I want to start by thanking the Chairman not only for holding this hearing, but for his deep dedication to the issues surrounding AGOA, and making sure that we in the Congress do all we can to support development in Africa. He has gone to great lengths to show the Africans that we are focused on our economic and political relationship.
There are so many serious issues that we can, and should, deal with in the Congress. We live in a time where bipartisanship isn’t what it should be, but I like to think that we are an exception to that.
We have an opportunity right before us. Next week, 50 heads of state of African countries will come to the United States for the first U.S.-African Leaders’ Summit. This is something that the original AGOA legislation anticipated almost 15 years ago. Chairman Nunes and I are doing all we can to make it clear to these leaders that renewing AGOA in a timely manner is critical to locking in investment in Africa. We’re still working through questions about whether AGOA can be improved, and that’s one of the reasons the Chairman is holding this hearing.
If the Chairman’s work this week is any indication, I am confident that we will renew and improve AGOA so that it continues to live up to its title of providing “Growth and Opportunity" in Africa.
There is no doubt that Africa is rising. Its natural resources and young, talented population are helping to spur an economic boom. I’ve seen it myself: on Monday, I was privileged to attend a meeting with 500 talented African students who were here as part of the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young Leaders. The goal of the program is for us to bring over these gifted young people to get leadership training at American universities and to have them meet key government and business leaders. It’s important for the United States to continue to ensure that we are actively helping Africa to realize the potential we’ve known is there, but remains untapped.
I can’t think of a better way to improve the relationship we have with Africa than this Summit. Africa’s leaders, its trade ministers, and - maybe most importantly - its young students are here seeing firsthand what America is all about. And what they are seeing is probably pretty different from what they have heard about the United States. So I commend our President for holding this historic summit. And I look forward to continuing to work with Chairman Nunes as we commit ourselves to getting an AGOA package enacted that will help the Africans realize their economic potential.
