[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 134 (Wednesday, September 7, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H5149-H5153]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
AGOA ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2015
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 2845) to promote access to benefits under the African Growth and
Opportunity Act, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 2845
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``AGOA Enhancement Act of
2015''.
SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States to support efforts
to--
(1) improve the rule of law, promote free and fair
elections, strengthen and expand the private sector, and
fight corruption in sub-Saharan Africa; and
(2) promote the role of women in social, political, and
economic development in sub-Saharan Africa.
SEC. 3. ACTIVITIES IN SUPPORT OF TRANSPARENCY.
(a) AGOA Website.--
(1) In general.--The President shall establish a website
for the collection and dissemination of information regarding
the African Growth and Opportunity Act (in this section
referred to as the ``AGOA website'').
(2) Contents.--The President shall publish on the AGOA
website the information described in paragraph (1),
including--
(A) information and technical assistance provided at United
States Agency for International Development regional trade
hubs; and
(B) a link to websites of United States embassies located
in eligible sub-Saharan African countries.
(3) Actions by united states embassies.--The Secretary of
State should direct United States embassies located in
eligible sub-Saharan African countries to--
(A) promote the use by such countries of the benefits
available under the African Growth and Opportunity Act; and
(B) include on a publicly available Internet website of
such diplomatic missions a link to the AGOA website.
(b) AGOA Forum.--The President should, after each meeting
of the United States-Sub-Saharan Africa Trade and Economic
Cooperation Forum, publish on the AGOA website established
under subsection (a) the following:
(1) All outcomes of the meeting of the Forum, including any
commitments made by member countries and the private sector.
(2) An assessment of progress made with respect to any
commitments made by member countries and the private sector
from the previous meeting of the Forum.
(c) Other Information.--The President should disseminate
information required by this section in a digital format to
the public and publish such information on the AGOA website
established under subsection (a).
(d) Definition.--In this section, the term ``eligible sub-
Saharan African country'' means a country that the President
has determined meets the eligibility requirements set forth
in section 104 of the African Growth and Opportunity Act.
SEC. 4. ACTIVITIES IN SUPPORT OF TRADE CAPACITY BUILDING.
(a) In General.--The President should take the following
actions:
(1) Develop and implement policies to--
(A) encourage and facilitate trans-boundary cooperation
among eligible sub-Saharan African countries in order to
facilitate trade; and
(B) encourage the provision of technical assistance to
eligible sub-Saharan African countries to establish and
sustain adequate trade capacity development.
(2) Provide specific training for business in eligible sub-
Saharan African countries and government trade officials of
eligible sub-Saharan African countries on utilizing access to
the benefits of the African Growth and Opportunity Act and
other trade preference programs.
(3) Provide capacity building for African entrepreneurs and
trade associations on production strategies, quality
standards, formation of cooperatives, and market research and
market development.
(4) Provide capacity building training to promote
diversification of African products and value-added
processing.
(5) Provide capacity building and technical assistance
funding for African businesses and institutions to help such
businesses and institutions comply with United States
counter-terrorism initiatives and policies.
(b) Definition.--In this section, the term ``eligible sub-
Saharan African country'' means a country that the President
has determined meets the eligibility requirements set forth
in section 104 of the African Growth and Opportunity Act.
SEC. 5. CONCURRENT COMPACTS UNDER THE MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE
ACT OF 2003.
(a) In General.--Section 609 of the Millennium Challenge
Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7708) is amended--
(1) by striking the first sentence of subsection (k);
(2) by redesignating subsection (k) (as so amended) as
subsection (l); and
(3) by inserting after subsection (j) the following:
``(k) Concurrent Compacts.--An eligible country that has
entered into and has in effect a Compact under this section
may enter into and have in effect at the same time not more
than one additional Compact in accordance with the
requirements of this title if--
``(1) one or both of the Compacts are or will be for
purposes of regional economic integration, increased regional
trade, or cross-border collaborations; and
``(2) the Board determines that the country is making
considerable and demonstrable progress in implementing the
terms of the existing Compact and supplementary agreements
thereto.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 613(b)(2)(A) of such Act
(22 U.S.C. 7712(b)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ``the''
before ``Compact'' and inserting ``any''.
(c) Applicability.--The amendments made by this section
apply with respect to Compacts entered into between the
United States and an eligible country under the Millennium
Challenge Act of 2003 before, on, or after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
California (Mr. Royce) and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Bass)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.
general leave
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to
include extraneous material on this measure.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I would just begin by thanking Congresswoman Bass for her important
work on this initiative. I am proud to have been part of the African
Growth and Opportunity Act coalition. I have been part of that
coalition since 2000, when we wrote the original bill.
I would also just recognize Tom Sheehy for his contribution on this,
our professional staff member.
But AGOA allows African countries that respect the rule of law and
respect free market principles to export many goods to the United
States on a duty-free basis. The program has boosted Africa's economic
growth, and especially benefiting women.
I can tell you from my trips there and seeing the results, it has
strengthened the trade relationship between the United States and
Africa, which is several multiples today of what it was when the bill
was originally passed.
When Congress reauthorized AGOA earlier this year, I successfully
pressed, along with my colleague Congresswoman Karen Bass, for a 10-
year extension; and this extension will provide
[[Page H5150]]
U.S. and African businesses the certainty needed to build supply chains
and deepen their strong trade relationships.
{time} 1745
I also championed, as well as Karen Bass, the inclusion of country
strategies in AGOA's reauthorization so that African countries could
identify and make policy reforms to help them boost trade and take
advantage of AGOA's provisions.
This bill, the AGOA Enhancement Act, includes important measures that
seek, thus, to improve trade capacity building, to increase the ability
of African companies to export to the United States and improve trade
facilitation, to help remove the bureaucratic barriers and the needless
red tape that thwarts trade.
So this bill would, first, grant more flexibility to the Millennium
Challenge Corporation--a U.S. development agency--to support regional
efforts to bolster trade; leveraging the Internet so that companies on
both sides of the Atlantic can learn about how to utilize AGOA; and
foster U.S.-African private sector engagement. It will put the trade
hubs online, giving African businesses that are not near the existing
trade hubs the information that they need to send their exports to the
United States. And, lastly, this bill will increase transparency of the
pledges and results made by the U.S. and African leaders at the AGOA
Forum, an annual meeting of government and business leaders looking to
increase U.S.-Africa trade.
So with these measures, we can help African countries and businesses
fully utilize the benefits offered through AGOA.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
U.S. House of Representatives,
Committee on Foreign Affairs,
Washington, DC, September 2, 2016.
Hon. Kevin Brady,
Chairman, Committee on Ways and Means,
Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: Thank you for consulting with the
Committee on Foreign Affairs on H.R. 2845, the AGOA
Enhancement Act, and for deciding to forgo a sequential
referral request on that bill.
I agree that your forgoing further action on this measure
does not in any way diminish or alter the jurisdiction of
your Committee, or prejudice its jurisdictional prerogatives
on this bill or similar legislation in the future. I would
support your effort to seek appointment of an appropriate
number of conferees to any House-Senate conference involving
this legislation.
I will seek to place our letters on H.R. 2845 into the
Congressional Record during floor consideration of the bill.
I appreciate your cooperation regarding this legislation and
look forward to continuing to work with your Committee as
this measure moves through the legislative process.
Sincerely,
Edward R. Royce,
Chairman.
____
Committee on Ways and Means,
U.S. House of Representatives,
Washington, DC, September 6, 2016.
Hon. Edward R. Royce,
Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs,
Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Royce, I am writing with respect to H.R.
2845, the ``AGOA Enhancement Act of 2015.'' As a result of
your having consulted with us on this legislation, I agree
not to request a sequential referral on this bill so that it
may proceed expeditiously to the House floor.
The Committee on Ways and Means takes this action with the
mutual understanding that by forgoing formal consideration of
H.R. 2845, we do not waive any jurisdiction over the subject
matter contained in this or similar legislation, and the
Committee will be appropriately consulted and involved as the
bill or similar legislation moves forward so that we may
address any remaining issues that fall within our Rule X
jurisdiction. The Committee also reserves the right to seek
appointment of an appropriate number of conferees to any
House-Senate conference involving this or similar
legislation, and requests your support for such request.
Finally, I would appreciate your response to this letter
confirming this understanding, and would ask that a copy of
our exchange of letters on this matter be included in the
Congressional Record during floor consideration thereof.
Sincerely,
Kevin Brady,
Chairman.
Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise in support of H.R. 2845, the AGOA Enhancement Act of 2015.
This critical bill complements, supports, and empowers the reauthorized
African Growth and Opportunity Act that was passed into law last June.
I want to thank Ranking Member Engel, Chairman Royce, and Speaker
Ryan for their leadership on this.
I also believe in the last piece of legislation I heard the chairman
say that Nilmini Rubin is leaving us. I am very disappointed to hear
that, but I do want to really compliment her for all of her efforts not
just on AGOA, but also on the piece of legislation that we just passed.
She will be sorely missed.
I also want to compliment Margot Sullivan, who worked many, many,
many hours on AGOA that we reauthorized as well as the AGOA Enhancement
Act.
By way of background, AGOA is the foundation of the U.S.-Africa
economic platform. AGOA, a trade preference program, can help to grow
and stabilize jobs in eligible participating countries throughout Sub-
Saharan Africa and in the U.S. AGOA has definitely helped to increase
African exports to the U.S., and it has also helped to raise Africa's
economic profile in this country.
Further, AGOA has helped maintain and increase employment, generating
approximately 350,000 direct jobs and 1 million indirect jobs in Sub-
Saharan Africa and approximately 100,000 jobs in the U.S.
With the tremendous potential of a growing middle class in several
African countries, plus the growth of regional economic communities on
the continent, Africa has become one of the most dynamic global
marketplaces. Why? Because each of these regional economic communities
encompasses a number of countries that are evolving into regional
economic powerhouses with huge markets of millions of upwardly mobile
populations interested in quality goods and services.
This is why Sub-Saharan Africa is currently one of the most dynamic
global marketplaces. Countries such as China, India, Turkey, and the
European Union recognize that doing business with Africa is
increasingly critical and good for their bottom lines.
Ironically, most African countries look to the U.S. to play a leading
role in trade and investment with Sub-Saharan Africa, yet we hear
repeatedly from officials, business people, and academics from the
region, that while several African countries do considerable business
with other countries, they do so because these countries are seeking to
do business with Africa. These same observers note candidly that U.S.
products, maintenance arrangements, and capacity building opportunities
are by far more superior.
It is with these experiences in mind that AGOA stakeholders in the
House under the leadership of Chairman Royce and others supported the
reauthorization of AGOA last year. This is also why the passage of the
AGOA Enhancement Act--which strongly complements reauthorized AGOA--is
equally as important.
While the reauthorization is for 10 years, this was a giant step in
the right direction. AGOA cannot live up to its full potential or be
implemented as effectively as it must be without complementary
legislation. AGOA will benefit from this complementary legislation as
it has benefited from a host of initiatives such as the
administration's signature Power Africa initiative and Feed the Future
initiative, just to name a few.
Arguably, AGOA cannot be fully effective without an increase in
access to electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa. Chairman Royce led the
effort to pass Electrify Africa and proactively called for a multi-year
strategy to assist countries in Sub-Saharan Africa address the power
deficit. Africa's expanding cities and rural areas need access to
considerable and reliable sources of electricity.
Feed the Future is also central to building opportunity and
development throughout the region. This innovative program helps to
support critical food security in several nations by supporting family
enterprises and by supporting smallholder farmers. Local farmers are
able to lower risks to their farms, increasing yield and productivity
and address threats posed by droughts, floods, and other natural
disasters.
The AGOA Enhancement Act helps to implement a more effective AGOA as
it calls for the administration to establish an AGOA Web site to inform
eligible AGOA-participating countries
[[Page H5151]]
about critical information and technical assistance. H.R. 2845 also
encourages the administration to support regional trade development in
Sub-Saharan Africa by facilitating trans-boundary trade and providing
crucial capacity building skills for entrepreneurs.
One of the most important aspects of H.R. 2845 was originally a
separate piece of legislation that I authored and is now included that
enables eligible countries with Millennium Challenge Corporation
compacts in good standing to enter simultaneously into one additional
compact if the country is making considerable progress toward
implementing the terms of the existing compacts. The other piece of
this is that compacts can be used for regional economic integration.
An example of MCC projects, I was recently in Liberia, and Liberia
has an energy project that totals $201 million that will provide a new
hydropower turbine to an existing facility, provide training to Liberia
Economic Corporation employees, and help establish an independent
regulator.
In summary, by the establishment of an AGOA Web site, the
prioritization of capacity training, and by encouraging greater
regional economic integration, H.R. 2845 helps to promote and develop a
stronger economic relationship between Sub-Saharan Africa and the
United States, creating increased jobs and a win-win for both.
Once again, I thank Chairman Royce for his distinguished leadership
on this crucial issue.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I see the gentleman from New York (Mr.
Rangel) on the floor, also one of the original authors of the African
Growth and Opportunity Act, along with Chairman Chris Smith and Ranking
Member Karen Bass, one of the most engaged on initiatives to put Africa
on the map for U.S. trade and investment.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr.
Smith), chairman of the Africa, Global Health, Global Human Right, and
International Organizations Subcommittee, and I thank him for his
assistance with this legislation.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Royce for his
leadership on AGOA in general. I thank Karen Bass, who has worked
doggedly for years, last year for the reauthorization. I see Mr.
McDermott, who has also been so active over the years on this and
critical to its passage at the beginning.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2845, the AGOA
Enhancement Act. When the African Growth and Opportunity Act was
enacted into law in May of 2000, it was intended to help eligible Sub-
Saharan African countries increase economic growth by providing duty-
free, quota-free access to U.S. markets for more than 6,400 items from
meats to textiles and apparel, to petroleum, to leather goods. Because
there were issues that needed to be addressed to enable AGOA to be more
effective as intended, Congress has fine-tuned this important
legislation since then and made adjustments several times to facilitate
African exports to the United States.
H.R. 2845 is the latest noble effort to make AGOA work for more
African producers primarily by enhancing the technical assistance and
information provided to African producers, including the establishment
of a Web site to provide this information. People need to know what is
available and how they can access this important treaty and its
subsidies.
The bill further allows for countries with the Millennium Challenge
account grants to foster regional economic integration. It also targets
inter-Africa trade, which is still less than 10 percent of all Africa
international trade.
My colleagues have explained other aspects of the bill in great
detail, so I won't be redundant. But extending AGOA as we did in the
last Congress was a laudable achievement but will not have the full
intended effect if African producers have limited information or
abilities to effectively take advantage of international trade
opportunity. This is a job creator both in Africa and in the United
States.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for his authorship.
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I also wanted to recognize the gentleman from
Washington (Mr. McDermott). Mr. Jim McDermott was also one of the
original authors of the AGOA legislation. He worked for many, many
years to see it come to fruition.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I have to say that Mr. Rangel is one of the
lions in this House. I have had the honor of serving with him for the
last 6 years. He knows I am upset with him because he is choosing to
retire. When I came here and really wanted to work on African issues, I
sought out those two gentlemen, both Mr. Rangel and Mr. McDermott. I
knew of their legacy. I knew of the work that they had done. I went to
Mr. Rangel, and I told him I wanted to get involved in the
reauthorization of AGOA and would he help me. We sat on the floor over
there. He called over a bunch of Members and told them what I wanted to
do, and the gentleman ordered them all to help me. We worked on it and
were able to get it done.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr.
Rangel).
(Mr. RANGEL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, as I spend my final hours in this august
body, I think of all of the fond memories that I have enjoyed. I guess
during these political times, one of the things that I am enjoying the
most today is shattering the myth that Republicans and Democrats really
can't work with each other.
Chairman Royce has indicated a concern for the world and the country,
which shatters the myth that parties can't work together for the good
of the United States of America. Certainly my colleague from New York,
Eliot Engel, and the chairman have proven that in working together.
Yes, when Ms. Bass first came to the Congress, she didn't come as an
ordinary freshman. She had earned her stripes in the legislature of
California, indeed was the speaker. I was a little shocked when she was
trying to get support for her legislative committees that her interests
would be foster care and Africa. That is unusual, but it is an
indication of a person who comes here to this body with the type of
commitment that makes you proud to be a Member of Congress and more
proud even to be an American. There could be some connection between
foster care and Africa because if there was any continent that has been
treated as a foster child, it has been the developing countries in
Africa.
Of course, I see an old-timer sitting there with his white hair, Jim
McDermott. I can wonder whether or not as a Peace Corps volunteer in
Africa, whether among his fondest dreams, that he would be a Member of
the House and creating a climate where people have dignity and pride
and be able to be a part of the world rather than just being a resource
for stronger countries.
{time} 1800
I can think of nobody that has brought more to the committee than Mr.
Williams and Rosa Whitfield in working with Mr. Gingrich, in working
with Mr. Crane, in working with Republicans, and how the leadership not
only was able to get their sides but to see how the African Diplomatic
Corps actually became the strongest lobbying force that we have had in
the Congress as they found themselves pioneers in dealing with our
great country that they loved so much and really had no understanding
of why they didn't seem to be on our agenda.
With AGOA, we knew it was just the beginning, we knew it was an
opportunity. We take pride in the success that it has had, but we also
know how far they had to come from behind.
This enhancement piece of legislation has a lot of fancy words, but
it sends out words to our embassies that this is American foreign
policy. You don't just read the words. Make it work. Whether it is with
the Millennium Challenge Corporation, whether it is with AID, whether
it is giving information, whether it is helping them out, whether it is
teaching them to learn, it is bringing them into the international
trade.
And what does it do? Is this a bill that just helped people in Africa
escape poverty and disease? No. It helps the
[[Page H5152]]
United States, and it helps the world. It helps people to be able to
trade with each other, to talk with each other, to understand each
other, and have compassion for each other. What a wonderful opportunity
it is for the United States of America to look at a country that is
struggling to enjoy the things that we believe in, to find out that now
they don't have to lobby for it. Republicans and Democrats want what is
best for the United States of America, and the developing countries in
Africa need us so badly.
There are a lot of reasons why I regret that I have to leave the
Congress and retire to go back home, but knowing that I leave behind
such people who are so dedicated, that are willing to go to the other
party and give up a lot of their capital to make certain that the small
countries in Africa appreciate the fact that we consider them an
important part not only of our trade policy, our foreign policy, but,
indeed, the policy of the United States of America.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Ms. Bass for the opportunity to express myself
on this most important issue. And I thank Jim McDermott, who will be
leaving--I don't know whether he is going back to Africa, but he won't
be going back as a Peace Corps volunteer, I will tell you that. I thank
him for his friendship.
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned before, I have had the honor of
serving with Mr. McDermott for the last 6 years, knowing that he was a
Peace Corps volunteer in Africa. He was the one that led the effort
around conflict minerals, something many people were concerned about in
the country. They even made movies about the subject and all of the
havoc that was wrought in many African countries because of conflict
minerals. And also my work with him on child welfare issues and his
legacy on both of those issues.
I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott).
(Mr. McDERMOTT asked and was given permission to revise and extend
his remarks.)
Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, it is kind of awesome to become a myth in
your own time. I was not a Peace Corps volunteer. I was in Africa in
1961 before the Peace Corps ever existed. When we were in Ghana in
1961, the first Peace Corps volunteers arrived, so I was there when it
all started.
I also want to remind you--when you know the history of something, it
is kind of interesting to listen to it--this started in 1995. We put a
bill in and, actually, Speaker Gingrich got it out of the House. It
passed the House in 2000. We couldn't get it through the Senate. It had
to come back under Mr. Bush. Then we finally got it through the House
and the Senate, and it became law.
It has been an issue that everyone recognizes something needs to be
done. As I look at this bill today, I read some of the language that
the President is directed to provide training for business and
government trade officials, provide capacity building for entrepreneurs
and trade associations, and promote diversification of African
products.
Now, I don't know how many bills I have seen that in. What is missing
here, unfortunately, in my view--I am going to support the bill, and
the ideas of it are great, but what has been missing ever since 1995 or
2000 has been a commitment of the resources to actually help the
Africans figure out how to use our system.
I can give you one example. There are shrimp all over the coastline.
Now, why don't shrimp from Africa come into the United States? Because
they can't pass the phytosanitary rules of our government. We won't let
food come into this country that we think will be problematic for our
people. So if we are going to actually help the Africans--we tried
several times to get the Department of Agriculture to base people in
some of the places along the coast, Senegal and some other places, in
order to give them the instructions necessary to be able to bring those
products in. What I hope will happen--and Charlie Rangel and I are
going to leave the scene, and we did everything we could during the
time we were here--for the rest of you, you have got to put some money
in, put some money down on the ground.
I had a project in one of the bills. Lions are a huge issue in
Africa. If you want to have lions, and you want to have people go out
and hunt them, well, if you kill a lion, it is only worth $800. But if
you leave a lion there for tourism purposes, it is worth $50,000. So we
have encouraged these countries to get the poachers to become game
wardens and the women to run B&Bs out there, so we would have tourism
which would bring foreign exchange into Africa to give them the ability
to invest and do more.
An epidemic of tuberculosis occurred in the African lions. There were
only two people in all of Africa who had ever dealt with a big game
animal, so we thought, let's start a school; we will start a veterinary
school. We couldn't get the money. There are a lot of things that we
could do with very small amounts of money in terms of helping them
develop the capacity because the bill is filled with this capacity
building. Give them the opportunity to develop capacity.
But sometimes it takes a small investment on our part, and that is
really what I hope will come. Maybe the bill will pass and then we can
get a little bit of money into the Foreign Operations appropriations
act and use it for that kind of program.
I think this is a work in progress. It won't be done when I leave and
Charlie leaves. I remember the first meeting Charlie and I had with the
ambassadors from all of Africa. Nobody thought that it would ever
happen. So we called them all up and said: Do you want to trade or do
you want aid?
They said: We want trade.
We said: Okay. Come in here, in the office, and sign a paper.
We got them to sign a paper where they all asked the President of the
United States to give them a trade act. That is the only time it has
ever occurred around here that I know of.
So it has been there, and it has gradually developed, but more slowly
than it could have. I hope that we will pass it and the message will
get to the appropriators that a little bit of money could make this go
a long way.
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, as Mr. McDermott leaves, I will take his
comments as my marching orders for what I am supposed to do in the next
session, so I thank him very much.
I would urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2845.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
In closing, I have been to the factories across Africa, and I have
seen the women employed. I have seen how AGOA is improving economies in
Africa. AGOA is making a difference and could have even more impact on
the continent if the measures included in this AGOA Enhancement Act are
implemented.
This bill improves how we offer assistance through the Millennium
Challenge Corporation to increase the ability of people in Africa to
trade, and helping cut the bureaucratic barriers and needless red tape
that thwarts trade.
This bill helps unlock the potential of AGOA so that people in Africa
can strengthen their markets, and so Americans can improve trade
relationships with countries in Africa. And yes, it has been slow
going, slow progress. We have gotten a few more staffed positions from
the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a few more ag inspectors positioned
there. And Jim McDermott is right, we need to do more. We have been
slow going, but we have more foreign commercial service officers now in
these positions in AGOA.
In 2 weeks' time, we will have the AGOA forum. We will again be
bringing these issues up. In the following session, the effort will
continue, as Jim McDermott laid it out, to see this through and to try
to make AGOA as effective as we possibly can. In the interim, this
legislation is a big step in the right direction.
I really want to thank not only Congresswoman Karen Bass, but also my
colleagues from their original efforts, Charlie Rangel and Jim
McDermott, and urge a unanimous vote, again, in support of the
extension of AGOA.
I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from California (Mr.
[[Page H5153]]
Royce) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2845,
as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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