I firmly believe that places like the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont...receive priority when it comes to distributing funding.

I hope so, too. We passed her out of committee. She is on the floor.

In order to restore our moral leadership, we must acknowledge what was done in our name.

Today it is overwhelmingly civilians who suffer the casualties.

Opening Statement of Senator Patrick J. Leahy

I am proud to have my name on that, but I am more proud about what has been done with it.

This program, also administered by USAID, has helped so many.

We talk about where the War Victims Fund has been used, and I think of Vietnam and President George H.W. Bush, the first President Bush, who was looking for a way to build confidence with Vietnam.

Too many programs, as you know, are written in stone and nothing changes.

Well, thank you. Because as long as I am here in the Senate, I am not only going to remember that little boy in the field hospital in the jungle of Honduras, but I am also going to remember all of the other places I have visited around the…

Unfortunately, as we have discovered, this is no longer the textbook case that peace treaties are signed, armies march away, tanks withdraw, and all is peaceful again.

you, Senator Leahy, have been the champion of for so many years is really critical.

To not respond, I think, goes to our conscience and our moral standing in the world.

I think of Dr. Nadim Karam. I met him, and I assume that this is what you mean by the type of partner. He is a remarkable person, for his vision and his commitment.

You look at some of the speeches of Secretary of Defense Gates. He has talked about how civilian casualties have been a major obstacle, for example, in winning the support of the Afghan people.

I think your testimony here today will probably come to their attention, and you may be able to get the meeting. We will help you on that.

I want to thank the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and all the Leahy Fund partners of the past 20 years that have made it what it is and for what they have done to help.

How is Cambodia or Sierra Leone or Lebanon, Afghanistan--how do they eventually take over and do this themselves?

But what I need from you, and I make this as an open offer to you and to Lloyd, if there is support you are not getting--financially or anything else--from Congress, tell me. And I will work to get it.

I know the Freeman family very, very well.

I commend what we do, but I hope we put it in this perspective.

I have been making notes as you and Mr. Chromy have been talking. I intend in the next few weeks to be in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

When the United States invaded Iraq, we knew we would need a similar program there, especially as the civilian casualties began to add up and anger was felt toward the United States by the very people we were there to protect.

the initiative of Senator Patrick J. Leahy to help Iraqi civilians injured in the conflict

In 2003, at the urging of Senator Patrick J. Leahy, USAID's Afghanistan Transition Initiative was established.