[House Hearing, 118 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
FISCAL YEAR 2024 BUDGET REQUEST FOR NEAR
EASTERN AFFAIRS
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HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE MIDDLE EAST, NORTH AFRICA, AND
CENTRAL ASIA
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
June 13, 2023
__________
Serial No. 118-31
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs
[GRAPHIC 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
53-892 PDF WASHINGTON : 2023
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COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
MICHAEL T. McCAUL, Texas, Chairman
CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey GREGORY MEEKS, New York, 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 AMI BERA, California
KEN BUCK, Colorado JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas
TIM BURCHETT, Tennessee DINA TITUS, Nevada
MARK E. GREEN, Tennessee TED LIEU, California
ANDY BARR, Kentucky SUSAN WILD, Pennsylvania
RONNY JACKSON, Texas DEAN PHILLIPS, Minnesota
YOUNG KIM, California COLIN ALLRED, Texas
MARIA ELVIRA SALAZAR, Florida ANDY KIM, New Jersey
BILL HUIZENGA, Michigan SARA JACOBS, California
AUMUA AMATA COLEMAN RADEWAGEN, KATHY MANNING, North Carolina
American Samoa SHEILA CHERFILUS-McCORMICK,
FRENCH HILL, Arkansas Florida
WARREN DAVIDSON, Ohio GREG STANTON, Arizona
JIM BAIRD, Indiana MADELEINE DEAN, Pennsylvania
MICHAEL WALTZ, Florida JARED MOSKOWITZ, Florida
THOMAS KEAN, JR., New Jersey JONATHAN JACKSON, Illinois
MICHAEL LAWLER, New York SYDNEY KAMLAGER-DOVE, California
CORY MILLS, Florida JIM COSTA, California
RICH McCORMICK, Georgia JASON CROW, Colorado
NATHANIEL MORAN, Texas BRAD SCHNEIDER, Illinois
JOHN JAMES, Michigan
KEITH SELF, Texas
Brendan Shields, Staff Director
Sophia Lafargue, Staff Director
------
Subcommittee on Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia
JOE WILSON, Chair
BRIAN MAST, Florida DEAN PHILLIPS, Minnesota, Ranking
TIM BURCHETT, Tennessee Member
RONNY JACKSON, Texas BRAD SHERMAN, California
JIM BAIRD, Indiana GERALD CONNOLLY, Virginia
MIKE LAWLER, New York DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island
RICH MCCORMICK, Georgia KATHY MANNING, North Carolina
Gabriella Zach, Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
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Page
WITNESSES
Leaf, Barbara A., Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Near Eastern
Affairs, U.S. State Department................................. 8
Pryor, Jeanne, Deputy Assistant Administrator, Middle East
Bureau, United States Agency for International Development..... 22
APPENDIX
Hearing Notice................................................... 47
Hearing Minutes.................................................. 48
Hearing Attendance............................................... 49
STATEMENT FOR THE RECORD FROM REPRESENTATIVE CONNOLLY
Statement for the record from Representative Connolly............ 50
RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD
Responses to questions submitted for the record.................. 52
FISCAL YEAR 2024 BUDGET REQUEST FOR NEAR EASTERN AFFAIRS
Tuesday, June 13, 2023
House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on the Middle East, North
Africa and Central Asia,
Committee on Foreign Affairs,
Washington, DC
The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:32 p.m., in
room 210, Capitol Visitor Center, Hon. Joe Wilson (chairman of
the subcommittee) presiding.
Mr. Wilson [presiding]. The Subcommittee on Middle East,
North Africa, and Central Asia will come to order.
The purpose of this hearing is to discuss the President's
Fiscal Year 2024 budget request for the State Department's
Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs and USAID's Bureau for the
Middle East.
I now recognize myself for an opening statement.
This past year has been monumental events and shifts in
policy in the Middle East/North Africa. War criminal Putin, the
Chinese Communist Party colonization, and the terrorist regime
in Tehran share common goals: the destruction of democracy
around the world, as we see the competition and conflict
between democracies with rule of law being undermined by
authoritarians with rule of gun. We have the installation of
vassal governments to replace fledgling democracies with
loyalists dictators. We have theft of critical natural
resources and disruption of global supply chains.
Yet, the American leadership is limited to nowhere to be
seen. Sadly, under this Administration, the region is
witnessing a tectonic shift. Our Gulf partners were cast aside
as pariahs, receiving only lukewarm support amidst an onslaught
of Iranian proxy aggression, including against U.S. forces,
while the Ayatollah, by contrast, was actively embraced.
The results have been devastating for rule of law and a
boon for the adversaries in the region. Saudi Arabia, the
United Arab Emirates, and other Gulf partners have normalized
relations with the terrorist regime in Iran and with the brutal
Assad regime.
China has doubled-down on the region, especially in the
UAE. In just a few years, the region has gone from a time of
strong relations with the United States to the playground of Xi
Jinping, war criminal Putin, and the Ayatollah in Iran.
The threat emanating from the terrorist regime in Tehran is
more critical than ever, including to the people of Iran, who
continue to endure torture and repression by the regime. And,
in fact, just yesterday, the regime in Tehran announced that
they would be undeterred in any way of their developing a
nuclear capability.
We need a clear and consistent policy from the United
States to counter the Iranian-backed terrorist groups and the
proliferation of missiles and weaponized drones. This policy
must include fulfilling the foreign military sales and security
assistance agreement that we already have.
This Administration has led countries across the region to
question America's long-range commitment to the security of the
region. The United States leadership vacuum was publicly
underscored by the recent China-brokered meeting between Saudi
Arabia and Iran to restore diplomatic relations.
The historic Abraham Accords are a tremendous
accomplishment of President Donald Trump. If fully realized,
they present countless opportunities for mutually beneficial
economic and security cooperation between Israel and its
neighbors to respond to threats. The Administration must
strongly prioritize expanding the Accords to include other
Muslim-majority countries such as Saudi Arabia.
In October, the U.N.'s prohibitions against Iranian
transfers of long-range drones and ballistic missile systems
will expire, along with other sanctions on the missile program.
The regime has already flagrantly violated this prohibition by
supplying war criminal Putin with thousands of long-range
suicide drones to murder innocent Ukrainians.
It seems the Administration has deprioritized consequences
for the Iranian-backed terrorism and missile proliferation in
pursuit of return to the disastrous and insulting nuclear deal.
Just this Sunday, again, the Ayatollah Khamenei stated the West
would be unable to prevent Iran from securing nuclear weapons.
I hope that Assistant Secretary Leaf can tell us today what
the Administration's strategy is to secure renewal of the
restrictions or address their absence as a part of our
international strategy to counter the Iranian regime's missile
and drone proliferation.
While the focus of war criminal Putin's aggression is
largely on the invasion of Ukraine, the implications of Putin's
increasing footprint in the Middle East and North Africa are
dire. Putin's permanent air and naval forces and bases in
Syria, established as a part of his campaign to support Bashar
al-Assad's mass murder of Syrian civilians, now is used as a
hub to extend the Kremlin's malign influence further afield,
whether it be Ukraine, Libya, or Sudan.
Additionally, as the Kremlin-backed coup to quash
grassroots democracy began in Sudan, Putin's Wagner terrorist
mercenaries flew billions of Chinese gold to Syria. The recent
decision by the Arab League to unconditionally readmit
unrepentant mass murderer Bashar al-Assad is indicative of a
decline of U.S. involvement in the region and this
Administration's implicit green-lighting of normalization.
The Assad regime responded to the 2011 pro-democracy
protests by committing a litany of crimes against the people of
Syria, including the torture of children and use of chemical
weapons. Over half a million, and counting, have been murdered
and over 100,000 people remain disappeared. The image of one of
the worst dictators of all-time, his being welcomed in Jeddah
was truly sickening.
Finally, the United States continues to be the most
generous country in the world with regard to international aid.
However, the weaponization of international aid through
diversion is a widespread problem that must be confronted. We
have consistently seen examples of the U.N. aid diversion by
dictators and terrorists, including Bashar al-Assad.
We are currently engaged in a global conflict between
authoritarianism with rule of gun and democracy with rule of
law. Technology has made the cost of destabilization cheaper
than ever. And I look forward to hearing from both of you on
how U.S. assistance is being used to further announce security
priorities and, effectively, push back on the interests of our
adversaries in the region.
Thank you to our witnesses for your time.
And I now am grateful to yield to the gentleman from
Minnesota, Mr. Phillips, for an opening statement.
Mr. Phillips. Thank you, Chairman Wilson, for calling this
important hearing, and greetings to everybody in attendance.
Two core functions of this subcommittee are to employ
Congress' power of the purse to guide the State Department and
USAID's activities and support our diplomatic corps in the
MENACA region, and then, to provide robust oversight over the
execution of that important work.
I would like to extend warm welcomes to Assistant Secretary
Barbara Leaf and Deputy Assistant Administrator Jeanne Pryor
for joining us today and helping us with those two important
responsibilities.
This hearing comes on the heels of Secretary Blinken's
travel to Saudi Arabia for bilateral and multilateral
conversations, which not only reinforced our commitment to our
allies and partners and our shared vision for the region, but
also strengthened our resolve to meet this moment and address
the array of opportunities and challenges that we face
together.
Since becoming ranking member of this subcommittee, I have
heard from a number of leaders from around the Middle East
about how the United States has reclused itself from the
region; how the United States has taken a step back from the
region and allowed China and Russia to fill that vacuum. But,
as I will lay out this afternoon, I believe the United States
has not stepped aside, but, rather, has stepped up, albeit in
new and innovative ways. We do not merely observe anymore, but,
rather, actively engaging as to make the region stronger,
safer, and more integrated.
Once a beacon of hope from the Arab Spring, Tunisia's
democracy is currently in peril, as President Saied's growing
authoritarian rule has resulted in the destruction of
institutional checks and balances; the arrest and targeting of
his political adversaries, and the silencing of media and civil
society. Nevertheless, the United States has and must continue
to stand by the Tunisian people and pro-democracy civil
society, as they continue fighting for their freedoms and
livelihoods.
As the political elite in Lebanon who, after 8 months of
infighting, remain unwilling to this moment to elect a
president or move forward with their much-needed IMF reform
package, the United States has continued to stand with the
Lebanese people, who courageously voted for change in last
year's parliamentary elections, but have yet to see that vote
translate into action.
We have provided $800 million--$800 million--in
humanitarian assistance since Fiscal Year 2020 and have
recently provided temporary livelihood assistance for the
Internal Security Forces and Lebanese Armed Forces, two key
drivers of stability in the country.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad remains in power after 12
brutal years of war, where his regime murdered over a half a
million civilians and displaced thousands, many thousands more.
The February earthquakes devastated communities in the
northwest, and the situation in the prisons and camps that
house ISIS fighters and displaced persons in northeast Syria is
growing more dire by the day--creating both a mounting security
threat and a humanitarian disaster.
The United States has actively responded not just by
supporting the D-ISIS mission and providing stabilization
assistance in the northeast, but also by becoming the single
largest donor of humanitarian assistance to the Syria crisis.
We continue to support Syrian refugees living across the
region, including in Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey, and work to
ensure that no refugees are forcibly returned to Syria.
At the United Nations, the United States continues to work
with like-minded partners to safeguard Bab al-Hawa border
crossing between Syria and Turkey, so that aid reaches the most
vulnerable communities.
Still, our work remains. While the regional players have
chosen to normalize with the regime, the United States should
never normalize if Assad remains in power. And I'll say that
again--the United States should never normalize with Syria as
long as Assad remains in power.
The Biden Administration has and must continue to impose
the Caesar sanctions; work to reinvigorate the Geneva process
under the U.N. Security Council Resolution 2254, and seek
justice and accountability for the atrocities committed by the
Assad regime.
Iran continues to antagonize the entire international
community by providing armed drones to Russia, enriching
uranium near weapons-grade levels, and using proxy terror to
threaten the United States and partner forces throughout the
region. The United States responded by leading the effort to
advance Middle East integration beyond what could have ever
been imagined just a decade ago.
Regional normalization with Israel with the Abraham
Accords, the Negev Forum, and I2U2 has ushered in expanded
opportunities outside of just the security space--to encompass
trade, tourism, technological innovation, and so much more.
In addition to our robust sanctions regime, these historic
developments allow for a united front against Iranian malign
influence, as we work together to enhance information-sharing;
strengthen the degraded missile defense systems, and advance
innovative technologies to combat water scarcity and weapons
smuggling.
In this era of great power competition, the power of the
United States should no longer rely solely on muscle and might,
but, rather, our power should be drawn by our partnerships and
our coalitions, our business innovation and military
technologies, and our democratic values that are central to our
way of life.
As we engage today on the Biden Administration's Fiscal
Year 2024 budget request for Near East Affairs, I look forward
to hearing from our witnesses about how the State Department
and USAID plan to use the requested funds to address these
important issues and demonstrate that the United States of
America commitment to our allies and partners in the Middle
East and North Africa is steadfast and unwavering.
With that, Mr. Chair, I yield back.
Mr. Wilson. Thank you very much, Ranking Member Dean
Phillips, who gets a prize. He was right on 5 minutes. How did
you do this? Oh, my goodness, but, hey, we appreciate it.
Again, it is really substantially bipartisan, us being here
today.
And that is why we are so pleased to have the distinguished
witnesses from the State Department and USAID. The Assistant
Secretary for the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, Barbara Leaf,
is here to speak to the State Department's budget request, and
then, Deputy Assistant Administrator Jeanne Pryor, from USAID's
Bureau for the Middle East, is also joining to speak to us on
USAID's priorities for the Fiscal Year 2024 budget.
Thank you for being here today. Your full statements will
be made part of the record, and I will ask each of you to keep
your spoken remarks to 5 minutes in order to allow time for
member questions.
We now recognize the Assistant Secretary Leaf for an
opening statement.
STATEMENT OF BARBARA A. LEAF, ASSISTANT SECRETARY, BUREAU OF
NEAR EASTERN AFFAIRS, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Ms. Leaf. Chairman Wilson, Ranking Member Phillips, members
of the subcommittee, thank you for inviting me here today to
testify on the President's $7.57 billion Fiscal Year 2024
budget request and our priorities in the Middle East and North
Africa.
The region remains of vital importance to U.S. interests.
President Biden has articulated a forward-looking approach to
the region based on five elements: partnership, deterrence,
diplomacy, regional integration, and values.
We have made real progress. We have built on the historic
Abraham Accords by launching the Negev Forum and I2U2; helped
de-escalate Israeli-Palestinian tensions; advanced a U.N.-
facilitated truce in Yemen; negotiated an historic maritime
boundary agreement between Israel and Lebanon, and helped
secure the largest-ever purchase of Boeing planes in Saudi
Arabia.
Our assiduous diplomacy has repaired rifts and we now
benefit from a region that, while still fragile, can itself
undertake the work of stabilization and repair alongside our
own efforts. We are as diplomatically engaged and committed to
the region as we have ever been, doing the hard work to
demonstrate that our vision for the region's peace and
prosperity can deliver a more compelling future for our
partners. Your support for this request will cement U.S.
success.
Partnership. Our regional engagement begins with
partnership. Last week, Secretary Blinken attended ministerials
with GCC partners and the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, and
conducted important bilateral discussions with the Saudi
leadership--reinforcing that our partnerships focus on solving
shared problems and building shared prosperity and security. In
an era of strategic competition, these partnerships are what
set us apart. Our Fiscal Year 2024 request supports partners
like Israel, Jordan, Egypt, as well as Iraq, and creates the
conditions that sustain our cooperation.
Deterrence. Our unrivaled network of partnerships creates a
platform for integrated deterrence to deter malign actors,
whether State or non-State actors. The President has been clear
that he is committed to ensuring that Iran never acquires a
nuclear weapon. While diplomacy is the best means to address
this issue, it must be coupled with deterring Iran's
adventurism. That effort is bolstered by building a deep
coalition of partners with integrated defense capabilities and
the willingness to hold Iran to account.
Support for our partners' security enhances this
deterrence. The President's Fiscal Year 2024 request for the
region includes $5.3 billion in foreign military financing. Our
commitment to Israel's security remains ironclad. Consistent
with our MOU with Israel, the request includes $3.3 billion to
support Israel's security.
Diplomacy. To build sustainable regional security, we must
use vigorous diplomacy to maintain and reinforce coalitions to
de-escalate conflict and work collectively. The $42.55 million
request for Yemen, for instance, sustains our efforts that led
to the key elements of the April 2022 truce--a truce which
continues to hold 14 months later.
On Syria, our steadfast opposition to normalization with
the regime has not changed, nor will we lift any sanctions on
the regime or on those who aid it. We have made it clear to our
Arab partners, through sustained high-level diplomacy, that
their engagement with the Assad regime must produce concrete
actions by Damascus to benefit the Syrian people and provide
clear dividends for regional stability.
We remain focused on the enduring defeat of ISIS, which the
Secretary reaffirmed at last week's ministerial. The $97
million request for stabilization assistance in northeast
Syria, particularly our efforts at al-Hol, ensures ISIS cannot
leverage instability in Syria, nor recruit vulnerable displaced
populations to reconstitute and threaten the United States.
Regional integration. Through this request, we will
continue to promote regional integration to unlock the region's
potential for sustained and wide-ranging economic growth and
greater stability. Through initiatives such as the Negev Forum,
Project Prosperity, and I2U2, we aim to design and deliver the
tangible benefits of regional integration, building on the
historic Abraham Accords.
For the progress toward integration, including future moves
in Arab-Israeli normalization, it could be supported by the
MENA Opportunity Fund, a new, $90 million, flexible funding
mechanism that we have proposed for the first time in this
year's request.
We are cognizant that these efforts are no substitute for a
negotiated settlement between the Israelis and Palestinians. A
two-State solution is the best way to ensure Israel's future as
a Jewish democratic State living in peace alongside of a
viable, sovereign, and democratic Palestinian State. Our
request includes $309 million in economic and security
assistance for the Palestinian people and support for people-
to-people connections under the Middle East Partnership for
Peace Act.
Finally, values. Our values remain at the center of our
approach. Last week, the Secretary again made clear to our
Saudi and GCC partners that human rights are essential to
enabling the strongest possible bilateral relationships. We do
this because it is who we are as Americans and because it
serves our interests. We want the people of the region to know
what we stand for and know that what we are offering is in the
long run more likely to produce a shared security and
prosperity.
Our request reflects our commitment to respond to changes
that impact our values. Our policy today is designed to build
the sustainable and integrated partnerships necessary to build
shared solutions to these challenges, so that we can build the
better future that we and our partners seek.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify, and I look
forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Leaf follows:]
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Mr. Wilson. Thank you very much, Assistant Secretary.
I now recognize Ms. Pryor for her opening statement.
STATEMENT OF JEANNE PRYOR, DEPUTY ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR,
MIDDLE EAST BUREAU, UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
Ms. Pryor. Chairman Wilson, Ranking Member Phillips, and
distinguished members of the subcommittee, thank you for
inviting me here today to testify.
The past year has been marked by severe and increasing
pressures on the countries of the Middle East and North Africa.
Shortages in wheat supply and food price increases worsened
food security and strained fragile economies across the region.
Earthquakes in Syria added to the devastation already
wrought by Bashar al-Assad's brutal regime. Crises of
governance and economic mismanagement continue to threaten
stability in Lebanon and Tunisia, and violence increased
significantly between Israelis and Palestinians.
USAID has worked diligently to protect development progress
while building forward momentum. The investments proposed in
our Fiscal Year 20024 budget continue efforts to partner with
the people of the region; build inclusive economic
opportunities, and support a peaceful and democratic trajectory
for this strategically important area of the world.
Countries of the region face a wide variety of pressures
from both inside and outside their borders. More than half of
the population is under the age of 30. USAID is helping prepare
these young people for the future. We developed curricula to
improve reading and math skills in Lebanon's primary public
schools; helped more than 4 million Moroccan students read at
grade level, and provided scholarships for deserving students
across Egypt and Lebanon.
However, as these young people transition into the work
force, opportunities lag. More than a quarter of young people
are unemployed and less than 20 percent of women in the region
participate in the work force.
U.S. investments offer critical opportunities for young
people and women. For example, in Lebanon, our investments in
the private sector have benefited more than 20,000 enterprises,
including more than 2,000 women-owned businesses.
Regional challenges spill across borders. Since the
beginning of Assad's war, more than 5.5 million Syrians have
sought refuge in bordering countries. The Middle East Acting
Assistant Administrator's trip to Yemen last week confirmed
USAID's commitment to assist the people of Yemen, where $4.5
million have been internally displaced due to ongoing conflict.
And now, the unfolding violence in Sudan has already prompted
more than 150,000 people to flee into the MENA region.
The People's Republic of China further complicates regional
dynamics. USAID is assisting governments to understand the
risks associated with PRC financing and technology. For
example, in Jordan, USAID supports the government's ability to
assess foreign investment risk to protect Jordanian sovereignty
and avoid bad deals that would enable outside influences to
affect infrastructure or financing decisions.
The impact of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on
food security is another immediate pressure yet on the region.
Thanks to Congress' generous supplemental funding, USAID has
been able to slightly alleviate the pressures of dramatically
decreased imports of critical foodstuffs, such as wheat and
cooking oil.
However, given the region's outsized dependence on imports
from Ukraine and Russia, addressing shortfalls in domestic
production is essential. Improving agricultural production in
the world's most water-scarce region requires consideration of
climate change impacts in our work.
The Fiscal Year 2024 request significantly increases
funding for climate change adaptation. For example, in Jordan,
groundwater is depleted twice as fast as it can be replenished.
USAID is working with the government of Jordan to strengthen
infrastructure and oversight of water management and
incentivize water conservation.
Although food security and water security are shared risks
for the region, these threats also offer opportunities for
collaboration. Notably, USAID has seen expanded interest in
MERC grants, particularly from Abraham Accords countries. MERC
has received a near-record number of applications.
Advancing the relationship between Israel and its neighbors
is integral to the long-term process for the region. To build
on this momentum, the Fiscal Year 2024 budget seeks continued
funding for MEPPA and includes flexibility to invest in
emerging opportunities. For example, a portion of the $90
million requested for the Middle East and North Africa
Opportunity Fund could be utilized if the Negev working groups
yield tangible areas for investment. The request also increases
support for the West Bank and Gaza by $40 million to advance
public health, climate, economic growth, and other development
priorities.
U.S. assistance alone is not enough to address the region's
challenges. Governments must protect human rights and take
meaningful steps to improve governance and freedom of
expression. However, through Congress and the American people's
generosity, USAID has been not only able to provide some relief
for the extreme pressures the region faces, but also to help
shape meaning paths to the future for the MENA region.
Thank you for your support, and I look forward to your
questions.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Pryor follows:]
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Mr. Wilson. Thank you, Ms. Pryor.
I now recognize myself for 5 minutes of questioning. And
Dean Phillips has indicated that we need to be very firm in
this 5 minutes, so that we might even have a second round, when
we have such good members who are here today.
With this in mind, as we begin, Secretary Leap, I was
really pleased that you pointed out the agreement, because I
think this is very significant, between Lebanon and Israel for
offshore drilling in the Mediterranean. It just has to be so
important with offshore drilling being done safely to be
beneficial for the people of Lebanon, which should be one of
the most dynamic countries on earth, but, obviously, is not.
But, yet, this gives hope. And then, it is also beneficial to
Israel, as the oil is being piped to Egypt, where it is
refined, and then, it is sent to Italy, which, then, reduces
any European intimidation by war criminal Putin. And so, the
consequence of that really should be recognized as positive.
I do want to express concern before I ask a question. And
that is, with the hundreds of millions of dollars going to the
Palestinian Authority, I hope that every effort is being made
to monitor the Taylor Force Act conditions, that not any of the
money should in any way go to benefit the terrorist families
for the terrorists, suicide terrorists, who commit crimes.
And so, however the money is administered in any form of
aid, whether it be economic, whether it be diplomatic,
whatever, with the heinous murder of Taylor Force from my home
State of South Carolina, we have not gotten over that and never
will, that there would be benefits to mass murders.
With that in mind, Secretary Leap, the U.N. ban on Iran's
missile and drone program, under the U.N. Security Council
Resolution 2231, expires in October. Without this ban, it will
be legal under international law for countries to buy and sell
missiles and drones to and from Iran.
What is the Administration doing to seek renewal of the
missile ban? Even though Putin and the Chinese Communist Party
will likely oppose, does the Administration plan to force a
vote? And then, additionally, how will the Administration
address U.S. policy on Iran's missile programs, including
sanctions enforcement, to respond to the loss of a U.N. missile
ban?
Ms. Leaf. Thank you for your comments and your questions.
And if I could go back to the issue related to Palestinian
assistance--and I know that Jeanne may have some observations
as well--we are quite scrupulous on this issue of Taylor Force
and all U.S. legislation. And the assistance that we do is
metered out to independent, trusted partners--in other words,
not the Palestinian Authority. We have a separate, of course,
arrangement that deals with security assistance. Again, we are
very careful, scrutinize end-use, monitoring, and so forth.
And I would wholly subscribe to your sentiments about the
myriad benefits in every direction for the maritime agreement.
It is not only good in terms of resource extraction and good
for the economies of both countries, especially Lebanon, if it
could mobilize itself, but it is also provided as security, a
level of security to both that didn't exist before. And that is
all for the good.
On the question of Iran's ballistic missiles, you know,
this issue of the expiration of the UNSCR is something that
goes into the mix of our discussions with our partners.
Frankly, as you noted, getting things through the Council now,
with where we are with Russia, in particular, is quite
difficult, but we have a host of other tools at our disposal,
and we will use them.
The issue of UAVs, and so forth, provision by Iran to
Russia, has already attracted considerable effort on our part.
We have gone after and sanctioned a host of entities and
individuals, several dozen so far. And that is a two-way kind
of trade, a defense relationship that is growing. It is of
enormous concern, not just to us, but our European partners.
And so, we are very aligned in our efforts.
Mr. Wilson. In the interest of time, I just want to make a
statement. Then, we will have a second round of questions.
But I'm startled to even find out there was a U.N. ban on
Iran's missile and drone program. With the providing of the
drones to war criminal Putin, with the indication that they
might even build a manufacturing facility in the Russian
Federation, what is the point of the ban? And what is being
done to try to implement it?
Ms. Leaf. So, as I say, Mr. Chairman, we are going after
this with a range of sanctions and a range of diplomatic and
other efforts with our partners. But we have got a full-bore
effort to go after those who traffic in the parts, those who
manufacture, and so forth.
Mr. Wilson. Well, thank you for every effort.
And we now proceed to the ranking member, Dean Phillips.
Mr. Connolly. Mr. Chairman? Mr. Chairman, just before you
call----
Mr. Wilson. Yes?
We have the President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly,
Congressman Connolly.
Mr. Connolly. I thank my friends for yielding.
Unfortunately, I have another commitment. And I'm going to be
submitting written questions to you, Ms. Leaf, and they are all
going to pertain to Secretary Blinken's visit to Saudi Arabia.
And they are rather pointed, and I hope I will get candid
answers.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Phillips. Mr. President, I'm happy to yield my slot to
you, if you would like to ask the questions.
Mr. Connolly. Wow.
Mr. Phillips. You owe me, but, yes, absolutely.
Mr. Connolly. I thank you so much. I do, I owe you.
All right. Ms. Leaf, I have got in my possession the
statement from the State Department spokesman of the visit of
our Secretary of State to Saudi Arabia. Nowhere in this multi-
page document are the words ``Khashoggi, Jamal Khashoggi''
mentioned at all. Why is that?
Ms. Leaf. Congressman, I mean, let there be no doubt, we
have made it clear. We have been on the record publicly and
privately that the brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi was
absolutely unacceptable. I cannot speak to what----
Mr. Connolly. Oh, well, that is comforting. The man was
murdered in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul and dismembered,
and he doesn't warrant mention in a summary of the conversation
between our Secretary of State and the Crown Prince of Saudi
Arabia?
That would suggest to me, who represented Mr. Khashoggi--he
was my constituent--and to his family, and his fiancee, that
this is diminished, if not entirely escaped, as an issue
between the Saudi government and the U.S. Government.
Ms. Leaf. By no means, Congressman. By no means.
Mr. Connolly. Well, how would one know, reading this
detailed statement from the spokesman of the State Department?
Well, I hope you will take it back--unacceptable. And there is
no proof that even came up in discussion, when one reads this.
It talks about the economic collaboration between us and
the Saudis. Was that before or after the Saudis again cut oil
production for the second time?
Ms. Leaf. So, the issues that are touched upon in that
statement, in that communique, and the issues that they
discussed over the course of many hours, relate to ongoing and
future projects and economic cooperation.
Mr. Connolly. Well, I understand. But the President of the
United States himself condemned the oil production cut last
year because of its impact on inflation and gas prices here at
home, and indicated, the President indicated, that there would
be consequences. What were those consequences? And how does he
feel or how does the Administration feel about a second oil
production cut----
Ms. Leaf. So, Congressman----
Mr. Connolly [continuing]. Just as we are finally making
some progress on inflation?
Ms. Leaf. So, Congressman, what I can say about last
October, we had a very clear divergence of views on how best to
assure that the markets were well-sourced and that prices were
stable. We had a very clear disagreement, and it was public and
it was rancorous.
Over time, we have worked to get back to the business at
hand, which is in the interest of both our people, both of our
countries--national security interests, diplomatic interests,
economic interests. We consult with all of our OPEC partner
nations--except for Russia--and we watch the markets very
carefully, obviously. But, frankly, the discussions that the
Secretary had during his visit to Riyadh had less to do with
fossil fuel markets than they did with the transition to green
energy. And that is what both of our countries are very focused
on and how we can collaborate in that space.
Mr. Connolly. Yes, well, I would say that the President has
got it right, that we are also focused on gas prices and
inflation, and we are totally in favor of developing a green
economy, but we are also very much focused in the here and now,
as is President Biden.
Ms. Leaf. Yes, Congressman, and, of course, the Secretary
consulted closely with the President ahead of his trip to Saudi
Arabia.
Mr. Connolly. I'm glad to hear that.
Now, you talked about regional cooperation and looking at
the relationship longer term. Does that include our blessing or
any comments we might have on the Chinese-brokered
rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia, especially given
the malign activities of Iran in the region?
Ms. Leaf. So, just to be clear, they didn't broker
anything. They hosted a meeting, at which the Iranians and the
Saudis worked out an arrangement--essentially, detente. It is
not a reconciliation. It is not a rapprochement. It is simply a
relaxation of tensions that they did themselves.
And this was an effort that was underway for 2 years----
Mr. Connolly. Are they establishing diplomatic relations?
Ms. Leaf. Yes, they are. Yes, they are.
Mr. Connolly. I would call that a rapprochement.
Ms. Leaf. Well, they had diplomatic relations, full
diplomatic relations, until January 2016. So, I mean, plenty of
countries have diplomatic relations without being close. And
Saudi officials have made it clear to us that it is going--it
is sort of a trust, but verify arrangement.
Mr. Connolly. Well, let me just say, at least speaking for
this Member--and I do not think I'm going to be alone--this
visit with Saudi Arabia is troubling. And what was not
discussed, what hasn't been emphasized, leads one to believe
that we are moving on--on issues that are pretty fundamental.
And I would predict that the Administration is going to find a
lot more resistance in this Congress with respect to the
relationship with Saudi Arabia and the continued provision of
military arms, when our interests are not converging; they are
diverging.
With that, I yield back, and I thank my good friend for
allowing me to proceed.
Mr. Wilson. Thank you very much, Congressman Connolly.
We now proceed to Congressman Jim Baird of Indiana.
Mr. Baird. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And I appreciate the witnesses being here.
I am going to start with a question about, since the
detente, you know, and it was negotiated by China between Iran
and Saudi Arabia, actions by Iran suggest that this accord has
not led to a stabilization of the region, as was anticipated by
the Administration. But, instead, Iran has had a freer hand to
escalate proxy wars against Israel and the United States.
So, Ambassador Leaf, can you tell me how does the
Administration intend to proactively counter Iran's terrorism
campaign?
Ms. Leaf. Certainly, Congressman. And if I could just make
one comment about what I think animated the Saudi quest for
this detente. You know, it is an undertaking that they began in
January 2021 and had any number of meetings. And what they have
sought over time consistently was to get Iran to stop using the
Houthi, in particular, to target them with missiles, drones, et
cetera. They sustained a huge number of attacks, between 400
and 500 of them in 2021 alone. So, that was the first order.
A second order was that, as the Saudis are attempting to
negotiate an enduring arrangement with the Houthi that will,
then, pivot to peace negotiations, led by the United Nations,
they did not want Iran undermining those. And so, that was the
intended focus of this detente, as I have called it.
Now, to your larger question about how do we contest or how
do we deter, or how do we defend, we continue doing a lot of
the things that we are doing right now. We have very well-
defended forces across the region, but we have made clear, as
we did in March, when our forces came under attack in Syria, we
responded forthrightly.
We also have a number of other arrangements underway that
are getting at integrated air and missile defense with our
partners in the Gulf, in particular, and a number of others. We
have our sanctions tools, of course. But we use every tool in
our kit to get after this.
Mr. Baird. Thank you.
You mentioned ``others,'' and so, my next question deals
with, you know, the United States launched a multinational
partnership, combined maritime forces, CMF, to enhance regional
maritime security, which is particularly challenged due to
Iran's seizure of oil tankers that the chairman just mentioned
a minute ago. And The Wall Street Journal reported that the UAE
withdrew from the CMF, seeing that it was ineffective at
addressing Iran's maritime aggression.
So, have you communicated with the UAE about its concerns?
Ms. Leaf. Yes, Congressman, and we are continuing those
discussions. Part of the dilemma, of course, that you have got
just a huge volume of commercial traffic that goes in and out
of the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz. And it is an
effort that we are giving a fresh look at it, and how we best
use intelligence and information-sharing with a wide variety of
coalition partners. But we are continuing those discussions
with the UAE.
Mr. Baird. So, continuing on in that, do you think that
those discussions have helped our relationship, the U.S.
relationship, with the UAE?
Ms. Leaf. I do.
Mr. Baird. My last question deals with the Chinese
Communist Party. And they helped broker that deal between Saudi
Arabia and Iran. So, what is the Administration's view of that
brokered deal?
Ms. Leaf. So, we have made clear to Saudi Arabia throughout
this last two-plus years that they have been--as they had been
working at this dialog that was first brokered by the Iraqis,
also, periodically, by the Omanis--that we supported them using
direct engagement as one of many tools to get after their
national security issues. It is not the only thing that they
would want to use, and we would still be there to assist them
in self-defense, and again, with integrated air and missile
defense efforts.
I think the question as to how the PRC got in the mix is,
in part, a reflection of how onerous the sanctions had become
for the Iranians, and they were looking for some way out of
their sort of isolation, if you will. And they have been
wanting to reestablish relations with the Saudis. And so, they
went to the Chinese to ask for that.
But I think this is definitely a case where we will
continue to work assiduously, methodically at interdicting any
lethal arms flows that we see on the high seas going to the
Houthi, and then, the Saudis will themselves have to judge how
to hold them accountable.
Mr. Baird. Well, thank you very much for your testimony.
And I'm out of time. So, I yield back, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Wilson. Thank you very much, Congressman Jim Baird.
We now proceed to the ranking member, Dean Phillips, of
Minnesota.
Mr. Phillips. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And greetings again to our witnesses.
I think it is fair to say that the Department of State and
USAID have a lot on their respective plates right now. Clearly,
competition with China and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the
conflict in Sudan--the list goes on and on.
So, my question is, with our priorities and goals,
particularly for this committee in the MENA region, how do you
walk and chew gum at the same time? How do we ensure that the
region remains prioritized, in light of so many pressing
challenges around the world? If you would each address that, I
would appreciate it.
Ms. Leaf. Well, you are absolutely right, Ranking Member
Phillips, we have a lot of pots that are always simmering and
always on the point of boiling over. I, myself, spend sometimes
two out of 4 weeks on the road doing the work out in the field,
alongside our excellent Chiefs of Mission. And, of course, we
have engagements from the Secretary and others, members of the
national security community.
But we came into office looking at the region and seeing it
in a very fragile state, in a parlous state, and in a very
pressurized state, that we worked very methodically to help
depressurize. And we got a lot of, frankly, a lot of
receptivity from our partners in that effort. And so, you see
the extraordinary degree of cohesiveness in the Gulf family
which didn't exist two-plus years ago.
You see relations between Turkey and UAE which are really
extraordinarily warm now, which is all to the better, and
between Turkey and Egypt, and so on. And that is all something
that we have fostered diplomatically, not through, obviously,
assistance much, but really through hard diplomatic efforts.
And in the same guise, you know, our assistance really comes
into play when it comes to countries like Libya and Yemen and
Lebanon.
But I have to just simply roll up my sleeves and get out on
the road quite a lot these days. And as I say, we use incoming
from our senior officials, like Under Secretary Nuland, who
called Speaker Nabih Berri yesterday to urge him to schedule a
session to begin voting again on a president for Lebanon.
I will let Jeanne now----
Mr. Phillips. All right. Yes, Ms. Pryor?
Ms. Pryor. Thank you.
Yes, there are numerous challenges in the region, but we
also do see opportunities as well. We have built our budget
request to try to be responsive to these challenges, while
capitalizing on the opportunities.
The region is also probably one of the biggest humanitarian
disasters in the world, and we have pumped billions into this
region. So, our development assistance budget is essential for
trying to bring those humanitarian assistance costs down in
some of these countries by getting at some of the root causes
of, say, food insecurity, for example.
We have also built into this budget request the MENA
Opportunity Fund. This is an area that is known for rapid
shifts in developments. And so, such a fund will help us to
enable to be able to respond quickly to any crisis or
opportunity that does arise that we have not budgeted for in
this existing request.
Thank you.
Mr. Phillips. So, on the subject of budgets, you know,
there are some that would like to see these budgets that we are
discussing today cut. What would the implications be in this
region, particularly, if that were to happen?
Ms. Pryor. I think that would depend very much on the
nature of the cut. But, just an example, $1.5 million can buy
you enough wheat seed to generate 35,000 tons of wheat. To
import that as food aid, to respond to a humanitarian crisis,
would cost millions and millions of dollars more. So, you know,
any budget cut, we would have to be mindful of the fact that it
could have unintended consequences later on.
Mr. Phillips. Can you say that number again, $1.5 million
in seed----
Ms. Pryor. Yes.
Mr. Phillips [continuing]. Yields 35 million?
Ms. Pryor. Thirty-five thousand tons.
Mr. Phillips. Thirty-five thousand tons? OK. Thank you.
Ms. Leaf, if you would comment, too, on what a reduction in
the foreign assistance budget for this region would--the
implications?
Ms. Leaf. Well, as Jeanne so eloquently laid out, we have
got a region that is in a state of extreme distress in many
quarters. Syria is one of them, of course, quite dire, and that
goes straight to the heart of not only trying to sustain a
population that is under unrelenting pressure from Assad, but
also trying to get after and get ahead of the conditions that
brought about ISIS in the first place. And it is the same on
the other side in Iraq. So, every dollar does count in this
sense.
Mr. Phillips. And with that, Mr. Chairman, I will yield
back, since we are having another round. Thank you.
Mr. Wilson. Thank you, Ranking Member Dean Phillips.
We now proceed to Congressman Rich McCormick of Georgia.
Mr. McCormick. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
First of all, thank you for both being here today.
Appreciate your input.
I have a couple of concerns. One of the things, I really
appreciated the way you addressed the Saudi-Iran issue because
that was very unclear to me until you talked about that. I was
not aware of, basically, how that has all played out and how
they ended up coming to those brokered deals. I am concerned
that China was part of that because of obvious reasons.
Now that we have the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs with
the Fiscal Year 2024 budget being proposed, one of the things
that kind of worried me a little bit, I do not mind green
energy at all, but what I'm worried about is if it is inclusive
of something made in China, especially with the way that they
warp the market. They use slave labor on the west coast. They
augment the production with their own fiat currency. They
warped the market. We have taken them to court, I think, 27
times in the World Trade Organization, according to Katherine
Tai and her report on this.
I am worried that that money has not got the proper
guardrails on it to keep it out of nefarious actors' hands, as
we go. And I want to make sure, what guardrails do we have to
keep that in the United States? Since we are funding it, it
should, obviously--I would want it to benefit our companies
rather than their companies.
Ms. Leaf. I mean, you are speaking, specifically, I think,
to the fact that so much of the solar industry is made in
China, as it were.
Mr. McCormick. About 90 percent, if I am not correct.
Ms. Leaf. Yes, that is right. That is a real concern.
Ms. Pryor. Yes, and we share that concern. And we are
hopeful that over time supply chains will diversify; that we
will see new supply chains emerging from the United States, and
even from within the region.
What we do in the meantime, however, is, for example, our
solar panel program in Lebanon, we buy them from Lebanese
vendors. They are assembled in Germany. However, we do
recognize that there are components that come from the PRC. So,
we mandate that all of our implementing partners must check
relevant lists, like OFEC and Department of Commerce, to make
sure they are not purchasing anything from a prohibited company
that uses forced labor.
And then, once that equipment arrives, we send our staff to
inspect it to make sure it is the proper equipment, and that it
is from the proper manufacturer. And then, we also have third-
party monitoring to also re-verify that that is the case.
But, ultimately, we hope that supply chains will diversify,
so that this becomes much less of an issue.
Mr. McCormick. Yes, they need to, first of all--and I
really do not have any hope because of the way they are warping
the market. They have already proved to be bad actors and they
just get better at covering their tracks, even the way they
send it through other countries to act like it is not them.
Without hope, I think we need to put hard, rigid guidelines
on this that we look to American companies first and foremost,
since we are paying the bill anyway. And it should benefit us
before it benefits a bad actor who is warping the market on
purpose, so they can continue to dominate that industry.
With that said, Ms. Pryor, what protections are in place,
based on what I just said, to make sure that, when we do buy
these things, and in general, when we are funding things
overseas, and especially when it comes to green energy, knowing
that it is mostly dominated by a market, like in general--I'm
not talking about just in Lebanon, Iraq, and places that
sometimes are bad actors to begin with, where you do not always
have control over. But the places we do have control, if we are
in charge of the money, do we have say-so on where it goes?
Ms. Pryor. So, we definitely do our market research to look
for any kind of alternative vendors and companies as our first
choice in doing our due diligence.
Mr. McCormick. OK. The United Nations banned Iran's--and
this is for Assistant Secretary Leaf--the United Nations banned
Iran's missile and drone program under the U.N. Security
Council Resolution 2231 that is about to expire. I know this
has probably been addressed already, and I apologize, I had
another committee I was coming from. But I know it is going to
be something we are going to bring up in front of the U.N. and
other folks, but if it is not really looked at seriously, what
are we prepared to do in reaction, if the world is not going to
act on this? Obviously, it is going to be objected by the same
bad players always. If it is blocked, what are we prepared to
do in response to that?
Ms. Leaf. Well, we are already taking action against those
who traffic in the parts, the manufacturing, getting the
weapons, the drones to Russia. We have done dozens and dozens
of sanctions already against individuals and entities, and we
will continue that apace, and we will look for sort of a larger
effect, if we can bring other partners into that effort.
Mr. McCormick. OK. Last question, either one of you, but
just real quick--I'm almost out of time; I apologize--but since
we have come back onboard to assisting the Palestinians
financially, we have seen a steep increase in violence. I
always say we do not reward bad behavior. Are we willing to
turn off that spigot of funding if they are going to be bad
actors?
Ms. Leaf. So, we provide funding not to the Palestinian
Authority, but to a variety of implementing partners. And I
will let Jeanne speak to that in a moment. But we do provide
assistance, security assistance, to the Palestinian Security
Forces, which, frankly, is in the interest of both the Israeli
and the Palestinian public.
You are right, there has been a sharp and really shocking
degree of violence over the last 2 years. I think there are a
whole variety of factors that are at play. Part of it is,
frankly, the inability of the Palestinian Security Forces to
get after the problem, but it is also driven by socioeconomic
issues, lack of political horizon, a whole host of things--a
very tough mix.
Mr. McCormick. With that, I just want to point out that I
think, if you are motivated, and people are motivated by this
sort of thing, that they will find the right thing to do. And I
think we have to hold to our guns and reward good behavior, not
bad.
With that, I yield.
Mr. Wilson. Thank you, Congressman Rich McCormick.
We now proceed to Congressman Brad Sherman of California.
Mr. Sherman. Thank you.
I want to pick up on the ranking member's comments about
how important it is that we resist this effort for deep cuts in
the State Department and USAID budget. I know these are being
proposed by the Freedom Caucus, but perhaps the Freedom Caucus
would change its name to the Freedom of Action for China
Caucus, because, clearly, such cuts are in the interest of
expanding China's influence, both in the Middle East and
elsewhere around the world.
Iran is up to 84 percent purity on its refined, enriched
uranium. That is higher than what was in the original nuclear
weapons. One of the many things we are doing on this is to
focus on economic sanctions, but economic sanctions, which we
are imposing with one hand, we are actually planning to defeat
with our other hand. That is to say, the IMF provides special
drawing rights to Iran. So, one the one hand, we are trying to
precipitously not drive the dollar of the real down, but in
international forums we just go along and get along.
And so, I wonder whether the Assistant Secretary can tell
us that we will not add tens of billions of dollars, as the IMF
has requested, to our investments in the IMF as long as Iran is
given special drawing rights.
Ms. Leaf. So, Congressman, I will have to look at that
issue and come back to you with a studied reply, but let me
just----
Mr. Sherman. And you will hear from the economic side and
the Treasury, ``We just want to go along to get along, and our
partners will be really upset if we bring up this issue.'' And
then, we will help finance an Iranian nuclear weapon. So, I do
hope you look at that.
Ms. Leaf. I will absolutely look at it. But do you want me
to offer you any other comments, or did you want to----
Mr. Sherman. I have got so many questions here, I will move
on.
On Assad, I hope that we are working to make sure that
Assad is not normalized until he makes substantial concessions
for the benefit of his people.
But I want to shift to the Saudi nuclear program, which
gets very little attention. Every weapon system we gave to Iran
under the Shah fell into the hands of the Ayatollah. So, I'm
not sure I can trust bin Salman, but I know that I have no
knowledge of who comes after bin Salman. And a monarchy is
clearly unstable.
And, of course, the United States gave to Iran a small
nuclear reactor in the Atoms for Peace Program under the
Eisenhower Administration, and, of course, tremendous
conventional weapons in the 1970's--all in the hands of the
Ayatollah.
Now, we are looking at the Abrahamic Accords. We just dealt
with that on the floor of the House. The big prize is Saudi
Arabia. One would hope that they would try to get a better life
for Palestinians in their negotiations, but they have not
prioritized that. What they want is a nuclear cooperation
agreement with the United States that is not similar to the one
that we entered in with the UAE. That was a gold standard
agreement--with no enrichment, no reprocessing, and the
additional protocol.
Is there a risk that in this exuberant desire to have the
big meeting where everybody is shaking hands and we are all
Abrahamic, that we would--can I count on the Administration not
to bring a nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia to
this House that does not meet the same gold standards?
Ms. Leaf. So, Congressman, if I can give you a two-parter?
Mr. Sherman. OK.
Ms. Leaf. There is one thing I would point out. The
Palestinian aspect is not wholly missing from this picture. If
you didn't see it, the Foreign Minister----
Mr. Sherman. I'm saying what I believe is their real
intent.
Ms. Leaf. OK. But----
Mr. Sherman. Yes, they dressed it up a little bit.
Ms. Leaf. Yes. They have stipulated that there is a part in
any normalization for the Palestinians. Now, that is undefined
as yet.
But, to your other point, look, Israel and the United
States will have everything to say about the course of any of
the aspects that go into the mix for a normalization----
Mr. Sherman. Can I get a commitment from you on behalf of
the Administration or not?
Ms. Leaf. So, what I can say is----
Mr. Sherman. Or shall I move on to the next question?
Ms. Leaf. What I can say in this setting, Congressman, is
that we will rigorously promote nuclear security and
nonproliferation, and we will consult with the Congress.
Mr. Sherman. Finally, we look at UNRA, which entered into a
framework for a cooperation with a commitment to combat
incitement and antisemitism in its educational curriculum. I
have a bill that I commend to my colleagues. We had 46
cosponsors last year.
How is the United States leveraging our position as UNRA's
top donor to get them not to do things which they are doing
now, such as glorifying the convicted terrorist who killed 38
civilians, Israeli civilians, in 1978, including three
children?
Ms. Leaf. Congressman, it is still an issue, a work-in-
progress. We have the same concerns that you have about
curricula or teaching in the classroom that in any way
glorifies violence, terrorism, and so forth. So, it is very
much a work-in-progress, and we are committed to it.
Mr. Wilson. Thank you very much, Congressman Sherman.
And now, we have the best for last, Congresswoman Kathy
Manning. And following her, we will have an abbreviated second
round.
Ms. Manning. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate that.
And thank you to our witnesses for being here with us
today.
So, we have talked about the rapprochement between Iran and
Saudi Arabia. We have talked about Iran's increasingly malign
behavior in providing drones to Russia. We know there are
always rumors about some kind of new deal with Iran. So, I
would like to know, Assistant Secretary Leaf, what is the
Administration's long-term strategy for dealing with Iran,
especially as it becomes a near-nuclear threshold State?
Ms. Leaf. So, I would just start by saying there is a lot
of misinformation and a lot of disinformation churning around
in the media ecosystem right now. Look, we have been very clear
that we will use diplomacy, indirect or direct, to get after
the various threats that Iran poses internationally, as well as
regionally. And that includes the nuclear.
People tend to offer up a sort of scenario of a plan A is
go back into JCPOA and diplomacy; plan B is economic pressure
and deterrence. Actually, we are doing both. We are doing both.
We do believe, ultimately, that the best way to constrain
the program is to get it back into a box, into a diplomatic box
with rigorous oversight and inspection regime, and so on.
JCPOA, for a variety of reasons, is really not actively on the
table, as it were. But we are trying to get to a place where we
can get Iran to de-escalate on a variety of fronts.
Ms. Manning. So, what incentives would there be to Iran to
get them to de-escalate? How are you working with our partners
and allies? Are you delivering a strong message to Iran, an
unequivocal message, that a nuclear-armed Iran is unacceptable?
Ms. Leaf. Yes. And I won't go into details, but I can tell
you, an absolutely unvarnished message.
Ms. Manning. And are you encouraging our partners and our
allies to deliver that same message?
Ms. Leaf. Yes.
Ms. Manning. So, let me turn to Saudi Arabia. Because there
has been discussion about Saudi Arabia. Certainly, we all know
that progress has been made with the Abraham Accords, and it is
viewed as really transformative in the region. But we also know
that Saudi Arabia is the big partner that would or could be
brought into the Abraham Accords and make a significant
difference in the region.
In fact, I think Secretary Blinken has said it is a
priority for this Administration to bring Saudi Arabia into the
deal. But we have heard about all the different ways that Saudi
Arabia has made it more difficult for the United States to deal
with them. There are lots of sticking points. And recently, the
Saudis have indicated that normalization would require Israel
to make progress with the Palestinians. Or I might say perhaps
the Palestinians need to have a will to make progress.
So, can you share more about some of the specific steps
that the United States, the Saudis, and Israel, and the
Palestinians must take to get to an eventual normalization
deal?
Ms. Leaf. So, there's no defined roadmap at this point, I
will be quite honest. And a lot of the discussions are nascent
and they are not really the kind of things that I would want to
trot out into the public venue. It will be something that the
Administration will definitely consult with Congress along the
way, as things get refined.
But, for instance, on the issue of the Palestinians, I
understand that the Saudis have spoken to the Palestinians, but
they do not have, as yet, as far as I know, a defined picture
of what they might put into the mix in terms of a requirement
or something that they would seek as part of this package.
So, there is absolutely the will and the determination on
the part of the prioritization on the part of the
Administration to midwife this normalization, which, as you
say, will be transformative. It will bring others along and it
will shift things very dynamically in the region in a direction
that will only be to the good. So, it is very much a priority
for us, but I would just say stay tuned.
Ms. Manning. When you say there is no roadmap, are there
steps, active steps, being taken to try to work toward creating
a roadmap?
Ms. Leaf. There are discussions.
Ms. Manning. OK. What options do you see for moving the
Palestinians, and, in particular, Palestinian leadership,
toward taking steps necessary to work toward a two-State
solution? We know there is rising gang crime in the West Bank.
It is not being addressed by the Palestinian Authority.
We know there have been random shootings, particularly one
I need to mention in the name of Elan Ganeles, who is an
American citizen who was shot dead. There really hasn't been
much said about him. He is referred to in the press as an
Israeli soldier, but, in fact, he is an American citizen who
was living in the United States. He was in Israel for a
wedding, shot dead. Not a lot said about that by the Americans.
What steps can we take to encourage the Palestinians to
actively control the terrorism that is going on by Palestinians
and the criminal gangs?
Ms. Leaf. So, we have sort of the programmatic side, which
is very much part and parcel of our approach to creating a
professional and capable set of security forces in the West
Bank that would be able to carry out all of their
responsibilities in Area A. And that is just not the case yet.
We have the U.S. Security Coordinator, General Mike Fenzel,
who has a whole set of activities that he oversees. And then,
we have the diplomatic effort which, as seen over the last
months, we had a meeting--Egypt, Jordan, the United States,
Israel, and the Palestinians--in Aqaba, Jordan, and then, Sharm
El-Sheikh, Egypt.
And those have been a combination of security and political
discussions to get after exactly the issues, which is this
really eroding sense of security in the West Bank. It is
eroding for Palestinians; it is eroding for Israelis, let alone
for visitors.
And so, this is a priority for us. It is a very difficult
environment right now. I would say there is just an erosion of
civility and security, and that was, you know, that was the
target of a lot of our efforts throughout the period of the
confluence of the three holy religions, the major religions,
during March-April.
So, we brought down the level of violence, but, by no
means, have we been able to get the PA security forces where
they need to be.
Ms. Manning. Thank you. My time is long expired. I
appreciate the chairman's indulgence.
Mr. Wilson. Thank you very much, Congresswoman Manning.
And indeed, as we proceed with the second round, you can
see there is really bipartisan concern with the complicity by
the Palestinian Authority working with terrorists across the
region. But the concern that we all have, as boosted over the
weekend by a nuclear capability by Tehran, the threat that it
has that is existential for Israel and America, not just in the
Middle East.
And then, also, very concerning, as you have heard from
different questions, about the drone capabilities of Iran. I
have actually seen some of the drones that were downed over
Yemen, and these are highly sophisticated, large. They look
like small planes that have surveillance capability,
intelligence capability, but also have a capability of very
sophisticated, heavy weaponry and munitions that can be
provided. And we are seeing it, sadly, underway with the
murders being conducted in Ukraine, as we speak.
With all of this in mind, another issue that I am very
concerned about is the tragic Arab normalization with Assad.
And, Secretary, you mentioned and said, quote, ``Our basic
message has been that, if you're going to engage with the
regime, get something for this.'' End of quote.
That is appalling to me. I was grateful to introduce the
bipartisan Assad Regime Anti-Normalization Act to impose costs
on those who fund Assad's mass murder and drug trafficking.
And additionally, I have opposed normalization as a stated
policy, as we see, of the Administration. But, yet, with that
being the policy, there has really been a green light provided
to normalization. What is the Administration's view as to,
quote, ``good enough'' to get a return for abandoning the
Syrian people to an unrepentant mass murderer and telegraphing
to dictators around the world that they can wait out our
accountability for war crimes?
Ms. Leaf. So, Congressman, I know that that line that I
gave at a think tank event was understood to be some sort of
shrug of indifference; it was not in any sense. What I was
trying to convey was something a little bit different, and it
was not sufficiently nuanced.
But here's where we are. As I said in my statement, we are
foursquare opposed to normalization. We do not think Assad
merited an invitation to the Arab League. We are very straight-
up with our partners on that score.
And I will just say there is a range of opinion among the
Arab States in the region about the utility, even, of engaging
with Assad. And there are some who will not reopen embassies at
this point, while others--Saudis included--have said, look,
regime change--and they were very much part of that effort for
years--regime change hasn't worked; he is not going anywhere.
Meanwhile, the country is sinking, sinking, sinking, and we
have to figure out a way to end the impact that it is having on
Syria's neighbors, let alone on the Syrian people themselves.
I'm just giving you what we have heard.
And so, thus, the decision to engage, but engage with an
agenda to get pretty much the same objectives that we have, but
by a different means. We are holding fast to sanctions, and we
are holding fast that we will not normalize. They are going to
engage. But we both want the same thing--a change in Damascus'
behavior, whether it is the export of, the trafficking of
Captagon, whether it is repression of its people, whether it is
creating conditions that are inhospitable to IDPs and refugees
returning.
Mr. Wilson. And as we conclude, or as I conclude, I would
like to, also, express concern about any negotiations for
renewing the Iran nuclear deal. I was really grateful to work
with former Senator Joe Lieberman and former chairman of the
Foreign Affairs Committee, Eliot Engel. It was bipartisan that
it was utterly irresponsible having an Iran deal, as they were
not only developing nuclear capability, but they never stopped
trying to develop an ICBM capability to hit the United States.
And so, over and over again, I hope every effort is made
from a bipartisan angle to please have no agreement that would
be so beneficial to people who have every intent to fulfill
death to Israel, death to America.
With that, I yield to Ranking Member Phillips.
Mr. Phillips. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And continuing with Syria, I mean the humanitarian crisis.
I know that Bab al-Hawa border crossing is up for
reauthorization at the U.N. Security Council next month. And
perhaps you could just spend a moment expressing to us why that
is so important relative to keeping that open.
Ms. Leaf. So, a few years ago, there were three such border
crossings. And under pressure of veto, threat of a veto by
Russia successively, two of those were closed out, and then, we
have Bab al-Hawa, which has to be renewed every 6 months.
We are going to go for broke. We are going to try to get a
larger extension of that and see if we can get other border
points open as well. Because the fact is--and the earthquake
made things even more desperate--the fact is you have got over
3 million people in Idlib Province who, otherwise, have
virtually no access to assistance. And you can never get enough
done through cross-checkpoint, you know, regime and Idlib
Province checkpoints. You can never get cross-line aid
sufficient to feed people who are really in desperate
conditions. So, we are going to go for broke on that.
Mr. Phillips. Good.
I also wish to address Tunisia. I think I speak for this
entire committee when we say we are terribly disappointed by
the democratic backsliding by President Saied.
Chairman Wilson and I recently sent a letter to the House
Appropriations Committee to, essentially, demand that cuts to
U.S. assistance to Tunisia not come at the expense of the
Tunisian people or pro-democracy civil society. On the other
hand, we support reducing aid to someone who is, clearly,
autocratic.
But how do we, mechanically, when we reduce an aid package,
ensure that what remains goes to the people who need it without
being accretive to someone who is clearly backsliding as it
relates to democracy?
Ms. Pryor. So, while our request reflects a cut, because of
these changed circumstances on the ground, what we are doing
with this request level is we are recalibrating that assistance
to do just that--focus on the Tunisian people; focus on the
private sector, and focus on civil society.
So, 70 percent of the request level will go toward
supporting civil society. And we are launching a new $25
million program to support civil society.
Mr. Phillips. But I want to hear about the mechanics.
Because, you know, it is easy to say this in committee
hearings, but how do we, mechanically, ensure that someone does
not benefit from an oversight perspective?
Ms. Pryor. So, again, you know, we, ourselves, monitor our
projects, but we also have third-party monitoring to ensure
that the assistance goes to the people it is intended.
Mr. Phillips. OK.
Ms. Leaf. And if I could?
Mr. Phillips. Please.
Ms. Leaf. If I could just add, we have, over the course of
2 years now, methodically, taken down the assistance that
originally went to the government of Tunisia for a variety of
programs. We are down to about half as much additionally in
terms of the FMF.
We do think we have scoped the FMF really tightly to
address our own national security needs. Because we want to
keep the Tunisia Armed Forces fit and capable to do their
maritime security and border security and CT operations.
Mr. Phillips. OK. Thank you.
One more, and back to Syria for a moment, too, Senators
Shaheen and Graham have a bipartisan bill in the Senate that
would reestablish a Senior Coordinator for detained ISIS
members and displaced populations, of course, in Syria. Today,
I introduced with Representative Mark Green, my Republican
friend and colleague, the House companion bill. I just want to
confirm that you support the reestablishment of a coordinator
to support repatriation and reintegration efforts in northeast
Syria.
Ms. Leaf. So, Congressman, I mean, this would be something
that I would have to confer with the Secretary about, but what
I do absolutely support is as boldly asserted an effort as we
can muster to get these families home, get these foreign
terrorist fighters home. And that is what we are doing. And, in
fact, we heard some good news from some of the countries at the
D-ISIS ministerial in that regard.
Mr. Phillips. Good. Glad to hear.
All right. With that, I yield back.
Mr. Wilson. Thank you, Ranking Member Dean Phillips.
We will now proceed to Congressman Jim Baird of Indiana.
Mr. Baird. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And this question goes to both of our witnesses, and it
deals with Syria and Assad and some of the questions that the
ranking member had, I think.
They are diverting and weaponizing this international aid.
And since the U.N.--and the United States is really one of the
largest donors--are we leveraging that? Are we leveraging our
sending of the international aid to make sure that we have some
say over Assad; and also, making sure that the appropriate
people, which was in the last question, but the appropriate
people are receiving that international aid?
Ms. Pryor. Thank you.
In the Middle East Bureau, none of our stabilization
assistance goes to regime-held areas, only non-regime-held
areas. Our humanitarian assistance in Syria is provided based
on criteria of need, particularly food insecurity. The majority
of our humanitarian assistance, also, does not go to regime-
held areas. There is a portion that does go to regime-held
areas and it is intended to benefit the Syrian people and not
the regime.
We have a vetting program that looks at all of our
implementers to make sure that there are no ties to any kind of
terrorist organization. Because, as you know, Hezbollah is, you
know, running around in regime-held areas. We also have third-
party monitoring to make sure the assistance goes to the people
who need it the most and does not get diverted in any way. And
we just monitor it very carefully to make sure that it is
meeting the needs of the most vulnerable in Syria and not the
Assad regime.
Mr. Baird. Continuing on, do you have the ability to put
information or people on the ground to research that?
Ms. Pryor. So, we do not have USAID staff on the ground in
most of Syria. We do have someone, a humanitarian advisor, who
sometimes goes into northeast Syria. But we do have
organizations that work for us that also do monitoring on our
behalf.
Mr. Baird. Secretary Leaf, have you got any----
Ms. Leaf. I was just going to say, you know, the
stabilization assistance that we do, as Jeanne said, we direct
toward northeast Syria, and that is where we tried to provide
enough sustenance to communities, such that we can mitigate the
return of ISIS and, also, such that they can take back some of
the families in Al-Hol who might not be able to return to other
parts of Syria.
Mr. Baird. Thank you.
My next question deals with Russia and their invasion of
Ukraine in 2022. As we all know, some of our Middle East
partners were reluctant to strongly condemn that war and that
aggression. Could you give me, either one of you or both of
you, your assessment of that situation?
Ms. Leaf. Certainly. You know, I think there was, frankly,
just a lot of disbelief that this was really happening on the
part of our partners. And many of our partners have very solid
relations with Russia, alongside solid relations with us. I
think there was just a level of disbelief that this could
really be happening, and then, there was an unwillingness,
frankly, initially, on the part of many in the region, to call
a spade a spade.
However, we saw over time that virtually all of the
countries in the region--there were a few exceptions, Syria
among them--who consistently voted in the U.N. General Assembly
calling out Russia's invasion and aggression and condemning it,
and standing up for Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial
integrity.
I would also note that a number of--progressively, over
time, this past six or 8 months--a number of our partner
countries, their foreign ministers and others have gone to Kyiv
in a show of solidarity. They have given humanitarian
assistance. And, of course, President Zelenskyy was invited to
appear at the Arab League Summit in Jeddah 2 weeks ago.
Mr. Baird. Thank you. And my time is almost up. So, I yield
back, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Wilson. Thank you, Congressman Baird.
We now conclude with a high mark, Congresswoman Kathy
Manning of North Carolina.
Ms. Manning. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Certainly, all the increased tensions and problems in this
difficult region require all of our skill sets. And one area we
have not yet discussed is the funding requested for the new
MENA Opportunity Fund.
So, Assistant Secretary Leaf, can you provide some examples
of the types of projects that could potentially emerge--
potentially, from the Negev Forum--that might be good
candidates for support from the MENA Opportunity Fund?
Ms. Leaf. Well, thanks for that great question.
So, let me start with a project that started outside of
that, that just predated that, and that came about through the
good and industrious efforts of Special Presidential Envoy
Kerry, Project Prosperity. But it is a tailor-made example of
the kind of things that we hope to develop through the six
working groups in the Negev Forum.
Project Prosperity, as you may know, involves UAE
investment to build solar farms that will provide electricity
to Israel. Israel will, in turn, provide desalinated water to a
water-starved Jordan. So, it is so all good in every direction.
Those are the kind of projects that we want to see
germinate in these working groups. We are working very hard
right now with the Moroccans to land on a date for the next
ministerial. And prior to that, just ahead of that, we hope to
have the working groups lay out some ideas, some proposals.
They may not be ready for primetime, but we want to--and also,
I will just say we are looking to engage the private sector.
As we get this structure really up and running, we want to
also rope in the private sector to generate money. But we will
use, if we are granted this pot of money, we will use it for
seed money for some of these projects. You know, we have
working groups on education, on education and tolerance, on
water and food security, health. And we think there are just
some great work to be done.
And as you know, the whole idea behind this is not just to
do projects, but, through those projects, demonstrate to the
peoples of those countries the benefits of normalization, and
then, to the wider public around the region. So that it changes
people's views on what it means to have diplomatic relations
with Israel, and Israel can bring so much to the table, as we
know.
Ms. Manning. So, have you seen any pause in these projects
or any hesitancy by the Abraham Accords countries in light of
the Iran-Saudi Arabia rapprochement or the readmittance of
Syria?
Ms. Leaf. Not at all.
Ms. Manning. You are not seeing any?
Ms. Leaf. No, I would say no. The Iran piece goes along
with, frankly, a resumption of diplomatic relations among all
of the GCC over time, starting in 2019. And two of the
countries had never broken relations with Iran. Bahrain is the
only one that has not yet resumed, but I think it will happen
sometime soon.
I think what does affect things, what rocks the boat, is
when unrest spikes in the West Bank, when there are clashes
between the Israelis and Palestinians, and, in particular, in
Jerusalem, as you can imagine.
Ms. Manning. OK. And what additional measures should the
Administration take to support tolerance in the region? For
example, should we be providing more support to the Office of
Special Envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, to help with
normalization, and also, help fight hate in the Arab world? Are
there other steps we should be taking?
Ms. Leaf. So, I am glad you brought up Deborah Lipstadt
because she is doing terrific work, and so is Tom Nides, our
Ambassador in Embassy Jerusalem. They are working to foster--
she is, of course, working in her space with Morocco, Bahrain,
and UAE, and finds quite an appetite there for her work and for
some collaborative projects that they are generating. Tom Nides
and his staff are helping to foster some really interesting
sports and cultural ties between Israel and those countries.
I think, frankly, I want to see more of that in the space
of Egypt and Jordan, the original founders of peace. And that
is where we really need to warm up the public relations.
Ms. Manning. Is there anything holding those countries
back?
Ms. Leaf. Just the legacy of years, I think, you know.
Ms. Manning. Thank you. I will yield back a little bit
early to make up for my running over last time. Thank you so
much.
Mr. Wilson. Thank you very much, Congresswoman Manning.
And we want to thank the witnesses for their valuable
testimony and, also, the members for their questions and
participation.
The members of the subcommittee may have some additional
questions for the witnesses, and we will ask you to respond to
these in writing.
And 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 3:58 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]
APPENDIX
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STATEMENT FOR THE RECORD FROM REPRESENTATIVE CONNOLLY
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RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD
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