Accelerating the Increase in the Refundability of the Child Tax Credit - Motion to Proceed

ACCELERATING THE INCREASE IN THE REFUNDABILITY OF THE CHILD TAX CREDIT—MOTION TO PROCEED

    Mr. HAGEL. Madam President, I thank my friend and colleague from Wisconsin.

    I rise this afternoon to support the legislation that the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has brought to the Senate floor today. I also wish to acknowledge his strong leadership, along with that of the distinguished ranking minority member, Senator Biden. They have done a particularly effective job at a historic time in the history of this country and the world. This country, the world, and this body will continue to look to their leadership as we go forward into the next challenging year.

    I also rise this afternoon to support the Lugar-Hagel compromise regarding authorization for expanded development assistance through President Bush's initiative to establish the Millennium Challenge Account—MCA, as the distinguished Chairman mentioned, as part of the substitute to the Foreign Relations Authorization bill which is now before the Senate.

    America faces no greater challenge in the world today than assisting global development and helping eliminate poverty. The security and prosperity of America and our allies cannot be disconnected from stability in the developing world. There are approximately 6.3 billion people in the world and roughly half of them live on less than $2 per day. An estimated 2.4 billion of them are 19 years old or younger.

    The next generation hangs in the balance. Global threats and connections to terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, poverty, despair, oppression and infectious disease are not always apparent, but this combination of threats presents complex challenges for America and her allies. Global economic development is a shared interest and must be a shared responsibility.

    The Millennium Challenge Account represents a significant new direction in economic development. Linking American development assistance to good governance, democracy, human rights, transparency, and rule of law, will help support the transition to more stable and democratic political systems in the developing world.

    The Lugar-Hagel compromise on Millennium Challenge assistance addresses the concerns of myself, Senator Biden, and some of my colleagues on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee regarding the organization and management of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the new agency that will be established to administer this program.

    There was unanimous support in the committee for the goals of the President's program—the innovative evaluations and indicators that will be used to assess a country's eligibility for assistance, and the need for more funding for economic development. But I shared the concern of Senator Biden and other colleagues that this initiative should complement and expand, not constrain or complicate, the authority of the Secretary of State to manage foreign assistance.

    This is a particularly critical time in the history of our Country and the world.

    Given the many challenges we face in the world, the secretary's role as America's chief diplomat must not be undercut or compromised. The Lugar-Hagel compromise places the management of the MCA directly under the authority of the Secretary of Sate, who chairs the board of the corporation.

    We have the potential to bring a new dynamic to American government interagency cooperation and coordination on economic development on a large scale. The board of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, chaired by the Secretary of State, would also include the Secretary of the Treasury, the USAID Administrator, and the U.S. Trade Representative, as well as the CEO of the corporation, who will report directly to the Secretary of State. This type of coordination, if managed properly, will bring new energy and creativity to our development programs.

    America remains the world's indispensable leader in working with others to help promote global stability and prosperity and help eradicate poverty and disease. We need to do more. We will do more. And we need to do it better, smarter and wiser in meeting the challenges of global poverty.

    That means our programs and the management of those programs must be more efficient and accountable. Establishing the Millennium Challenge Account is clearly in the interest of the United States. Millennium challenge assistance can play a creative and important role in helping shape a new approach to development policy.

    Global development is not a zero-sum game.

    As economies stabilize and grow, the citizens of those countries prosper, as well as citizens from all countries. Trade-based growth is the most effective approach to long-term economic stability and prosperity. America's development policies should reflect these economic development fundamentals.

    America's credibility will much depend on our ability to continue to assist the developing world. Our power and influence is not defined solely by our military might. President Bush's Global AIDS initiative, his trip to Africa, and the MCA proposal all reflect dynamic and new commitments to security and development.

    September 11, 2001 reminded Americans that we face a dangerous world with complex connections and enormous responsibilities for U.S. leadership. The world is inter-connected. Global development, prosperity and stability are directly connected to America's future.

    I urge my colleagues to join Senator LUGAR, myself, and others in supporting this compromise management approach to the Millennium Challenge Assistance program.

    As the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee indicated, this approach, this amendment, this compromise, is also being supported by the White House and the State Department.

    I thank the Chair. I yield the floor.