[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 13]
[House]
[Pages 18177-18178]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            DON'T LET FOREIGN AID FALL OFF THE FISCAL CLIFF

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. HOWARD L. BERMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 20, 2012

  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, as negotiations to avoid the ``fiscal 
cliff'' enter the final stages, it is important that we keep in mind 
the potentially devastating consequences of across-the-board cuts. This 
is true not only for domestic programs, but also for foreign 
assistance, which represents less than one percent of the Federal 
budget and is one of the most cost-effective ways of protecting our 
interests across the globe. Today, more than ever, our health, 
security, and prosperity depend on a world in which basic human needs 
are met, fundamental rights and freedoms are respected, conflicts are 
resolved peacefully, and the world's resources are used wisely.
  In this regard, I commend to my colleagues an excellent op-ed by 
Sharon Waxman, vice-president of the International Rescue Committee. 
Her article in The Hill, ``Don't Let Foreign Aid Fall Off the Fiscal 
Cliff,'' outlines the importance of foreign aid in saving lives and 
easing suffering for millions around the world.

                     [From The Hill, Nov. 30, 2012]

            Don't Let Foreign Aid Fall Off the Fiscal Cliff

                           (By Sharon Waxman)

       With the presidential election behind us, attention has 
     turned to the impending ``fiscal cliff''. By New Year's Day, 
     the Obama Administration and Congress must identify $1.2 
     trillion in savings between spending cuts, revenue increases 
     and entitlement reform. Otherwise, most federal programs will 
     be cut by a staggering 8.2 percent.
       On the chopping block is foreign assistance, which provides 
     lifesaving aid to millions of vulnerable people, including 
     Syrian refugees fleeing horrific violence and seeking safety 
     and help in neighboring countries. The consequences of having 
     the budget axe fall on foreign aid at this time could be 
     dire.
       The Syrian conflict is in its 20th month and displacement 
     into Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq has more than tripled 
     during the last three. By year's end, it's estimated that 
     700,000 Syrian refugees will be spread out across the region, 
     overwhelming the communities hosting them and fueling a 
     humanitarian crisis.
       Last week, I visited a hospital wing in Amman, Jordan, 
     filled with Syrian refugees. There, I met a father from Homs 
     who had been out buying bread when his neighborhood came 
     under siege. Now he is paralyzed from the chest down from 
     shrapnel wounds. His wife and eight-year-old son keep vigil 
     at his hospital bed, day and night. Their alternatives are 
     few. They either move to a refugee camp, a grim prospect as 
     winter approaches, or become part of a massive, underserved 
     and desperate urban refugee population.
       Meanwhile, other large-scale humanitarian emergencies have 
     worsened or unfolded in the past year.
       An estimated 18 million people are food insecure in 
     Africa's Sahel region because of chronic poverty and crushing 
     drought, and four million children are malnourished. In Mali, 
     conflict in the north, which has caused the displacement of 
     some 400,000 people, has exacerbated its food crisis. 
     Violence in Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan states of Sudan 
     has forced 175,000 refugees to flee to South Sudan and an 
     additional 65,000 to Ethiopia.
       Violence continues to spiral in eastern provinces of the 
     Democratic Republic of Congo, where fighting repeatedly 
     uproots communities, disrupts food production and shuts down 
     health services. And whenever conflict escalates there, so 
     does violence targeting women. Meanwhile, in Afghanistan, a 
     humanitarian crisis has worsened, with unrest and natural 
     disasters uprooting more than half a million people.
       All told, more than 44 million people are currently 
     displaced by conflict around the world--the highest number in 
     15 years.
       My organization, the International Rescue Committee, is on 
     the ground in these and other conflict and disaster zones, 
     responding to pressing humanitarian needs. We see firsthand 
     how foreign assistance is saving lives and easing the 
     suffering of countless people.
       The need for the United States to respond to global 
     humanitarian emergencies is increasing exponentially at the 
     very time that across-the-board cuts may go into effect.

[[Page 18178]]

       While we appreciate the daunting budget decisions ahead, 
     foreign aid represents less than one percent of all federal 
     spending, and non-war foreign assistance has already been cut 
     by 15 percent over the last two years. An additional 8.2 
     percent reduction in foreign aid will undoubtedly cut the 
     very programs that enable the United States to respond to 
     human suffering and foster economic growth and stability. It 
     will put millions of lives at risk and set the U.S. back 
     years in its effort to lift people out of poverty and reduce 
     dependency. Such cuts would be shortsighted and would not 
     solve America's fiscal woes.
       America's continued leadership in foreign policy and 
     foreign assistance is critical, but it cannot happen on a 
     shoe-string budget. The U.S. government must have the right 
     tools at its disposal to conduct effective diplomacy, 
     encourage development and provide humanitarian assistance to 
     effect positive change in areas where it's desperately 
     needed.
       In the weeks ahead, we hope the Administration and Congress 
     will reach an agreement that moves America off this 
     precarious fiscal cliff while preserving America's leadership 
     in foreign assistance and its commitment and ability to 
     protect the world's most vulnerable.

                          ____________________