between 
Ethiopia and Eritrea have made these nations the faces of famine, but 
the pain is not theirs alone. Across the continent of Africa 30 million 
people are at risk of starvation.
  The United States has given $2.4 billion worth of development and 
food aid to Ethiopia and $233 million to Eritrea over the last 50 
years. Yet there has been little land reform and little long-term 
development.
  Hunger and poverty and lives of misery are not just problems in 
Africa. Look at Haiti. The United States gave Haiti $1.3 billion in 
development and food aid over the last 50 years and is the largest 
bilateral donor but Haiti still struggles with poverty, hunger, 
illiteracy and AIDS.
  Corrupt dictators across the globe have become rich off the 
generosity of the American people. U.S. citizens have the right to 
expect that their assistance is truly helping the poorest of the poor--
women and children around the globe--and not extending the longevity of 
corrupt and murderous regimes.
  President John F. Kennedy, in his inaugural address on January 20, 
1961, spoke of America's mission to help the suffering people of the 
world. He said, ``To those peoples in the huts and villages of half the 
globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best 
efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required--
not because the communists may be doing it, not because we seek their 
votes, but because it is right. If a free society cannot help the many 
who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.''
  While there is no question in my mind that providing development and 
humanitarian assistance is the right thing to do, we also have an 
obligation to make sure that aid is being provided in the right way.
  America has always stepped up to the challenge to help the helpless 
around the globe. The Helping Enhance the Livelihood of People Around 
the Globe Commission will look at which efforts have succeeded and 
which have failed, and why. We must be confident that American tax 
dollars aimed at helping women, children and the poor are being spent 
wisely and efficiently and are truly making a difference in the lives 
of people who, as President Kennedy said, ``are struggling to break the 
bonds of mass misery.''

                          ____________________