Secretary of State Colin Powell summarized President Bush’s FY2005 request for international affairs programs before the House International Affairs Committee on February 11, and before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on February 12.
During the hearing, Secretary Powell’s comments focused primarily on U.S. operations in Iraq, but his written testimony described a number of programs important to women. Noting that President Bush requested $1.2 billion to support reconstruction, security, and democracy building in Afghanistan, Secretary Powell stated, “The lives of women and girls are improving as women pursue economic and political opportunities and girls return to school.” He went on to add that “since 2001, the United States has rehabilitated 205 schools and 140 health clinics” and that the FY2005 request for Afghanistan would focus on education, health, infrastructure, and assistance for the Afghan army.
The Secretary highlighted the importance of expanding democracy and pubic diplomacy in the Middle East, saying, “It is crucial if we are to attack successfully the motivation of terrorism.” To that end, the administration has requested $150 million in FY2005 for the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) and $61 million for the Partnerships for Learning (P4L) and the Youth Exchange and Study (YES) initiatives. “In FY2005, the P4L and the YES programs…will focus more on youth of the Muslim world, specifically targeting non-traditional, non-elite, often female and non-English speaking youth.” Additionally, Secretary Powell said that efforts to increase diplomatic and assistance activities in the Middle East would focus particularly on women. He pointed to Jordan and other countries as examples of “promising developments upon which to build,” saying that three Jordanian women hold cabinet minister positions for the first time in the country’s history.
Thanking members of the committee for their work last year on authorizing legislation to provide assistance for international HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria programs (P.L. 108-25), Secretary Powell said that under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the State Department believes that by 2008, 7 million new HIV infections will be prevented, 2 million HIV-positive individuals will receive treatment, and 10 million HIV-positive individuals will receive care. To achieve this, the budget requests $2.8 billion across the State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the Department of Health and Human Services.
Rep. Christopher Smith (R-NJ) questioned whether sanctions were successfully thwarting trafficking in humans, saying that recent reports cited a government official in Ngorno-Karabakh as being linked to trafficking. Rep. Smith also expressed concerns regarding U.S. policy toward China noting that the Chinese government continues its “oppressive policies,” including “forced abortions and forced sterilizations.”
Secretary Powell responded: “You know how aggressively we are pursuing this issue [trafficking in persons]… I participated in a television show two weeks ago that I thought was very moving in describing what goes on with trafficking in children… We can count on this President following up on this. With respect to China, we have told the Chinese that we have seen backsliding over the past year and this is of concern to us.”
In his opening statement at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Chair Richard Lugar (R-IN) highlighted a number of the administration’s and Congress’s joint accomplishments in foreign policy. The accomplishments include efforts to fight HIV/AIDS, the establishment of the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA), and increased funding for MEPI. All “have demonstrated that the United States intends to provide leadership in fighting the poverty and disorder that so often are at the root of conflict.” In discussing Afghanistan, Rep. Lugar said, “Women are participating in society in many more ways than they have done before.”
Ranking Member Joe Biden (D-DE) commented on the budget request to increase funding for the MCA and the global HIV/AIDS initiative, expressing his concern that development assistance, aid for refugees, and support for Russia would have to be cut. He argued that there is a need “for fundamental reworking and beefing up of public diplomacy.”
During the question and answer period, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) discussed a letter she and other Senators sent to Ambassador Paul Bremer, Administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, regarding the security of women in Iraq. “Are you confident that we will be able to use our influence to protect the rights of women in Iraq?”
Secretary Powell assured her that the State Department is working on the issue. “We would not have succeeded in our mission if women were not allowed to participate fully.”
