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Africa
I served on the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations of the Committee on International Relations for eight terms. There is a growing realization that Africa's many challenges will increasingly impact the security and economic well being of the United States. I have on many occasions discussed U.S. interests in Africa with Southern Californians involved in humanitarian, development, business and educational efforts on the continent.
From 1997 to 2004, I was the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa. During that time, I conducted over 60 hearings, dealing with a wide range of issues affecting the African continent. These include trade and investment, terrorism, HIV/AIDS, agricultural development, and the management of natural resources. Hearings also looked at trouble spots in Africa, including Liberia, Sudan, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe. Africa Subcommittee hearings bring attention to important issues in Africa. Well before wide attention was paid to the fact that the U.S. is receiving an increasing amount of its imported oil from West Africa's mushrooming oil fields, a Subcommittee hearing emphasized the importance of ensuring that oil revenues are not squandered and benefit Africans.
Subcommittee hearings also oversee Administration policy. In May of 2003, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the Sudan Peace Act, which requires the Administration to certify that both parties to this deadly conflict are acting in good faith in peace negotiations. Subcommittee hearings have led to legislative initiatives. A March of 2003 hearing on the Congo Basin Forest Partnership, an initiative unveiled by Secretary of State Powell in 2002 to protect the forests and wildlife of central Africa, resulted in legislation authorizing this landmark program. This legislation inspired the creation of the bipartisan International Conservation Caucus, which I co-chair.
Promoting democracy and the rule of law in Africa is a priority for me. In 1999, I co-led with Colin Powell an observation delegation to Nigeria for its historic presidential election, which ended years of military dictatorship. The Subcommittee has approved congressional resolutions condemning breakdowns in democracy and the rule of law, as well as human rights and press freedom abuses. These resolutions, which put the U.S. House of Representatives on record, are often widely noted in African countries.
Believing that private enterprise and open markets are the keys to Africa's development, I led the effort to pass the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which was signed into law by President Clinton in 2000. In only the few years since, AGOA has significantly spurred trade between the U.S. and several African countries, benefiting both Africans and Americans by creating hundreds of thousands of much-needed jobs. I have visited Africa to assess AGOA first hand. In 2003, I participated in the U.S.-Sub-Saharan African Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum. In July 2004, legislation extending and expanding upon the proven success of AGOA was signed into law. To learn more about AGOA use this link.
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