File:H. Con. Res. 6 (Introduced in House) - Expressing the sense of Congress that the United States should provide, on an annual basis, an amount equal to at least one percent of United States GDP.pdf

English: CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of Congress that the United States should provide,

on an annual basis, an amount equal to at least one percent of United 
  States gross domestic product for nonmilitary foreign assistance 
                              programs.

Whereas, on April 3, 1948, President Harry Truman signed into law the Economic

       Recovery Act of 1948, inspired by a plan of economic trade and 
       assistance for European countries proposed by Secretary of State George 
       C. Marshall, otherwise known as the Marshall Plan;

Whereas, from the years 1947 to 1951, the United States gave $13 billion,

       equivalent to approximately $140 billion in 2016 and less than one 
       percent of United States gross domestic product (GDP) for nonmilitary 
       foreign assistance programs for 2015, in economic aid and technical 
       assistance to assist in the economic recovery of 16 European countries;

Whereas the Marshall Plan, among other objectives, sought to assure global peace

       and defend the national security of the United States through direct 
       foreign assistance programs aimed at combating economic, social, and 
       political degradation;

Whereas poverty, lack of opportunity, and environmental degradation are

       recognized as significant contributors to socioeconomic and political 
       instability, as well as to the exacerbation of disease pandemics and 
       other global health threats;

Whereas elevating the United States standing in the world represents a critical

       and essential element of any strategy to improve national and global 
       security by mitigating the root causes of conflict and multinational 
       terrorism, strengthening diplomatic and economic relationships, 
       preventing global climate change, curbing weapons proliferation, and 
       fostering peace and cooperation between all nations;

Whereas the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, signed into law on September 4,

       1961, reaffirms ``the traditional humanitarian ideals of the American 
       people and renews its commitment to assist people in developing 
       countries to eliminate hunger, poverty, [and] illness;

Whereas Congress created the Peace Corps in 1961 and the United States has since

       sent more than 220,000 volunteers to 140 nations to promote the Peace 
       Corps' mission of world peace and friendship through service in the 
       developing world;

Whereas, on November 3, 1961, President John F. Kennedy established the United

       States Agency for International Development (USAID) with the aim of 
       providing direct support to developing countries in a manner free of 
       political and military influence;

Whereas over the last 10 years, Congress and successive administrations have

       worked to more than double foreign assistance and implement a number of 
       new foreign aid initiatives to support global health, development, human 
       rights, and good governance, including the Millennium Challenge Account 
       (MCA), the President's International Education Initiative, the 
       President's Malaria Initiative (PMI), the President's Emergency Plan for 
       AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the Global Food Security and Feed the Future 
       Initiatives, and the Global Health Initiative;

Whereas President Obama has expressed his commitment to achieve the Millennium

       Development Goal of cutting extreme poverty and hunger around the world 
       in half by 2015, as well as his intent to double the level of foreign 
       assistance to meet that goal;

Whereas the United States has pledged its support, along with every United

       Nations member state and numerous international organizations, to 
       achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals in order to 
       reduce extreme poverty, support sustainable development, and address the 
       needs of the world's most vulnerable populations;

Whereas the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, derived from the United

       Nations Millennium Declaration signed on September 8, 2000, seek to 
       eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, achieve universal primary 
       education, promote gender equality and empower women, reduce child 
       mortality, improve maternal health, combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other 
       diseases, ensure environmental sustainability, and develop a global 
       partnership for development;

Whereas the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs indicates

       that in September 2015, major gaps still persisted in development aid 
       monetary flows to the least developed countries and in eliminating trade 
       barriers for developing countries;

Whereas, additionally, many people could not access essential medicines--generic

       medicines were available on average in 58 percent of public sector 
       facilities--and only 32 per 100 citizens in developing countries had 
       access to the Internet at affordable prices;

Whereas the World Bank estimates that in 2013, 767 million people across the

       globe were experiencing extreme poverty, living on less than $1.90 a 
       day;

Whereas according to the United Nations Development Program's ``2015 Human

       Development Report more than 1.5 billion people (across 101 countries 
       examined in the report) live in multidimensional poverty according to 
       the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), an indicator which provides a 
       comprehensive picture of severe deprivations common to poor households 
       including in health, education, and standard of living;

Whereas the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates

       that the number of undernourished people in the world totaled 793 
       million in 2015, equivalent to 12.9 percent of the world population and 
       representing a decrease of roughly 200 million people from 1990;

Whereas the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

       Secretariat has indicated that by 2050, the cost of adapting to global 
       climate change in developing countries could amount to anywhere between 
       $280 and $500 billion annually;

Whereas in 2014, the United States was in 19th place behind most industrialized

       nations in official development assistance funding as a percentage of 
       gross national income (GNI), totaling $23.4 billion and representing 
       0.19 percent;

Whereas, in April 2015, Secretary of State John Kerry released the second

       Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR), as a ``blueprint 
       for the next generation of American diplomacy that builds on the 
       ``recognition that development is a co-equal pillar of our foreign 
       policy by focusing on four strategic priorities: fighting against 
       violent extremism, building open societies, promoting shared prosperity, 
       and curbing climate change;

Whereas a principal objective of the foreign policy of the United States, as

       codified in the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, is ``the encouragement 
       and sustained support of the people of developing countries in their 
       efforts to acquire the knowledge and resources essential to development 
       and to build the economic, political, and social institutions which will 
       improve the quality of their lives;

Whereas broad-based country- and community-ownership, sustainable and

       responsible trade opportunities, the robust engagement of vulnerable 
       populations, including women, and a commitment to improve governance and 
       the rule of law, are all critical to the long-term success of 
       development programs;

Whereas individuals, businesses, and philanthropic organizations across the

       United States continue to play a vital and increasing role in 
       international efforts to create a more peaceful and prosperous world for 
       all individuals through direct and indirect assistance;

Whereas studies indicate that 65 percent of the individuals in the United

       States, whose tax dollars fund Federal expenditures, support increasing 
       funding to meet the Millennium Development Goals and to committing a 
       higher percentage of GDP to address global poverty provided that other 
       wealthy countries are willing to make the same commitment; and

Whereas a firm and significant financial commitment to enhance United States

       foreign assistance programs exemplifies the compassion and resolve of 
       the people of the United States to benefit and empower all peoples of 
       the world for the betterment of humankind: Now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 

That Congress--

           (1) recognizes that foreign assistance programs are of 
       critical importance in promoting national security, 
       demonstrating the humanitarian spirit of the people of the 
       United States, and improving the credibility and standing of 
       the United States in world affairs; and
           (2) expresses its support for attaining the goal of 
       providing, on an annual basis, an amount equal to no less than 
       one percent of United States gross domestic product (GDP) for 

nonmilitary foreign assistance programs.