Congressional Testimony

USAID Assistant Administrator for Democracy , Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance Nancy Lindborg today testified on the crisis in Sudan and South Sudan before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs’ Subcommittee on Africa, Global
USAID
Thursday, April 26, 2012

Chairman Smith, Ranking Member Bass, Members of the Committee, I appreciate your giving me the opportunity to speak before you today on the deepening humanitarian crises in Sudan and South Sudan.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Good morning Chairman Coons, Ranking Member Isakson, and members of the Subcommittee. Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

 

The more than 9,000 men and women of USAID work to provide effective economic, development, and humanitarian assistance in support of our U.S. foreign policy goals. How we improve our contracting practices, including our contingency contracting practices, directly impacts the success and sustainability of our mission. Accountability to Congress and the U.S. taxpayer for the funds we use to develop successful programs is our duty. And it is a duty that we take very seriously.

Therefore, USAID understands the significance and motivations behind this legislation. It addresses many of the management challenges that were highlighted in the report written by the Commission on Wartime Contracting (CWC), that you, Senator McCaskill, created along with Senator Webb. It also addresses some of the most important issues that we contend with through engagements such as Afghanistan, Iraq, and expect to contend with in a potential future contingency.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Madam Chairwoman, Ranking Member Lowey, and Members of the Committee: Thank you for the invitation to testify today. I am grateful for the committee’s interest in the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) priorities in Latin America and the Caribbean and pleased to have this opportunity to discuss the Obama Administration’s development policy in the Americas and our efforts to enhance security in the region. As always, I am eager to hear your advice and counsel.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Only eight months ago, we celebrated the peaceful separation of South Sudan from Sudan as a sign of great hope for a people who have endured war for the greater part of half a century. We also knew that despite the peaceful referendum, these two nations faced considerable challenges that would not be quickly surmounted, including severe underdevelopment in South Sudan, ranking it at the bottom of most development indices, and a series of unresolved disputes. However, we are deeply concerned at the re-emerging conflicts in the region that are undermining hopes for a peaceful pathway for these two new nations and that are creating grave new humanitarian crises. Southern Kordofan, Blue Nile, Abyei, Jonglei: each of these areas has been plunged into uncertainty and suffering for a wide range of preventable reasons and requires a wide range of assistance to meet the needs of the people who live there. Unresolved conflict in Darfur has made a permanent impact on the livelihoods of the region, and we still see over one and a half million people displaced. In South Sudan, rising intercommunal conflict, the steady and potentially increasing flow of returns, and the Government of South Sudan's recent decision to cut off oil production, effectively suspending the flow of 98 percent of state revenues, have heightened our concern for the future stability and long-term health of the world's newest nation.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Thank you Chairman Leahy, Ranking Member Graham, and members of the subcommittee. I am honored to join you to discuss the President’s fiscal year 2013 budget request for USAID.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Before I begin I would like to take a moment to offer our deepest condolences on the loss of your friend and colleague, Congressman Donald Payne. There have been few greater friends of USAID than Congressman Payne, and he will be greatly missed. His legacy, however, will live on for years to come.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Two years ago, President Obama and Secretary Clinton called for elevating development as a key part of America's national security and foreign policy. Through both the Presidential Policy Directive on Global Development and the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review, they made the case that the work USAID's development experts do around the globe was just as vital to America's global engagement as that of our military and diplomats.

The President's FY 2013 budget request enables USAID to meet the development challenges of our time. It allows us to respond to the dramatic political transformations in the Middle East and North Africa. It helps us focus on our national security priorities in frontline states like Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan. And it strengthens economic prosperity, both at home and abroad.

This budget also allows us to transform the way we do development. It helps countries feed, treat and educate their people while strengthening their capacity to own those responsibilities for themselves. It helps our development partners increase stability and counter violent extremism. It supports those who struggle for self-determination and democracy and empowers women and girls. And it helps channel development assistance in new directions-toward private sector engagement, scientific research and innovative technologies.

I want to highlight how the investments we make in foreign assistance help our country respond to our current challenges, while delivering results that shape a safer and more prosperous future.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Thank you Chairman Cardin, Ranking Member Lugar, and members of the Committee. I am honored to join you to discuss the President's fiscal year 2013 budget request for USAID.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

 

Good afternoon Chairman Smith, Mr. Payne, and members of the Subcommittee. Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today about the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It is always an honor and pleasure for USAID to have the opportunity to discuss our work with supporters of Africa. For me personally, it is a pleasure to be back testifying before this Subcommittee.

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