“Good evening.  As I always do, I want to begin by thanking Chairman Kolbe for the close working relationship we have enjoyed.  The bill we present today is the result of close collaboration and represents the bipartisan commitment of this Congress to U.S. foreign policy priorities.  As in the past, the Chairman has been an extraordinarily gracious colleague and I am proud of the product of our cooperation.   The mark successfully maintains and expands our commitment to ensure foreign aid remains one of the three pillars of U.S. national security policy, along with defense and diplomacy. 

“I also want to thank the members of the Subcommittee for agreeing to hold this markup on such short notice.  Unfortunately, President Bush did not consult the Subcommittee before he set his schedule for tomorrow morning! 

“I’d like to briefly address a few of the highlights of the bill.  First, I am pleased that the bill fully funds, and even slightly increases, the President’s request for the Emergency HIV/AIDS initiative.  The Subcommittee has a long history of consistently increasing our commitment to this key priority.  While I would have liked to include even more funding – the needs are estimated to be far greater than what we are providing – the restraints of our allocation and the need to take care of other important aspects of our foreign aid program precluded us from doing so.  Given these factors, I am satisfied with the provisions in the bill for HIV/AIDS, which include increased funding for so-called ‘non-focus’ countries, $400 million for the Global AIDS Fund, and $30 million for microbicides research and development.

“I am also pleased that we were able to preserve funding for non-AIDS health programs instead of cutting these programs as the President requested.  I have always maintained that no one priority – be it AIDS, the Millennium Challenge Account, or any other -- should supplant the U.S. commitment to necessary health interventions in the developing world.  I am glad the Chairman and I were able to restore these cuts.

“I am sure my colleagues are aware of my commitment to increase funding for basic education.  Since the Chairman and I began working together, we have together increased funding for this purpose from $98 million to the FY05 proposed total of $400 million.  For the first time this year, I am proud that we have included funding to address the issue of school fees in a comprehensive manner, in the form of a pilot project to be undertaken by USAID.  

“As we are all aware, crises in Haiti and Sudan have required us to reevaluate our funding priorities, ensuring that the U.S. contributes its fair share to alleviating the horrible situations in those two countries.  I am pleased that the bill earmarks an additional $50 million above the President’s request for Haiti, and that a total of $311 million, $25 million above the request, is included for urgent humanitarian needs in Sudan. 

“Combined with the $95 million for Sudan included in the House-passed DOD bill, we are moving in the right direction to fulfill our commitment in this area.  The bill also makes a series of strong statements about what we expect from the Government of Sudan with regard to the situation in Darfur, and I hope we are able to exert leverage to change the situation there for the better.  The Government of Sudan should not be rewarded with U.S. funding as long as the current crisis situation remains, and I am pleased that the funding provided in our bill will not benefit the government. 

“Once again, the Foreign Operations bill will be playing a significant role in fighting the war on terrorism.  We have provided funding to combat terrorist financing in three different accounts in the bill, along with report language requiring the Administration to analyze the total level and distribution of funding for this priority across all government agencies.  This analysis will be a critical tool in ensuring that our efforts are coordinated and efficient in undertaking the gravely important task of cutting off funding to terrorists.

“Finally, I am pleased that this bill provides full funding for Israel’s aid package, increased funding for conflict resolution programs in the Middle East and elsewhere, and increased funding for UNICEF, UNDP, and UNIFEM’s programs to prevent violence against women. 

“I would like to register my displeasure that, once again, our bill fails to include language that will restore funding for the life-saving activities of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).  I expect that there will be an amendment on this issue at Full Committee markup, and I hope my colleagues will support it. 

“Thank you again to the Chairman, to all of the Members of the Subcommittee and their associate staff, and to the majority staff – John, Alice, Rodney, Rob, Lori and Sean, and the minority staff, Mark and Beth, for their help in crafting the bill.”