the exposure of the information might be dangerous to national security, another judge refuses to stop the presses and is very prud proud of that and it's up to the supreme court. >> the pentagon papers case, it's a narrow one-- i haven't seen the movie, it's a great story, but only stands for the proposition that the government can't stop the presses in advantage and the court actually acknowledges there's a possibility once the new york times and washington post publish this, oh, there could be prosecutions afterward. >> i think the gravitational force of the new york times case has created a political atmosphere where within hugely broad bounds we do not go after the press for publishing things even where the statutes seem to say that we could. >> watch landmark cases, new york times versus the united states, with guest floyd abrams who represented the new york times in its case against the

nixon administration. and the former u.s. general under president george w. bush. live monday night 9 eastern on c-span. >> a senate appropriations subcommittee held a hearing on the annual budget of usaid the agency that administrator foreign aid programs. humanitarian assistance in venezuela and ukraine and refugees. we'll hear first from subcommittee chair lindsey grah graham. [inaudible conversations] . >> subcommittee will come to order, story we're-- sorry we're late we were at lunch at the state department for president macron and we

republicans should know how to run things as we're an hour and a half late. we've got to up our game. senator leahy is on the way, he said go ahead and start. thank you for coming, mark. we have a new senator, senator smith to the subcommittee. we want to welcome her and the 2019 budget proposal from the administration will not make it, we're going to kill it, and replace it with something that makes more sense. if you send a rescission package over here from the house, they've got the state department, we're going to kill that, too. i just want everybody who knows about this account and cares about this account, that's senator leahy and my colleagues on the committee, republican,

democrat, are going to protect this account, will make it better. we'll make it more efficient. we're always in the market for trying to make things better, but it's 1% of our overall spending, foreign assistance in general and general mattis said it better than anybody, if you cut the state department's operational budget, you need to buy me more ammo and he said that when he was head of centcom. so to the administration, we want to work with you where we can, but i eject the whole attitude that's being displayed about developmental assistance being a military, pretty hawkish guy, you can never hold and build without a presence of the private sector and a follow on force that the leader of it will always be the state department. usaid budget, we can always make it better, really appreciate mark's leadership over the years.

anything you can do to make the usaid portion of the state department more efficient, please let us know, but i want to let now that all of those who work on your behalf and all of the people in the foreign nationals who help us, we appreciate it. and that you and those under your leadership serve in very dangerous places and i think some of your biggest fans come from the military itself. so with that, i'll go through the higher comparison of the 2018 budget, but it's about a 30% cut. 26% over the 2018 enacted level and 30% over the fy 17. i'm sure, mark, you're just-- you've got your marching orders, but with that, would you want to say anything, dick? just-- so senator leahy is on the way. when he comes he'll make an

opening statement. so i'll turn it over to mr. green. >> thank you, senator. thank you, mr. chairman, ranking member leahy and members of the subcommittee. thank you for this opportunity to summarize my written testimony of which you have. i'd like to begin by welcoming the nomination of director pompeo. we've had an opportunity to initially discuss how development and diplomacy go hand in hand and i look forward to working with him closely should he be confirmed. in the meantime, as you alluded to, mr. chairman, at usaid we have urgent work to do. from unprecedented humanitarian developments to exciting development opportunities i believe our work has never been more important. that's certainly been a clear take away from my travels over these last eight months. i've just returned from peru and the summit of the americas while there acting secretary sullivan and i had an opportunity to meet with

courageous pro activists from cuba. they sar that this is a critical moment in cuba's history and urged us to support seeds of true liberty and democracy not only for cuba, but for venezuela and elsewhere. in fact, mr. chairman, much of the recent summit focused on venezuela. the vice-president and i announced 16 million for our humanitarian response to the flight of venezuelans from the despotic maduro regime. and it's unprecedented in latin american history. what makes the tragedy more painful is that it's entirely man made. it's caused by the regime's continued mismanagement and corruption. in similar forces are causing humanitarian crises in nearly every corner of the globe. near famines in guy nigeria,

yemen and somalia. man made. we must address their underlying causes, just as we lead the world in humanitarian assistance, we should also lead in our commitment to democracy, human rights and responsive governance. our fiscal year 19 request includes funding for the democracy and governance programs in venezuela that support civil society, democratically elected legislature and the free flow of information. ...

in europe, eurasia, that support democratic institutions and civil society while countering the kremlin influence. we also recognize china's investments in developing countries are rarely aimed at actually hoping countries achieve economic independence. often they come with strings attached. we must offer these countries a better choice. we should offer to help him on their journey to self-reliance, not burden them with unsustainable indebtedness. members of the the subcommittee come in the fiscal year 19 requests for usaid fully and partially managed accounts is

approximately $1,620,000,000,000. this represents 123 billion more than requested last year, including 1 billion for humanitarian assistance. we acknowledge this request will not provide enough resources to meet every humanitarian need to receive every development opportunity. indeed, no budget in modern times has this request attempts to balance fiscal needs at home with our leadership role on the world stage. our work has never been more important or dangerous. in april alone, wasting humanitarian workers workers killed in south sudan and yemen simply trying to ease the suffering that pervades both countries. we are committed to make taking every step to extend the effectiveness of taxpayer resources and protect our staff and partners. we are also committed to working closely with this committee to ensure that your ideas are reflected in a regency's transformation plan.

finally, that is a word about recent published reports of sexual abuse and misconduct by workers. like you, am deeply troubled by the allegations. needless to say, exploitation, exploitation violates everything we stand for as a native v. i met with our partner organizations to make absolutely clear that usaid will not tolerate sexual harassment are misconduct of any kind. we've taken numerous other steps and we will do whatever else it is that we need to do. i assure you this is an issue i am personally tracking. with your support and guidance, we will ensure that usaid remains the premier international development agency. with that comment thank you for the opportunity to appear and testify and i look forward to your questions. thank you.

>> mr. chairman, because of delays i will place my whole statement in the record. i join you in welcoming the administrator. have to remember not to call him congressman. both of us have done for a long time and i think it is a lot that has to be done with that budget. >> thank you very much for coming. you're a great choice that i want to compliment the president for selecting a appear to think of you a good job. but the numbers don't lie. compared to the fy 2018 and not at levels, the fy 29 teen budget request cuts 36.2% from economic development assistance. does that make sense to you? >> well, i will say mr. chairman i know the president had the

balance -- >> answer the question could does not make sense to having been involved in this arena for a very long time? >> as i said, mr. chairman, this will not come and we don't pretend it will need every humanity -- and that terry made good >> so they cut the international disaster assistance food for peace program? i think he just talked about more need. 23% from the global health program. 17.3% cut from operating expenses. do you think you could make it more efficient and save money on the operating side? dean or the 17.3% came from? did anybody ask you, is this a good number to say? >> no, i was not asked. >> somebody made it up. complex crisis fun, which is

vital for the needed states, that is 100%. we cut 5% usaid inspector general's budget. regionally cost of economic development assistance for east asia 49.9% africa, 52 by 6%. have things gotten better and i just missed it? >> mr. chairman, there are great challenges in africa. >> so, i'm setting the foundation for the people who did the scots clearly don't know what they are talking about. they spend zero time looking at africa. they are just making up numbers to balance the budget and i support them 100% on military funding increases. but i want the committee to know as a republican i believe soft

power for lack of a better term is key in winning more as much as hard power. we are going to give you more money, closer to last year's numbers and we expect you to do a good job without money. what is your biggest challenge as we go forward? when you look at the world, can you give us an indication of what you think the two or three biggest challenges are and how could this committee help you meet those challenges? >> chairman, great question. in an overarching way, the most significant challenge we face is the displacement of communities and displacement of people around the world. everywhere we look it seems from what is happening -- they matter more displaced people than any time since world war ii. >> that is what i understand. in south america with venezuela migrants, the largest migration in latin american history, how it is that we reach out to those families where we have children

being born in camps and settlements, provide them with basic nutrition. some semblance of education and civic education. to me that is the great challenge that we have to meet. if we fail to meet it, i fear that 10 years from now and 20 years from now we will be seeing these challenges to recur. >> the whole theory of someone's got to get on the ground and make sure isis doesn't come back. do you agree with that? >> well, when you say somebody come you know we provide humanitarian assistance around the country. >> to make sure isis doesn't come back in the area that used to occupy, you are going to need not only security. you will need the police force and army or they will come back. does that make sense to you? >> i do believe. >> the answer is yes.

but they can't do their job without people like you. their 200 million -- $10 million pledged by her country to help reconstruct this area. that money has been taken off the table. tell the committee in your view how important it is for people like yourself, the usaid component to be present when you take an area completely ravaged by radical islam and you are trying to hold it. what are some of the functions that need to happen should we be there on the ground? >> mr. chairman, i was in rock of maybe two months ago and had a chance to see the defined work they were doing there. restoring essential services, clean water, basic electricity, some semblance of education. i know that our partners in the military believed that was important work to solidifying

the to read. we enjoyed the opportunity of doing the work because it was we felt important than the fact that her fact that our role is carefully defined is also important to me. so that is work i saw on the ground. >> well, i just want to say that the air coalition neighbors need to pay more. the world needs to do more and ask them to do more financially in other countries to commit truth so there's no substitute for us on the ground. you're the right guy and i look forward to working with you. i appreciate you coming to the committee. senator leahy. >> thank you very much. it's good to see you again. i share many of the same concerns as chairman graham does. there's a lot of this cannot between the administration's policy documents and its budget.

nobody is going to disagree with that, but that's not really the comparison. this budget cut so much it would degrade what we were able to do before. we see the growing amount of extremism. china's expanding influence. the scale today. i don't know how you could possibly carry out the duties of aig. there's private states. we have a lot of state, countries were usaid has no present, but the state department, dod are making big investments. we've restored the money from what the president cut out.

it's not good to say we have these domestic needs. that has really been what we've had to face for years. how can we spend 20% of our budget, 30% of our budget when we have needs here at home. it's actually a fraction of 1% as you know. not 20% or 30%. and if all goes to in a handbasket, we are going to spend a great deal to try to put it back together. we've seen this in the middle east. we've seen it in parts of africa. we've certainly seen other parts. so, let me ask you this, i do changes you recommend to fiscal year 2019 budget request as you're planning on doing them or your organization you need changes to the 2019 budget

request? >> we have been briefing the staff of the subcommittee and others on the changes are looking to make through the redesign process and members of the committee have been more than helpful and feedback and offering ideas and suggestions. i think there are things we can do. for example, we are very interested in elevating the role of humanitarian assistance and we talked to your staff about that, combining food for peace and elevating it to be led by an associate administrator as a way of ensuring that we have the strong hand interagency process. so that is certainly one thing. secondly, we are strong believers in our domestic resource mobilization work and that is something members of the committee have been very supportive of. we believe it is crucial as we hope countries on their journey to a mind that they have skin in the game and that we can help

them build their own capacity in revenue collection in budgeting and transparency that goes along with that. that is certainly a change we think would be helpful. to be honest coming your staff has been very helpful to us in the process. >> we also have google. see you later. -- we also have a role. there have been many talented usaid administrators who want to transform how you do business. a lot of bright, talented and motivated people who want to do good in the world. but there's also a bureaucracy that sometimes lumbers along, and being overwhelmed by contract tears and ngos are working with government that are

corrupt and unaccountable and the money just disappears. i created local words to target funds in a sustainable way at the local level. i did so because there is a lot of rhetoric and was not happy. small ngos and contractors couldn't compete for usaid funds. how are your reach organization of global works? >> thank you, senator. i'm a big fan of local works on the motivation, the philosophy behind it. our 2017 funds, 60% went to the largest 25 contractors. we went to make sure that we continue to reach out and work with small partners and business partners, refresh partners in so we are undertaking procurement reform as part of the redesign effort. most importantly, the motivations and work of local works will continue to be a key

part of the way we approach our work. to me, the journey toward self-reliance is building the capacity of our partners. not just governing partners, the civil society, ngos that they can eventually lead the jury themselves in local works is certainly a key part of that. we think it is a good program and want to enshrine its principles in our redesign effort. >> i also urge you -- [inaudible] getting rid of agent orange -- [inaudible] the secretary agrees with us and he has worked hard as a. i will close with this. time is running out print up with the rest of my questions in the record. i heard a recent meeting at the united nations, a senior usaid

advisor for gender equality and women's empowerment, child mortality and so on. she says the u.s. is a pro-life nation. is that correct? what was the context of that? they are requesting -- the administration is requesting 302 million for usaid programs here in 29 team as a drop of 50%. is that what she meant to drop the money for family planning? >> for senator, you are referencing the bad seed article i've heard about. i wasn't in the meeting. i heard it was an off the record session meeting so i can't comment on it. what i can say is usaid supports a wide range of voluntary family

planning method and the budget request does request $302 million for such programs. and so, in terms of actions speak louder than words, that is our approach. >> actions speaking louder than words is a cut of the 2%, which are you thinking of? >> last year, no money was requested for these programs in this year we have seen $302 million requested. and so, we do support a wide range of family planning method that lead to voluntarily -- voluntary family planning is a big part to women's health and women's empowerment. >> thank you. >> administrator green, thank you for being here. i particularly want to thank the chairman of the subcommittee pair when i say something nice about them i want to be tuned in. i want to thank the chairman of the subcommittee as well as the ranking member are basically

saying we are not going to pay a lot of attention to the budget said to us by the administration. we have a job to do and we'll do the best we can do the resources at our disposal. i thank you for being here because as i read your background and get to know more about you, i can see why you are in this job and i'm glad you are. so, let me give you a challenge. two or three weeks ago i was in caracas in venezuela for four days. that what the president did and the whole time trying to get an idea what was happening in the country and it is a disaster. it is an economic disaster for the people of venezuela stand in line, each one of them each day atm machines for an hour to withdraw the maximum amount of currency they can take out print the maximum amount of currency is equal to 20 cents. they need currency to ride the bus to their job back and forth. it is a disaster.

in addition to that of the public health disasters now facing epidemics in diphtheria, measles and malaria. now nutrition is everywhere. you can see it on the street and particularly in its been my legs and arms of the children there. from a governmental viewpoint, it is awful. they are banning political parties and candidates and unfortunately determined to have a sham election on the 20th. what can we do in the united states to deal with this humanitarian crisis where he know a million or more streaming out if they can? >> center first if i may, your remarks the other day on the floor at our eloquent about the overlapping grace these we see facing the venezuelan people and it's about 5000 per day leaving the country. the system is entirely collapsed. what we have been doing is to provide some humanitarian

assistance for venezuelans who have fled in colombia and brazil in particular. this is just a drop in the bucket of what needs to happen companies to occur. they listen to the caribbean nations who are now starting to feel the effects that the will of the outmigration and it's going to overhaul their systems as well. we support a civil society in venezuela. the challenges you know in trying to provide humanitarian assistance in the country as the opposition of the government itself to doing so. at this point while we are able to provide them continue to support civil society, there are many challenges with being able to work there. but it is a crisis that is no longer venezuela's salon. it is a fact in the entire region and i agree with your prioritizing. very important.

>> it is a dilemma. be familiar with a program known as world icicle release? >> i am not. >> i thought you might have run across it in your service in africa. it is sponsored by a company in chicago. >> actually, i have heard of world bicycle release come to think of it. >> the leading american manufacture has now distributed 400,000 bicycles to underdeveloped countries. i visited this country and this country and it just lights this country had just wiped me out but they've been able to achieve that i will commend this to all my colleagues here because we talk about the basics in underdeveloped countries. this is a transformative act to give a young girl a bicycle. she now can go to school and get back home in the family wants her to go to school because they can keep the bicycle. they trained mechanics to repair them and it makes a big difference in agriculture and

public health in so many different areas. it's a modest investment in mobility. right now we invested mobility has been shed for disabled people around the world with limited investment that we do. i would like to commend to you and usaid to take a look at this. i hope somebody can come to chicago in meet the people who put it together. it's a remarkable program. >> senator, that is great. we oftentimes get caught up in the high-end and high tech. you are talking about a real difference in real families lives and real opportunities so i think that's great. >> i understand maybe you're headed there yourselves in the mr in bangladesh, taking a look at what is happening there. one of the ngo workers told me sadly, i said i'd ever hanged a the most hated people on earth in a set i'm sad they are. to be in the mid-had a

conversation with someone for burma, they may stop you and say there's no such thing. it is something i've never run into in my life. now with a million of them in bangladesh living and basic shelters, what are we doing and what more can we do? >> first off, senator, as you point out i do plan on going and i've only knit for myself that i've been to burma before, but before the crisis emerged. we provide humanitarian relief as you might imagine as we do in irma and bangladesh. we are making it very clear that we demand unfettered access from the outside, u.n. and others. but it is a deeply, deeply troubling situation. the state department has declared ethnic cleansing. at this point they have not gone further. it is under review and is a very

troubling situation and is clearly having an impact not just in burma, not just bangladesh, but in sri lanka and other places. the monsoon season is upon us, which makes it particularly dangerous in these poor people are particularly vulnerable and so we do what we can working with our partners. the u.n. security council is soon to go there itself and is looking to have access and is deeply troubling and sadly amazing data to verify what you're saying in terms of the attitude towards the rohingya. >> they literally have concentration camps. i visited one where some 4000 have been kept behind barbed wire for five years. they cannot go out. they are guarded by soldiers with guns. it is unthinkable in 21st century, but that is the fact.

>> i want to welcome senator smith to the subcommittee. it is your turn. >> thank you so much, mr. chairman. i am honored to be here today in grateful for the opportunity to serve on this important committee and i look forward to working with everyone. i would like to take this opportunity to highlight and congratulate mississippi state president on his recent appointment as chairman of the board for international food and agricultural development. dr. kim has worked diligently on humanitarian needs and under his guidance, has committed to working with the federal government and the private sector to solve international problems here and i'm confident this work will continue to serve the nation as well. i look forward to hearing from you about the agency's fiscal year 2019 budget request and

again honored to be here. thank you for allowing me to serve on the committee. appreciate you. >> senator, it's an honor to have someone with your background also on the committee. as they go through our work on food security and food security reform, we look forward to working closely with you. the professor you mentioned is the value number and is an important part of our work. >> thank you. >> senator trey shaheen. thank you, mr. chairman. and thank you on administrator green for being here and the work that you and everyone i usaid does on a daily basis. it is much appreciated and i will echo the comment of senator durbin about senator graham and leahy's leadership on this committee in the commitment to support those budget for usaid that will further our humanitarian and development efforts around the world.

i want to ask you about the question that was raised by senator leahy relative to the comments during the annual united on the women's mission in march. i know you said you haven't read the basket article and i would urge you to read it. i think the comments there were outrageous. one of the representatives, valerie uber for the department of health and human services spoke of trying to get women to make better choices in the future, which she was talking about the idea that women make bad choices and what happens to them is their fault. before joining hhs, she was the president of an association that promotes abstinence until marriage as the best way to prevent teen babe and she's been involved in stripping funding

for hhs teen pregnancy prevention program. i think this is significant because one of the things we know now is we have the lowest teen pregnancy rates ever in united states history because we have provided access for young women and men to family planning and to health care. i just want to point out notwithstanding what you had to say about support for family planning, for family and women's programs at a recent analysis found that for each decrease of $10 million in u.s. funding, 416,000 fewer women in gross around the world have access to a full range of family planning services. 124,000 more women and girls carry unintended pregnancies resulting in 54,000 more unplanned births. 53,000 more abortions would take

place in 240 more maternal deaths would occur. the consequences of our outmoded policies with respect to how we treat women and girls and the importance of access to family planning information is just really seems to be some pain that this administration is unaware of. i would hope that we are making decisions about how to support women and girls around the world based on scientific information, not based on someone's outmoded ideas about what works and what doesn't work. i wonder if you can tell me what we are doing to address support for women and families and girls around the world when it comes to access to information about family planning. / >> thank you, senator.

as i mentioned in my testimony, this budget request, fiscal year 19 request does include $302 million for voluntary family planning programs with linkages to programs involving aids, tuberculosis, malaria and of course as you know we continue to be the largest donor when it comes to maternal health, women's health of the world and those are programs that are very important to us. with protecting global life and health assistance policies in place, we feel that these monies will go forward and can be well spent and will make sure that we get some information out there to women around the world where we are working. >> thank you. i appreciate that. i would hope that anyone who believes we should be reducing

abortions in the world would understand the connection between access to that kind of information and lower rate of abortions than a lower rate of a number of women who die in child birth and the number of babies who die because they are born in an unplanned pregnancy. that policy as pro-life as far as i can earn. can i ask you about russia and ukraine because usaid is a key partner in executing u.s. programs to help allies on russia's periphery and particularly in ukraine in the western balkans and other european nations that are vulnerable to russia's influence. can you talk a little bit about what we are doing in those countries? >> thank you, senator. they are closely linked in my

opinion. i'm often asked about the best way to push back on the kremlin influence in the answer is success on its orders. so helping ukraine in the balkans to continue to succeed ukraine in its plans to fully integrate in the euro atlantic alliance. in ukraine, we are hoping to do capacity building in governance. i'd chance to meet with the head of ukraine's national bank last week but we are helping to strengthen their capacity, increase transparency and accountability. we think that is obviously very important. the key thing in the balkans in the ukraine is strengthening their capacity and tools in the fight against corruption. in my opinion, as much support as we all have for ukraine in the balkans, the window is narrow. they need to take on corruption. we will help them with tools and

capacity building, but they need to make tough choices and they need strong leadership that is willing to be accountable and trends. to their people. as strong as the exuberant protesters were in the euro by don for change, if these countries don't take on corruption, they will see a similar exuberant and protest antigovernment. so it is in their interest and certainly as friends and supporters of the democratic balkans in ukraine, it is in our interest to help them in that journey. >> thank you. thank you, mr. chairman. thank you, mr. chairman. good to see you again. let me talk for a couple things we need to deal with pretty appreciate what you're doing to deal to take some of these in the last appropriations bill included language in the northern triangle. honduras, guatemala, sending three, five coming tenure benchmarks for success. the focus was we don't just spend money and say look.

we don't just say here at the program names we have, but asking the question, how are we measuring success in our partnering with local governments to accomplish that? diamond specific as corruption of dealing with economic development they are. i zone drug trafficking and reducing the flow. not only our national security issues but also important as well. how are you going to implement this week, five coming tenure metrics plan to put this in place and how it is that complement what you're doing worldwide to set metrics for what you're doing? >> thank you, senator. i did enjoy our conversation very much because we think in similar terms. we should not measure a dedication by how much money we put in, but instead the result that we get. those results should include an honest analysis of each country's capacity and commitment.

as a partner country doesn't have skin in the game and they wanted to make tough choices among all the money in the world won't make us far. as we develop our metrics, the journey to self reliance metrics as we call them, we are trying to analyze both commitment and capacity. what we hope to do is align our best and fitness terms. specifically with respect to the northern triangle, i've had a chance to see some of our programs first-hand. i've had a chance to see some to see similar citizen security programs in which we work with local mayors and police chiefs to create safe places for families and to enhance their tools to fight back against gangs and crime in particular. the numbers are quite striking. we have seen a drop in and out migration. we've seen improvement by most crime measures. the investments are paying off in a sense and it's in their interest in certainly in our interest as well.

we support them very much. i'll go a little bit south of that to peru, but i think there's some linkages. one of the things i did at the summit of americas was to take a look at eradication and alternative livelihood programs. we run into the jungles in peru and first have the chance to pull out plants, which was an interesting mix. and another valve. what i watched was how we are encouraging farmers to plant alternative crops. a cow, chocolate and coffee and also helping to build the capacity of local communities to create opportunities, educational for their young people. it's a very successful program where we do both the eradication and the economic livelihood. we've seen a reduction of something like 91st and. more significantly, the program

that we have in peru while a few years ago it was almost entirely u.s. funded. we are now the minority funder. it is two thirds of the government of peru, which is the right answer is to show them on the programs work and build up capacity, they are taking over the funding side of it, which is also a great measure of success. that is very much in line with the program would like to do in central america and elsewhere. >> i would encourage you to price i worldwide. those are metrics harder to think through at the beginning and ones towards buddy wishon at the end that helps everyone. it certainly shows to the american people we didn't just have a title on the naming valerie committed, but here is the result of that. let me switch continents with you for a moment. the issue about palestinian israeli peace is a long-standing issue. obvious the 70 years at this

point. one of the areas we've not engaged in economic activity between israelis and palace indians. as you know, multiple joint business ventures were the israelis and palace indians are working together. judeo samaria and chamber of commerce and multiple other areas where there is cooperation. are there ways we can continue to partner where we see success happening rather than trying to create something and say try this to find areas already working on help encourage that when authority functioning. >> thank you, senator. we have programs supporting the cooperation of inclusion in the areas of information technology, agriculture, sports and arts, civic education. i would like to follow up with you and talk more specifically about business creation. small business creation and building on some of the natural entrepreneurship that is fair. i agree with you that those sorts of programs break down a

lot of a lot of barriers come every a lot of barriers, breakdown a lot of stereotypes and the people by their common interests and pocketbooks. >> there are a lot of people here that think the palestinians and israelis are separate and they never talk to each other. when you go there in the end than they are in a shop working right next to each other every single day in a manufacturing location for sales than you find a lot of business cooperation. there have been some routes but around u.s. government for a long time saying we don't engage in that. my concern is we need to bless what is actually working and creating more cooperation rather than continue to assume and raise division. i want to talk more about that in also dod had usaid in the same areas of reconstruction work together to cooperate rather than compete and continue to build cooperation together. thank you. >> thank you, chairman graham and administrator green for testifying today and for your

continued service to our nation over so many years. i think they made a jumper and contribution to the world. although you did not craft it, i has to begin by saying is deeply frustrating to me that the trump administration has ignored the role of congress and submitted a budget requests nearly identical to last year's request, which was a robustly on a and bicameral effort by congress. proposed cuts overall of 30% in some account 50% or 100% threatened to reverse bipartisan progress on development and diplomacy, we could have global standing and threaten national security. i'm grateful to chairman graham and ranking member leahy of the subcommittee for their determined bipartisan work to reverse these proposed cuts and to instead find a solid footing with which we could move forward. i will continue to work with my colleagues to support a

bipartisan and robust development and diplomacy budget, which is critical for international leadership in to meet the complex and multiple crises, mr. administrator, which you spoken to. a record number does voice people in man-made conflicts. a lot of fragile state and just appalling humanitarian crazies. i want to think about a specific area of the world in my concern an over reliance assistance and military operations and fragile context coupled with these proposed significant or devastating cuts to democracy and development programs that address the root causes of extremism. as they think you know i just returned from leading a bipartisan congressional delegation to zimbabwe in africa are not over for your buster for u.s. soldiers were killed, which may have been the first time most americans are conscious that we have hundreds of troops in. we are also doing important development work to support

democracy. what do you think are the real drivers of extremism in this and how do you think the president's proposed budget for usaid in state department will either succeed or fail in addressing these root causes? >> thank you, senator. with respect to this, there were a number of drivers of extremism. this is an area prone to acute imac shocks as we've noted recurring drought has been a challenge. weak governance has been a challenge. what we have started to do a usaid and the inner agencies began to take a new look at how we might approach this. step number one that we've undertaken is to map out where we do have existing programs. we have programs particularly in the area of global health in many parts of the region and

some of our food security programs. we've also had conversations just last week with their french counterparts. the french have a deep interest in long history. so we are exploring ways to work with them so that we don't duplicate that can complement our work because our interests are largely aligned in the same thing is true of conversations with the strategic dialogue not so long ago. but i think we are looking at programs, regional programs that promote economic growth, that build the capacity of local governments -- governance. doing a deep drive analysis of what those drivers of extremism i is you and i have talked about before common they are often localized factors and so we want to take a smart, careful approach and try to address those head-on. >> let me ask one more question

if i might in a few minutes i have left. to bear down just a little bit more, given significant increase in terrorist act committee over the last five years in mali as well, the administration pledged $60 million to support a five country g5 joya forest initiative on top of other security assisting in a number of other security partners just reference will also be engaged. what plans do you have for the development died and how do we better coordinate between the defense side in the diplomacy and the development side, particularly in countries where i think the key towards making progress is sustaining fragile democracies and development progress particularly in the north of these countries that tends to be isolated from the majority felt that these countries. >> i think we need to take on,

as you point to, questions of governance, particularly youth engagement. and many of these countries, it is significant. the median age is young. young people see a lack of economic opportunity, but just as importantly coming disillusionment with governing structures. i think part of the approach we need to take is helping government to engage with and listen to young people. we are trying to address the recurring cost of climate shocks. so in a place like ethiopia, for example, we have seen a lot of success in building the resilience of communities to withstand recurring drought. the same sorts of challenges are appearing throughout the region. that is an area where we are seeking to foster our work and strengthen it and of course as we've been talking about in the area of mobile health as well. >> all close by saying i think there is good development stories in the region. i was struck they've made a

greater progress towards reducing hiv/aids prevalent than any other country in the continent and to share the burden with the united states. the millennium challenge complex had a real challenge in these two countries and we continue to have, as you mentioned both public health and power partnerships, and development partnerships with now democratically elected presidents of both countries. my hope is we will have a tightly articulated developed diplomacy component to this as well as the defense side to it. thank you for your testimony and work i look forward to working with chairman graham in making sure we invest funds wisely this coming year. thank you. thank you, mr. chairman. administrator green, as they told you when we met, i am pleased to see you in this position. we served together in houston you made your country proud in your buster tanzania. i'm glad to see you at the helm

here. i do want to second the comments made by the chairman and the ranking member that the proposed budget for a idea and the state department is irresponsible. it represents a total retreat from american leadership in many parts of the world. in fact, all parts of the world. i do want to ask you about the situation in syria. especially rocco. the united states airpower combined with the steering democratic forces led primarily by this. kurds spent a lot of treasure and lives liberating rock a, did we not? >> yes, we did. in which you agree that now we've succeeded in liberating, we have some responsibility to help stabilize the situation in raqqah. we think it has been a

constructive role. >> let me say it's important to win the role. we are still fighting as the chairman said. it's a real possibility we don't start winning the peace at least in the place that used to be the capital for isis, that the militants will come back and we will lose in the long run. i was very disturbed to see a major piece in the "washington post" recently headlined how american neglect imperils the victory over isis. i don't know if you had a chance to see that, did you? i recommend it to others members of the committee paid six months after it was liberated, new risks are emerging from raqqa's rubble and they talked to a lot of people on the ground in the take away was come and co., the destruction of raqqa in a slow recovery are contributing to the united states wreck the city that is unwilling to take responsibility for putting it back together and he quotes a lot of local leaders.

i know you were in raqqa january, is that correct? >> yes. my understanding and tell me if this has changed that in march the white house called for a freeze on spending for stabilization areas in syria where american forces help evict the islamic say we put on hold $200 million pledge for the effort in the state department to find out which of their programs in northeastern area would be affect it. are you familiar with the freeze? >> well, senator, undergoing up or be one stabilization assistance with respect to syria. it's important to realize this does not affect humanitarian assistance. we continue to provide humanitarian assistance and never region in the country and not only the 4 million. inside the country, the 5.5 million areas outside the country and so we are continuing to work throughout the country on the humanitarian side.

>> i would just urge you because they are quoting a lot of leaders on the ground in raqqa per the comment they make with respect to u.s. aid if it's the first one has been virtually invisible in the second comment barely visible. i really worry that if we do not engage they are after succeeding with the liberation phase that militants will come back. of course our success was due to our airpower, but also to our allies, the steering democratic forces led by the syrian kurds, right? >> i can't speak to the military operations that are there. i can tell you we've had a close partnership with centcom in the boots on the ground and our work has been confined on the stabilization inside the area in and around the raqqa. >> while you were there, i

believe turkey was engaged in offensive operations and free in a different part of syria, right? >> that's true. hyde-smith is your assessment that they are hoping the efforts are hindering our efforts? >> i can't speak to the military consequences. i can say it's a complicated situation. >> hasn't hindered your effort providing relations? >> on the humanitarian side we provide humanitarian assistance on the basis of need. we provide assistance throughout the country, but anytime the security situation is uncertain, that makes it more difficult to do our work. >> the reality is turkish actions have essentially required kurds did focus on defending themselves in that of finishing the job against isis and the job of rebuilding there. i hope this committee will look carefully at that. let me ask you about refugees

and displaced peoples. as you know, we dramatically reduced the number of refugees admitted to the united states can't even though the u.n. refugee agency estimates 65 million people that have been made refugees around the world. we talked about that yesterday. you expressed concern which i share that you've got millions of people who are festering in camps around the world, including lots of kids. half of these refugees are kids. what we've heard from the administration is we want to focus on internally displaced people and keep them in those countries, which is the goal i share. a question to you is how we further the goal by cutting $700 billion the aid budget focused on internally displaced people? >> senator, as you might imagine, part of what we need to do is ask others more and i

think other countries are doing more. we are seeing japan, germany, south korea increasing contributions. i think we also have to -- i have to do a better job in making dollars go further. >> so you are okay if we cut the internally displaced budget by $700 million? >> senator as i've said, my job is to make the money go as far as they possibly can and as effective as it possibly can. >> i understand we want to stretch every dollar to its full potential. mr. chairman, grew to a statement by cutting this account by 700 million along with the others. >> if we gave you more money do you think you could use it wisely? the answer is yes. >> every dollar you provide i will squeeze to go as far as it possibly can to server interest. >> i appreciate efficiency but it did ridiculous --

[inaudible] senator merkley. >> thank you, administrator green. good to have you here. wanted to explore a little bit the situation in burma and bangladesh with the raqqa. as you are well aware, 700,000 refugees and bangladesh. bangladesh deserves accolades for having open their border. everybody is in a tight spot now. one idea is they are pursuing pretty actually to go 100,000 people on an island and you basically can't leave. it will be patrolled. both happy -- is that an appropriate strategy? >> senator as he know i'll be heading into the district myself. i look forward to meeting with bangladeshi officials to learn more about the challenges they face. clearly as you are pointing to the need assistance to help meet

the cost in demands of the rigging a population that is they are and we certainly have been supportive. we are deeply concerned as you are, certainly in burma, but also bangladesh. >> thank you. i think it's important america is putting $180 million in 2017, 2018, which has been enormously help full and i'm glad you're going because it's really a difficult problem to solve. the sandy cox says bizarre hills they are in right now would be a complete mess as the monsoon heads. we've been working with other groups to administer kids to make the shelters stronger, but still a big challenge. meanwhile, the idea every page creation is extremely difficult.

in part, the military burma wants no part of it. other ethnic groups that have been led and hatred against rohingya want no part of it. it will involve international organizations having to be intimately involved. is the u.s. pushing for the refugees to return to their same villages, rebuild the same villages and get protection of a government that so far has been unwilling to provide such protection? >> senator, i won't get out ahead of the state department, but i think what you've seen consistently in the state department and usaid is that we support the voluntary safe return of the rohingya to burma and demand that the conditions be safe before they do return. i think everyone has concluded this will not happen without a coordinated international race

on. one is their own president going to speak to the issue of the ethnic cleansing and when the world together to help address? >> the administration has been clear we have concluded this does constitute ethnic cleansing. >> i'm asking when is our president going to speak to it? we've never heard one word on this topic. >> i can't speak as to what the president has said. i'm not aware of whether or not he's commented. >> i'll make you aware since you're not aware. it disappoints me that you're not aware because everyone in the state department is aware that our president has not weighed in on that and it is a huge missing fact there. it is not just weighed in. it is rallying the world to address. i would just request as i've asked other folks, please weigh in with the president to take a stand on it. maybe after you've come back and

study the situation it would be a good time to brief the president and encourage them to take a new initiative. >> in fairness, secretary tiller said has visited vermont and i think we've seen strong statement that the u.n. and the state department has been very clear again, the conclusion this constitutes ethnic cleansing. i plan on going myself in certain will come back in brief the interagency. look forward to meeting with you. >> and you've probably seen the reports by nicholas kristof who went into this area. the leader of burma invited the world to comment the and a good five members of congress went to see and then were denied access. but i hope maybe you can get permission to visit inside burma in these areas. this is what nikki haley had to say. malnutrition was a serious problem, but now there are reports that military action of

a purposeful starvation facing more under the country. farmers are being denied the ability to harvest crops are girls and women served that could induce avery. i'm glad her ambassador at the u.n. has spoken out. again, such an horrific situation, but it is important that the u.s. rally the world to respond. we all have a lot of respect in the past. but now she needs really the clarity of the world that this is unacceptable and it's going to take u.s. leadership. ..

are the numbers representing us to do your best judgment or are these omb numbers? >> senators, as i said we don't pretend that this budget will meet every single need that's out there. it's an effort by the administration to balance needs here at home with american leadership oversees. again, we recognize this does not either sees every development opportunity or -- >> would you like to see this committee additionally that thee president's budget? >> as i said my obligation is to make sure our programs are effective as they can possibly be, produce the outcomes of this committee wants to see, and that's my obligation to all of your. >> the camp, eastern edge of the congo, the rate capital of the world. when i went in by helicopter,,

and you have to have you went blue helmet troops providing security because there are gangs rampaging through the villages, attentive young men being abducted into these gangs after the families are slaughtered. as i was up there, there was a major distribution of food and the said they're doing this every month. with i really pushed them they had not been in february because it didn't have enough food. they did not do it in january because they did not have enough food. maybe if we could get a member of congress to go every month there would be monthly distributions of food. my point is that food was american food. that food was -- zooming out that budget means putting millions at risk of starvation and i hope that we can work with you so that doesn't happen. >> senator, as you know, the i.d.e.a. is a way we can provide

food assistance but again i readily admit that this is not going to meet every need that is out there, and we don't pretend that it will. but what your point you in drc, to me the great tragedy of the drc is the fact that this is a country very much like venezuela that should be a donor, that should be a country because of its vast natural resources. it should be assisting others and yet because of poor governance, bad leadership, authoritarian leadership and human rights violations that is what it is, and it's a terrible blight on the world. >> your point is taken that government is a vast criminal enterprise. it's hard to change but we are pressing for elections and hopefully that will give a new opportunity for someone to be elected who shares the desires of the people. i was impressed, mr. chairman, i wanted to make and that i was impressed by the new president of somalia who is a dual citizen with the u.s., who is a

technocrat who seems completely engaged in the day-to-day challenges of taking all the issues. can i indulge in one more minute? i know i'm over time. one of the issues with saul, that i saw on the trip in somalia was somalia has lost 80% of its forest in the last 30 years. as a talk with the new president about this he also noted it's causing a microclimate problem. that is, the evaporation of missing force, was evaporation that provide additional raids as without the forest it's accentuating the climate chaos. what was the term used? climate shocks. he also noticed the recent the force is disappearing is because it of the sale of charcoal, cutting to the force for the sale of charcoal. this is funding al-shabaab. it's also funded everybody else who can make money off this. the ability to provide an alternative strategy for cooking fires could be a very significant factor in cutting off funding for al-shabaab and

cutting, slowing or stopping the deforestation. this seems right up usaid's alley. have significant program in cook stoves, efficient? does. i think that ran its course and was retired by want to encourage you to take another look at it but also to brainstorm more widely about how it could completely substitute some of the strategy from cutting down trees for fuel and charcoal. when they leave the camps, there submitted to a daily risk of assault that is an additional piece of fuel heating problem that could be addressed if there is an alternative strategy. >> senator, as you and i spoke briefly in my days as ambassador i got a chance to see some of the usaid supported alternatives

to charcoal, programs that are out there. jane goodall, in fact, as a partner in intensity as look to replace the trees that are often planted to provide the charcoal with revenue producing coffee, trees, and other trees that do less damage to the soil. i also agree with you that somalia is a country and the government that is starting to make some progress. and so i think we have in the government a better partner in some ways. it's a young government but i was impressed any meeting that he had with the governments representatives last year, and so we are hopeful that is the capacity ghost will be able to partner with them in more areas to provide some opportunities in the areas that have now been liberated from al-shabaab. >> thank you very much. thank you, mr. chairman. >> appreciate you traveling and all the moves of the committee to try to get informed about

your role bigger target du jour forget to get out and about. about the rohingya, the subcommittee provided resources for investigation and documentation, the fy '20 team built on a look to that report. hanks again to mark for coming. you are very helpful. i appreciate your service to our country, , you are the right guy at the right time. if there are any questions for the record they need to be submitted no later than this friday april 27 by 2 p.m. i ask usaid ig spent testimony on the fy 2019 request which will be made part of the record. the subcommittee stands in recess. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations]

[inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> the u.s. senate will gavel in in about one hour at noon eastern. senate lawmakers will continue debate on the nomination of mike pompeo to the as secretary of state. when the city returns, live coverage from the floor here on c-span2. >> friday morning we are in salt lake city, utah, for the next stop on the c-span bus 50 capitals tour.

utah governor gary herbert will be our guest on the bus to "washington journal" starting at 9:45 a.m. eastern. >> sunday on q&a -- >> the news starts to spread around the country and it seems to be swaying voters. there's even a famous editorial car t that comes out on baby screaming mom, where is my path? >> lillian cunningham posted creed of the "washington post" presidential and constitutional podcast. >> so the first few episodes are all in my head the all kind of hang around the contact of -- context of we the people. it was an explanation of gender, race, nationality, ancestry. then we of sort of move into the idea of more perfect union and a couple episodes about justice

and defense and it ends sort of with a culmination with the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity and what does that mean. >> lillian cunningham sunday night at eight eastern on c-span's q&a. >> "new york times" versus united states, the pentagon papers case, president nixon is using his executive authority to try to prevent the "new york times" and publishing his top-secret documents related to the vietnam war. lower court judges stop the presses for the first time in american history the presses happen stop by someone who fears that the exposure of information might be dangerous to national security, another judge refuses to stop the presses and his are proud of that and it's all up to the supreme court. >> the pentagon papers case, i have seen the movie but it's a great story but it only stands for the proposition that the

government can't stop the presses in advance of the court actually acknowledges there's a possibility that once the "new york times" and the "washington post" published this there could be prosecutions afterwards. >> i think the gravitational force of the "new york times" case has created a political atmosphere where come within churchly broad balance, we do not go after the press for publishing things even with the statutes seem to say that we could. >> watch landmark cases "new york times" versus united states with guest floyd abrams represent the "new york times" in its case against the nixon administration and ted olson the form u.s. solicitor general under president george w. bush live monday night at nine eastern on c-span. >> a conversation from heritage foundation on its index of economic f