Political Quotes

“the original bill, the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act, urged the creation of a coordinator at the Department of State for aid to Afghanistan and mandated that this coordinator be appointed with the advice and consent of the Senate. I am disappointed that these two provisions have been removed from the bill by the chairman's amendment. My amendment would do three things. It would mandate that the President designate a coordinator for Afghanistan aid within the State Department. It would mandate that the coordinator report to the Assistant Secretary for South Asian Affairs, and it would mandate that this coordinator be designated with the advice and consent of the Senate. Madam Chairman, one of the biggest problems in planning and implementing an Afghan aid program is the plethora of agencies and operations within the United States Government, each responsible for a portion of the overall program, a piece of the pie. There is a lack of a central coordinating authority to provide direction to these agencies. A Senate-confirmed coordinator would establish prominent State Department leadership for this new program. The stature of this person would automatically command, would help the State Department rein in all of the 13 agencies that currently work on aid and policy affecting Afghanistan. H.R. 3994 is a solid bill that will do very well to address the development needs of Afghanistan. It is a good start. It is not enough.”