Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2005
FOREIGN OPERATIONS, EXPORT FINANCING, AND RELATED PROGRAMS APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2005 -- (House of Representatives - July 15, 2004)
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
AMENDMENT OFFERED BY MR. OTTER
Mr. OTTER. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.
The CHAIRMAN. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:
Amendment offered by Mr. Otter:
At the end of the bill, before the short title, insert the following:
LIMITATION ON ASSISTANCE FOR PALISTINIAN AUTHORITY AND THE PALISTINIAN PEOPLE
SEC. __. Notwithstanding any other provision of law-
(1) of the total amount of funds that are available in this Act for assistance for the Palestinian Authority (or any other Palestinian entity) or for the Palestinian people, not more than 25 percent of such amount may be obligated and expended during each quarter of fiscal year 2005; and
(2) none of the funds made available in this Act may be made available for assistance for the Palestinian Authority (or any other Palestinian entity) or for the Palestinian people during any quarter of fiscal year 2005 unless the Secretary of State determines that the Palestinian Authority has not provided support for acts of international terrorism during the 3-month period preceding the first day of that quarter.
The CHAIRMAN. Pursuant to the order of the House of today, the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Otter) and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes.
Mr. KOLBE. Mr. Chairman, I reserve a point of order on the amendment.
The CHAIRMAN. A point of order is reserved.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Otter).
Mr. OTTER. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Chairman, I rise to address what I believe to be a fatal flaw in the way we administer our foreign aid.
We cannot truly be effective either domestically or in our role on the world stage when our foreign policy forces us to support our friends while at the same time indiscriminately doling out money to our and their enemies.
All the efforts we put into promoting peace and cooperation is meaningless without requiring accountability from the recipients of our assistance. U.S. foreign aid should be based upon a recipient's demonstrated willingness to support our ideals and our aspirations for their region. When we provide aid to a country, we should be able to expect a marked change in that country's behavior in keeping with our goals.
Let me give a specific example of what I am talking about here. When they were much younger, I gave my children a monthly allowance. Unlike gifts of money or money that they earned themselves, this allowance came with some strings attached. It came with an understanding that I could expect certain behavior from them. On occasion they would forget about our bargain, and their behavior would not reflect the expectations that we had established. But when they did not receive their allowance, the next month they were quick to fix the problem so that we could peacefully live together.
Foreign aid is like an allowance which the United States is not obligated to offer and which should not come without certain strings attached. And yet we continue to treat it as if we are required to hand out money to nations and people who actively oppose the principles that we try to advance.
Today we have a golden opportunity to change the way we address the issues on foreign aid.
As part of his road map to peace, President Bush recommended giving foreign aid to the Palestine Authority for the first time in almost a decade. In light of that request, we should act now to infuse any aid with common sense and accountability so that we can advance the realistic goals that the President has set for the Middle East.
In a nutshell, Mr. Chairman, this amendment would simply require that any aid that we give to Palestine would only be given every quarter. In other words, it would be broken up into four payments over a year's period. And only 25 percent would be given in any one quarter. So January, February and March, at the end of March, the Palestine's would receive some aid. At the end of June, the Palestinians would receive some aid. At the end of September, same and just before Christmas once again.
The reason I approach it this way is because then the Secretary of State would be required to verify that in the previous quarter there had been no acts of terrorism, no human bombs that had ventured into Israel or had ventured into some other area, that the Palestinians had indeed not engaged in any acts of terrorism anywhere in the world.
And so every quarter, once every 3 months, once that is verified by the Secretary of State, then the Palestinians would receive some money. More like an allowance instead of alimony, that we treat it today as though we owed it to folks. Such a commonsense approach to accountability is the first step to reforming our foreign policy. It will provide, I believe, a powerful incentive for the recipients of this money in order to promote the kind of democracy and the kinds of values that we have in hopes for them.
The President is working to achieve a lasting peace in this region, realistically and in good faith, and I applaud his efforts. But if we are to see a change in the Middle East, our approach to foreign aid must change as well. What better time than now to implement a policy based upon behavior and responsibility, with the expectations that we offer at the same time that we offer the money.
I encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity to assist in the peace process by making sure that our assistance carries with it the same weight as our principles would.
Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. OTTER. Mr. Chairman, how much time is remaining?
The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Otter) has 30 seconds remaining.
Mr. OTTER. Mr. Chairman, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Weiner).
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. OTTER. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw my amendment.
The CHAIRMAN. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Idaho?
There was no objection.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT