24 



Mr. Glickman. Thank you. 



Mr. Penny. Our next witness is Mr. Richard Kauzlarich, Deputy 

 Assistant Secretary, Bureau of European and Canadian Affairs at 

 the U.S. Department of State. 



Welcome to the subcommittee. Please summarize your remarks. 



STATEMENT OF RICHARD KAUZLARICH, DEPUTY ASSISTANT 

 SECRETARY, BUREAU OF EUROPEAN AND CANADIAN AF- 

 FAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE 



Mr. Kauzlarich. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. With your permis- 

 sion, I'd like to submit my full statement for the record. 



Mr. I*ENNY. Without objection, your prepared statement will ap- 

 pear in the record. 



Mr. Kauzlarich. I'm pleased to come before this subcommittee 

 today to discuss the administration's programs to encourage the de- 

 velopment of private agriculture in the new independent states of 

 the former Soviet Union. I commend the subcommittee for conven- 

 ing this meeting and, indeed, for the format that you've used for 

 it. I think it's a rather masterful way of bringing the views of the 

 people who are most affected by what we're discussing so vividly 

 before us. 



I think we all have to recognize the critical role that agriculture 

 is playing to the reform process underway in Russia and the other 

 independent states. I know we've been focusing our attention this 

 morning on Russia, but certainly as we look at this problem, we see 

 it more broadly affecting all of the other 11 newly independent 

 states of the former Soviet Union. 



The reform process which President Yeltsin both inspires and 

 leads represents the greatest strategic challenge of our generation. 

 Secretary Christopher emphasized in his speech last week before 

 the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations the stakes that the Unit- 

 ed States has in this reform. They're monumental, and they affect 

 the very foundation of our security and prosperity into the next 

 century. 



In responding to the opportunity that's presented, the United 

 States must extend a hand of partnership to President Yeltsin and 

 the Russian people. This must be a partnership based on demo- 

 cratic and free market values. While President Clinton is still con- 

 sidering the specific initiatives that he will announce at the sum- 

 mit next week in Vancouver, Secretary Christopher reaffirmed our 

 clear intent to increase and accelerate our support for Russia's de- 

 mocracy and its efforts to build a market economy. 



He also set out guideposts for our assistance program: First, it 

 will be better targeted and coordinated; second, it will focus on 

 areas and constituencies in Russia that can have the greatest im- 

 pact on reform's long-term success; third, it will catalyze our pri- 

 vate sectors to take a leading role in Russia's transformation 

 through trade, investment, and training; and fourth, that our help 

 will be felt at the grassroots level. 



Our assistance program in the newly independent states has 

 been grounded in the principles of the Freedom Support Act, which 

 clearly directed that our assistance recognize and bolster the eco- 

 nomic and democratic reforms in all the Republics of the former So- 

 viet Union. As each Republic in the newly independent states 



