Lowey statement at hearing on USAID 2017 budget request

Administrator Smith, I welcome you, again, to the helm of USAID, and I am pleased to have you here today. USAID continues to play an indispensable role in spearheading global development efforts, and I’m sure we’ll see even greater achievements under your leadership.

Given unprecedented levels of humanitarian needs around the world today, you face the unenviable task of guiding U.S. response efforts on nearly every continent.

With this in mind, I have concerns regarding whether the Fiscal Year 17 budget request will provide USAID the necessary resources to implement current programs and prepare for new or unanticipated challenges.

First, I’m pleased with the proposed increases for malaria and GAVI. However I do not understand the cuts to nutrition and tuberculosis programs when nearly 800 million people worldwide suffer from malnutrition, and TB claims more than 1.5 million lives per year.

Second, with regard to Central America, in last year’s Omnibus, this Committee provided $750 million to address the root causes driving thousands of minors to flee. I look forward to hearing from you what progress the Northern Triangle countries have made on good governance, the rule of law, education, job creation, and citizen security that would provide the basis for further federal investment.

Third, the Zika virus has spread to more than 20 countries, yet many governments have responded to their citizens with antiquated messages to simply ‘avoid’ pregnancy. This is absurd. Ignoring the potential effects of Zika by putting our collective heads in the sand will only make the problem worse. Restricting access to family planning and reproductive health services would be a failure to support women abroad during a public health emergency. I hope we can work together without partisan fights and divisive riders on this issue.

Unlike the emergency funds to combat Ebola, which I recall were only narrowly authorized for specific use in West Africa, funding for Zika must also come with as much flexibility as possible.

Finally, Administrator Smith, I simply do not understand the Administration’s continued refusal to prioritize education. In 2013 your predecessor said in testimony to this Committee that education was a “core development objective.” Yet given this year’s low funding request, it appears to me that it is only a core development objective to Congress; not to the President or OMB.

There are currently over 120 million children and adolescents out of school and some 250 million primary school age children in school but not learning the basic skills they will need to participate in their communities and economies. According to USAID’s own reporting, “The world is in the midst of a global learning crisis.”

The United States has prioritized many admirable programs from food security to electricity, health to economic empowerment. Yet without universal literacy, these programs are out of reach for significant portions of poor communities. We simply will not achieve real, long-term success without education at the center of our efforts.

In closing, I want to recognize the remarkable public servants throughout USAID who work night and day to better the lives of millions of people around the world. I thank them and you for your tireless efforts, and I look forward to advancing our shared development goals.