AFRO-NETS> Bush on Africa

[Friends of Africa <africa@bread.org>]

Bush on Africa
--------------

THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION'S CHANGING APPROACH TO AFRICA:
WORLD POVERTY BECOMES A PRIORITY

The Africa advocacy community in the United States is encouraged by 
the evolution of the language used by the Bush Administration to de-
scribe its approach to Africa over the past year. However, the litmus 
test for the Bush Administration's commitment to Africa - a measure 
of how serious our government really is - will be in the outline of 
the FY2003 federal budget, the first budget completely designed 
within the Bush Administration in response to its priorities. We are 
watching and we are hoping for the best. 

Bread for the World is urging Congress and President Bush to support 
a U.S. commitment to reduce hunger in sub-Saharan Africa. We urge 
President Bush to lead a global initiative to cut hunger in half by 
2015 - which could be done for an additional $1 billion a year ð a 
penny a day per American. 

A recent poll by the University of Maryland found 83% of Americans 
support a U.S.-led effort to fight hunger worldwide. The recent pas-
sage of the Africa Hunger to Harvest Resolution (S. Con. Res. 53) in 
the U.S. Senate sends a clear signal to the Administration that such 
an initiative enjoys broad bipartisan support in the Congress and 
across the nation. 

Ray Almeida
Bread for the World 
mailto:ralmeida@bread.org

--
The following is a collection of quotations that track this welcome 
evolution of interest and commitment.

* From "not a strategic interest" to " a great national interest" * 
 From trade, trade, trade to poverty reduction

FEBRUARY 2000: AFRICA NOT A "STRATEGIC INTEREST"

"Well, because it's not -- at some point in time the president has 
got to clearly define what the national strategic interests are, and 
while Africa may be important, it doesn't fit into the national stra-
tegic interests, as far as I can see them." -Candidate George W. Bush 
on PBS "Newshour" with Jim Lehrer, February 16, 2000

OCTOBER 2000: AFRICA "IMPORTANT"

"Africa's important. And we've got to do a lot of work in Africa to 
promote democracy and trade. It's an important continent." - Candi-
date George W. Bush at the October 11, 2000 presidential debate

MAY 2001: AFRICA NOW IN "GREAT NATIONAL INTEREST," POLICYALL ABOUT 
TRADE, TRADE, TRADE

"I hope we can all at least agree that Africa indeed is a great na-
tional interest of the United States." -US Assistant Secretary of 
State Walter Kansteiner during a May 17, 2001 Senate Foreign Rela-
tions Committee hearing "There is now a broad consensus that open 
trade and international investment are the surest and fastest way for 
Africa to make progress.The Act opens American markets to countries 
that have embarked on the difficult, but beneficial path of political 
and economic reform." -President Bush, May 16 at African Growth and 
Opportunity Act Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum

"The strength of our policy has to rest on trade. That's why we 
passed the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act last year, that's why we 
are having a meeting of the AGOA forum in Washington later this year 
to encourage continued investment in Africa and to bring up those in-
dustries that can participate in the AGOA. So we think trade is the 
right answer." -Secretary of State Colin Powell in a May 29, 2001 in-
terview with allAfrica.com

JULY 2001: FORWARD TO A SYSTEMIC ATTACK ON WORLD POVERTY

"President Bush has met with seven African Presidents during his 
first six months in office... Secretary Powell traveled to Africa and 
made the earliest, most extensive visit to the region by any U.S. 
Secretary of State in history. He also met here in Washington with 
the presidents of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 
This level of engagement is unprecedented so early in an Administra-
tion. It reflects the President's strong commitment to the conti-
nent's future." -Nat. Security Advs. Condoleezza Rice in a July 12, 
2001 speech at National Press Club

"I want to assure you that the Bush Administration, along with our 
allies and partners, is currently pursuing a number of initiatives to 
alleviate the poverty, disease, and underdevelopment in Sub- Saharan 
Africa that your [Hunger to Harvest] resolution highlights." -
Secretary of State Colin Powell, in a July 16, 2001 letter to Sen. 
Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.)

"World poverty is ancient, yet the hope of real progress against pov-
erty is new.. Today, I'm directing the Secretary of State and the Ad-
ministrator of the Agency for International Development to develop an 
initiative to improve basic education and teacher training in Africa, 
where some countries are expected to lose 10 percent or more of their 
teachers to AIDS in the next five years." -President Bush in a July 
17, 2001 speech before the World Bank

"Again, the entire context of this summit was attacking poverty, al-
leviating global poverty. It was the focus of the G7/G8 Summit. It is 
a priority of U.S. foreign policy, it's a passion of the President's. 
He committed the United States to developing real partnerships with 
developing countries to address their development needs, ranging from 
hunger to disease, trade, to education." -From a July 22, 2001 back-
ground briefing by a "senior Administration official" "Lifting people 
out of poverty is the right thing to do, and healthy, educated popu-
lations, that are fully participating in the world economy, are ulti-
mately better trading partners, political partners, and security 
partners for the United States. My Administration will work with the 
Congress and with African leaders to make meaningful progress in the 
fight against poverty in Africa." -President Bush in a July 26, 2001 
letter to the Honorable Robert Dole

While the Bush Administration has recently made Africa and poverty 
reduction a focus of their foreign policy agenda, including proposing 
a nearly 20 percent increase for international education programs, it 
has yet to provide the new resources necessary in the development as-
sistance budget to make real progress for the 186 million Africans 
who are chronically undernourished. For example, according to a Cen-
ter on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) study, after adjusting for 
inflation, President Bush's FY02 budget would have sent U.S. spending 
on international development assistance to a post World War II low. 
The foreign operations appropriations bill recently approved by the 
House of Representatives is very similar to the President's original 
budget proposal. 

THE APPROACH HAS CHANGED, BUT THE NEED FOR POVERTY-FOCUSED AID HAS 
NOT.


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