[House Hearing, 118 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
EXAMINING THE FISCAL YEAR 2024 STATE AND FOREIGN OPERATIONS BUDGET
REQUEST FOR EUROPE
=======================================================================
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON EUROPE
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
MAY 23, 2023
__________
Serial No. 118-29
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available: http://www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/, http://
docs.house.gov,
or http://www.govinfo.gov
______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
53-078PDF WASHINGTON : 2023
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas, Chairman
CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey GREGORY MEEKS, New Yok, Ranking
JOE WILSON, South Carolina Member
SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania BRAD SHERMAN, California
DARRELL ISSA, California GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia
ANN WAGNER, Missouri WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts
BRIAN MAST, Florida DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island
KEN BUCK, Colorado AMI BERA, California
TIM BURCHETT, Tennessee JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas
MARK E. GREEN, Tennessee DINA TITUS, Nevada
ANDY BARR, Kentucky TED LIEU, California
RONNY JACKSON, Texas SUSAN WILD, Pennsylvania
YOUNG KIM, California DEAN PHILLIPS, Minnesota
MARIA ELVIRA SALAZAR, Florida COLIN ALLRED, Texas
BILL HUIZENGA, Michigan ANDY KIM, New Jersey
AMATA COLEMAN-RADEWAGEN, American SARA JACOBS, California
Samoa KATHY MANNING, North Carolina
FRENCH HILL, Arkansas SHEILA CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK,
WARREN DAVIDSON, Ohio Florida
JIM BAIRD, Indiana GREG STANTON, Arizona
MICHAEL WALTZ, Florida MADELEINE DEAN, Pennsylvania
TOM KEAN, JR., New Jersey JARED MOSKOWITZ, Florida
MIKE LAWLER, New York JONATHAN JACOBS, Illinois
CORY MILLS, Florida SYDNEY KAMLAGER-DOVE, California
RICH MCCORMICK, Georgia JIM COSTA, California
NATHANIEL MORAN, Texas JASON CROW, Colorado
JOHN JAMES, Michigan BRAD SCHNEIDER. Illinois
KEITH SELF, Texas
Brandon Shields, Staff Director
Sophia Lafargue, Staff Director
Subcommittee on Europe
THOMAS KEAN, JR., New Jersey, Chairman
JOE WILSON, North Carolina WILLIAM KEATING,
DARRELL ISSA, California Massachusetts,Ranking Member
ANN WAGNER, Missouri
BILL HUIZENGA, Michigan
MICHAEL LAWLER, New York
NATHANIEL MORAN, Texas
KEITH SELF, Texas
DINA TITUS, Nevada
MADELEINE DEAN, Pennsylvania
JIM COSTA, California
DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island
SUSAN WILD, Pennsylvania
Sophia Lafargue, Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
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Page
WITNESSES
Hogan, The Honorable Dereck J., Principal Deputy Assistant
Secretary, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, U.S.
Department of State............................................ 7
Mckee, The Honorable Erin Elizabeth, Assistant Administrator,
Bureau for Europe and Eurasia, United States Agency for
International Development...................................... 12
Longi, Maria A., Coordinator, Office of the Coordinator of U.S.
Assistance to Europe and Eurasia, U.S. Department of State..... 20
APPENDIX
Hearing Notice................................................... 45
Hearing Minutes.................................................. 47
Hearing Attendance............................................... 48
RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD
Responses to questions submitted for the record.................. 49
EXAMINING THE FISCAL YEAR 2024 STATE AND FOREIGN OPERATIONS BUDGET
REQUEST FOR EUROPE
Tuesday, May 23, 2023
House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on Europe,
Committee on Foreign Affairs,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:15 p.m., in
room 210, House Visitor Center, Hon. Thomas Kean, Jr. (chairman
of the subcommittee) presiding.
Mr. Kean. The Subcommittee on Europe of the House Foreign
Affairs Committee will continue and come to order.
The purpose of this hearing is to examine the President's
State Department and foreign operations budget request for
Europe and Eurasia for Fiscal Year 2024. I now recognize myself
for an opening statement.
Our investments in Europe and Eurasia pay massive dividends
for American prosperity and our national interest.
Collectively, the European Union is one of America's closest
trade partners. In 2019 alone our trade with EU totaled an
estimated $1.1 trillion.
Europe is also home to almost all of our NATO military
allies, who we are treaty bound to defend and who are also
treaty bound to defend us.
Diplomatically and politically the United States counts
European countries among some of our closest friends, and
others in Europe and Eurasia are clamoring for closer ties with
America. National security and the economic prosperity of the
United States is inextricably linked to the security and
prosperity of Europe and Eurasia.
But our relationship with the region goes deeper than that.
The ties that bind us together are our shared values, freedom,
democracy, the rule of law, the right to self-determination.
Over the decades together we have joined forces in support
of those values to defeat fascism, stare down the threat of
communism, and to promote democratic ideals around the world.
It is all the more important now that we continue to hold
true to our shared values as Russia and China seek to expand
their influence in Europe and Eurasia to the detriment of
American national security interests.
Of course, American taxpayers cannot carry the weight of
that burden. I hope our witnesses today can speak to how our
European allies are also stepping up with the investments in
their own security to combat Russian aggression and malign
Chinese influence.
Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine was a watershed
moment in changing our shared views of the threat from
authoritarian actors around the world. We also must ensure that
we jointly act on that threat as well.
Toward that end, it is very encouraging that Europe is now
providing Ukraine with more economic and humanitarian
assistance than in the United States. Congress has the power of
the purse and the duty to provide oversight of the executive
branch.
With that in mind, it is incumbent on all of us to take a
close look at the President's Fiscal Year 2024 budget request
for Europe and Eurasia.
As we know, this request is not the official budget of the
United States--we here in Congress will write that later--but a
reflection of the priorities of this President and this
Administration.
Unfortunately, the President's budget request for Ukraine
in particular leaves us with many questions. The level of
funding requested by the Administration is comparable to prewar
levels and is, to be blunt, inadequate to meet the needs of
Ukraine.
This suggests that the Administration will instead continue
to rely on supplemental appropriations to provide funding for
Ukraine. However, no one from the Administration has approached
Congress about a future supplemental.
In fact, recent news reports suggest the Administration
will not request any supplemental funding from Congress before
the end of the fiscal year.
I urge the Administration to engage with Congress robustly
and as soon as possible on a strategy for after the coming
counter-offensive its assessment of Ukraine's needs and its
diplomatic engagement with our allies to ensure that everyone
is paying their fair share.
I hope our witnesses today will be able to preview some of
these discussions. Let me be clear. Saying the Administration
is prepared to support Ukraine for as long as it takes without
laying the groundwork with Congress on how to fund this
commitment is, unfortunately, not a strategy but an empty and
thus irresponsible promise.
I want to once again thank our witnesses for being with us
today, and now I'll turn to Ranking Member Keating for his
opening remarks.
Mr. Keating. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I want to thank
you for having this hearing. I want to thank the witnesses for
joining us on this important hearing to conduct oversight on
the State Department and USAID's budget priorities for the
Fiscal Year 1924.
The State Department and the U.S. Agency for International
Development play critical roles in global peace and stability.
As General Mattis said, ``If you do not fund the State
Department fully then I need to buy more ammunition,
ultimately.''
I agree with General Mattis and strongly believe that the
State Department and USAID play important roles in preventing
conflicts, encouraging stability, and developing coalitions
based on shared values to counter the common threats and global
changes we face today.
These words are more important than ever as the Biden
Administration leverages our global alliances and partnerships
to counter Chinese malign influence and to support Ukraine in
their fight for democracy, freedom, and, ultimately, for their
future.
Before I speak briefly on the topics that I believe are and
should remain top priorities for the State Department and USAID
in 1924 I want to thank our witnesses for their tireless
efforts to support the people of Ukraine in their fight for
freedom.
I know the State Department and USAID have overcome
significant security and logistical hurdles to meet emerging
needs in Ukraine and in the region while also ensuring American
dollars are being spent for their intended purposes through
comprehensive monitoring and oversight mechanisms.
Beyond the work America is doing to support Ukraine in a
hot war, I believe the U.S. economy and humanitarian assistance
is essential to ensure Ukraine can maintain essential
government institutions and public services for its citizens.
Ukraine must secure a stable and prosperous future for all
its citizens and the U.S. nonmilitary assistance will ensure
Ukrainians have a country to return to, a country to come home
to, a country to rebuild after this war is over. Providing
anything less will make many of our efforts be in vain.
I also want to acknowledge the efforts of the State
Department and USAID that they've made to ensure justice and
accountability for war crimes being committed against those
living in Ukraine.
As many of you know, I've prioritized these issues with my
work here in Congress and I'm thrilled that just last week
House Res. 81, a resolution--a bipartisan resolution I
introduced in support of establishing a special tribunal on the
crime of aggression passed favorably out of this committee. I
hope we can move forward with a vote on the floor on that soon.
Next, I want to highlight the importance of the work the
State Department and USAID in promoting democracy, promoting
human rights, promoting good governance in Europe and in Asia.
I'm pleased that the USAID announced in December new
initiatives to support democratic resiliency in Central Europe.
I believe these efforts, particularly in Hungary, are central
to respond to democratic backsliding that has emerged across
the region.
Further, as I mentioned last week, I continue to be
concerned with the developments in Georgia, particularly their
attempt to pass a Russian style foreign agent registration law.
Finally, as we wait to see the results of Turkey's
Presidential election runoff I'm worried that the continued
role by the Justice and Development Party will result in
additional efforts by President Erdogan to centralize power and
subvert the rule of law in Turkey as I believe, you know, it's
more important than ever right now to develop an interagency
strategy to coordinate our efforts in the Black Sea region and
I look forward to reviewing the State Department's strategy as
well in that area in the coming months.
Finally, I'd like to highlight a few remaining issues that
I'm particularly interested. First, I want to express my
continued support for the Trade and Technology Council as a
platform to further develop democratic and market-oriented
values.
Next, I continue to encourage the State Department and
USAID efforts to maintain peace and stability in Northern
Ireland and I want to thank your agencies for your work in
relation to the Windsor Framework.
Last, I'm pleased that through the work of the Belarus
Caucus we're able to increase funding to support civil society
in Belarus and I hope to hear details soon about the
appointment of a special envoy and the establishment of a
strategic dialog to liaise with democratic movements in
Belarus.
Finally, with my remaining time I'd like to acknowledge
that for the two relatively small bureaus within the State
Department and USAID we have asked you to take on an extremely
long list of strategically important tasks.
At the same time I want to point out that my Republican
colleagues have voted to cut across the board the State
Department and USAID's budget by 22 percent. I hope we can
address these budget proposal issues during this hearing and I
believe such cuts will have a devastating impact on our foreign
and diplomatic efforts and produce results that run counter to
our national security priorities.
With that, again, I want to thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I
yield back.
Mr. Kean. Thank you, Ranking Member Keating.
I would like to welcome the gentleman from Illinois, Mr.
Schneider, who is joining us today. He will participate
following all other members in today's hearing. Other members
of the subcommittee are reminded that opening statements may be
submitted for the record.
We are pleased to have a distinguished panel of witnesses
before us today on this important topic.
Ambassador Dereck Hogan is the Acting Assistant Secretary
for the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs at the
Department of State. He is joined by Ms. Maria Longi, the
coordinator of U.S. assistance to Europe and Eurasia at the
State Department.
And, finally, we have before us Ambassador Erin McKee, who
is the assistant administrator of the Bureau for Europe and
Eurasia at the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Thank you all for being here today. Your full statements
will be made part of the record and I will ask each of you to
keep your verbal remarks to 5 minutes in order to allow time
for member questions.
I now recognize Ambassador Hogan for his opening statement.
Mr. Ambassador?
STATEMENT OF DERECK J. HOGAN, PRINCIPAL DEPUTY ASSISTANT
SECRETARY, BUREAU OF EUROPEAN AND EURASIAN AFFAIRS, U.S.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Mr. Hogan. Thank you.
Chairman Kean, Ranking Member Keating, and members of the
subcommittee, thank you today for the opportunity to testify on
the President's Fiscal Year 2024 budget requests for Europe and
Eurasia.
This subcommittee knows the stakes. The U.S. support is a
lifeline for Ukraine under Russian assault and other front line
States vulnerable to Russian aggression and malign influence
from authoritarian actors like the PRC. With the support of
Congress the United States is rising to meet the test of this
moment.
The President's Fiscal Year 2024 request seeks to advance
this vital effort with $1.49 billion for foreign assistance for
Europe and Eurasia, $581.2 million for diplomatic engagement,
and $99.9 million for public diplomacy.
This comes in addition to the $58.7 billion in
extraordinary security, economic, and humanitarian support we
have marshaled for Ukraine, thanks to bipartisan congressional
support, since February 2022.
Today, I want to talk about how our assistance supports
five key areas that advance a whole free democratic Europe even
as Russia wages full-scale war on one of its neighbors.
First and foremost, our assistance is supporting Ukraine to
continue its successful defense and win the future. Our Fiscal
Year 2024 request with clear oversight and accountability will
support democratic, justice sector, and rule of law reform and
accelerate Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic aspirations.
Ultimately, these efforts aim to give Ukraine the tools to
help defend its territory, consolidate its democracy, and move
further into the EU and global markets.
Second, our assistance request will fortify a Europe more
resilient, more independent, and more anchored to Euro-Atlantic
institutions.
Across the region our support will advance the
modernization and sustainability of allies' and partners'
military capabilities, buttress the region against economic
coercion from the PRC, and reduce dependence on Russian energy.
Third, our request seeks to advance the Euro-Atlantic
aspirations of our front line partners. In Moldova we are
supporting a vulnerable country with a clear Euro-Atlantic
trajectory to weather a strained budget while simultaneously
addressing corruption, security concerns, an energy crisis, and
cyber vulnerabilities.
In Georgia we are helping to improve democratic governance,
elections, and political processes and the rule of law. In
Armenia and Azerbaijan U.S. diplomacy and assistance are
actively supporting direct engagement between the two
governments as well as between the people of Azerbaijan and
Armenia to achieve a sustainable and durable peace.
In the Western Balkans our assistance helps address serious
challenges, for example, helping normalize relations between
Kosovo and Serbia, strengthening the rule of law and
independent media, fighting corruption, enhancing
cybersecurity, and promoting energy diversity even today to
support the democratic aspirations of the Belarusian and
Russian people.
We continue our programs to sustain civil society advocacy
and access to objective media despite increasing government
repression.
Fourth, our assistance is catalyzing our allies and
partners in the G-7, in the EU, and NATO and the United Nations
and elsewhere to address these shared challenges together with
us and I look forward to discussing many of these priorities
together that we are working on with the--with our European
partners and allies in our question and answer session.
Finally, our diplomatic program budget makes it possible to
fund platforms and personnel across 80 posts and here at home
in the service of U.S. leadership and U.S. foreign policy
objectives in all of these efforts.
With your bipartisan support our Fiscal Year 2024 budget
will enable the U.S. to rise to meet the test of this moment
just as millions of Ukrainians have done.
Thank you for inviting me to testify today and I look
forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Hogan follows:]
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Kean. Thank you, Ambassador Hogan.
I now recognize Ambassador McKee for her opening statement.
STATEMENT OF ERIN ELIZABETH MCKEE, ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR,
BUREAU FOR EUROPE AND EURASIA, UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Ms. McKee. Thank you, Chairman Kean, Ranking Member
Keating, distinguished members of the Subcommittee on Europe. I
really appreciate the opportunity to testify about the
President's Fiscal Year 1920--excuse me, 2024 budget request
and its importance for USAID's foreign assistance programming
across Europe and Eurasia.
As you all know, we're over a year into the Kremlin's
unprovoked war against Ukraine, a war that has displaced
approximately 13 million people including more than 8 million
who have been forced to flee the country.
However, thanks to bipartisan support from Congress over
the past year we have been able to provide lifesaving and
critical services to the citizens and to the government of
Ukraine from assisting heroic workers to keep the heat and
lights on while Putin attempted and failed to weaponize winter,
to providing mobile heat distribution systems, generators for
heating hospitals, businesses, mobile boiler houses, temporary
heating shelters for thousands of people who lost their homes
and access to heat and light. Your support lets us continue to
assist these people of Ukraine.
The President's request reflects an increase in assistance
for Europe, Eurasia, and Central Asia, or AEECA, and global
health programming from $301 million in 2021 to $522 million in
2024 for USAID.
Funds will be used to address critical mid-and longer-term
priorities such as bolstering anti-corruption, strengthening an
independent media to actively combat disinformation that seeks
to undermine Ukraine and the West, and catalyzing private
investment and job creation.
Russia's war against Ukraine has compounded regional
challenges elsewhere. Pro-democracy activists have been forced
into exile in Belarus.
In response, USAID has supported an independent Belarusian
media outlet that continues to operate in exile with a reach of
between 2 to 5 million unique visitors a month, half of whom
are within Belarus.
Moldova continues to feel the economic and energy
consequences of Russia's strikes on Ukraine's energy
infrastructure as the energy supply continues to be a
geopolitical weapon.
Congress has enabled USAID to provide $412 million in
supplemental assistance to Moldova including $300 million
additional targeted support to the energy sector, which is
vital for stabilizing the sector and increasing energy
interconnectivity with European markets.
Looking ahead to 2024, the request of $55 million for
Moldova will advance democratic and anti-corruption
initiatives, and expand partnerships including with the private
sector.
The Kremlin's malign influence also exploits local fissures
in the Western Balkans, aiming to disrupt peace and stability.
The President's request of $108 million provides crucial
funding to counter this malign influence and bolster the
regional economy.
In Kosovo and Serbia USAID remains focused on supporting
the entire U.S. Government efforts to further the EU-led
normalization dialog.
Bosnia and Herzegovina continues to be manipulated by
Russia's control of the energy supply. The request of $31
million for USAID and State will assist stakeholders to reform,
restructure, and diversify the country's natural gas market.
Energy reform and security will strengthen democratic
freedom by demonstrating that democracy can deliver, which is
more important than ever as the leader of the country's
Republika Srpska entity, Milorad Dodik, increases his dangerous
political rhetoric.
In North Macedonia and Albania resources will support
enduring efforts toward Euro-Atlantic integration by partnering
with citizens, civil society, media, and the private sector to
fight against corruption and demand government transparency,
and in the South Caucasus USAID's work in Georgia remains
critical to safeguard the country's democracy and prospects for
Euro-Atlantic integration.
And in Armenia and Azerbaijan the situation in the region
of Nagorno-Karabakh continues to be of great concern as the
blockage of the Lachin corridor has resulted in civilians of
Nagorno-Karabakh to lose or have reduced access to essential
services, medical treatment, and basic commodities.
Thanks to Congress' focus and attention on Central Europe
we have stronger relationships with civil society in Hungary
and Poland. Fiscal year 2024 resources will allow us to build
the skills of local organizations, independent media, and civic
actors to promote democracy and protect those fundamental
freedoms.
The challenges we face in Europe and Eurasia are expansive
and complex but the resources provided by Congress to date and
as requested in the President's budget request for Fiscal Year
2024 allow for USAID to make a critical impact to strengthen
the foundations of freedom in Europe and Eurasia on behalf of
the American people.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. I look
forward to answering your questions.
[The prepared statement of Ms. McKee follows:]
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Kean. Thank you, Ambassador McKee.
I now recognize Ms. Longi for her opening statement.
STATEMENT OF MARIA A. LONGI, COORDINATOR, OFFICE OF THE
COORDINATOR OF U.S. ASSISTANCE TO EUROPE AND EURASIA, U.S.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Ms. Longi. Thank you, Chairman Kean and Ranking Member
Keating, for inviting me to testify before you today.
My colleagues, Ambassadors Hogan and McKee, have spoken
about the President's Fiscal Year 1924 budget requests for
Europe and Eurasia.
I would like to address the on-the-ground impact our
assistance has had and how it advances U.S. national interests,
particularly in the midst of Russia's full-scale invasion of
Ukraine.
I'll start with the energy security issue. In Ukraine, as
Ambassador McKee mentioned, our assistance has helped Ukraine
maintain citizens' access to power and heat in the face of
Russia's escalated attacks on the electricity grid last winter.
In partnership with other donors we have already begun
planning for this coming winter with a more decentralized,
efficient, and cleaner energy system compatible with the EU
grid while also providing support for EU integration on
electricity trade, gas sector support, and nuclear safety and
security.
Elsewhere, when Moldova faced its own energy crisis this
winter we channeled assistance to enable reverse flow gas
transfers from the Trans-Balkan Pipeline, facilitate open
market gas purchases, and link Moldova to the European
electricity grid, and in a number of countries including
Armenia we are assessing the feasibility of small modular
nuclear reactors built with U.S. technology that could
facilitate greater energy independence from both Russia and the
PRC.
We have also directed our assistance to strengthen good
governance across the region with programs that improve
transparency and fight corruption. These programs help enable
economic transformation in Euro-Atlantic integration.
In Ukraine our assistance has strengthened transparent and
independent anti-corruption tax and budget auditing authorities
and has improved corporate governance and State management,
building the framework necessary to ensure a swift and ethical
reconstruction at war's end.
We have also bolstered the digitization of procurement
including in Ukraine's corruption prone construction sector and
e-governance. These programs have made clear impacts on
investor confidence.
Ambassador McKee and I were in Kyiv last month when the
Horizon Capital Growth Fund announced the $250 million
investment round for the communities' private sector.
The U.S. Government helped create the managers of this fund
and the DFC contributed $25 million to the fund, and there were
quite a number of private businesses there anxious to start
investing more in Ukraine.
In Moldova our assistance has empowered marginalized
communities, strengthened civil society oversight over public
procurement, and expanded independent local news sources across
the country.
In Kosovo our recent support has helped transform the
country's commercial court, reducing backlogs and significantly
improving participant satisfaction.
In Albania we have strengthened the anti-corruption
structure as it went after powerful corrupt forces including
crooked cops, members of parliament, and even a former deputy
prime minister.
In Montenegro we supported investigative journalists whose
work led to the arrest of the country's supreme court
president, and in Serbia viewership of U.S.-supported
independent media has grown by over 30 percent.
Our law enforcement and security assistance is also
producing results in the region and beyond. We are facilitating
partnerships between the Illinois State police and counterparts
in Georgia to bolster respect for human rights in the law
enforcement community and the United States has provided body-
worn cameras to 50 police stations across North Macedonia,
reducing corruption complaints by 34 percent.
An embedded U.S. prosecutor in Albania is advising on the
vetting of judges and prosecutors, which so far has resulted in
60 percent of the judges and prosecutors screened leaving their
positions.
Finally, let me end on the human dimension of Russia's war.
U.S. assistance has been supporting the brave men, women, and
children of Ukraine as they cope with Russia's onslaught.
It has provided hospitals--it has powered hospitals and
facilities caring for thousands of wounded veterans and
civilians and funded consultations for more than 40,000
internally displaced people.
We have supported independent verification of Russia's
atrocities by the U.N. human rights monitoring mission and
others across multiple domains, including satellite imagery,
social media, and traditional reporting.
Ultimately, the immense tragedy of Russia's war of choice
underscores the urgency of our assistance right now. This is
just a brief snapshot of the power of American assistance.
With bipartisan congressional support our Fiscal Year 1924
budget request for foreign assistance, a 7 percent increase
over the Fiscal Year 1923 request, will do more to advance an
energy independent, democratically strong, economically
resilient region on the path toward a Europe whole, free, and
at peace.
As my colleagues have noted, our assistance underlies U.S.
leadership in Europe and Eurasia and it has helped us catalyze
the efforts of our allies and partners so that we can address
challenges in the region together.
We're committed to using the resources Congress provides to
continue this work to advance our goals and strengthen our
partnership and to serve the American people.
Thank you, and I welcome your questions.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Longi follows:]
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mr. Wilson [presiding]. Thank you, Ms. Longi, and we now--I
recognize myself for 5 minutes and we will be very strict on
the 5-minute rule, and Chairman Keating will be back in a few
minutes.
In the meantime, something the chairman said really struck
home to me on how important Europe is. In the district I
represent I've got the largest Michelin plant in the world. I'm
very grateful in upState South Carolina we have the largest BMW
facility in the world. And so it's really clear Europe means
jobs.
As we're discussing issues it's really refreshing that
substantially what you're doing is bipartisan. A classic case
was yesterday, led by Congresswoman Ann Wagner. In Luxembourg
we had a vote of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. It was
unanimous to support territorial integrity for Ukraine.
It was unanimous to oppose the ideology and practices of
Ruscism, which the New York Times has defined as Russian
fascism, and so with that in mind I am concerned, though, that
the budget request for Ambassador Hogan there's been a
reservation about providing long-range missiles--ATACMS--to
Ukraine. The United Kingdom is providing Storm Shadow cruise
missiles with a similar range.
Is the Administration reconsidering the faulty
assumptioning about long-range missiles being inherently
escalatory given the fact that the government of Ukraine has
abided by the U.K.'s request not to use the system against
targets in Russian territory and does the U.S. really accept
President Zelenskyy's promises not to target Russia testimony--
territory?
Mr. Hogan. Thank you, Congressman Wilson, for that
question.
I would say that the Administration is constantly assessing
the needs of the Ukrainian armed forces. We have been doing
that throughout, and our security assistance reflects the
opportunities that we see for Ukraine to preserve its
territorial integrity.
And so when it comes to specific weapon systems like the
ATACMS that is always under consideration. But at this time
what we have provided to the Ukrainians is what we think the
Ukrainians need at this time.
Thank you.
Mr. Wilson. And I'm glad that's being considered. Indeed,
it's bipartisan. Over the weekend it was tremendous that
Intelligence Chairman Mike Turner had the opportunity at the
NATO Parliamentary Assembly to announce the decision by the
Administration of F-16s to the--to protect the delivery of
grain--air cover for Ukraine to protect its citizens.
One of the main objectives, again, Ambassador Hogan, of the
budget request is to improve European energy security as the
continent diversifies away from Russian energy. In fact, the
Administration was very successful in reaching an agreement
between Israel and Lebanon to offshore drilling in the
Mediterranean and then the side consequence the oil is refined
in Egypt and then sent to Italy.
And so we need--you've been creative. We want you to be
even more creative because I'm concerned about China's
dominance of the renewable energy technology and its growing
nuclear power industry, and we must ensure that we do not move
from dependence on one authoritarian State to another.
And so, Ambassador, what is--what presence did China
already have in the European energy market? In particular, has
its nuclear power industry made any headway in the European
market?
Mr. Hogan. Sir, I would say that when it comes to energy
security this has been one of the opportunities--the strategic
opportunities that we have seen come as a result of Russia's
heinous invasion of Ukraine.
Europe, in a sense, saw that dependence on Russian
hydrocarbons is a bad bet and so we have been working hand in
hand with our European partners and allies to diversify away
from that.
And when it comes to U.S. LNG, for example, two-thirds of
our LNG exports went to Europe and so we're on track to do
something like that for this year as well.
When it comes to renewables we also see a real strategic
opportunity here. Both Europe as well as the United States view
of the importance of reliable, trustworthy supply chains and
so, for example, the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council
focuses almost exclusively on these sorts of issues--how do we
increase the resilience of our respective U.S. supply chains.
Mr. Wilson. And thank you very much. But I am very
concerned about dependency on Chinese batteries and we need to
be not dependent. With that in mind, I'm really grateful to
recognize the ranking member, Bill Keating, for any questions
he may have.
Mr. Keating. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I mentioned in my
opening remarks the--Leader McCarthy's proposed 22 percent
budget cut to reduce State Department and USAID funding--the
levels in your agency.
These are levels that we haven't seen since 2010, well over
a decade ago, at a time when historically so much is at stake
right now in terms of democracy, security here at home as a
result and the role of China. You know, Russia has a hot war
going on and we discuss that in so many other committees,
including Armed Services, which we both share.
But, you know, at the same time, even preceding this war,
China has been moving in its own campaign in Eurasia and
Eastern Europe and using enormous economic influence and trying
to move away from democracies and undercut them to
authoritarian regimes.
With this in mind, with so much at stake, I mean, how
devastating would these cuts be to our ability to counter China
and their activities?
Mr. Hogan. I can start off with that. I'm sure my
colleagues would be able to chime in as well.
Congressman, Mr. Ranking Member, it would be devastating,
that impact, to our----
Mr. Keating. I'm sorry. Could you move the microphone a
little closer? I'm sorry.
Mr. Hogan. Sorry.
Mr. Keating. Probably my hearing.
Mr. Hogan. No, it's--excuse me, sir. It would be
devastating that sort of cut to our budget. Right now we are in
a situation where Russia as well as the PRC are trying to up
end the rules-based international order and the PRC--China--is
using economic coercion.
It's using massive disinformation as part of its toolkit.
We have been diplomatically as well as programmatically
countering that and so this budget represents our efforts to
advance those goals.
Ms. Longi. And I can add a little more.
The Fiscal Year 1924 budget request we feel is a number
that would help--let us sustain the programmatic investments
that we have made in the past. A 22 percent decrease would
require us to make some very, very difficult choices on the
programming including the investments we have made in Ukraine
and in the region----
Mr. Keating. Well, the region in particular. I would say
this. If we're having cuts of the magnitude that I mentioned
aren't we essentially putting the white flag up, you know, in
our ability to counter China? And, you know, we cannot ignore
that threat.
China is going to be important in the war itself because If
we're not successful, certainly, it shows the aggression can
work in this world and certainly they've indicated with Taiwan
what their intentions are.
But aren't we ceding this area right now to China by not
meeting our budgetary needs, which--I hate to talk numbers but
this is, like, investing in the front line of democracy in our
fight with China, you know, that they are bringing on not on
the hot war but on the economic and diplomatic front, the
coercive activities they've taken, the anti-democratic
activities they have been involved in.
These have real impact. Wouldn't a cut of that size have
enormous impact on our ability to even compete with China in
that front?
Ms. Longi. I would say that much of our programming
directly is intended to help these countries with energy
independence, with their economic stability, with getting good
information and facts out there and, yes, our ability to
counter Russia and the malign influence of PRC would be
affected by this type of a cut.
Mr. Keating. Yes, and I'm concerned. One day this war will
be over and I'm convinced Ukraine will be successful. But what
happens then and what happens right after that is so important.
If we're not acting on these issues now, If you could in 1
minute, where will we be at the end of this war?
Mr. Hogan. We would be in a very difficult situation.
That's why we are pursuing these things simultaneously. That's
why our budget request reflects what we are trying to do to
counter Russian aggression as well as PRC malign influence.
Just one particular example, investment screening, for
example. This is something that is critical to countries'
abilities to be able to evaluate the potentially spurious
investments from the PRC.
And so our assistance has been able to help these
countries, these governments in Europe, be able to identify
those bad deals for them so that they do not end up with a
situation where critical infrastructure, for example, now
belongs to the PRC.
Mr. Keating. Yes, those predatory loans, their influence.
If we're not there and we're not competing they've got that
arena all to themselves. I yield back.
Mr. Wilson. Thank you very much, Mr. Keating. And we now
recognize full committee Vice Chairwoman Ann Wagner.
Mrs. Wagner. I thank the chairman and I'm grateful to our
witnesses for their time and service.
Indeed, as mentioned, Congressman Wilson and I just
returned yesterday for the spring meeting of the NATO
Parliamentary Assembly and I was so proud and gratified to find
that NATO's commitment to Ukrainian victory in the brutal
Russian war is unshaken and we will continue as a U.S.
delegation to push all NATO members toward their commitment of
2 percent of GDP toward defense and beyond that toward NATO.
Ukrainians are making unimaginable sacrifices to
demonstrate to tyrants around the world that aggression against
innocent and peaceful nations will never be tolerated.
The U.S. must give Ukraine the tools to succeed and now is
not the time to waver. Russia and China hope to see the U.S.-
led coalition against Putin fracture and we need to use every
opportunity to signal to our adversaries that we remain united
against aggressors.
Deputy Assistant Secretary Hogan, just a quick side
question here. Has the Administration not--why has the
Administration not yet appointed a new U.S. Special Envoy to
Belarus, the post that's been vacant since June 2022? Just real
briefly.
Mr. Hogan. Very briefly. We are in the process of doing
that, Congresswoman. We are waiting right now for the
transition in the European Bureau, the bureau that I'm
representing. That will be happening this summer. The person
that we expect to put in that position will be coming in and
then we'll move forward with that process.
Mrs. Wagner. I mean, talking about Russian aggression, it
is very important that we get that special envoy there as
quickly as possible.
Mr. Hogan. Fully agree.
Mrs. Wagner. I hope that you keep the committee and
Congress informed of that----
Mr. Hogan. Yes, ma'am.
Mrs. Wagner [continuing]. Decision when it's taken. Thank
you.
Despite Russia's ongoing full-scale war in Ukraine the
Kremlin has not ceased its efforts to spread, as I said, malign
influence across Europe.
Again, Assistant Secretary Hogan, how has Russian influence
in Europe and Eurasia evolved since the start of the full-scale
invasion of Ukraine and have its tactics and priorities changed
and how are U.S. activities adapting to reflect the situation
on the ground, sir?
Mr. Hogan. Thank you, Congresswoman.
The Russian narrative is basically that Ukraine is at
fault, that the United States is at fault, that NATO is at
fault for the war and then they go beyond that and they, of
course, work hand in hand with the PRC.
The Russian and Chinese malign influence are very much
complementary. They also make--they try to make the point that
this war is having a disastrous effect on food security and
that we are part and parcel of that.
So that is what they're trying to spin and I think the U.N.
General Assembly resolutions make clear that it is Russia that
is at fault, that Russia is the aggressor, that Ukraine is a
victim.
So we are using multilateral institutions. Last week we had
the Council of Europe Summit. That was the first multilateral
institution that kicked Russia out for its aggression in
Ukraine and we are doing the same thing when it comes to PRC
malign influence as well.
Mrs. Wagner. Well, you know, I'll say, sir, we need to
really adapt and push back harder. I am also gravely concerned
about Russia's destabilizing activities in the Western Balkans
and particularly Bosnia where it is empowering dangerous and
corrupt politicians like Milorad Dodik.
The U.S. must continue to prioritize engagement with
Western Balkan countries, whether promoting the region's
integration into NATO and the EU or punishing the bad actors
who are trying to hold the region back.
Again, Assistant Secretary Hogan, how does your budget
support enhanced engagement in the Balkans to insulate the
region from adversary influence and get it back on track for
membership in European and transatlantic institutions?
Mr. Hogan. Thank you, again, Congresswoman. The budget is
very much focused on moving these countries toward--the Western
Balkans countries, including BiH, toward its Euro-Atlantic end
State. These countries have all, except for the--except for
Serbia have all made NATO as well as EU their endpoints, both
of these institutions.
And so our assistance is moving these countries in that
direction when it comes to corruption, being able to fight
corruption, when it comes to standing up and strengthening
democratic institutions such as watchdog agencies, independent
media. So we have got a lot of tools in place to be able to----
Mrs. Wagner. Thank you. I'd really like some more specifics
on this because I did not follow that whole thought process
there at all. I want specific, sir, If you could, in writing
about how the budget supports enhanced engagements in the
Balkans specific to Bosnia.
I thank the chair for their indulgence and I yield back.
Thank you.
Mr. Wilson. Thank you very much, Vice Chairwoman Ann
Wagner, and we're very grateful to have Congresswoman Dean.
Ms. Dean. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and thank you, Ranking
Member Keating. Thank you to our witnesses for your work and,
of course, for your testimony today.
As we enter the second year of the conflict in Ukraine with
looming counter offenses on the horizon how have Ukraine's
nonsecurity assistance needs changed over the course of the
last 14 months?
Is the pace of congressional support and appropriations
keeping pace with those needs and where in Ukraine are
humanitarian needs the very highest?
Ms. Longi. Thank you for that. The needs have--some of the
needs have, indeed, changed. You saw one primary example is on
the energy front.
When Russia attacked the energy grid so aggressively last
October we quickly pivoted and used some of the supplemental
funding that Congress provided to help with emergency repair
equipment and auto transformers and generators, and so we were
able to use those resources to address those changed
conditions.
I think over the course of the year the need for budget
support has also been a lot more evident and has become more
clear as the government has adjusted to the war.
As the government of Ukraine has adjusted and put its--
watched its resources decline and watched the needs for their
basic--for their basic--keeping their government functions
going, stabilize, I think we were able to come in with
assistance with--for budget support. So those were two areas--
--
Ms. Dean. Ambassador McKee, from USAID's perspective?
Ms. McKee. Yes. I would say that the areas that we had to
pivot the most rapidly and also expand were in the areas of the
agricultural sector, which is critical not only for putting
food on Ukrainian citizens' tables but to help feed the world.
And so we worked closely across the interagency to develop
and our European partners to develop the solidarity lanes and
provide an alternative to the Black Sea blockade. That effort
is ongoing and the needs continue. The planting season and
cycle needs to be sustained.
The other area that we both expanded and shifted in terms
of our technical assistance was in the energy sector. As Putin
weaponized winter we responded to help try and keep the water
running, the heat on, and the lights on.
But with an eye toward what Ukraine is trying to achieve in
the future we know that the energy architecture is sort of
ground zero for kleptocracy. It's to build a decentralized
deregulated modern and sustainable energy architecture for the
future that can absolutely integrate and support the EU and the
surrounding areas.
And so those would be two areas I would point out that we
shifted both the nature of our programming and, obviously, the
size and focus.
Ms. Dean. As we're in the spring and summer months,
Ambassador McKee, and moving--thinking of the fall and harvest
again, is the reason to be optimistic that the support that
Ukraine is getting for the agricultural sector is going to be
effective for them to produce?
Ms. McKee. Absolutely. Until the Black Sea opens up,
obviously, their ability to export in the volumes that they did
preconflict remains a challenge.
But we have gotten smart with our partners and allies in
terms of better inputs using ag tech, rendering the planting
field safe for both planting and harvest since the Russians
tend to mine everything in their wake.
They are weaponizing not only winter but also food, and so
hand in glove trying to sustain the sector and those
investments have essentially provided the relief that the
farmers need, not to the order of pre-war magnitude but I do
know that, for example, when we were in Bucharest just a couple
of weeks ago the Romanians are counting through the solidarity
lanes an uptick in throughput and the investments that we made
in the--reducing the bottlenecks of the overland and littoral
routes.
And so we remain hopeful that it's a lifeline. It's
certainly not the order of magnitude that will be necessary
until the Black Sea opens up.
Ms. Dean. OK. And, Ambassador Hogan, shifting lanes to
Azerbaijan and Armenia, I met with the deputy foreign minister
of Azerbaijan today and we know that the Secretary of State
early this month said that there was progress toward peace,
some notable--I'm paraphrasing--notable movement in the
negotiations.
Can you give me an update on the negotiations for long-term
peace? And I'm thinking of in particular the blockade--the
controversy and the blockade and when we hope that will be
fully opened.
Mr. Hogan. Thank you, Congresswoman Dean.
The process is moving forward--the peace process. The
Secretary hosted the two foreign ministers in early May to work
out--work through some of the most contentious issues
including, for example, the distancing of forces along the
border and dispute resolution mechanism in the treaty that we
are trying to facilitate agreement on, the rights insecurities
of the ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh.
These are a lot of the issues that we were working through.
We put forward a number of proposals that gave the two sides,
perhaps, some bridging language there. So they have been taking
that back and studying it.
Since then we have been working very closely with the
European Union. They hosted--Charles Michel hosted the leaders
actually in Brussels just a couple of weeks after we hosted the
foreign ministers and then they will be meeting again, the two
leaders--Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders--with the presidents
of Germany--sorry, the chancellor of Germany, the president of
France, as well as EU President Charles Michel to again focus
on what needs to be done to actually get this across the finish
line.
We still have a long ways to go, and when it comes to
Lachin corridor that's something that the Secretary--that's
something we have been pushing very hard on, particularly when
it comes to the opening up of commercial as well as private
vehicles.
Ms. Dean. And I realize I've gone way over. I thank you,
Mr. Chairman. Thank you very much for your focus on that.
Mr. Wilson. Thank you, Ms. Dean.
We now proceed to Congressman Self of Texas.
Mr. Self. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to read one
sentence from what you've provided to us. It's on page 16. I do
not know the document. It's probably your request.
Failure to preserve a free and fair economic environment
would not only limit economic growth and exclude economically
disadvantaged groups but would also create more permissive
environments for corruption and transnational crime,
threatening U.S. national security as well as that of its
allies and partners.
You have described the United States in our debt ceiling
negotiations. I know you do not work for the Treasury
Department but I couldn't have stated it better.
I agree with the ranking member who just said so much is at
stake. We have a republic to save in this debt ceiling
negotiation. We are $32 trillion in debt. We're going to $50
trillion.
Under this president we have inflation because $10 trillion
has been pumped into the economy. So this sentence I really
appreciate you giving it to us, Ambassador Hogan, because I
intend to use it.
Turning to your--in your testimoneys you tend to--and I
just appreciated Congresswoman Dean's discussion because you--
in your testimoneys you tend to treat nations as in--as
isolated nations. They're not, in this part of the world.
With over a decade in Europe and the Middle East to include
an embassy, NATO, European Command, Central Command, so forth.
Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia are probably the toughest
neighborhood in this region. They sit between Russia, Iran,
Turkey.
This is a tough neighborhood. We talk about many tough
neighborhoods around the world. This is probably the toughest,
and it's also complicated. Azerbaijan aligns itself with the
West, Armenia with the East.
Yet, Azerbaijan has the Chinese Belt and Road projects in
it. Armenia does not, and the railroad went through Georgia,
bypassed Armenia. Armenia gets from the Freedom House a 55 out
of 100 ranking and, again, they're aligned with the East.
Azerbaijan gets a 10 out of 100 ranking from Freedom House.
So this is a complex situation. I hope you can move forward
with not only Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia but it is a
complex situation.
And then I wanted to go to Kosovo and Serbia. What is your
position on the territorial swap that's been suggested and, I
think, dismissed a U.N. seat for Kosovo and Serbia recognition
of Kosovo? What is the State Department's position in those
former Republic of Yugoslavia nations?
Mr. Hogan. Thank you, Congressman. The U.S. position is
that we very much support the EU's normalization process
between Kosovo and Serbia and so in that set of agreements both
countries commit to taking certain action and as a result
moving into the EU through the normal process.
And so when it comes to the territorial swap that's not
contemplated in this agreement. What is contemplated is that,
for example, Kosovo would have to create an association of
Serbian municipalities for northern Kosovo and which sort of
provides local governance mechanisms for that community. Serbia
would have to agree not to oppose Kosovo's membership in
international organization among many other provisions in each
of these agreements.
So as they move forward down this path we consider it to be
legally binding, these agreements. We hope to see very much
normalization of ties between those two countries.
Mr. Self. OK. I think that's sanguine but I understand. I
will tell you in terms of the cuts you're paying the price of
the Afghanistan withdrawal. Let's just be honest. This
Administration made a strategic blunder of epic proportions
with the Afghanistan withdrawal.
We can talk all day about giving you money for doing all
these noble things. But I feel for you because you are paying
the price for an epic strategic blunder.
My time is up. Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
Mr. Wilson. Thank you very much, Congressman Self.
We now proceed to the former chairman of the Transatlantic
Dialogue, Congressman Jim Costa of California.
Mr. Costa. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
I want to cover some of the areas that have been touched
upon here.
But, Ambassador Hogan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, clearly, as
been noted, a tough, tough challenge here. I, for one, am
believing that Azerbaijan has not lived up to their agreements
that had been a part of this peace effort and I'm wondering--
two quick questions.
The demining or the funding for demining in the controlled
areas in Karabakh from the 2020 war, sir, obviously, presents a
clear and present danger. Are we going to continue to provide
support to demine those areas?
Mr. Hogan. Sir, I'm going to have to get back to you on
that particular question, unless Ms. Maria Longi----
Ms. Longi. We do have continued humanitarian demining in
Azerbaijan and I--we will have to get back to you on--within
Nagorno-Karabakh on the demining. But----
Mr. Costa. Yes. And an extension of that, the blockade that
Azerbaijan had put in place earlier this year in the corridor
to provide support for food and other humanitarian aid, what is
the Administration's efforts to ensure that that corridor
remains open so that the people in Nagorno-Karabakh, or as the
Armenians refer to as Artsakh, is able to be used?
Mr. Hogan. Congressman, a robust diplomatic engagement at
the highest levels. The Secretary raises this repeatedly with
the president of Azerbaijan, Aliyev, speaking about the
importance of a free and open corridor, particularly when it
comes to commercial and private track--private traffic.
Mr. Costa. It's essential. I mean, If Azerbaijan is going
to live up to their agreements this has got to be a part of the
deal.
Mr. Hogan. That's right. That's right. That's what we're
working on, sir.
Mr. Costa. Let me move over to Ukraine. And I do not know
If, Madam McKee, If you'd care to respond. What was the amount
of the grain exports that were produced in Ukraine last year
that we were able to get out of the country? What numbers are
you using?
Ms. McKee. So the latest numbers that we have on our
agricultural resilience initiative, which we plussed up under
the supplemental resources, the numbers that we're using are
based on what we see on the various routes of the overland and
littoral routes. I will have to get back to you with the
specific----
Mr. Costa. All right. Well, I mean, I'm looking at
percentages. I mean, 80 percent of the grain production--I
mean, clearly, Putin has weaponized----
Ms. McKee. Yes.
Mr. Costa [continuing]. This effort and there have been
negotiations. Now he's seemingly to go on a short-term
initiative extensions of the--of what has been agreed upon. But
it's blatant. It's an attempt to weaponize grain. It impacts
not only Ukraine but the other people that that grain provides
sustenance for.
Mr. Hogan. So, sir, the Black Sea grain initiative was able
to facilitate the exports of 30 million metric tons and then
the EU solidarity lanes--that's the overland route--I think is
about 23 million metric tons.
Ms. McKee. But they're down. The latest numbers--at least
for the last season the levels that they've been able to export
are down anywhere between 50 and 30 percent.
Mr. Costa. Well, then how does the overall strategy by the
Administration would you best describe with USAID and the
State's overall efforts to provide nonsecurity assistance to
Ukraine?
I mean, does--we're not going to do a supplemental? Is that
my understanding? And does this assistance--continued
assistance mean Ukraine is going to have what they need in
terms of nonsecurity needs?
Mr. Hogan. So our fiscal year--our current assistance we
believe is covering what we need for the end of this fiscal
year. We're, of course, constantly assessing the situation on
the ground. But we believe we have what we need to go through
the end of this fiscal year.
Mr. Costa. OK. And so, finally, you know, many of us have
accused Russia for what they've done. President Putin's actions
are that of a war criminal in terms of their violation of human
rights and it's also resulted in forced adoptions of Ukrainian
children, better termed, in my view, kidnaping.
It's critical that the--as the war continues and its
aftermath that humanitarian assistance supports the efforts to
reunite these Ukrainian children. What are these efforts to
hold Russia accountable for their outrageous activities in this
effort?
Mr. Hogan. Sir, we have a variety of mechanisms. So when it
comes to the OSCE we have the Moscow Mechanism, which goes in
and reports on all of the atrocities of the war crimes.
We have the U.N. Commission of Inquiry. We have just--what
was just inaugurated last week at the Council of Europe Summit
that I mentioned earlier in Reykjavik, Iceland.
We established the creation of a register of damages
committed by Russian forces in Ukraine. So these are all tools
to be able to establish claims for when adjudicative bodies are
set up, for example, including the special tribunal on the----
Mr. Costa. Well, we are going to need to do this at the
close of this war. My time has expired. But we do not have any
numbers, do we, of the amount of children that have been
kidnaped?
Ms. McKee. Yes, we do. The Ukrainian government currently
puts that number at over 16,000.
Mr. Costa. All right. Well, thank you very much, Mr.
Chairman, and you'll provide that information that you
indicated to me that you earlier did not have at your--OK.
Thank you.
Mr. Wilson. Thank you, Mr. Costa. We now proceed to
Congressman Bill Huizenga of Michigan.
Mr. Huizenga. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate that.
And I, too, had some questions regarding the Balkans but I
believe that was mostly asked and answered by my colleague,
Representative Wagner.
So I'm going to move on to another issue that has, frankly,
not gotten a lot of attention, which is the Arctic. I asked
Secretary Blinken about this when he was here last.
I come from Michigan. I chair the U.S.-Canada IPG, the
Inter Parliamentary Group. There's quite a bit of concern and,
I think, rightfully so with some of the actions in the Arctic
with Russia and, as you may know or recall, in April of this
year the Russian coast guard signed a memorandum of
understanding with the Chinese coast guard to strengthen
maritime cooperation and ostensibly combat terrorism, illegal
migration, smuggling of drugs and weapons, and illegal fishing.
However, I think experience speaks loudly to this and that
scope of the portfolio really provides China with leverage,
potentially, to utilize its standard practice of harassing
vessels from other countries with aggressive and even illegal
actions.
Furthermore, as China partners with Russia they continue to
try to establish and exploit their, quote/unquote, ``the Polar
Silk Road'' and promote their baseless near Arctic State claim.
So, Assistant Secretary, I'm curious how is the State
Department engaged with our European partners and especially
those within the Arctic coalition to combat the influence in
the Arctic region?
After years of trying to keep China out, obviously, it
looks like they got a side door in to the Arctic area. So
please help me understand what State is doing about this.
Mr. Hogan. Congressman, you are right to be concerned about
this issue and, frankly, the Russia-PRC ``no limits
partnership,'' quote/unquote, extends to the Arctic. So I think
you called it exactly right.
What we're doing the Secretary outlined in October of last
year our strategy--our U.S.-Arctic strategy--which is based on
four pillars--security, climate change and environmental
protection, sustainable economic development, as well as
international cooperation and governance.
And so we very much see Russia as well as the PRC looking
to establish dominance in this region.
What we have been doing, sir, is, first of all, focus on
our bilateral partnerships with the countries in the Arctic,
particularly in the security realm a number of----
Mr. Huizenga. But we walked away from the official
organization.
Mr. Hogan. No. The Arctic Council we're still there, sir.
What the Arctic Council has done, and this is one of the
areas that we sort of referenced earlier, is that it has
suspended participation with Russia in any activity. And so the
council still very much is working.
It is moving forward with projects that we support. These
are not security focused projects but we are able to focus on
things such as climate change, maritime biodiversity, et
cetera.
Mr. Huizenga. Sure. OK. Hold on. Let's stop right there,
though. But this is a military threat. It's not a climate
threat. It's not a sustainable development threat. This is a
military threat. We know that China--sorry, Canada--found
Chinese listening buoys in the Arctic.
Mr. Hogan. So that's--
Mr. Huizenga. _and so--just a second. I understand your
report was very loaded up on the climate-related priorities and
the sustainable economic development priorities. But I want to
know what the lasting impact is going to be on the encroachment
into a growing vital economic and especially military and
security zone.
So and should NATO be playing a role in this? What else
should be happening?
Mr. Hogan. No, that's exactly where I was going, sir. When
it comes to NATO it very much views the High North as part of
its area of responsibility.
So when you include now Finland as being the thirty-first
member of the alliance--we're looking to make Sweden,
hopefully, by the Vilnius summit in July the thirty-second
member--when you think about as well the security arrangements
that we have established with all of the countries in the
Arctic--you know, 88 F-35s for Canada, for example, that's a
$14 billion upgrade--we are moving forward with this, a defense
cooperation agreement----
Mr. Huizenga. But it's also icebreakers and it's other
things outside of State Department. I understand that.
Mr. Hogan. Right.
Mr. Huizenga. My time is expiring. But I want to make sure
that there is an eye not just to the important issue of climate
change and development--sustainable development, whatever that
amorphous phrase might be--to understand that we are vulnerable
at the North and we have seen this with the Chinese spy balloon
that came over.
We're seeing them with incursions in and this agreement
with Russia is one that needs to have attention and we should
be concerned about.
So I look forward to working with you on a tougher line on
that. Mr. Chairman, I yield back. Thank you.
Mr. Kean [presiding]. Thank you. I recognize myself for 5
minutes of questions.
Ambassador Hogan, in your written testimony you State that
U.S. assistance to Ukraine aims to give Ukraine the tools
necessary to help defend its sovereignty, consolidate its
democracy, move into the EU and global markets.
I am concerned, however, that neither you nor our other
witnesses mention the goal to restore Ukraine's territorial
integrity.
Mr. Hogan, for the record, does the U.S. support the
Ukraine aim to also help restore territorial integrity as
defined by its 1991 borders?
Mr. Hogan. Sir, that is very much our policy, consistent
with U.N. Charter principles as well--territorial integrity.
Mr. Kean. OK. And why was that not in your written
testimony as part of your stated goals?
Mr. Hogan. Sir, I believe there must have been an oversight
then. It very much is our policy.
Mr. Kean. And thank you. Ambassador Hogan, I am concerned
that the value of weapons being transferred per month to
Ukraine from the U.S. stocks using drawdown authority is
decreasing ahead of Ukraine's critical counter offensive.
I'm even more troubled after the recent announcement that
due to an accounting error which overvalued weapons being
transferred to Ukraine from U.S. stocks that there is an
additional $3 billion in Presidential authority available.
It's disappointing that these funds weren't used to surge
additional weapons to Ukraine ahead of its counter offensive.
Can you pledge to us here today that the State Department will
do everything in its power to make up for precious time and
rectify that mistake by immediately preparing for large
drawdown packages to Ukraine?
Ms. Longi. We will continue to work with the Department of
Defense. They are doing the recalculations now, and so that
does--that valuation has not hindered us from giving what we
think we need to give to the Ukrainians.
And so we will keep apace and we will keep engaging with
the Department of Defense and the interagency to make sure that
we give Ukraine what they need with the authorities that we
have.
Mr. Kean. What is the current level of funding remaining in
the supplemental accounts that are overseen and implemented by
the State Department and USAID?
Ms. Longi. I do not have those numbers with me but we will
get those--we will get those to you.
Mr. Kean. Do you expect that all of these funds will last
until the end of the fiscal year?
Ms. Longi. That is our estimate right now and we are
continuing--we are continuing to assess these as we--on a daily
basis and so we will--at this point we do think that we have
sufficient resources through the end of the Fiscal Year but we
will come to you If and when we think otherwise.
Mr. Kean. And so, therefore, it won't last until the end of
the calendar year?
Ms. Longi. I cannot answer that right now. I do not know.
Mr. Kean. OK. One other point. The conflict between Armenia
and Azerbaijan--I was glad to see Secretary Blinken convene
Armenian and Azeri leaders several weeks ago to engage in
negotiations. But it remains to be seen If these talks will
actually lead to any lasting peace.
Ambassador Hogan or anybody on this panel, can you please
give us a status update on the negotiations, please?
Mr. Hogan. Sure, Mr. Chairman.
We are--following 3 weeks of intense diplomatic engagement
with the two sides here, we're now looking to see what can be
done in the most contentious areas. As I mentioned earlier,
they include the dispensing of forces--Azerbaijani-Armenian
forces.
It also includes the border delimitation and recognizing
both sides of what is the common border. It also includes, Mr.
Chairman, the rights and securities of ethnic Armenians in
Nagorno-Karabakh.
We have put forward a number of ideas to help the two sides
come together on these particular issues and so they are
looking at reviewing our ideas. We have been following up.
I just had a meeting with the foreign minister of
Azerbaijan as well as the foreign minister of Armenia just last
week to see where we can move forward.
The EU is also playing a very helpful role. They convened
the two leaders just 2 weeks ago and they will be meeting with
them again 2 weeks from now, and so we have been very much
doing a tag team effort here.
Ms. McKee. Mr. Chairman, If I may.
Late-breaking news out of the region as of yesterday
morning the Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan, in a 4-hour
press conference asserted and it was the first time sort of
very publicly asserted Armenia's recognition of Azerbaijan's
territorial integrity, which was an important first step that
the team had put on the table and this assertion is inclusive
of Nagorno-Karabakh, returned to highlighting the importance of
the 1975 Soviet general staff map. We're waiting on
Azerbaijan's response. But that is progress.
Mr. Kean. OK. Thank you.
Mr. Lawler from New York for 5 minutes.
Mr. Lawler. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Ambassador McKee, good to see you again. Enjoyed getting to
speak with you in Chicago for the Moldovan-American convention
2 weeks ago.
I'm pleased that the Administration appointed a special
envoy for Northern Ireland at the end of last year. This
position is critically important to strengthen ties with
Northern Ireland, fully implement the Good Friday Agreement,
and further develop trade relations.
Mr. Hogan, can you please provide a general update on the
U.S. mission to Northern Ireland specifically as it relates to
the Windsor agreement and greater trade relations?
Mr. Hogan. Thank you, Congressman.
As you know, the President was just in Belfast to celebrate
the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. The Special
Envoy, Joe Kennedy III, was with the President. Actually stayed
behind to work on what the President had laid out to be a very
important trade delegation mission that we hope to be able to
pull off with American companies going to Belfast some time in
the fall.
So we have been having ongoing discussions with His
Majesty's government as well as with our consulate in Belfast
to make sure that we're all on the same page there.
Mr. Lawler. OK. I was in Taiwan with Chairman McCaul just
about--almost 2 months ago and I was deeply concerned about
French President Emmanuel Macron's trip to China as well as his
statements subsequently in which he said that Europe should not
follow, quote, ``The American rhythm,'' unquote, on Taiwan.
What does that even mean? I do not know. But do you believe
France's relationship with the Chinese Communist Party and
President Xi is compromising their position on Taiwan?
Is it a sentiment being shared by other European countries
and do you believe President Macron's statements compromise or
in any way hinder U.S. policy toward Taiwan?
Mr. Hogan. Congressman, we have had a number of
conversations both privately and bilaterally as well as in a
collective format--the Quad, G-7, including most recently the
G-7 Leaders Summit in Hiroshima--that----
Mr. Lawler. Did the President speak to President Macron
specifically about this?
Mr. Hogan. These are--this is very much part of our ongoing
conversation with President Macron as well as, of course, his
leadership team, the foreign minister, et cetera.
When it comes to a where we stand on PRC, we see ourselves
as essentially on the same page. We see the cross-Strait
tensions as being something that's not only a problem for
that----
Mr. Lawler. Sorry. Just to be clear, you see who on the
same page? France and the United States?
Mr. Hogan. France, the United States, as well as the rest
of the G-7 as outlined in the G-7 leaders statement. There it
made clear the challenges, the problems, that we see with the
PRC, particularly when it comes to Taiwan as well as when it
comes to everything else that the PRC is doing--economic
coercion, disinformation, et cetera.
Ms. McKee. The statement also refuted the South China Sea
claims, which I think was not welcome in the PRC.
Mr. Lawler. OK. What is the Administration doing to ramp up
cybersecurity cooperation in Europe to strengthening resilience
across the region and push back against increased Russian cyber
campaigns?
Ms. Longi. I can start and then you can definitely do the
specifics.
So we have been working in the--on cybersecurity for
several years in the region, even before the--Russia invaded
Ukraine. In Ukraine we have got a very substantial program. We
also received supplemental funding in December, $50 million, to
do more cybersecurity in the Western Balkans.
We are working on programming about $25 million of that in
Albania in response to some very targeted and damaging cyber
attacks from Iran and we are in the process of planning out how
the rest of those funds will be used.
I've made a number of trips to the region and a lot of the
engagements with government officials are them asking for our
assistance to help them set up frameworks and do cybersecurity.
So we do see receptivity on the civilian and as well the
Department of Defense is also working with several countries in
the region on cybersecurity.
Ms. McKee. Part of the whole of--whole of government
effort, If you will, what we have done in Ukraine and across
the region is actually anchored in our anti-corruption efforts
as we move e-governance and more transparent and agile service
delivery systems.
The other side of the equation--protecting those systems
and that information--has been a top priority and so the--with
the State-sponsored attacks and, obviously, straight out of
Putin's playbook for the asymmetric tools of cyber attacks, the
wake-up call and the response and the demand signals for that
work has only increased and, luckily, we have programs in place
to be able to expand and respond to those requests.
Mr. Lawler. Great. Thank you.
Mr. Kean. Mr. Lawler yields back.
Mr. Moran from Texas?
Mr. Moran. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Ambassador Hogan, I'd like to start with you. I want to
revisit a little bit about this discussion about Mr.--President
Macron's discussion of China and his comments after coming back
from China. In particular, he really suggested that any crisis
regarding Taiwan would not be a concern to Europe generally.
I did not understand why he would say such a thing. I'm
curious about a couple of things. First, do you know has there
been any reaction from other European leaders as to his
comments about Taiwan and China?
Mr. Hogan. Yes. There have been a number of reactions, all
very much aligning with the U.S. position on this issue. So
there have been clear, clear messages given on that regard.
Mr. Moran. Have we seen any other countries align with his
comments to side on his side of the equation?
Mr. Hogan. I would, sir, say that since those comments we
have had a number of engagements with France including at the
head of State level where we have found ourselves to be very
much on the same page when it comes to Taiwan.
So I would respectfully not say that we're on different
pages there. We think we're on the same side and pursuing this
very serious global threat that we have.
Mr. Moran. Well, I'm glad to hear that. Unfortunately, the
language he used coming back from China actually indicated he
was on an opposite side from American foreign policy.
I'm curious If we have been able to uncover or discover
whether or not there's something motivating his action on
behalf of France to side with China.
Are there economic agreements that we're not aware of yet
or other partnership opportunities that he's pursuing with
China that are driving his foreign policy?
Mr. Hogan. Sir, I do not want to go too far in terms of
getting into his thinking but I would say that managing the
relationship with the PRC is very difficult for countries
because of the complex economic relationships that these
countries have, including, quite frankly, that the United
States has as well with the PRC.
So what--the term that we have all been using is something
that European Commission President von der Leyen had said in
her March 30th speech. This is really not so much about
decoupling from China but more about derisking from China.
And so all of us including--made very clearly at the G-7
Leaders Summit have focused on ways that we can do that in a
coordinated manner.
Mr. Moran. OK. Thank you.
Ambassador McKee, let me turn to a different topic. Could
you go into more detail about the State Department and USAID
programming in Central Europe to strengthen democracy and the
civil society there? What are the metrics that are used to
evaluate the successes of that programming?
Ms. McKee. Congressman, thank you for the question. As a
result of the recognition and concerns around democratic
backsliding in 2021 we received the directive and started
programming and launched in several countries, primarily
Hungary and Poland but also targeting in the Czech Republic,
Slovenia, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria as well with building out
and strengthening civil society, independent voices, working on
both sides of the information equation by, you know, countering
propaganda or providing fact-based information but also working
on citizen literacy and critical thinking so that they can make
better choices about the types of information that they
receive.
Mr. Moran. And how are you determining whether or not
you're being successful in those efforts?
Ms. McKee. So the hits, the outreach, and the numbers
trained. We just started rolling out the programs in December
and so we have only got about 5 months under our belt. I'm
happy to provide those, both the metrics and how we're
monitoring and evaluating and how we're doing once we have some
of those--a bit more time under our belt.
Mr. Moran. OK. Ambassador Hogan, I want to come back to you
on the same topic. How does State ensure this programming
increases the resiliency of democratic institutions, including
the foreign malign influence in the critical part of the EU and
NATO without antagonizing allied governments?
Mr. Hogan. Thank you on that. I would say, Congressman,
that we can look at how these countries vote with us, for
example, in U.N. or other multilateral fora. That's one good
metric. We, of course, also look at polling data to see, you
know, favorability ratings, for example, of the United States,
of NATO, of the EU.
We also want to make sure that our programs when it comes
to media literacy so that the--so that the average citizen in a
particular country is able to disentangle misinformation and
disinformation from accurate information.
And so our embassies are working hand in hand with our
assistance efforts here in the State Department as well as
USAID to make sure that we are increasing the media literacy in
these countries.
Mr. Moran. OK.
Ambassador McKee, you want to add one comment? I know I'm
out of time but quick----
Ms. McKee. Just really quickly. The conversation I had with
the Polish government counterparts last fall in 2022 were
probably very different than the conversations they would have
had in 2021 when the intent was first provided to us from
Congress.
There is receptivity because they--there's an existential
threat at their doorstep and, you know, we're fighting for
democracy on the continent. And so, hopefully, it won't
translate into reduced votes or other areas of challenge as we
implement these programs.
Mr. Moran. Ms. Longi, I'm sorry I left you out completely
on the conversation. I appreciate the work that all three of
you do and I know it's very difficult work and very challenging
work and I do appreciate it.
Thank you. I yield back.
Mr. Kean. Mr. Moran yields back his time.
Mr. Schneider from Illinois?
Mr. Schneider. Thank you, and I want to thank the witnesses
for your patience, and been here a long time and, hopefully,
bringing it to a close. A lot of questions have already been
touched on that we have talked about.
But I think some of the overarching things--Ambassador
Hogan, you mentioned it's complex. The issues we're facing is
complex. We have talked today geographically from the Arctic
Ocean down to the Mediterranean.
If you looked at Europe from just--and I just took a look
at the map from the standpoint of bodies of water. It's not
just those two. It's the Aegean Sea, the Black Sea, Caspian.
There's so many different bodies of water that determine to
a great extent the geopolitics of that specific area and we
have to be thinking about it.
We have these incredibly complex issues, some existential,
as you just mentioned. They realize that Russia's illegal
invasion of Ukraine is without question an issue of immediate
urgency with existential ramifications.
But also there are strategic long-term things we need to be
thinking about, how are we going to deal with relations with
China very much one of those. China has an agenda, a set of
priorities and intentions that are in stark contrast with what
we need to accomplish and work with our allies.
So I had a lot of questions. I had a meeting today with the
Ambassador from Moldova. He had just met--he was at USAID this
morning talking about the role of technology in fighting
corruption and in Ukraine, of all things. I have a book--a
Ukrainian book on my coffee table and he was commenting on
that.
We have to make sure Ukraine wins the war but we also have
to make sure, as they say, Ukraine wins the peace and cannot
only rebuild economically, politically, secure it from a
security standpoint but that it does it in a way that protects
the integrity of its government.
So there's so many things I do want to talk about and maybe
I'll start with you, Ambassador Hogan. As we sit here at the
end of this hearing, you mentioned we have funding through the
end of the fiscal year. That's only a few months away.
What do we need to be thinking about long term beyond the
end of this Fiscal Year and preparing for next year so that we
are in the best position to achieve our goals into the next
decade?
Mr. Hogan. Thank you, sir, and I realize the time is
limited but I would say, first and foremost, we have got to get
Ukraine right given the stakes involved there.
When you have a permanent member of the U.N. Security
Council engaged in nuclear saber rattling and then this no
limits partnership with the PRC it's something that we need to
make sure that beyond this Fiscal Year Ukraine is able to
preserve the territorial integrity that it hopes to be able to
maintain as it goes through this counter offensive that we
should be expecting to see soon and we also need to make sure
that it has the assistance it needs for security, economic,
humanitarian, to be able to revive its economy, to be able to
bring back and attract private sector investment.
So I say, first and foremost, Ukraine. But we also need to
look at the strategic opportunities that this war, as
disastrous as it has been, has brought when it comes to Europe.
We mentioned a number of these already: Azerbaijan and
Armenia closer than ever before to real peace; when we talk
about Serbia and Kosovo now on a real normalization path;
Ukraine and Moldova being granted EU candidate status that we
hope to see by the end of the year, perhaps they having checked
all the boxes when it comes to the recommendations; NATO
expanding to the 31st, potentially a 32d. I could go on. But
these are opportunities that we need to seize in the years
ahead.
Mr. Schneider. Administrator McKee, thoughts?
Ms. McKee. So I couldn't agree more. What Ukraine and our
support to Ukraine represents is the future of a stable rules-
based international order grounded in the values that we share.
And so I couldn't agree more with Assistant Secretary Hogan
that we have got to get it right in Ukraine and I think we are.
I'm confident that the security assistance and the pace at
which it's being provided has--by all of the allies but, first
and foremost, by the United States is definitively helping them
advance and, hopefully, win the war.
But at the same time we have got to win the peace and
secure the peace and make sure it's enduring and that means
helping Ukraine build the Nation that they are fighting so hard
for, you know, and using that example and the tectonic shift
that we're seeing across the region as a moment for--to
revitalize and restore and demonstrate how democracy can
deliver and what it means to have freedom and not just words
but actually the demonstrative effect of choice, opportunity,
the job that you want to have, the school that you want to go
to, the language you want to speak, the information you want to
read.
These are fundamental, I would say, almost human rights
that in democratic--you know, in places where the democratic
space is closing, et cetera, the wake-up call that Putin has
provided us for the free world is an opportunity that we must
seize and If we're successful in Ukraine it will be that beacon
of demonstrable proof that might does not make right.
Mr. Schneider. Thank you. And, Ms. Longi, I'm over time,
but If the chair will indulge.
Ms. Longi. Yes, I'll be--I'll be quick. But I think Ukraine
is the crux of the resource issue, I think, for us, looking
forward, and If you just look at the 10-year needs assessment
done by the World Bank they estimated it will be at least $411
billion to rebuild and reconstruct Ukraine.
We are not going to do that as a--as the United States of
America nor are all the other bilateral donors and so we are
putting a good bit of effort with this--with other donor
countries.
The G-7 donor coordination platform is just getting kicked
off. The private sector is anxious to get back in there and I
think that as we are coming to you with the Fiscal Year 1924
budget request and the next--in the following years that is all
going to be shaped in the context of how Europe and the private
sector rebuild and address the issues in Ukraine.
So it's a complex one on that front, too. But I think
that's--those are other places where we are putting our time
when it comes to how our resources are used with other
countries' resources.
Mr. Schneider. Great. Thank you.
Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the extended time and the
witnesses, I appreciate your testimony. I yield back.
Mr. Kean. Thank you, Mr. Schneider. It was a pleasure to
have you on the committee today.
With no further questions from the members I want to thank
our witnesses. I'm sorry. Mr. Self? Yes, certainly. Mr. Self
for 5 minutes.
Mr. Self. Thank you.
Ms. Longi, last time we were together we talked about
audits going through the World Bank and at that time we hadn't
completed any audits. You promised that the audits were
ongoing.
What's the progress so far in Ukraine? Sorry. We're talking
about Ukraine. Audits in Ukraine. Last time we spoke you had
provided one report, I believe, but had not completed any
audits. What's the progress?
Ms. Longi. Yes. Erin will do that one.
Mr. Self. OK.
Ms. McKee. Sure. I'll take that. So thank you, Congressman.
Just to refresh, the various measures that we have in place
for accountability and oversight, remember the World Bank
mechanism is on a reimbursement basis.
Mr. Self. That was my second question. Go ahead.
Ms. McKee. Right. And so the third party monitoring that we
have in place by Deloitte is not an audit. It is to monitor the
basis upon which those receipts, If you will, or the validation
of the expenditures from the various line ministries are
provided through the ministry of finance for reimbursement.
Mr. Self. But that's only one of the--we also had three
other audits, I believe.
Ms. McKee. So we----
Mr. Self. What's the progress on those?
Ms. McKee. We have not conducted a full audit yet. We're
putting in place a third party auditing mechanism out of the
four supplemental funds. But we--what we have in addition to
the third party oversight, the reimbursement mechanism, the
systems in place, as well as a partnership with the GAO to help
build the Ukrainian supreme audit authority, their capability
to do a better job and support independent and objective
auditing of their own books.
We hope to have the third party audit team in place as soon
as we have finished scoping what is critical and where some of
the gaps, if any, are determined that require that auditing
oversight.
Last and most importantly, I would like to mention our
Office of Inspectors General, both DOD, State, and AID. They've
been on a few TDYs--temporary oversight to check on things.
We have five--we have agreement for six positions for the--
permanent positions at the embassy in Kyiv. How that
distributes between State, AID, and DOD will be seen but the
OIG is keenly focused on providing that additional oversight.
So far, based on the site visits and trips that they've
made, they have--and I believe they testified to the House
Oversight Committee--they have not found any substantial
instances of fraud, waste, or abuse to date.
Mr. Self. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.
Mr. Kean. Thank you. Now, with no further questions from
the members, I want to thank our witnesses for their valuable
testimony and the members for their questions.
I personally am glad that this panel has reconfirmed that
the Biden Administration is prepared to help Ukraine restore
its territorial integrity to its 1991 borders when all of
Ukraine, including Crimea, voted for independence from the
Soviet Union.
The members of this subcommittee may have some additional
written questions for the witnesses and we ask you to respond
to these promptly in writing.
Pursuant to the committee rules, all members may have 5
days to submit statements, questions, and extraneous materials
for the record, subject to the length limitations.
Without objection, the subcommittee stands adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 3:49 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]
APPENDIX
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RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD
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