the entire foreign operations budget is about 1 percent of Federal spending, and the world is rapidly changing.

And its purpose was to influence political conditions abroad by gathering information about Cuban cell phone users to encourage opposition to the Cuban Government.

I know it was in place before you arrived. But do you know whose idea it was?

Did we tell the people in Cuba that this was a U.S. Government program?

Here we are, the most powerful Nation on earth, and we act as if we are afraid of a tiny island country.

Well, we conduct programs in lots of different places without branding or advertising USAID.

I think everybody on this panel, both democrats and republicans, have praised you for improving.

We should remember that while we debate what USAID is doing in Cuba, U.S. citizen Alan Gross remains in solitary confinement in his fifth year of captivity.

On the face of it there are several aspects about this that are troubling.

It is long past time for the administration and the Cuban Government to negotiate a resolution of this ordeal so Mr. Gross can return home.

I am optimistic about USAID Forward and its focus on country ownership, and eventually working yourselves, USAID, out of a job.

So the Helms-Burton Act would make sure that, to show how tough we are, we could not help Cuban children who have health needs.