ms. biswal: thank you for this important and timely hearing on nepal. ranking member connellly and members of the committee, it is tragic that what brings us together here, but i want to thank you for your very comprehensive and heartfelt statements and the very strong support of the united states congress in the relief efforts from the united states and really from around the world for the people of nepal at this time. i'm particularly proud to be appearing at this hearing with my colleagues from usaid and department of defense, which is a true indication of the spirit of military cooperation in the united states and one of the issues of humanitarian response. in the interest of time and because we have such detailed expertise at the dais, i ask that my full statement be entered into the record and i will summarize a few key points here. the outpouring of concern from the u.s. congress following the days of the earthquake and the surge of contributions to relief organizations is a real testament of the generosity of the american people and the values t

ms. biswal. >> after the devastating guj rat earthquake of 2001, congress tween appropriatedth and usaid aster implemented over a number of years a partnership between the government of india and the united states on creating a national disaster management ind agency. we provided some of the technical expertise. that capability in india today is quite sophisticated, quite a advanced. the recent super cyclone was the l tremendousos reflection of india'simal i capabilities because the loss of life was minimal in a, you know c category five super cyclone. that capability was on display in nepal as part of india's response to the earthquake. and the united states can feel proud for the role that it has played around the region in investing in disaster response capabilities. there's more to be done in trying to foster more regional t coordination andhe advanced planning of regional responses, by the fact that there are -- experi there is so much capability in tries the region today and the tha experiences of many of these countries in their own earthquakes is something that we have a direct h