January 17, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 10 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E62]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             TRANS-SAHARA COUNTERTERRORISM PARTNERSHIP ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. WILLIAM R. KEATING

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 17, 2019

  Mr. KEATING. Madam Speaker, since 2005, the United States has been 
actively involved in the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership, 
which is an interagency program to assist partner countries in the 
Sahel and Maghreb regions of Africa, including Niger, Nigeria, Tunisia, 
and Mali, to address terrorist threats and prevent the spread of 
violent extremism.
  This legislation is needed due to the continued high rate of 
terrorist activity on the continent, and this Partnership helps 
coordinate our diplomatic, defense, and development efforts to counter 
those threats.
  Recently, the Pentagon, under the President's direction, has been re-
evaluating our troop presence in Africa, which means the United States 
will need to rely more heavily on strategic partnerships built up over 
years. This bill would do that.
  The bill directs the Departments of State and Defense as well as 
USAID to develop a comprehensive, interagency strategy for U.S.-Africa 
counterterrorism cooperation. It also improves monitoring and 
evaluation of the Partnership's programs to help guide whether efforts 
should be refocused on certain aspects of building partnership 
capacity.
  Success in mitigating terrorism and violent extremism in Africa and 
elsewhere around the globe is predicated on our ability to work closely 
with our allies and combat violent extremism in a consistent and 
effective manner. This piece of legislation allows us to do just that.
  I'd like to thank Ranking Member McCaul for his important work on 
this issue and introducing this legislation with me. I urge my 
colleagues to support this package.

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