WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations held a briefing on the Administration’s plans for continued assistance in tsunami-stricken regions in South Asia. Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY), the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee, gave the following statement:
“I join Chairman Kolbe in welcoming our distinguished guests to our briefing on the United States response to the recent earthquake and tsunamis in Asia. I look forward to hearing each of your presentations this morning.
“Let me first say that I have enormous respect and admiration for the United States personnel who administer and deliver disaster assistance around the world. The United States, primarily through the Agency for International Development and with the occasional help of the Defense Department, has consistently been the most efficient and effective among all donors in getting immediate relief to disaster victims around the globe. The tsunami disaster has been no exception, with a significant effort put forth by our military and civilian personnel working together to get needed assistance on the ground as soon as possible. In this case, we were fortunate to have considerable DOD personnel and equipment already in the region, and their timely deployment enabled the logistics surrounding delivery of food and supplies to be much more effective. I congratulate those involved.
“While the U.S. pledge to the ongoing effort has not been the largest, our combined civilian and military aid resources have certainly had the most short-term impact and have done the most good for those who have survived this tragedy. This effort has been a critical part of changing the perception of the United States in parts of the Muslim world, and in demonstrating the U.S.'s generosity at a time when our global reputation is bruised. The challenge we face is to maintain this momentum.
“Now that we are nearing the end of the immediate response phase of this effort, however, we must begin to sort out the issues surrounding reconstruction, the role of other public and private donors, and the policies of affected nations. While I realize we have no official request for supplemental resources yet, the press has apparently been briefed. I therefore hope our guests will be frank with us today in discussing our concerns.
“As reported, the current intention of the Administration is to request the reimbursement of funds spent so far as well as an additional $450 million in reconstruction funds. There have also been indications that the Administration will seek authority to provide debt relief. While I continue to await the details of this proposal, I want to express a few immediate concerns, which I hope you can address in your presentations.
“First, I understand that the longer-term needs assessments are still underway. As we consider the size and scope of our aid package, we need to be careful to ensure that it is appropriate to these needs, and that we take into account the other donor resources out there.
“Second, we must not allow our commitment to the tsunami disaster take funding away from other ongoing disasters around the world. We have already heard disturbing reports that funding for critical needs in Liberia, Chad, Northern Uganda, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been ‘put on hold’ until supplemental funds are approved by Congress.
“While I will seek clarification on this today from our witnesses, I also would express the strong hope to my Chairman that this Committee take the lead by separating out the request for tsunami assistance from the other elements of the Supplemental. While I understand that my Chairman may have a different view, I believe Congress should pass a stand-alone tsunami relief measure as soon as possible. It is unlikely that Congress will enact the larger Supplemental until late April at the earliest, and it is highly likely that extraneous issues such as immigration reform will be attached to it. Given the critical needs in the tsunami-affected areas and new disaster-related requirements in Africa, Congress should expedite consideration of this matter.
“Third, I am concerned that, without strong encouragement on the part of the United States, we will lose the opportunity we now have to achieve a breakthrough in the long-standing conflict in Aceh and Sri Lanka. We have received conflicting reports from the island about the tactics of the Indonesian Army (TNI). News reports have indicated that the TNI has continued to engage insurgents in Aceh in non-disaster-affected areas despite a declared ceasefire. NGOs generally are reporting good cooperation, but visas will be limited to three months and numerous military roadblocks have slowed operations. Finally, the U.S. military has scaled back its plan to do short-term reconstruction and repair because the Indonesians will require all foreign troops to be out of Aceh by the end of next month. This is a situation that requires careful monitoring, and I hope that both USAID and the State Department will remain vigilant.
“Reports from Sri Lanka are a bit more positive in terms of the possibility of using this opportunity to resolve the conflict there. What I find disturbing, however, is that so far there has only been a cautious and qualified acknowledgement of this opportunity by U.S. officials. I am not suggesting that disaster assistance should be tied to political changes, but this issue needs to be a prominent part of our dialogue as we move forward. If we are willing to restore military assistance and provide generous debt relief to Indonesia, we need to know what changes in their behavior we can expect in return.
“Fourth, as you undoubtedly understand, natural disasters often have different effects on women and men. Because women tend to have responsibility for taking care of the injured, sick, and orphaned, as well as for gathering drinking water and providing food, they face greater demands on their time and are less able to spend time on income-generating activities. As we move out of the relief stage and toward reconstruction, it is critical that we consider the different effects the tsunami has had on women and men in order to ensure that women are fully integrated into the reconstruction effort.
“Fifth, recent reports indicate that children account for a disproportionate number of tsunami casualties – up to 50 percent by some estimates. While the news about the number of children actually left with no living relatives is encouraging – much fewer than originally thought – we must still put the systems in place to take care of traumatized children and provide them as soon as possible with a sense of normalcy and security. I will soon be reintroducing legislation, the Women and Children in Crisis and Conflict Protection Act, which addresses some of these issues.
“Sixth, as you may know, UNFPA, which has field offices in every tsunami-affected country, recently put out an appeal for $28 million to cover their maternal health and other programs in the region. They have spent $3 million thus far on a variety of activities, including providing basic sanitary supplies to ensure safe delivery of babies in the affected areas and providing psychosocial support to tsunami survivors. The last time the U.S. provided funds to UNFPA was in November, 2001, when we gave the agency $600,000 for emergency maternal health needs in Afghanistan.
“While the so-called Kemp-Kasten restriction has blocked regular U.S. contributions to UNFPA since that time, the flexibility afforded to the Disaster Assistance account would allow us to support UNFPA’s vital efforts.
“In closing, we all understand that huge challenges remain. We must continue to work together to coordinate the unprecedented response to this disaster, comprised of billions in government donor assistance and several hundreds of millions more from the private sector. I also fervently hope that the private charities now operating in the region respect local cultures and religious practices, so that the U.S. does not lose what it has gained and so international NGO personnel can work safely. As we have before, it is my expectation that the U.S. will play a leading role by moving as quickly as possible to show the way for other donors.
“I look forward to your presentations.”
