[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 147 (Tuesday, October 13, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10372-S10373]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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      SENATE RESOLUTION 311--ENCOURAGING THE UNITED STATES TRADE 
  REPRESENTATIVE TO PURSUE A FREE TRADE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE UNITED 
         STATES AND THE ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS

  Mr. LUGAR (for himself, Mr. Inhofe, and Mr. Bond) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Finance:

                              S. Res. 311

       Whereas the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) 
     was established in 1967, with Indonesia, Malaysia, the 
     Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand being original Members;
       Whereas ASEAN membership has now expanded and includes 10 
     countries;
       Whereas the United States supports the centrality of ASEAN 
     within East Asia;
       Whereas the United States was the first country to appoint 
     an Ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations;
       Whereas ASEAN significantly contributes to regional 
     stability in East Asia;
       Whereas approximately 40,000 students from ASEAN are 
     studying in the United States and an increasing number of 
     Americans are studying in ASEAN countries;
       Whereas ASEAN partners with the United States Government to 
     combat global terror;
       Whereas the United States acceded to the Treaty of Amity 
     and Cooperation in 2009;
       Whereas ASEAN constitutes the fourth largest market for 
     United States exports;
       Whereas ASEAN has a population of approximately 560,000,000 
     persons;
       Whereas two-way, United States-ASEAN trade totals 
     approximately $180,000,000,000 annually;
       Whereas the nations of ASEAN are increasingly economically 
     integrated;
       Whereas ASEAN has entered into free trade agreements with 
     India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand; 
     and
       Whereas the United States and ASEAN signed a Trade and 
     Investment Framework Agreement over three years ago: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) the United States Trade Representative, in consultation 
     with other appropriate Federal agencies and interested 
     stakeholders, should establish a strategy for initiating 
     negotiations for a free trade agreement between the United 
     States and ASEAN; and
       (2) at the time of free trade agreement negotiations, any 
     pending bilateral issues between the United States and Burma, 
     including economic sanctions, investment prohibition, travel 
     restrictions or otherwise, should not deter the United States 
     from engaging with other ASEAN nations regarding a potential 
     free trade agreement, nor should the United States encourage 
     trade with Burma, absent significant reforms within that 
     country.
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SENATE RESOLUTION 312--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE ON EMPOWERING 
     AND STRENGTHENING THE UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL 
                          DEVELOPMENT (USAID)

  Mr. DODD (for himself, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Cardin, and Mr. Bond) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 312

       Whereas foreign development assistance is an important 
     foreign policy tool in addition to diplomacy and the 
     military;
       Whereas the United States is currently involved in two 
     wars, both of which military and civilian experts agree can 
     only be solved with sound development strategies to 
     complement military efforts;
       Whereas development assistance is part of any comprehensive 
     United States response to regional conflicts, terrorist 
     threats, weapons proliferation, disease pandemics, and 
     persistent widespread poverty;
       Whereas, in 2002 and 2006, the United States National 
     Security Strategy included global development, along with the 
     military and diplomacy, as the three pillars of national 
     security;
       Whereas, in its early years, the United States Agency for 
     International Development (USAID) had more than 5,000 full-
     time Foreign Service Officers and 15,000 total staff;
       Whereas, in 2008, USAID had slightly more than 1,000 full-
     time Foreign Service Officers and 3,000 total staff;
       Whereas the loss in permanent staff and institutional 
     expertise at USAID has compelled it to rely disproportionally 
     on outside contractors to help manage programs in more than 
     150 countries;
       Whereas the USAID managed program budget, calculated in 
     real dollars, has dropped more than 40 percent since 1985;
       Whereas, from the early 1960s until 1992, the Office of 
     Management and Budget enforced a rule mandating that all 
     foreign aid programs and spending must go through USAID, 
     except when USAID chose to contract with other Federal 
     agencies;
       Whereas today more than half of all aid programs are 
     administered by Federal agencies other than USAID, and 
     development funding is spread across more than 20 United 
     States Government agencies; and
       Whereas this decline in personnel, budgets, and 
     coordinating leadership has diminished the capacity of USAID 
     and the United States Government to provide development 
     assistance and implement foreign assistance programs: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) a highly capable and knowledgeable individual should be 
     nominated with all expediency and exigency to serve as the 
     Administrator of the United States Agency for International 
     Development;
       (2) the Administrator should--
       (A) serve as the chief advocate for United States 
     development capacity and strategy in top-level national 
     security deliberations;
       (B) serve as a powerful advocate and effective leader of an 
     empowered USAID; and
       (C) marshal the resources, knowledge, capacity, and 
     experiences of the Agency--

[[Page S10373]]

       (i) to effectively represent the Agency in interagency 
     debate and in advancing and executing foreign policy; and
       (ii) to improve ultimately the effectiveness and capability 
     of United States foreign assistance;
       (3) the United States Agency for International Development 
     must be empowered to be the primary development agency of the 
     United States and to serve as the principal advisor to the 
     President and national security organs of the United States 
     Government on the capacity and strategy of United States 
     development assistance;
       (4) the Administrator should substantially and 
     transparently increase the total number of full-time Foreign 
     Service Officers employed by the Agency in order to enhance 
     the ability of the Agency to--
       (A) carry out development activities around the world by 
     providing the Agency with additional human resources and 
     expertise needed to meet important development and 
     humanitarian needs around the world;
       (B) strengthen the institutional capacity of the Agency as 
     the lead development agency of the United States; and
       (C) more effectively help developing nations to become more 
     stable, healthy, democratic, prosperous, and self-sufficient; 
     and
       (5) the Administrator should submit a strategy to Congress 
     that includes--
       (A) a plan to create a professional training program that 
     will provide new and current Agency employees with technical, 
     management, leadership, and language skills;
       (B) a 5-year staffing plan; and
       (C) a description of further resources and statutory 
     changes necessary to implement the proposed training and 
     staffing plans.

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise today to submit a resolution on 
behalf of myself, Senator Durbin and Senator, Cardin, aimed at putting 
the Senate on the record in support of empowering and strengthening the 
U.S. Agency for International Development. This is a simple and 
straightforward resolution, but I believe it speaks volumes about the 
current situation of U.S. overseas development policy.
  USAID has been without an administrator for nearly 10 months. It is 
critical that this position is swiftly filled by an individual who can 
serve as a strong advocate for the agency in national security and 
foreign policy deliberations within the U.S. Government. The 
Administrator must also work urgently to strengthen, empower and 
revitalize the agency itself. This essential position must be filled if 
the U.S. is to take on the myriad of foreign policy challenges that 
exist in a holistic and sustainable manner--because for nearly all of 
the challenges we face as a Nation, development will play a key role in 
helping us solve them.
  This resolution also recognizes the tremendously important role 
development plays in foreign policy, and puts the Senate on record as 
supporting an empowered USAID. I believe USAID should be a strong and 
independent voice in high-level U.S. foreign policy debates. If U.S. 
development policy and, by extension, U.S. foreign policy, is to 
succeed in the long run, USAID must be an independent body that can 
advocate for what it knows best--how to effectively deliver and 
implement U.S. foreign assistance, at the highest level. It must have a 
serious seat at the table. Our foreign policy will neither be 
comprehensive nor sufficient to meet the challenges of the 21st 
century, without serious and unbiased input from America's development 
experts.
  Finally, this resolution recognizes that USAID must be empowered to 
fulfill its mandate with a robust staff that understands both the needs 
of the international community as well as the strategic value of 
development.
  It has long been understood that international development is a 
critically important aspect of our foreign policy. It is high time we 
matched this reality with a real and meaningful commitment. I encourage 
my colleagues to join me in supporting this important resolution to 
empower and improve USAID.
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 SENATE RESOLUTION 313--SUPPORTING THE GOALS AND IDEALS OF RED RIBBON 
                               WEEK, 2009

  Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Grassley, Mrs. 
Hutchison, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Crapo, and Mr. Bennett) submitted the 
following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 313

       Whereas the Red Ribbon Campaign was established to 
     commemorate the service of Enrique ``Kiki'' Camarena, an 11-
     year special agent of the Drug Enforcement Administration who 
     was murdered in the line of duty in 1985 while engaged in the 
     battle against illicit drugs;
       Whereas the Red Ribbon Campaign has been sponsored by the 
     National Family Partnership and nationally recognized since 
     1988 to preserve Special Agent Camarena's memory and further 
     the cause for which he gave his life, and is now the oldest 
     and largest drug prevention program in the Nation, reaching 
     millions of young people each year during Red Ribbon Week;
       Whereas the Drug Enforcement Administration, committed 
     throughout its 36 years to aggressively targeting 
     organizations involved in the growing, manufacturing, and 
     distribution of controlled substances, has been a steadfast 
     partner in commemorating Red Ribbon Week;
       Whereas the Governors and Attorneys General of the States, 
     the National Family Partnership, Parent Teacher Associations, 
     Boys and Girls Clubs of America, the Drug Enforcement 
     Administration, and more than 100 other organizations 
     throughout the United States annually celebrate Red Ribbon 
     Week during the period of October 23 through October 31;
       Whereas the objective of Red Ribbon Week is to promote the 
     creation of drug-free communities through drug prevention 
     efforts, education, parental involvement, and community-wide 
     support;
       Whereas drug abuse is one of the major challenges that the 
     Nation faces in securing a safe and healthy future for 
     families in the United States;
       Whereas drug abuse and alcohol abuse contribute to domestic 
     violence and sexual assault and place the lives of children 
     at risk;
       Whereas although public awareness of illicit drug use is 
     increasing, emerging drug threats and growing epidemics 
     demand attention, including the abuse of methamphetamines, 
     inhalants, and prescription medications, the second most 
     abused drug by young people in the United States;
       Whereas between 1996 and 2006, the percentages of 
     admissions to substance abuse treatment programs as a result 
     of the abuse of methamphetamines, prescription medications, 
     and marijuana each significantly rose;
       Whereas drug dealers specifically target children by 
     marketing illicit drugs that mimic the appearance and names 
     of well known brand-name candies and foods; and
       Whereas parents, youths, schools, businesses, law 
     enforcement agencies, religious institutions, service 
     organizations, senior citizens, medical and military 
     personnel, sports teams, and individuals throughout the 
     United States will demonstrate their commitment to healthy, 
     productive, and drug-free lifestyles by wearing and 
     displaying red ribbons during this week-long celebration: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) supports the goals and ideals of Red Ribbon Week, 2009;
       (2) encourages children and teens to choose to live drug-
     free lives; and
       (3) encourages the people of the United States to promote 
     the creation of drug-free communities and to participate in 
     drug prevention activities to show support for healthy, 
     productive, and drug-free lifestyles.

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