President's FY 2006 Budget Request
Secretary Condoleezza Rice
Statement Before House Appropriations Subcommittee on Science, State, Justice, and Commerce, and Related Agencies
March 9, 2005
(As Prepared for Delivery)
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate the opportunity to address the Committee at this time of challenge, hope and
opportunity for America, and for the world. I look forward to working with the Congress to build a strong bipartisan
consensus behind America's foreign policy. And I especially look forward to working with this Committee to ensure that
the men and women of American diplomacy have the resources they need to conduct their vital mission.
President Bush has charged the men and women of the Department of State with helping to create a balance of power in
the world that favors freedom, and I feel privileged to lead them in this effort.
I wish to thank the members of this Committee for their strong support of the State Department's needs and management
initiatives, and I appreciate the chance to testify before you on the State Department's portion of the President's
budget request for FY 2006.
I know that is your area of oversight and particular interest, but allow me first to give you a picture of the overall
international affairs budget request, before highlighting the specifics regarding State Department operations.
The President's overall FY 2006 International Affairs Budget request, including for the State Department, USAID and
other foreign affairs agencies, totals $33.6 billion. On February 14, President Bush submitted an FY 2005 supplemental
request, including about $5.6 billion for international affairs activities and $701 million in tsunami relief funding
for the Department and USAID.
Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee, in his State of the Union Message, President Bush spoke of the unprecedented
efforts we have undertaken since September 11, 2001 with allies and friends around the world to defeat terrorism. The
President spoke of the significant progress we have made confronting the enemy abroad, removing many of al-Qaida's top
commanders, cutting off terrorist finances, and putting pressure on states that sponsor or harbor terrorists or seek to
proliferate weapons of mass destruction. But in the long term, as President Bush said, "The only force powerful enough
to stop the rise of tyranny and terror, and replace hatred with hope, is the force of human freedom."
To advance our diplomatic mission of freedom, in February I traveled, as you know, to Europe. I spoke with European
leaders about how America and Europe can best work together to serve freedom's cause worldwide. Then, at the end of the
month, President Bush spoke in Brussels about a new era of trans-Atlantic unity and a renewal of our great alliance of
freedom. The President's meetings at NATO and the European Union, as well as with French President Chirac and German
Chancellor Schroeder, underscored our shared commitment to promoting democracy around the world.
The President Bush and his counterparts not only turned the page on Iraq, they wrote a new chapter. All 26 NATO allies
are now contributing to the NATO Training Mission in Iraq. And, at the request of the new Iraqi government, the European
Union announced its willingness to co-host with the United States an international conference to encourage and
coordinate international support for Iraq.
We and our European allies must put the power of our partnership to work to meet the challenges of a changing world
particularly in the Broader Middle East and North Africa. Efforts to encourage political pluralism, economic openness
and the growth of civil society are critical to shaping a stable and prosperous future for this strategically important
region. Recognizing this, through the G-8 we have established the Forum for the Future -- a new partnership of progress
between the democratic world and the nations of a vast region extending from Morocco to Pakistan. The first meeting of
the Forum in Rabat last December was a success. We must now follow up on that success and we are committed to ensuring
that the Forum plays a central role in advancing reform in the region.
Last week, I traveled to London, where Prime Minister Blair convened an important conference of major donors, including
regional states. The conference focused on ways to help the Palestinian people advance their political, security and
economic reforms and build infrastructure for self-government. And later this year, the Jordanian government will host a
ministerial meeting of education ministers from G-8, Broader Middle East and North African countries and others to
discuss regional education reform efforts.
The path of reform in the Middle East will be difficult and uneven. The spread of freedom is the work of generations,
but it is also urgent work that cannot be deferred.
From Morocco to Jordan to Bahrain, we are seeing elections and new protections for women and minorities, and the
beginnings of political pluralism. Recent weeks have seen an opening toward broader participation in the first-ever
municipal elections in Saudi Arabia, and a very important decision by President Mubarak to open up competition in
Egypt's presidential elections. And of course, in Lebanon we have witnessed the dramatic popular demonstrations for
freedom and against the continued manipulation of the government and politics by outsiders.
The will of the people of Lebanon to make their own decisions and to throw off the mantle of oppression is clear. Last
week, they succeeded in convincing the government to step down in the run-up to parliamentary elections this spring. The
people of Lebanon have an enormous opportunity to bring about peaceful change with the elections. We will do all we can
to support them in ensuring they are free and fair and this includes our continuing to insist on the withdrawal of all
foreign forces as required by UN Security Council Resolution 1559. The joint US-French statement of February 21 is but
one example of our determination to work with the international community to ensure that the terms of the resolution are
fully implemented.
In support of these hopeful trends across the region toward freedom and democratic government, the FY 2006 budget
request proposes enhanced funding for diplomatic and assistance activities in the Middle East, North Africa and other
countries with significant Muslim populations. The request includes $120 million for the Middle East Partnership
Initiative for reform, $40 million for the National Endowment for Democracy to support the Broader Middle East and North
Africa Initiative, $180 million for Muslim outreach through educational and cultural exchanges, and increases for a wide
range of other public diplomacy and broadcasting initiatives geared toward Muslim publics, particularly young people.
The success of freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq will give strength to reformers throughout the region, and accelerate
the pace of reforms already underway.
Every leader in Europe I spoke to understands our common interest in building on recent successes and stabilizing and
advancing democratic progress in Afghanistan and Iraq.
For our part, to build on the momentum in Afghanistan following last October's elections, President Bush has requested
nearly $1.1 billion. This money will be used to invest in health, education, clean water and free market infrastructure
that create conditions for sustained growth and stability and to continue the fight against drugs. The FY 2005
supplemental seeks $2 billion for expanding police and counter-narcotics programs and accelerating reconstruction and
democracy and governance activities. The supplemental also includes $60 million for Embassy security and operational
costs.
For Iraq, President Bush has requested $360 million for economic assistance to continue work already begun under the
Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund. These monies would be targeted towards helping the Iraqi government create a
functioning democracy and a justice system governed by the rule of law. This funding also will help the Iraqi government
deliver basic services to its people, collect revenues, generate jobs and develop a free market system capable of
joining the global economy. The FY 2005 supplemental includes $690 million to continue U.S. mission operations and $658
million to construct a new embassy compound in Baghdad.
Of course, the process of reform in the broader Middle East is not detached from the resolution of important political
issues. In my recent travels I found no difference of view, at all, between the United States and Europe on the goal of
an independent Palestinian state living side-by-side in peace with the Jewish State of Israel. We all support the
process of reform in the Palestinian Authority. The successful Palestinian elections of January 9, and the Israeli
withdrawal plan for Gaza and parts of the West Bank, have created a new climate that is propitious for movement back to
the Roadmap. Indeed, I am confident that the parties now have before them the best chance for advancing peace that they
are likely to see for some years to come.
At their meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh with President Mubarak and King Abdullah, both Prime Minister Sharon and President
Abbas called this a time of opportunity that must not be lost. And President Bush has invited both leaders to Washington
in the spring. President Bush also has announced an additional $350 million to help the Palestinians build
infrastructure and sustain the reform process over the next two years. Of the $350 million, $150 million is included in
the FY 2006 budget request and $200 is included in the FY 2005 supplemental.
Even as we work with allies and friends to meet the great challenge of advancing freedom and peace in the broader
Middle East and North Africa, we will seize other important opportunities to build a world of peace and hope.
We will work to strengthen the community of democracies, so that all free nations are equal to the work before us. We
must do all we can to ensure that nations which make the hard choices and do the hard work to join the free world
deliver on the high hopes of their citizens for a better life. In much of Africa and Latin America, we face the twin
challenges of helping to bolster democratic ideals and institutions, and alleviating poverty. We will insist that
leaders who are elected democratically have an obligation to govern democratically. We will work in partnership with
developing nations to fight corruption, instill the rule of law, and create a culture of transparency that will attract
the trade and investment crucial to poverty reduction.
We seek $3 billion for the third year of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, our bold, growth-promoting approach to
development which helps countries that govern justly, adopt sound economic policies and invest in the welfare of their
people. We also seek $2.4 billion in development, child survival and health assistance. This Budget exceeds the
President's 2002 commitment for overall growth in core development assistance by requesting a total of $19.8 billion,
$8.2 billion more than in 2002.
We will help countries enhance their capabilities to protect their citizens from traffickers and terrorists.
Our FY 2006 request includes $734.5 million for the Andean Counter Drug Initiative to consolidate gains made in recent
years in eradication, interdiction and alternative development.
We are requesting $5.8 billion in assistance to our partners in the global war on terror. And the FY 2005 supplemental
proposes $750 million to support our coalition partners, including those standing steadfastly with us in Afghanistan and
Iraq.
When they engage effectively, multilateral institutions can multiply the strength of freedom-loving nations. We are
requesting nearly $1.2 billion for U.S. obligations to international organizations, including the United Nations, and a
little over $1 billion to pay projected U.S. assessments for UN peacekeeping missions. We are seeking $114 million to
enhance the peacekeeping capabilities of non-UN forces, with a particular focus on Africa. The FY 2005 supplemental
request seeks $780 million to fund the UN-assessed costs of new and planned peacekeeping missions in the Ivory Coast,
Haiti, Burundi, and Sudan /Darfur, and includes $55 million for a possible Sudan tribunal. In addition, the supplemental
seeks $100 million to support the North-South peace agreement and $242 million to address urgent humanitarian needs
arising from the ongoing Darfur crisis.
We have seen how states where chaos, corruption and cruelty reign can pose threats to their neighbors, to their
regions, and to the entire world. And so we are working to strengthen international capacities to address conditions in
failed, failing and post-conflict states. President Bush has charged us at the State Department with coordinating our
nation's post-conflict and stabilization efforts and we are asking for $24 million for the new Office of the Coordinator
for Reconstruction and Stabilization housed in the Department. The FY 2005 supplemental seeks $17 million for start-up
and personnel costs for the Coordinator's Office. And the FY 2006 budget proposes a $100 million Conflict Response Fund
to quickly address emerging needs and help deploy trained and experienced civilian personnel immediately to an unstable
region.
The United States must stay at the forefront of the global fight against HIV/ AIDS. We are requesting $3.2 billion in
total U.S. funding for care, treatment and prevention efforts. We will demonstrate the compassion of the American people
in other ways as well. Through our continued support of international and non-governmental organizations, we will ensure
that America remains the world's most generous food and non-food humanitarian assistance provider. We are requesting
$2.59 billion in food aid and famine relief and non-food humanitarian assistance. The FY 2005 supplemental seeks $950
million for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of areas devastated by the Indian Ocean tsunami, including the $350
million initially pledged by President Bush. $701 million of the supplemental is for State and USAID, including for
coverage of USAID's expenditures for relief efforts to date.
In all of these endeavors, the primary instrument of American diplomacy will be the Department of State, and the
dedicated men and women of its Foreign and Civil Services and Foreign Service Nationals. Together, we will apply the
tools of diplomacy to protect our homeland and advance the values for which it stands and to strengthen the community of
democracies for the work of freedom worldwide.
I welcome this Committee's help in ensuring that the men and women of American diplomacy are well equipped for the
challenges ahead in terms of training, technologies and safe workplaces. With your support, Secretary Powell and his
team made important progress in these areas and we must build on the foundation they established.
We are requesting $1.5 billion for security-related construction and physical security and rehabilitation of U.S.
embassies and consulates, and $690 million to increase security for diplomatic personnel and facilities. We have a
solemn obligation to protect the people of our diplomatic missions and their families, who serve at our far-flung posts
in the face of a global terrorist threat.
We must strengthen the recruitment of new personnel. We are seeking $57 million for 221 new positions to meet core
staffing and training requirements. And as we seek out new talent, we also seek to further diversify our workforce in
the process. We send an important signal to the rest of the world about our values and what they mean in practice when
we are represented abroad by people of all cultures, races, and religions. Of course, we also must cultivate the people
we already have in place by rewarding achievement, encouraging initiative, and offering a full range of training
opportunities. That includes the training and support needed to make full use of new technologies and tools, and we are
asking for $249 million for investment in information technology.
Public diplomacy will be a top priority for me, as I know it is for this Committee, and the FY 2006 request includes
$328 million for activities to engage, inform and influence foreign publics. America and all free nations are facing a
generational struggle against a new and deadly ideology of hatred. We must do a better job of confronting hostile
propaganda, dispelling dangerous myths, and telling America's story. In some cases, that may mean we need to do more of
what we are already doing, and in other cases, it may mean we need new ways of doing business.
If our public diplomacy efforts are to succeed, we cannot close ourselves off from the world. We are asking for $931
million to improve border security and for an increase of $74 million over FY 2005 for educational and cultural exchange
programs, bringing the total to $430 million in FY 2006. We will continue to work closely with the Department of
Homeland Security to identify and prevent terrorists and other adversaries from doing harm, even as we maintain the
fundamental openness that gives our democracy its dynamism and makes our country a beacon for international tourists,
students, immigrants, and businesspeople. We will keep America's doors open and our borders secure.
Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee, this time of global transformation calls for transformational diplomacy. More
than ever, America's diplomats will need to be active in spreading democracy, reducing poverty, fighting terror and
doing our part to protect our homeland. And more than ever, we will need your support if we are to succeed in our vital
mission for the American people.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would be pleased to answer any questions that you and the other distinguished Committee
Members may have. 2005/300
Released on March 9, 2005