IV 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 6 
Expressing the sense of Congress that the United States should provide, 
on an annual basis, an amount equal to at least one percent of United 
States gross domestic product for nonmilitary foreign assistance pro-
grams. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 5, 2017 
Ms. LEE 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 one percent of United States gross domestic 
product 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. Mar-
shall, otherwise known as the Marshall Plan; 
Whereas, from the years 1947 to 1951, the United States 
gave $13 billion, equivalent to approximately $140 billion 
in 2016 and less than one percent of United States gross 
domestic product (GDP) for nonmilitary foreign assist-
ance programs for 2015, in economic aid and technical 
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assistance to assist in the economic recovery of 16 Euro-
pean 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 polit-
ical degradation; 
Whereas poverty, lack of opportunity, and environmental deg-
radation are recognized as significant contributors to so-
cioeconomic and political instability, as well as to the ex-
acerbation 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, pre-
venting global climate change, curbing weapons prolifera-
tion, and fostering peace and cooperation between all na-
tions; 
Whereas the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, signed into law 
on September 4, 1961, reaffirms ‘‘the traditional human-
itarian ideals of the American people and renews its com-
mitment to assist people in developing countries to elimi-
nate hunger, poverty, [and] illness’’; 
Whereas Congress created the Peace Corps in 1961 and the 
United States has since sent more than 220,000 volun-
teers to 140 nations to promote the Peace Corps’ mission 
of world peace and friendship through service in the de-
veloping world; 
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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 polit-
ical and military influence; 
Whereas over the last 10 years, Congress and successive ad-
ministrations have worked to more than double foreign 
assistance and implement 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), the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief 
(PEPFAR), the Global Food Security and Feed the Fu-
ture Initiatives, and the Global Health Initiative; 
Whereas President Obama has expressed his commitment to 
achieve the Millennium Development Goal of cutting ex-
treme 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 Na-
tions Millennium Development Goals in order to reduce 
extreme poverty, support sustainable development, and 
address the needs of the world’s most vulnerable popu-
lations; 
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 
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child mortality, improve maternal health, combat HIV/ 
AIDS, malaria, and other diseases, ensure environmental 
sustainability, and develop a global partnership for devel-
opment; 
Whereas the United Nations Department of Economic and 
Social Affairs indicates that in September 2015, major 
gaps still persisted in development aid monetary flows to 
the least developed countries and in eliminating trade 
barriers for developing countries; 
Whereas, additionally, many people could not access essential 
medicines—generic medicines were available on average 
in 58 percent of public sector facilities—and only 32 per 
100 citizens in developing countries had access to the 
Internet at affordable prices; 
Whereas the World Bank estimates that in 2013, 767 million 
people across the globe were experiencing extreme pov-
erty, living on less than $1.90 a day; 
Whereas according to the United Nations Development Pro-
gram’s ‘‘2015 Human Development Report’’ more than 
1.5 billion people (across 101 countries examined in the 
report) live in multidimensional poverty according to the 
Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), an indicator 
which provides a comprehensive picture of severe depriva-
tions common to poor households including in health, 
education, and standard of living; 
Whereas the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organiza-
tion (FAO) estimates that the number of undernourished 
people in the world totaled 793 million in 2015, equiva-
lent to 12.9 percent of the world population and rep-
resenting a decrease of roughly 200 million people from 
1990; 
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Whereas the United Nations Framework Convention on Cli-
mate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat has indicated that 
by 2050, the cost of adapting to global climate change in 
developing countries could amount to anywhere between 
$280 and $500 billion annually; 
Whereas in 2014, the United States was in 19th place behind 
most industrialized nations in official development assist-
ance funding as a percentage of gross national income 
(GNI), totaling $23.4 billion and representing 0.19 per-
cent; 
Whereas, in April 2015, Secretary of State John Kerry re-
leased the second Quadrennial Diplomacy and Develop-
ment Review (QDDR), as a ‘‘blueprint for the next gen-
eration of American diplomacy’’ that builds on the ‘‘rec-
ognition that development is a co-equal pillar of our for-
eign policy’’ by focusing on four strategic priorities: fight-
ing against violent extremism, building open societies, 
promoting shared prosperity, and curbing climate change; 
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 ac-
quire the knowledge and resources essential to develop-
ment and to build the economic, political, and social insti-
tutions which will improve the quality of their lives’’; 
Whereas broad-based country- and community-ownership, 
sustainable and responsible trade opportunities, the ro-
bust engagement of vulnerable populations, including 
women, and a commitment to improve governance and 
the rule of law, are all critical to the long-term success 
of development programs; 
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Whereas individuals, businesses, and philanthropic organiza-
tions 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 65 percent of the individuals 
in the United States, whose tax dollars fund Federal ex-
penditures, support increasing funding to meet the Mil-
lennium Development Goals and to committing a higher 
percentage of GDP to address global poverty provided 
that other wealthy countries are willing to make the same 
commitment; and 
Whereas a firm and significant financial commitment to en-
hance United States foreign assistance programs exempli-
fies 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 se-
curity, 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 one percent of United States gross 
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domestic product (GDP) for nonmilitary foreign as-
sistance programs. 
Æ 
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