35 



So it was viewed as a bridge to help move them through this pe- 

 riod, and we have never used it in that way. And that is why I am 

 proposing that we up-date it to work with economies in transition. 

 So GSM- 103 has only been grudgingly, I believe, used by the De- 

 partment. 



Mr. Allard. Would you even move GSM- 103 below Public Law 

 480 then in priorities? 



Ms. Brookins. I think it is a bigger priority, but it needs to be 

 refocused to make sure it does become a priority. What I would do 

 is take the $5 billion minimum in GSM-102 and the $500 million 

 minimum funding in GSM- 103 and bundle those together and have 

 the flexibility to move the money within those, from 6-month or 3- 

 month, to up to a 10-year context. 



Mr. Allard. I see. Ms. Patrick, how about 



Ms. Patrick. I don't think there is any doubt that we would 

 agree that GSM-102 is the premier program, as far as American 

 agricultural exports are concerned. Financing is absolutely critical. 

 I am going to answer a little differently than my two colleagues 

 here on the panel. I am going to suggest that Public Law 480 is 

 a terribly important program, in a strategic sense. 



When the program was first envisioned, it provided food aid to 

 a number of countries, and those countries moved up the ladder 

 from aid categories into a transitional category. From there, they 

 became commercial buyers. We continue to need a ladder of assist- 

 ance, an assistance that provides aid to the poor, that also address- 

 es humanitarian needs, but does move countries up the ladder to- 

 ward commercial abilities. We suggest revolving funds in that. 



These can provide an ability for the borrower to decide on the 

 terms in which he repays. He may be able to turn over that money 

 much more rapidly than a 1- or 3-year category is concerned. But 

 there are a lot of ideas that can create the kind of stair-step ap- 

 proach to developed markets. I don't want to give short attention 

 to market development. It is terribly important. 



Mr. Allard. You have all kind of listed to me pretty much your 

 priorities. Let me complete your priority list, Ms. Patrick. So you've 

 got GSM-102, then you like Public Law 480, GSM-103, move that 

 down to the last. Where do you think the information systems, if 

 we get through the FAS system, where does that fall? Would you 

 put that last or would you put GSM-103 last in your priorities? 



Ms. Patrick. I think they fit together. When you say priorities, 

 I worry that maybe we are talking about where the bulk of the 

 money goes versus another. 



Mr. Allard. Well, the reason I am asking this question is not 

 from an appropriator standpoint, but from a standpoint of which 

 programs are doing you the best good, the most good. 



Ms. Patrick. GSM is of critical importance. Programs that move 

 countries up the ladder from aid to commercial abilities are very 

 important as well. 



Mr. Allard. I have asked you the question on those that you use 

 the most. Are there programs out there that you don't use at all, 

 that we have in place that you are aware are there, but you don't 

 use them because maybe the paperwork associated with the pro- 

 gram never is going to match the benefit? 



