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[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 63 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 63

Expressing the sense of Congress that the United States should provide, 
  on an annual basis, an amount equal to at least 1 percent of United 
States gross domestic product (GDP) for nonmilitary foreign assistance 
                               programs.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 25, 2009

  Ms. Lee of California (for herself, Mr. Ellison, Mr. McDermott, Mr. 
Lewis of Georgia, Mr. McGovern, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Connolly of Virginia, 
Mr. Honda, Mr. Holt, Mr. Carson of Indiana, Mr. Filner, and Mr. Stark) 
 submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to 
                    the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

 
Expressing the sense of Congress that the United States should provide, 
  on an annual basis, an amount equal to at least 1 percent of United 
States gross domestic product (GDP) for nonmilitary foreign assistance 
                               programs.

Whereas, on April 3, 1948, President Harry Truman signed into law the Economic 
        Recovery Act of 1948, inspired by a plan of economic trade and 
        assistance for European countries proposed by Secretary of State George 
        C. Marshall, otherwise known as the Marshall Plan;
Whereas, from the years 1947 to 1951, the United States gave $13 billion, 
        equivalent to $137 billion in 2007, in economic aid and technical 
        assistance to assist in the economic recovery of 16 European countries;
Whereas the Marshall Plan, among other objectives, sought to assure global peace 
        and defend the national security of the United States through direct 
        foreign assistance programs aimed at combating economic, social, and 
        political degradation;
Whereas poverty, lack of opportunity, and environmental degradation are 
        recognized as significant contributors to socioeconomic and political 
        instability, as well as to the exacerbation of disease pandemics and 
        other global health threats;
Whereas elevating the United States standing in the world represents a critical 
        and essential element of any strategy to improve national and global 
        security by mitigating the root causes of conflict and multinational 
        terrorism, strengthening diplomatic and economic relationships, 
        preventing global climate change, curbing weapons proliferation, and 
        fostering peace and cooperation between all nations;
Whereas the Foreign Assistance Act, signed into law on September 4, 1961, 
        reaffirms ``the traditional humanitarian ideals of the American people 
        and renews its commitment to assist people in developing countries to 
        eliminate hunger, poverty, [and] illness'';
Whereas Congress created the Peace Corps in 1961 and the United States has since 
        sent 187,000 volunteers to 139 nations to promote the Peace Corps' 
        mission of world peace and friendship through service in the developing 
        world;
Whereas, on November 3, 1961, President John F. Kennedy established the United 
        States Agency for International Development (USAID) with the aim of 
        providing direct support to developing countries in a manner free of 
        political and military influence;
Whereas over the last 8 years Congress and the Bush Administration have more 
        than doubled foreign assistance and implemented a number of new foreign 
        aid initiatives to support global health, development, human rights, and 
        good governance including the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA), the 
        President's International Education Initiative, the President's Malaria 
        Initiative (PMI), and the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief 
        (PEPFAR);
Whereas President Obama has expressed his commitment to achieve the Millennium 
        Development Goal of cutting extreme poverty and hunger around the world 
        in half by 2015, as well as his intent to double the level of foreign 
        assistance to meet that goal;
Whereas the United States has pledged its support, along with every United 
        Nations member state and numerous international organizations, to 
        achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals in order to 
        reduce extreme poverty, support sustainable development, and address the 
        needs of the world's most vulnerable populations;
Whereas the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, derived from the United 
        Nations Millennium Declaration signed on September 8, 2000, seek to 
        eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, achieve universal primary 
        education, promote gender equality and empower women, reduce child 
        mortality, improve maternal health, combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other 
        diseases, ensure environmental sustainability, and develop a global 
        partnership for development;
Whereas the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs indicates 
        that in June 2008, progress was either insufficient, absent, or 
        deteriorating for more than half of key targets related to compliance 
        with the United Nations Millennium Development Goals;
Whereas the World Bank estimates that in 2005, 1.4 billion people across the 
        globe were experiencing extreme poverty, living on less than $1.25 a 
        day;
Whereas the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates 
        that the number of undernourished people in the world rose to 963 
        million in 2008, an increase of 40 million people from 2007;
Whereas the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 
        Secretariat has indicated that by 2030, the cost of adapting to global 
        climate change could amount to more than $100 billion annually, with $28 
        billion to $67 billion per year required to meet the needs of the 
        developing world;
Whereas in 2007, net official development assistance by the United States, 
        totaling $21.8 billion, decreased by 9.9 percent (in real terms) from 
        fiscal year 2006;
Whereas in 2007, as a percentage of gross national income (GNI), the United 
        States was tied for last among the world's 22 wealthiest countries in 
        official development assistance funding, at 0.16 percent;
Whereas, on November 26, 2007, United States Secretary of Defense Robert M. 
        Gates stated that funding for nonmilitary foreign affairs programs 
        ``remains disproportionately small relative to what we spend on the 
        military and to the importance of such capabilities'' and called for a 
        ``dramatic increase in spending on the civilian instruments of national 
        security--diplomacy, strategic communications, foreign assistance, civic 
        action, and economic reconstruction and development.'';
Whereas a principal objective of the foreign policy of the United States, as 
        codified in the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, is ``the encouragement 
        and sustained support of the people of developing countries in their 
        efforts to acquire the knowledge and resources essential to development 
        and to build the economic, political, and social institutions which will 
        improve the quality of their lives'';
Whereas individuals, businesses, and philanthropic organizations across the 
        United States continue to play a vital and increasing role in 
        international efforts to create a more peaceful and prosperous world for 
        all individuals through direct and indirect assistance;
Whereas studies indicate that a majority of the individuals in the United 
        States, whose tax dollars fund Federal expenditures, support increasing 
        funding to meet the Millennium Development Goals and to committing a 
        higher percentage of GDP to address global poverty; and
Whereas a firm and significant financial commitment to enhance United States 
        foreign assistance programs exemplifies the compassion and resolve of 
        the people of the United States to benefit and empower all peoples of 
        the world for the betterment of humankind: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That Congress--
            (1) recognizes that foreign assistance programs are of 
        critical importance in promoting national security, 
        demonstrating the humanitarian spirit of the people of the 
        United States, and improving the credibility and standing of 
        the United States in world affairs; and
            (2) expresses its support for attaining the goal of 
        providing, on an annual basis, an amount equal to no less than 
        1 percent of United States gross domestic product (GDP) for 
        nonmilitary foreign assistance programs.
                                 <all>
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