[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 78 (Monday, May 6, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H2838-H2839]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   DETERIORATING CONDITIONS IN NIGER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Gaetz) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record part II of the 
interim report that I have prepared for the House of Representatives 
titled: ``Unwelcome in Niger.''

              [From the Office of Congressman Matt Gaetz]

               Part II Interim Report--Unwelcome In Niger


                                SUMMARY

       More than 1,000 U.S. service members currently stationed in 
     Niger, Africa, at Air Base 101 and Air Base 201 are in 
     danger. They are currently being treated as pawns by both the 
     U.S. government and the government of Niger (Conseil national 
     pour la sauvegarde de la patrie or the National Council for 
     the Safeguard of the Fatherland) as a diplomatic negotiation 
     regarding the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Niger is 
     ongoing.
       Currently, U.S. troops are being denied fresh rotations and 
     needed medications for chronic illnesses as diplomatic 
     overflights are stalled.
       On information and belief, the Biden administration, and 
     particularly the U.S. State Department, are concealing the 
     dangerous conditions for U.S. troops in Niger to avoid the 
     embarrassing reveal that their Africa strategy has failed. It 
     has led to little more than collapsed governments, coups, and 
     orders to leave countries we once deemed a ``model'' for U.S. 
     cooperation, as Russia and China continue to advance their 
     interests.


                               BACKGROUND

       On April 17, 2024, this office filed with the House an 
     initial report on troop conditions in Niger, Africa. A copy 
     of this report is attached hereto as Exhibit ``A.''
       The report detailed an unfolding scandal, risking troop 
     welfare to avoid the diplomatic embarrassment as the Biden 
     administration has deployed an Africa strategy rife with 
     coups, failures, and functionally abandoned U.S. service 
     members. All with little to show for the billions of dollars 
     of U.S. taxpayer funds wasted in the continent.
       The Report detailed specific concerns expressed by troops 
     in Niger, Africa, their belief that intelligence regarding 
     their condition was being suppressed by U.S. Embassy Niger, 
     and the Department of State's inability to negotiate 
     diplomatic overflights to achieve troop rotations and deliver 
     life-sustaining supplies, such as clean water and medicine 
     for chronic conditions.
       The report further illuminated the presence of Russian 
     troops at Air Base 101, behind the wire. This is 
     unprecedented.


               BIDEN ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCES WITHDRAWAL

       On April 20, 2024, the Biden administration fessed up that 
     U.S. troops would be leaving Niger following the embarrassing 
     demand to do so by the government of Niger. Unfortunately, 
     this announcement has neither eased tensions nor facilitated 
     better well-being for U.S. troops. During the negations 
     surrounding the withdrawal, the U.S. government has not 
     successfully obtained permissions to resupply U.S. 
     installations in Niger, leaving our troops stuck and 
     functionally abandoned, unable to return home.


            DIPLOMATIC ENGAGEMENT, NIGER EMBASSY, WASHINGTON

       On April 29, 2024, Congressman Matt Gaetz met with Charge 
     d'Affaires Idi Hassane at the Washington, D.C.-based Niger 
     Embassy.
       Mr. Hassane assured Congressman Gaetz that all overflights 
     requested by the U.S.

[[Page H2839]]

     government for troop rotations and medicine would be 
     approved. Congressman Gaetz memorialized this attestation by 
     letter, attached hereto as Exhibit ``B.''
       Unfortunately, the Charge d'Affaires representations have 
     proven false. This office continued to receive reports from 
     service members and their families that overflights were not 
     occurring, that medicine was not being delivered, and that 
     negotiations were stalling. This induced subsequent demands 
     from this office to the government of Niger, through their 
     Charge d'Affaires, attached hereto as Exhibit ``C.''


      CURRENT CONDITIONS OF U.S. TROOPS IN NIGER--LACK OF MEDICINE

       The initial report detailed statements by several of the 
     USAF public-health leaders at Air Base 101. We reported then 
     that if additional supplies were not provided by May, several 
     key medicines would be unavailable. This has now come to 
     fruition. On May 2, 2024, one active-duty spouse wrote [``My 
     husband specifically is on cholesterol medication for his 
     heart and at this point in time he has run out of medication. 
     I mailed him a medication refill . . . that is currently 
     sitting in Germany because Niger still will not approve 
     flights.''] A copy of this spouse's correspondence is 
     attached hereto as Exhibit ``D.'' Lacking medicine has also 
     been a concern expressed by other family members, with 
     specificity (see below).
       As stated by another service member in Niger:
       Since two weeks ago we still have not received supplies, AB 
     101 is still short on blood and medications, here at 201 we 
     are mission parts that should have been here months ago. They 
     are struggling getting even MEdevac planes in for people that 
     need to be seen at a higher level of care . . . Why are we 
     still here?'' (See Exhibit ``E'')
       And another:
       ``The situation here at Air Base 101 and 201 (I'm here at 
     201) is a failure on the United States Government.'' We keep 
     getting told ``talks are good'' well if they are going good, 
     why have no planes come in for our replacements? . . . We 
     have not a resupply mission here since March. The morale here 
     is terrible and it needs to be fixed ASAP!'' (Exhibit ``F'')


                           EXTORTION TO LEAVE

       An FL-01 constituent and father of an active-duty service 
     member in Niger relayed to this office that local officials 
     are ``extorting passengers in order for them to bring luggage 
     through the airport.'' This account is confirmed by the 
     spouse of a military contractor currently stationed in Niger, 
     whose correspondence is attached as Exhibit ``G.''


                            RUSSIANS ON BASE

       The initial report alleged that Russian troops were allowed 
     onto U.S. installations in Niger. This is unprecedented and 
     dangerous. Reuters has now confirmed this claim, see Exhibit 
     ``H.'' This continues to be a source of safety concern for 
     our troops and their families.


                            RECOMMENDATIONS

       The Biden Administration must immediately resupply U.S. 
     troops in Niger. Our service members, contractors and their 
     families must not be allowed to be used as leverage by the 
     government of Niger or anyone else during a military 
     retrograde. Moreover, the Biden administration should not 
     spasm into a hasty retrograde which would leave hundreds of 
     millions of dollars in U.S. military material in the hands of 
     terrorists, militants, or Russians. The Biden administration 
     must fly in the needed water, medication supplies and troop 
     rotations, under fighter escort if necessary. If this does 
     not occur, the Biden administration has rendered these brave 
     Americans hostages of a hostile foreign regime.
  Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, the link to the full report can be found 
here: https://gaetz.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/gaetz.house.gov/files/
evo-media-document/Part%20II%20Interim%20Report%20-
%20Unwelcome%20in%20Niger.pdf.
  I rise to warn this body of the deteriorating conditions in the 
African country of Niger and to give rise to the concern of 
servicemembers and contractors.
  More than a thousand of them right now are functionally being held 
hostage in Niger. They are being used as pawns during a negotiation 
that has left America at the bended knee of Third World criminals and 
thugs as our troops seek medicine, freshwater, and troop rotations.
  How did we get here, with more than 1,100 Americans endangered right 
now in Niger? It started back in March 2023. Secretary of State Antony 
Blinken went to Niger and proclaimed that it was a model of resilience, 
a platform for great democracy. It would be where America would execute 
its Africa strategy.
  One year later, almost to the day, there was a coup in Niger. Guess 
who overthrew the government that we said was the great model of 
resilience? The people we trained. We trained the coup leaders to go 
throw out the democratically elected Government of Niger.
  I know this will surprise you, but after that occurred, they say they 
want our bases, which U.S. taxpayers have poured more than a billion 
dollars into, gone. They want our servicemembers gone.
  I came to this floor after hearing from some of my constituents who 
are stationed in Niger. After the overthrow of the government, there 
weren't resupply flights. They said: Congressman, we are going to be 
out of medicine in May if we don't get this sorted out.

                              {time}  1215

  Three days after I filed part I of the report that I am supplementing 
today, the Biden administration announced that we will be leaving 
Niger--a welcome sign, I am sure--but the leaving didn't actually 
happen. We have people who are now more than 200 days into a 180-day 
rotation.
  While the negotiation regarding retrograde and withdrawal are 
ongoing, the government in Niger is using the well-being and health of 
our servicemembers as leverage to get what they want out of our 
government. Our troops aren't getting medicine for malaria, 
cholesterol, blood pressure, and other chronic conditions.
  I have received letters from the wives and fathers of the people who 
are in Niger now, and they say: We know that our family members are 
being extorted by the local governments. When they try to leave, it is 
hundreds of dollars to even bring a bag through the airport. We know 
that Russians are behind the wire.
  Do you know what a real U.S. President would do? They would say that 
C-130s are on their way to Niger today with the water, medicine, and 
food that our troops need, that they will have a full fighter pilot 
escort there.
  If the Government of Niger or any other third-world thug tries to 
even turn on their air defense systems, we should show those leaders 
and those thugs what the target package looks like on their houses and 
their family members.
  It should not be Americans who are suffering because President Biden 
and Secretary Blinken are so embarrassed that their strategy in Africa 
failed that they are willing to let Americans' conditions deteriorate.
  They are willing to let our military spouses and family members 
wonder what is going to happen to their loved ones with their blood 
pressure rising and no blood pressure medication or be concerned about 
what will happen now that we are in May and there is not sufficient 
malaria medication. We should always keep our people's well-being at 
the forefront of our minds.
  Today, we should be resupplying our troops in Niger, Africa, and we 
should dare these thugs and criminals to mess with us while we are 
doing that. This is a total embarrassment, and saving politicians and 
people like Biden and Blinken from embarrassment is not worth putting 
U.S. troops at risk.
  I will stay on this. I will stay on our government and the Government 
of Niger to ensure that our military members and their families are 
appropriately treated, and their concerns are elevated to the highest 
levels of this House.

                          ____________________