,h4 ,,res4 #fii  ,in the ,house of      
,representatives1 ,u4 ,s41  ,august #a1 
#bjad  ,,resolution  ,whereas the people
 of ,africa share the hopes and         
aspirations of the people of the ,united
 ,states for peace and prosperity1 and  
are both committed to strengthening     
economic relations2 ,whereas it is in   
the national interest of the ,united    
,states to support the reduction of     
poverty in the continent of ,africa2    
,whereas greater opportunities for      
mutually beneficial trade and           
investments promote economic growth1    
development1 poverty reduction1         
democracy1 the rule of law1 and         
stability2 ,whereas the countries in    
,africa are important economic partners 
of the ,united ,states2 ,whereas ,africa
 has today #f of the #aj fastest growing
 economies in the world1 over #a billion
 people1 #fj percent of the world's     
uncultivated agricultural land1 and     
expanding democracies2 ,whereas ,africa 
is rich through the youth of its        

population1 enjoying a demographic      
advantage over all other regions of the 
world1 and is likely to replace the     
,people's ,republic of ,china as the    
biggest contributor to the global       
workforce by #bjej2 ,whereas it is in   
the economic interest of the ,united    
,states to engage and compete in        
emerging ,african markets1 boost ,united
 ,states-,africa trade and investment1  
support greater capacity building for   
,africa1 and invest in ,africa's youth  
and leadership development2 ,whereas in 
#bjjj the ,congress passed the ,african 
,growth and ,opportunity ,act 7,,agoa71 
with broad bipartisan support and with a
 view to expanding growth and           
opportunity in ,africa2 ,whereas in the 
original ,,agoa legislation1 ,congress  
encouraged the establishment of more    
regular high-level dialogues1 including 
regular meetings by the ,president with 
his ,african counterparts2 ,whereas     
exports from sub-,saharan ,africa to the
 ,united ,states under ,,agoa have      

increased over three-fold from #g4f     
billion in #bjja to #bd4h billion in    
#bjac2 ,whereas ,united ,states exports 
to sub-,saharan ,africa have increased  
from #f4i billion to #bc4i billion and  
,united ,states investment in           
sub-,saharan ,africa has increased      
six-fold2 ,whereas per capita income in 
sub-,saharan ,africa has more than      
tripled to #a1fbd annually since        
,congress first passed ,,agoa1 yet      
nearly half the population in           
sub-,saharan ,africa lives in poverty2  
,whereas regional integration should be 
strengthened to boost economic growth in
 ,africa1 and elimination of barriers to
 trade and investment in ,africa1 such  
as high tariffs1 forced localization    
requirements1 restrictions on           
investment1 and customs barriers1 among 
others1 will strengthen and improve     
regional and global integration2        
,whereas it remains the goal of ,united 
,states policy to support the           
diversification of sub-,saharan exports 

in terms of products and countries that 
utilize ,,agoa2 ,whereas the members of 
the ,world ,trade ,organization adopted 
several important ,decisions and        
,declarations in ,bali1 ,indonesia1 in  
,december #bjac1 including the          
,agreement on ,trade ,facilitation and  
specific results on agriculture and     
development1 with the protocol of       
amendment for the ,agreement on ,trade  
,facilitation to be adopted on ,july    
#ca1 #bjad2 ,whereas full implementation
 by our trading partners of the         
,agreement on ,trade ,facilitation will 
help to address supply-side constraints 
in ,africa1 promote regional integration
 on the continent1 and facilitate       
integration into global supply chains2  
,whereas on ,june #cj1 #bjac1 in ,cape  
,town1 ,south ,africa1 ,president       
,barack ,obama announced the ,power     
,africa ,initiative1 to double the      
number of people with access to power in
 ,sub-,saharan ,africa2 ,whereas on ,may
 #h1 #bjad1 the ,house of               

,representatives passed the ,electrify  
,africa ,act1 to make it a national     
policy of the ,united ,states to support
 the electrification of sub-,saharan    
,africa1 and to direct ,united ,states  
agencies to devote resources to         
facilitate and support the              
implementation of this initiative2 and  
,whereas the first ,united              
,states-,africa ,leaders' ,summit and   
the #acth ,african ,growth and          
,opportunity ,act ,forum will be held in
 ,washington1 ,,dc1 this summer3 ,now1  
therefore1 be it  ,that the ,house of   
,representatives--  7#a7 is studying    
ways to improve the effectiveness and   
utilization of the range of ,united     
,states trade policy tools with respect 
to ,africa1 including ,,agoa1 and       
exploring how ,africa can address       
barriers to become more attractive to   
trade and investment within ,africa as  
well as globally2 and  7#b7 looks       
forward to continuing to work with      
,african leaders to improve our economic

 and bilateral relationships4  ,clerk4