Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2006 and 2007
FOREIGN RELATIONS AUTHORIZATION ACT, FISCAL YEARS 2006 AND 2007 -- (House of Representatives - July 20, 2005)
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Mr. FARR. Mr. Chairman, I would like to commend the Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Committee on International Relations for their work in drafting the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for FY 06 and 07. Though I was supportive of the underlying bill that was passed out of Committee, I regret that I will not be able to vote in favor of final passage due to the inclusion of a variety of amendments that were added to the bill during floor consideration.
Additionally, I would have liked H.R. 2601 to address and correct the failed U.S. policy towards Colombia. Current U.S. assistance to Colombia is heavily weighted towards military and drug interdiction assistance, with only 20 percent of U.S. aid going to social and economic programs like alternative development programs. I strongly believe that only through addressing the root causes of conflict in Colombia, that of poverty and despair, will we be able to have lasting peace in Colombia.
I am very thankful though that the Chairman and Ranking Member for the inclusion of a Sense of Congress that states that the U.S. foreign assistance should be used to support local capacity-building in developing countries. I served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Colombia during the 1960s, and the goal of our service was to ``work ourselves out of a job.'' By the end of our two year service as Peace Corps volunteers, our goals were to have educated host country nationals in different skills who could then take ownership of development projects and finish the job of developing their own country, in a culturally appropriate way.
As Peace Corps volunteers, I worked on micro development issues, and U.S. foreign policy, if it is to succeed in creating long-term development and foster stability in developing countries, should take this mantra to heart, and focus on building local capacity. I am therefore very thankful for the Chairman and Ranking Members recognition of the importance of local capacity building by including this important Sense of Congress in H.R. 2601.
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