,,iv #aacth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,,res4 #fii ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,july #ca1 #bjad ,mr4 ,meeks 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,camp1 ,mr4 ,levin1 ,mr4 ,rangel1 ,mr4 ,nunes1 ,mr4 ,royce1 ,mr4 ,engel1 ,ms4 ,bass1 ,mrs4 ,beatty1 ,mr4 ,bishop of ,georgia1 ,ms4 ,brown of ,florida1 ,mr4 ,butterfield1 ,mr4 ,carson of ,indiana1 ,mrs4 ,christensen1 ,ms4 ,clarke of ,new ,york1 ,mr4 ,clay1 ,mr4 ,cleaver1 ,mr4 ,clyburn1 ,mr4 ,conyers1 ,mr4 ,cummings1 ,mr4 ,danny ,k4 ,davis of ,illinois1 ,ms4 ,edwards1 ,mr4 ,ellison1 ,mr4 ,fattah1 ,ms4 ,fudge1 ,mr4 ,al ,green of ,texas1 ,mr4 ,hastings of ,florida1 ,mr4 ,horsford1 ,ms4 ,jackson ,lee1 ,mr4 ,jeffries1 ,ms4 ,eddie ,bernice ,johnson of ,texas1 ,mr4 ,johnson of ,georgia1 ,ms4 ,kelly of ,illinois1 ,ms4 ,lee of ,california1 ,mr4 ,lewis1 ,ms4 ,moore1 ,ms4 ,norton1 ,mr4 ,payne1 ,mr4 ,richmond1 ,mr4 ,rush1 ,mr4 ,david ,scott of ,georgia1 ,mr4 ,scott of ,virginia1 ,ms4 ,sewell of ,alabama1 ,mr4 ,thompson of ,mississippi1 ,mr4 ,veasey1 ,ms4 ,waters1 ,ms4 ,wilson of ,florida1 ,mr4 ,young of ,indiana1 ,mr4 ,boustany1 ,mr4 ,larson of ,connecticut1 ,mr4 ,blumenauer1 and ,mr4 ,mc,dermott7 submitted the following resolution2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs1 and in addition to the ,committee on ,ways and ,means1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,,resolution ,welcoming ,african leaders to the first ,united ,states-,africa ,leaders' ,summit and ,african trade ministers to the #acth ,forum of the ,african ,growth and ,opportunity ,act 7,,agoa74 ,whereas the ,united ,states ,congress enacted the ,african ,growth and ,opportunity ,act 7,,agoa7 in #bjjj1 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 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 good governance1 including respecting constitutional term limits1 human rights1 and ensuring that civil society organizations are able to function freely contribute to enduring economic and social development in ,africa2 ,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 #a1jjj1jjj1jjj 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 ,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 exports from sub-,saharan ,africa to the ,united ,states under ,,agoa have increased over three-fold from #g1fjj1jjj1jjj in #bjja to #bd1hjj1jjj1jjj in #bjac2 ,whereas ,united ,states exports to sub-,saharan ,africa have increased from #f1ijj1jjj1jjj to #bc1ijj1jjj1jjj 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 timely renewal of ,,agoa1 which expires ,september #cj1 #bjae1 is critical to the maintenance and promotion of investment opportunities in the region2 ,whereas regional integration should be strengthened to improve the full utilization of ,,agoa preferences1 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 7,,wto7 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 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 the ,house of ,representatives introduced on ,june #bg1 #bjac1 and passed on ,may #h1 #bjad1 the ,electrify ,africa ,act1 to make it a national policy of the ,united ,states to promote the electrification of ,sub-,saharan ,africa to more than double the number of people with access to power in order to improve health and education outcomes and stimulate economic opportunity2 and ,whereas1 on ,june #cj1 #bjac1 in ,cape ,town1 ,south ,africa1 ,president ,barack ,obama announced the ,power ,africa ,initiative1 to significantly increase the number of people with access to power in ,sub-,saharan ,africa3 ,now1 therefore1 be it ,that the ,house of ,representatives-- 7#a7 welcomes ,african leaders to the first ,united ,states-,africa ,leaders' ,summit in ,washington1 ,,dc2 7#b7 welcomes ,african trade ministers to the #acth ,african ,growth and ,opportunity ,act 7,,agoa7 ,forum2 7#c7 recognizes the significant progress and hope that modern ,africa represents today in global affairs and economic advancement with its booming demographics1 increasing modernization1 dynamic youth1 and vast resources2 7#d7 acknowledges the vast opportunities to boost cultural1 trade1 and economic relations and partnerships between the ,united ,states and ,africa2 7#e7 recognizes the importance of renewing the ,,agoa program well before its expiration in ,september #bjae2 7#f7 supports studying potential changes to the program to improve its effectiveness and utilization and exploring how ,africa can address barriers to become more attractive to trade and investment within ,africa as well as globally2 7#g7 encourages the prompt and full implementation of the ,world ,trade ,organization 7,,wto7 ,trade ,facilitation ,agreement as one important way to address supply-side barriers and encourage greater trade and investment in ,africa2 and 7#h7 welcomes that the ,african ,leaders at the ,african ,union ,summit on ,june #bg1 #bjad1 reaffirmed their commitments to all the decisions the ,ministers took in ,bali1 including emphasizing that assistance and support for capacity building should be provided as envisaged in the ,agreement on ,trade ,facilitation1 and that the ,agreement should be implemented in line with the decision ,trade ,ministers took in ,bali1 which provides that a protocol be adopted by ,july #ca1 #bjad1 and definitive entry into force by ,july #ca1 #bjae4