mr. affleck and mr. gates, and a german investment group, and all of these groups spending money, to help the co-ops on the ground get their act together, get their accounting together, to be able to function as a community under the rule of law, that is all supported by ngo's and we have been building on that to translate the income differences in the world of the rwanda and farmer. i will say this as a final moment. i recognize in today's panel that we are just one company operating in a limited sphere of influence, i am good with that but i hope that we serve as just an example of what american private sector actors can look like when we align with like-minded organizations. we can produce benefits that the poorest of the poor can literally taste, and i think that accrues to, i think it accrues to america's credit. if you want to ask questions about that and how it ripples into american policy, i would be glad to answer that, but it is an honor to be here today and i appreciate the invitation. sen. gr

mr. affleck and mr.ates and a german investment group, and all of these groups spending money, to help the co-ops on the ground get their act together, get their accounting together, to be able to function as a community under the rule of law, that is all supported by ngo's and we have been building on that to translate the income differences in the world of the rwanda and farmer. i will say this as a final moment. i recognize in today's panel that we are just one company operating in a limited sphere of influence, i am good with that but i hope that we serve as just an example of what american private sector actors can look like when we align with like-minded organizations. we can produce benefits that the poorest of the poor can literally taste, and i think that accrues to, i think it accrues to america's credit. if you want to ask questions about that and how it ripples into american policy, i would be glad to answer that, but it is an honor to be here today and i appreciate the imitation. -- invitati

mr. affleck: as mr. gates said earlier, existing cell phone technology is extremely potent from what i've seen. it's a question of training. and exploiting what's already there. and it makes a big difference. one of the steps that we've seen in congo that's been proposed and i think will be incredibly helpful is to use a kind of a cell phones for banking. so if you're a soldier the money gets to you because it's transfered to you. the way it works now you make literally no money. you should see the bar -- barracks, they're tent cities. guys are stealing pots and pans, that's why you have this impunity. these guys, and this is not evil people. they want to be soldier, they're put in this position. but if the pay didn't have to go through seven officers who all took the cuts and the guy before the soldiers who took the final cut, you'd see a revolutionized -- it would revolutionize the way armed forces work there and they would go from being a really protective force to a pernicious force. that's just one

mr. affleck has done is to take hell on earth and make it a bit better. and to mr.d, what you have proven that the private sector can do is astounding. thank you all. we look forward to hearing your testimony. as we speak today, there will be a vote on the floor of the united states senate for a member of the senate has chosen to reduce this account by 50%. and give that money to the military. here's what i would say on behalf of the military. they don't want this money. they want this account to survive and thrive. general matthus told me about how this account plays in the world as it is, he said senator, if you do away with the 150 account and withdraw from the world and these programs go away you better buy me more ammo. i couldn't say it better myself. so since republicans are in charge we'll start from the right with mr. gates. -- my right. mr. gates: good morning, mr. chairman, senator leahy and other members of the committee. thank you for the opportunity to talk with you about the importance of u.s. foreign assistance. melinda and i in writing our letter fo

mr. affleck: and really, truly shortsighted. what i have seen personally are people who now have a job that didn't used to have a job. who are moving into the marketplace. it's a model. even more so than 10,000 farmers. you would be destroying a model in its earlier most -- earliest, most nascent phase. that is saying business and investment is strong and powerful aid. it gives people self-confidence and a sense of meaning in their lives and brings goods to the market. practice of which has built this country and has proven beneficial to producers, to consumers and to the people who live in those communities. and that model that's now starting to be practiced would be diminished and that, i think, would be a real tragedy because ultimately that model is not only going to save the american taxpayer a lot of money, it's going to bring the american taxpayer, it's going to elevate the economy of the american taxpayer. it would be a crying shame because we're really onto something great. mr. gates: i'd go back to something senator gr