FCNL Testimony before House State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee

Mar 25, 2009

March 25, 2009

Submitted by Bridget Moix, Legislative Secretary
Friends Committee on National Legislation

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Chairwoman Lowey and members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today. My name is Bridget Moix and I lead the peaceful prevention of deadly conflict program at the Friends Committee on National Legislation. For those of you who may not know my organization, FCNL is a nonpartisan, Quaker lobby in the public interest. We are the oldest registered religious lobby organization in the United States. We work with a community-based nationwide network but do not claim to represent all Quakers.

Since its founding over 65 years ago, FCNL has worked to help heal the wounds of war and promote just and lasting peace. In the early years, we lobbied Congress to support the Marshall Plan to rebuild after World War II. Today, we work to increase U.S. commitments and funding to head off wars before they begin.

Many high-level government officials with much more experience than I - including Secretary Gates, Secretary Clinton, Admiral Mullen, and others -- have already testified before Congress on the urgent need to strengthen U.S. civilian capacities to better meet today's security challenges. We at FCNL whole-heartedly agree. The problems of weak and failing states, genocide, poverty, global health pandemics, violence against civilians, and proliferation of weapons large and small cannot be solved through military might. As Secretary Gates has said, the U.S. needs more than hammers in its toolbox.

Nearly 95% of spending on foreign engagement goes to the military, leaving a mere 5% for the State Department, USAID, and other civilian agencies. Consequently, the U.S. lacks the nonmilitary tools to rebuild after wars or, better yet, address problems before they erupt into humanitarian crises or deadly conflict. Today I would like to suggest some small but highly cost-effective ways this subcommittee can help fill that gap.

Many in Washington are now advocating the 3Ds of security -we'd like to emphasize a slightly different approach, one we hope this subcommittee in particular will appreciate. We call it DDI - diplomacy, development, and international cooperation.

First, diplomacy. We welcome and urge your support for the Administration's proposals to expand the diplomatic corps and stand up a civilian response corps – critical tools for preventing and responding to conflict. In addition to having the people power, though, U.S. civilian agencies need more flexible and rapidly accessible funding to respond to emerging crises outside of the annual budget cycle. In recent years, the Department of Defense has been given broad new authorities and funding to respond to unfolding events in the field. The State Department however, remains crippled by a lack of quick response funds. To fill that gap, we urge the subcommittee to support the creation of a Crisis Response Fund within the State Department of at least $50 million. Such a fund would give the Secretary of State and civilian leaders the ability to respond to an escalating crisis in real time, before violence erupts. It could support regional peacemaking initiatives, shuttle diplomacy, local police and community safety efforts, or assistance to U.N. peace operations.

Second, development. We join others in calling for elevating development assistance as a core pillar of U.S. foreign policy and rebuilding USAID. We also support the current efforts in Congress toward comprehensive foreign aid reform. In that context, we urge greater support for programs within USAID which seek to address root causes of conflict and help societies transition from war to peace. Both the Office on Conflict Management and Mitigation and the Office for Transition Initiatives should be expanded and strengthened. Specific assistance for humanitarian demining is also urgently needed.

In addition, FCNL urges the committee to provide new funding through existing development accounts to support programs which address the roots or drivers of conflict in societies. Such funds could support disarmament and demobilization programs, alleviate socio-economic inequalities, or help strengthen local capacities for mitigating conflict and building peace. The recent Genocide Prevention Task Force headed by Madeline Albright and Bill Cohen has suggested an initial $200 million in such funding.

Finally, international cooperation, or as the Quaker Peace Center in South Africa likes to say, peace is a group effort. The U.S. needs healthy international and regional organizations that can help prevent and respond to crises. FCNL thanks this subcommittee for its past work to bolster U.S. contributions to the United Nations, and we urge full payment this year of U.S. debt to the U.N. – now standing at near $1 billion - as well as on time and in full payment of U.S. annual dues. U.S. relations with the world depend on it.

We also urge the subcommittee to support mechanisms within the international system which specifically help prevent the renewal or outbreak of crises. The UN Peacebuilding Commission is becoming an increasingly important tool for helping countries transition from war to peace and should be supported and strengthened. The UN Least Developed Countries Fund is helping poor countries mitigate the effects of global climate change through adaptation programs. We thank the subcommittee for the recent U.S. contribution of $10 million to this fund, and urge significantly more funding – upwards of $200 million - in FY10. Many of the nations that contributed the least to the buildup of global greenhouse gases are the most vulnerable to its effects. The U.S. has a moral responsibility and a national security interest in supporting adaptation programs to mitigate the devastating impact of this global crisis.

To sum up, we at FCNL believe the best use of the international affairs budget is to prevent deadly conflict before it starts. These small investments in DDI – diplomacy, development, and international cooperation – could save billions of dollars and countless lives. Our written testimony includes more details on the proposals I've presented, and I thank you for this opportunity to share our views.

See the full written testimony and the PDF of this testimony. PDF Version