Jim Kolbe

Mr. KOLBE

Mr. KOLBE. Mr. Chairman, I reserve a point of order against the amendment.

Mr. KOLBE. Mr. Chairman, I reserve a point of order, and I do so until we have had a chance to see the amendment.

Mr. KOLBE. Mr. Chairman, I reserve a point of order on the gentlewoman's amendment.

Mr. KOLBE. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the gentlewoman's commitment and passion, and I certainly share her commitment about the need to do something about HIV/AIDS. Nonetheless, Mr. Chairman, I must make a point of order against the amendment because it does propose to change existing law and constitutes legislation in an appropriation bill and therefore violates clause 2 of rule XXI. The rule states in pertinent part: ``An amendment to a general appropriation bill shall not be in order if changing existing law.'' The amendment does include an emergency designation and, as such, it constitutes legislation in violation of clause 2 of rule XXI. I ask for a ruling of the Chair.

Mr. KOLBE. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I continue to reserve my point of order. I hope this will not be necessary. I think the gentlewoman's concern is certainly a very real one. None of us want to see child soldiers. None of us want to see this kind of child labor and abuses of children. And I would hope that this is a priority as far as I think the United States policy is concerned. I think the United Nations agencies, I think all of them have this as a policy. But I just would hope that the gentlewoman, we will continue to work with her on the right language here. But I hope the gentlewoman would withdraw this amendment. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KOLBE. Mr. Chairman, if the gentlewoman will yield, she has the assurance of the chairman that we will work with her on language in conference that would address this issue. I obviously cannot commit with the Senate exactly how that language would be worded, but certainly we will take this issue to the Congress, and we will work on language in the report language for the conference.

Mr. KOLBE. Mr. Chairman, I make a point of order.

Mr. KOLBE

Mr. KOLBE. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I am very pleased to present to the House H.R. 3057, the fiscal year 2006 appropriations bill for foreign operations, export financing, and related programs. This bill provides important funding for programs that support the global war on terror, the battle against HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases, and the national interests of the United States. The bill includes a total of $20.3 billion in new budget authority for fiscal year 2006. This represents a reduction of $2.6 billion, or 11 percent, from the President's budget request. The bill is $533 million above the fiscal year 2005-enacted level, not including the most recent supplemental appropriations of 2005. With all of the supplemental appropriations of last year included, the recommendation represents a decrease of $2 billion from the 2005 level. As to whether this amount is considered adequate, I quote from two headlines in Associated Press articles that appeared after the subcommittee markup of June 14. The first reads: ``Lawmakers Propose U.S. Foreign Aid Boost,'' and less than an hour later the headline reads: ``GOP-Led Panel Slashes Foreign Aid Program.'' Those were headlines an hour apart. So Members can lend their support to this bill because it increases foreign aid, or they can oppose it because it slashes foreign aid, or they can do either way with either one of those ideas. It is important to state at the outset that the bill was developed in a bipartisan manner. I give enormous credit to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey), my ranking minority member, for engaging in a process that resulted in agreement on the basic components of this package, even if funding compromises had to be found on both sides. We have made a focus of this year's proposal greater oversight of the expenditure of taxpayers' dollars. The report accompanying this bill includes language that requires more accountability of our foreign assistance dollars by urging the Department to set transparent goals and in tangible ways that measure progress toward these goals. Results, rather than resource levels, should be the yardstick for measuring U.S. assistance programs. Furthermore, this bill and report include many requirements for the submission of financial plans, limiting expenditures until certain reforms are implemented, and continuation of congressional notification requirements prior to the obligation or expenditure of funds. With that, let me turn to some of the highlights of the bill. First, the Millennium Challenge Corporation. The administration requests $3 billion for MCC. That would have doubled our $1.5 billion appropriation last year. We are funding it at $1.75 billion, or an increase of $250 million, 17 percent, over 2005, but $1.25 billion less than the President asked for. As chairman of the subcommittee, I have made the MCC a priority in this bill. I believe in the President's vision for a new form of development assistance, where a country's commitment to fighting corruption, its commitment to reform, its commitment to investing in its people is complemented by an assistance package from the United States, negotiated by the country in the form of a signed compact. On the Global Environmental Facility, the budget included a $107 million request for the GEF, up from $106 million last year. Our bill has no appropriation for GEF. As part of this multilateral agreement with donors in 2002, the GEF agreed to establish a performance-based allocation system for the disbursement of funds. Despite this agreement, GEF has resisted attempts to establish this performance- based allocation system, and I think our reduction, not including any funds for this, sends a clear message about the imperative of reform to GEF. On Afghanistan, the budget included a $430 million request for Economic Support Funds, ESF, for Afghanistan, an increase of $205 million over the 2005 level. It also included a request for $260 million for International Counternarcotics and Law Enforcement, an increase of $170 million over the 2005 level. This bill fully funds the $430 million in ESF and $211 million in INCLE for police and counternarcotics programs in Afghanistan. The bill also limits expenditures of about half of the ESF funds, or $225 million, until the Secretary of State certifies to the committee that the government of Afghanistan, at both the national and the local level, is fully cooperating with the United States-funded narcotics eradication and interdiction efforts. On the West Bank and Gaza, the budget included a $150 million request in ESF for the West Bank. The bill funds the request and retains the fiscal year 2005 prohibitions and restrictions on the expenditure of these funds, including a GAO audit of U.S. assistance. Neither the request nor the bill includes any direct budgetary support of the Palestinian Authority. On the Emergency Plan for Aids Relief, the bill includes $2.695 billion for the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the third year of this effort. This funding level is $131 million over the President's request and $502 million over the fiscal year 2005 level. The bill includes not less than $400 million, twice the amount requested by the President, for a U.S. contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Mr. Chairman, no one in this body, no one in this country, should doubt the commitment of this Congress to fighting the global AIDS battle. Anti-corruption provisions. Following through on strengthening our oversight role, the bill includes a new anti-corruption measure, a provision that withholds 25 percent of the funds made available for the U.S. contribution to the World Bank's International Development Association, or IDA, until the Secretary of the Treasury certifies that the World Bank has incorporated certain procurement guidelines, withdraws its proposals concerning increasing the use of country systems procurement, establishes a threshold for competitive bidding and, subjects competitive bidding provisions to public advertisement. On Iraq, the budget included a request for a total of $485 million for Iraq. Our bill includes no new appropriation for this request. We are not slighting Iraq. Instead, we assume these requirements can be financed from the nearly $5 billion that remains in unobligated funds previously appropriated in the November 2003 Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund in the emergency supplemental bill. On the Andean Counterdrug Initiative, or ACI, the bill fully funds the budget of $734 million for the multiyear Andean Counterdrug Initiative, ACI. That is an increase of $9.3 million over the current fiscal year. The United States leads the international fight against coca and poppy cultivation overseas. The narcotics industry has become a source of funding for terrorists, especially in countries like Colombia and Afghanistan. As part of the war on terror, the bill funds the President's counterdrug initiatives for eradication, narcotics interdiction and alternative livelihood programs. On the Conflict Response Fund, the bill does not include the administration's request for $100 million for a Conflict Response Fund, but it does have a new provision that allows the Secretary of State to reprogram and transfer funds as necessary for the purposes identified for the fund; and in other legislation, funds for the administration of that office and that program are included. On Sudan, the bill includes $391 million, as requested, for assistance to Sudan, including $69 million for the terrible tragedy occurring in the western part of that country known as Darfur; but the assistance may only be given to the coalition government if it is in direct support of the comprehensive peace agreement with the southern part of Sudan. Development assistance to the government in the south and our humanitarian assistance in Darfur will continue unabated. In preparing this bill, we were also faced with decreases in some areas of the budget, including for some key non-HIV/AIDS health programs and in the development assistance account. We have restored most of those reductions, and in the case of development assistance, added funds for basic education. I believe our development assistance program is a key component of our national security strategy and is critical to a positive U.S. image in foreign countries. Basic education has become a signature issue for my ranking minority member, and I salute her for her commitment to this; but I will leave it to her to describe the details of our recommendation in this regard. Suffice it to say that I fully support her efforts to provide more educational opportunities to the impoverished youth of the world, especially women and girls. This bill recommends $465 million for basic education activities, and that is an increase of $65 million over the amount provided last year. The bill also fully supports USAID's work to support the microenterprise lending. Report language accompanying the bill expresses the committee's expectation that USAID programs reach the largest possible number of microenterprises and recommends $200 million for this program. We continue an emphasis in this bill on helping developing countries build their capacity to participate in the international trading system. We have $214 million for trade capacity building efforts, an increase of $15 million over last year. Of this amount, $40 million is made available for labor and environmental capacity building activities related to the free trade agreement with the countries of Central America and the Dominican Republic. The bill fully funds the export finance agencies to promote U.S. investment overseas and create jobs in the United States' export sectors. The committee bill provides $311 million for these agencies, including the Eximbank, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and the Trade and Development Agency, and $275 million of that is offset by collections. The bill provides $791 million for migration and refugee assistance programs, continuing the United States' leadership in the world for providing humanitarian responses to refugee crises. This amount is $27 million over the 2005 level but $102 million less than the request. Finally, the bill mostly restores the large proposed reduction to the child survival and health program, providing $1.5 billion for these programs, an increase of $246 million over the President's request. We have had to reduce sums by almost $2.6 billion from the President's request to meet our allocation for this bill. Therefore, we could not provide funding for a number of new and expanded initiatives, though requested by the President or brought to this committee's attention by committee members and other Members of Congress and outside groups. The major reductions to the President's budget includes a cut of $1.25 billion for the Millennium Challenge Corporation, which I have already spoken of, $458 million from various programs in Iraq, and $300 million from the President's proposed local food purchases. This latter recognizes the decision to maintain U.S. food purchases through the PL- 480 program funded in the agricultural appropriations bill. And, finally, the $100 million I spoke of from the President's proposed conflict are a transfer of funds instead of a new appropriation. I believe this is a balanced bill, one that provides important support for our most critical national security needs while substantially increasing funding to respond to the global HIV/AIDS pandemic. It also embraces our support for overseas development assistance and humanitarian assistance activities. It meets the high priority needs of the President in these areas and accommodates congressional concerns as well. As I said, this bill was developed in a bipartisan manner and it should have the bipartisan support of this House. So, Mr. Chairman, I urge a ``yes'' vote on this important legislation. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KOLBE. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. KOLBE. I yield to the gentleman from Idaho.

Mr. KOLBE. If the gentlewoman would yield just for one clarification, I think the gentlewoman is mistaken on that. The $15 billion was a total for all HIV/AIDS programs, not just the PEPFAR's program. So when you look at all the programs that were already under way in bilateral programs, things being done in NIH and CDC as well as in the new PEPFAR program, the global fund, all of that, we will be well above, I think we will be considerably above the $15 billion.

Mr. KOLBE. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. KOLBE. Mr. Chairman, continuing this colloquy, just so you have the numbers correct here as we see them here: in 2004, total appropriations for international AIDS programs was $2.4 billion. In 2005 it was $2.9 billion; and in 2006, the current year that we are funding, it is $3.2 billion. That gives you a total of $8.5 billion which means that we have $6.5 billion left to do in the next 2 years in order to reach the $15 billion. That would be slightly less, actually, than $3 billion a year to meet that. So I do believe we are on target. Mr. Chairman, I yield to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey).

Mr. KOLBE. Mr. Chairman, I want to say to the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Simpson) that I sympathize with his statement. He makes his case with passion and knowledge. I want to clarify my intent with respect to the language in the committee report referring to applications from the U.S. Export-Import Bank. The report language urged the Export-Import Bank to act promptly on requests for assistance. It also asked for the bank to report on the status of pending applications. The report further noted the committee's request for ``an explanation for any rejection of any requests for assistance, specifically applications affecting the semiconductor industry.'' This sentence could be misconstrued as prejudicing or prejudging possible applications for bank assistance. Let me be clear. It was not and is not my intention to prejudice or prejudge the outcome of any pending application at the bank. This language is not intended to influence in any way any matter that is pending before the bank or reflect negatively on any decision made by the chairman or any other board member regarding any pending or past matter. Loans brought before the bank must meet the bank's criteria for export additionality, foreign competition, and net benefit for the American economy. The Export-Import Bank has five full-time board members whose job it is to assess whether applications meet the bank's criteria for export additionality, foreign competition, and net benefit to the U.S. economy. They are the ones who should make the judgments about which transactions the bank will support and those it would turn down. The committee report language in no way is intended to influence those judgments. I understand the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Simpson) still has some concerns with the language, and I will be happy to work with the gentleman and the Senate in conference regarding the committee's intent.

Mr. KOLBE. Mr. Chairman, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Knollenberg).

Mr. KOLBE. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Kirk), an outstanding member of the subcommittee.

Mr. KOLBE. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume for the purpose of a colloquy.

Mr. KOLBE. I yield to the gentleman from California.

Mr. KOLBE. Mr. Chairman, reclaiming my time, I thank the gentleman from California for raising this important issue. I also support international conservation efforts, and I applaud the gentleman for his leadership as co-chair of the International Conservation Caucus. I believe that the Global Environment Facility has done good work over the years to help conserve the environment and to address some of the more difficult international environmental problems that require international cooperation to be solved. Nevertheless, I have been concerned about the pace of reform within this organization. My purpose in eliminating its funding is to ensure that the limited amount of resources in this bill are used in the most efficient possible way. My goal is not to definitively end U.S. contributions to the GEF this year or in the future. However, until the final GEF reforms are in place, I am concerned that GEF funding is not being used optimally. I appreciate the unique role that GEF can play in international conservation, and I believe that a reformed and functioning GEF is worthy of support. If the GEF agrees to implement a performance-based allocation system at the August-September, 2005, Special Meeting of the GEF Council, then I would be willing and will be willing to work with the gentleman and the other body to help restore the U.S. contribution to the GEF during conference.

Mr. KOLBE. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KOLBE. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Cunningham), a distinguished member of the full committee.

Mr. KOLBE. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. KOLBE. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. KOLBE. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. KOLBE. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I am happy to respond. I want to thank the gentleman for his stalwart efforts in fighting narcoterrorism in Latin America. I share the gentleman's concerns and thank him for raising this issue here today. Since 2002, Peru's budget under ACI has decreased slightly each year, but the decrease in the 2006 request was for an astounding 16 percent. Therefore, the committee included language in the House report rejecting these cuts and directing that not less than $61 million be made available for eradication and interdiction for Peru and not less than $53 million shall be available for alternative development and institution-building in Peru. When the committee proceeds to conference negotiations with the Senate later this summer or fall, I commit to the gentleman that we will push for this funding in the final agreement.