[As Delivered]

Thank you Chairman Royce, Ranking Member Engel, and members of this committee, for allowing me to discuss the fiscal year 2016 budget request for the United States Agency for International Development.

Thanks to strong interagency partners like Dana Hyde—and bipartisan support in Congress—we are fortunate to have leaders throughout government who understand the importance of development to our nation’s security and prosperity.

At USAID, we believe that by partnering to end extreme poverty and promote resilient, democratic societies, we are helping developing countries transform into peaceful, open, and flourishing partners for our nation.

As I testify today, my colleagues at USAID are supporting that mission  and representing our country in dynamic and challenging environments around the world.

We are rooting out threats before they reach our shores; unlocking flourishing markets for American businesses; and connecting our young people and universities with global opportunities.

All for less than 1 percent of the federal budget.

This year’s budget request advances our country’s interests, while responding to pressing national security priorities all over the world—from Nigeria to Honduras.

By leveraging public-private partnerships and harnessing innovation, we are maximizing the value of every single dollar.

At the same time, we are making difficult choices about where our work will have the greatest impact—shifting resources and personnel to better advance our mission of ending extreme poverty around the world.

These investments have delivered real, measurable results on behalf of the American people.

Our feed the future program has helped 7 million farmers boost their harvests with new technologies, and improved nutrition for more than 12 million children.

Power Africa has mobilized $20 billion in private sector commitments and encouraged countries to make critical reforms.

And thanks to a groundbreaking investment in child and maternal survival, we are on track to save the lives of up to 15 million children, and nearly 600,000 women, by the year 2020.

These efforts are at the core of a new way of doing business.

After five years of reform, I am confident our agency is now a more accountable and effective enterprise.

Yet, I am equally humbled by the challenges before us—and recognize that we have much more work ahead.

That’s why my focus will be on one core discipline: management.

I will push our agency to be more innovative and strategic in our effort to get better everyday.

Because while we may not have all the right answers, we are asking the right questions.

Above all, I will ensure that we are good stewards of the precious resources entrusted to us.

Spending over 30 years in the army and becoming a two-star general—and later, an ambassador—may not be the typical path to a job in development.

But even though my journey was different from the development professionals with whom i’m privileged to serve, my conclusion is the same: America’s investment in development is money well spent.

Saving children from hunger and disease elevates our own moral strength.

Empowering entrepreneurs to innovate and create new markets, advances our own prosperity.

Strengthening civil society not only gives a voice to the oppressed, but also makes our own citizens more secure.

Through our work, we are opening up new paths to opportunity, energizing the global economy, and reducing root causes of insecurity.

In doing so, we are advancing the values that unite the American people and people throughout the world.

As we work to tackle these global challenges, we will value your counsel on how we can become even more accountable and more effective.

Thank you for your kind attention. I look forward to answering your questions.