Press Release

Representative Ami Bera (D-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, Central Asia, and Nonproliferation, today chaired a Subcommittee hearing on the Biden Administration's proposed FY2023 budget for State Department and USAID programs in the Indo-Pacific.

"Our robust economic, security, and people-to-people ties with the Indo-Pacific cannot be overstated. The region is home to 60 percent of the world's population, is projected to be the largest contributor to global growth over the next decade, and is the source of nearly $900 billion in foreign direct investment in the United States." said Chairman Bera. "I appreciate the Biden Administration's high-level attention on the Indo-Pacific, including its recently released Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, and the commitment to increasing resources to the region over time. However, the Indo-Pacific region remains under-resourced when considering its geostrategic importance, economic heft, and staggering population. I look forward to continuing to work with the Administration in a bipartisan manner to ensure that we adequately resource our diplomatic, development, economic, and security initiatives in this consequential part of the world."

Expert witnesses included The Honorable Donald Lu, Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, U.S. Department of State; Camille Dawson, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, U.S. Department of State; and Craig Hart, Deputy Assistant Administrator, Bureau of Asia, U.S. Agency for International Development.

Click here to watch a recording of the hearing.