[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 26 (Thursday, February 17, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E255-E256]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             FULL-YEAR CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2011

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. MAZIE K. HIRONO

                               of hawaii

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 16, 2011

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 1) making 
     appropriations for the Department of Defense and the other 
     departments and agencies of the Government for the fiscal 
     year ending September 30, 2011, and for other purposes:

  Ms. HIRONO. Mr. Chair, it is sad to see that amendments like this are 
being proposed based on no knowledge nor any serious evaluation of the 
institutions involved.
  Anyone who has been involved with the East-West Center would 
understand that it is exactly the kind of activity that most cost-
effectively promotes U.S. foreign policy and security interests in a 
critically important, fast-growing region of more than 3.5 billion 
people. Since its creation as a national institution 50 years ago, the 
Center has impacted more than 58,000 people in its region.
  It operates our country's largest outreach program to Asia-Pacific 
region's journalists, the largest outreach program to the region's 
teachers, particularly in Muslim countries of Asia, and the only 
sustained U.S. program for engagement with the leaders of Pacific 
island nations. Both presidents Bush met Pacific island leaders through 
the East-West Center.
  The Center is not a foreign aid program, but a public diplomacy 
program. The secret of the Center's effectiveness is that its programs 
bring together Americans with Asia-Pacific counterparts--American 
teachers with Asia and Pacific teachers, American youth leaders with 
their counterparts, etc. This is the very best way to show off American 
values and interests. If the U.S. had created a similar center for the 
Middle East, bringing young Israelis, Egyptians, and other Middle 
Easterners together with Americans for cooperative exchange and 
research at a location on American soil, our world may be a little 
different today. We would not see misguided amendments like that 
offered by Congressman Ron

[[Page E256]]

Paul that would eliminate funding for important allies like Israel, 
Egypt, and Jordan.
  It is a hard to imagine a program that is more fiscally conservative. 
The cost is minimal compared to most government programs because the 
Center, because of its size, operates far more efficiently and flexibly 
and because, unlike government departments, it leverages significant 
amounts of non-appropriated sources for its national mission. This 
figure is 40 percent in last year's budget.
  The Center originally was supported fully by the U.S. government and 
at much higher levels of appropriations during the Reagan and Bush 41 
administrations. It has been repositioning itself as a public-private 
partnership. The amendment to zero out its funding would have a 
devastating impact on its ability to continue to increase private 
funding and leverage public funding. It also would have a devastating 
impact on U.S. public diplomacy in East, Southeast, and South Asia and 
the Pacific islands just at a time that other countries, especially 
China, are ramping up their public diplomacy programs in that region 
that is so important to our future.
  Under the successful leadership of Charles Morrison, the East-West 
Center chaired the committee that developed the Hawaii hosting proposal 
for the 2011 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders Summit.
  The Center supports and leads the official APEC Pacific Economic 
Cooperation Council on behalf of the United States. It has provided 
essential research support for several APEC activities, including an 
assessment requested by the APEC Business Advisory Council of the U.S.-
proposed Free Trade Area of Asia and the Pacific and studies in the 
area of energy security. I know that President Morrison and the East-
West Center are integral to a successful U.S. hosting APEC year. This 
Congress needs to continue to support the East-West Center in these 
efforts.
  Mahalo nui loa (thank you very much).

                          ____________________