Global Development Lab Act of 2016

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this measure. I want to thank Chairman Ed Royce for bringing this bill forward. I want to also thank Mr. Castro of Texas for his leadership and hard work on this measure, and I thank Mr. McCaul as well.

Mr. Speaker, around the world, 1.2 billion people live in extreme poverty. That means they live on less than $1.25 a day. It is hard to imagine. No one should have to live on so little.

At the same time, we know that areas of extreme poverty can be hotbeds for other problems. Poverty leads to broader instability. It creates vulnerabilities that can be exploited by violent extremists, jihadists, or others spreading dangerous ideologies. It holds communities and countries back. So we view alleviating poverty as the right thing to do and also as a strategic concern.

That is why USAID established the Development Lab to help develop and deploy poverty reduction technologies more widely and at a lower cost.

I want to acknowledge former USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah, who did tremendous work at USAID helping build the Lab into a world-class center of innovation, working toward new solutions to extreme poverty.

The Lab works with NGOs, corporations, and universities to bring in the best ideas and stay on the cutting edge of development. It is also expanding USAID's impact through a public-private dollar-for-dollar matching program that allows us to scale these innovations up without expanding USAID's budget.

We are seeing real results. In 2014, the Lab invested in 362 new solutions that touch nearly 14 million people around the world. For example, the Lab funded an initiative aimed at producing more food where fresh water is hard to come by.

Securing Water for Food: A Grand Challenge for Development led to a system that makes seawater or brackish water usable for drinking or agriculture. It consumes so little energy that the cost to use it is low, even in areas off the power grid. This is what we mean when we talk about innovation.

Last May, the Development Lab hosted an international competition to develop technology to fight wildlife trafficking and crimes. I know that Chairman Royce has been very interested in this issue. This led to the development of an app called the Wildlife Scan that allows law enforcement to easily identify endangered species being smuggled out of countries. After just a couple of months, the app has already been downloaded more than 1,000 times.

And just last month, the Global Lab finished up a Zika challenge initiative, which led to 21 new solutions targeted at combating the spread of the Zika virus and are on track to be tested and deployed. They could be available within months.

The bill would build on the Lab's success by creating new authorities for the Lab to expand and manage its partnerships. It will give the Lab greater flexibility for hiring experts on a project-by-project basis, and it will allow the Lab to award small, targeted grants that have proven so effective in supporting healthcare providers.

I commend Mr. Castro for his hard work on this very good bill. It makes a good initiative better, and I am pleased to support it.

Let me just say, in recent years, it has become very clear the way issues like global poverty fit into our broader national and international concerns. We see the links between poverty, health, stability, and security. So when we work to relieve this burden and lift up communities, we are also advancing a wide range of interests. As I like to say, it is the smart thing to do, and it is also the right thing to do.

The administration has already taken steps to incorporate poverty alleviation into our development efforts. This bill will help USAID do even more.

So, once again, I want to thank Mr. Castro for his hard work. I am glad to support this bill. I thank Chairman Royce for his help. I urge all of my colleagues to support this bill.

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