[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 167 (Monday, November 9, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S11301]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




EMPOWERING AND STRENGTHENING THE UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL 
                              DEVELOPMENT

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Foreign 
Relations Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 
312.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk 
will report the resolution by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 312) expressing the sense of the 
     Senate on empowering and strengthening the United States 
     Agency for International Development (USAID).

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a Dodd 
amendment to the resolution be agreed to; that the resolution, as 
amended, be agreed to; that a Dodd amendment to the preamble be agreed 
to; that the preamble, as amended, be agreed to; that the motions to 
reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or 
debate; and that any statements relating to the resolution be printed 
in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 2769) was agreed to, as follows:

       Strike all after the resolving clause and insert the 
     following:
       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 USAID--
       (i) to effectively represent USAID 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) USAID must be empowered to be the primary development 
     agency of the United States, and the Administrator must 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 USAID, in part by reducing the 
     reliance on outside contractor personnel, in order to enhance 
     the ability of the agency to--
       (A) carry out development activities around the world by 
     providing USAID with additional human resources and expertise 
     needed to meet important development and humanitarian needs 
     around the world;
       (B) strengthen the institutional capacity of USAID 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;
       (C) a description of further resources and statutory 
     changes necessary to implement the proposed training and 
     staffing plans; and
       (D) a plan to address fraud and corruption in United States 
     development assistance and procedures to safeguard United 
     States foreign assistance funds from going to persons or 
     organizations that advocate or engage in acts of 
     international terrorism.

  The resolution (S. Res 312), as amended, was agreed to.
  The amendment (No. 2770) was agreed to, as follows:

       Strike the eighth whereas clause of the preamble.

       In the tenth whereas clause of the preamble, strike ``all 
     aid programs are administered by Federal agencies other than 
     USAID, and development funding'' and insert ``all foreign 
     assistance programs are administered by Federal agencies 
     other than USAID, and funding for such programs''.
  The preamble, as amended, was agreed to.
  The resolution, as amended, with its preamble, as amended, reads as 
follows:
  (The resolution will be printed in a future edition of the Record.)

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