Thank you so much Chairman [Chris] Coons. Thank you Vice Chair [Susan] Collins for your leadership of the entire Appropriations Committee and for filling in today. Look forward to seeing Ranking Member [Lindsey] Graham and other members of the Committee. But I know how important, as well, the other activities are that are going on here today and the – this in a way is a metaphor for the world, the state of the world. The subjects of the other hearings that are underway are very near and dear to my heart and that of the Agency.

Look, the challenge the world faces today is clear: the decades of development gains that have laid the foundation for an era of relative – [mic adjustment] – the development gains that have laid the foundation for an era of relative peace, stability, and prosperity are now at serious risk.

During our lifetimes, the United States has played an absolutely critical role in accelerating tremendous progress in reducing extreme poverty, in fighting disease, in addressing hunger, and getting kids – especially girls – in school, and in fueling democracy’s rise.

But for now at least, many of these trends have moved into reverse. The pandemic decimated health systems, leading to a resurgence in diseases from measles to tuberculosis. It also battered many country’s finances. And after a decade of heavy borrowing and more recently rising inflation – exacerbated by Putin’s war – 60 percent of the world’s poorest countries are at or near debt distress. And this is a phenomenon that really is a new, exacerbating dynamic in today's world. natural disasters, of course – just like here in the United States – are increasing in frequency and intensity, leading to a sharp rise in humanitarian needs. The upshot of it all is stark: For the first time in decades, human life expectancy is on the decline, and again that is a composite indicator of all of the crises that are interlocking for the first time since the 1950s life expectancy is going down globally.

At the same time, democracies everywhere are under attack. Our rivals are using transnational corruption, digital repression, disinformation – and in Ukraine, actual artillery and missile fire – to undermine freedom, and elevate autocrats.

It’s a daunting list of challenges. And I know some question whether the United States should be taking on these challenges through our development investments, or whether the scope of these challenges is just too great to make a meaningful dent.

But the fact is our national security hinges on this work. Deprivation and indignity abroad can fuel resource competition, political fragility, and extremism that endangers us here at home. Disease outbreaks – as we well know can cross oceans – and recessions in foreign markets can threaten our own economic growth.

And if we don’t lead efforts to take on these challenges, the People’s Republic of China and Putin are ready to step in, whether through opaque loans on unfavorable terms, or with mercenaries in tow.

An international order that values democracy and human rights and respects international borders is not a given. Indeed, authoritarian actors are challenging and aiming to reshape it. We have to invest in the stable and humane world that we know the American people need.

USAID is privileged to have a leading role in tackling the most significant challenges of our time, in close coordination with our interagency partners advancing diplomacy and defense. And we are very very grateful to the American people – and to you – for giving us the resources to make such a difference.

That said, we know that to drive progress on the scale we need, we have got to be catalytic – we have to bring other donors, including non-traditional donors, we have to use our resources to bring in the private sector, we have to work with and through multilateral institutions, foundations, and local organizations in our partner countries along with us.

So USAID has set a new reform agenda aimed at delivering progress beyond our development programs, beyond the resources that you all provide – that means using our expertise, our convening power, our hustle, our advocacy to draw in others, to leverage additional resources, to spark innovation, and to inspire broader movements for change.

The Biden-Harris Administration's FY 2024 request of $32 billion for USAID’s fully- and partially-managed accounts will allow us to make more of that transformative impact.

We will invest in countries experiencing democratic openings, helping them show that democracy delivers tangible economic results for citizens. We will work with nations to attract private sector investment and drive broadly shared economic growth. We will support countries that are rebuilding their decimated health systems. And we will meet growing humanitarian needs not just with emergency assistance, as Senator Collins was speaking to, but longer term investments in resilience and with their ability to grow for themselves.

And, crucially, we’ll invest in our workforce to carry out this ambitious agenda. Since 2019, our operating expense funds have increased at half the rate that our programming has grown – giving us more to do with fewer people and resources. But this budget will help us invest in the people and the systems that we need to power an Agency that is nimble and responsive, and critical for our foreign policy.

We know that, with the United States leading the way, the world can drive meaningful progress against our toughest challenges – because we have decades of gains in global health, in education, and in fueling prosperity to prove it. It’s on us, now, to resume that progress.

And with that, I look forward to your questions.

Original source can be found here.