Washington D.C. – Yesterday, House Foreign Affairs Committee Lead Republican Michael McCaul (R-TX) joined U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Mark Green and Advisor to the President, Ivanka Trump, for an event to announce new economic partnerships in support of the White House-led Women’s Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) Initiative. The initiative, which aims to reach 50 million women by 2025, focuses on three pillars: workforce development and skills training; expanding entrepreneurship and access to capital; and removing barriers to women’s participation in the economy. The event, co-hosted by U.S. Global Leadership Coalition (USGLC) and USAID, brought together partnerships from the private sector, non-governmental organizations, universities, and more to provide $27 million in funding as part of the broader $50 million W-GDP fund. A portion of Lead Republican McCaul’s remarks as delivered can be found below:

Lead Republican McCaul poses alongside W-GDP advocates including Ivanka Trump, USAID Administrator Mark Green, Congresswoman Lois Frankel, Department of State Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus, and representatives from W-GDP partner organizations. 

Lead Republican McCaul: “I really believe in this cause… This is really, truly a global, energizing effort that [Ivanka Trump] has taken on her own, working with [USAID Administrator Mark Green] as a team, and working with the Congress, and it is refreshing to see things in a bipartisan fashion… Chairman Engel and I have a saying that ‘partisanship stops at the water’s edge,’ that we shouldn’t take our party affiliation overseas. And indeed, when we travel on these [congressional delegations], we stand not as Republicans or Democrats, but as Americans, with the American flag, representing the interests of America. And what better way to represent America than to empower women throughout the world? This is a very ambitious goal, very ambitious legislation that at the end of the day could lift up 50 million women across the globe. It’s a very powerful statement… That’s what we’re all trying to do across the aisle: is to lift up women’s lives all over the planet.

“… [W-GDP] is going to go a long way, and it’s great that we can work together as Americans to put first the goals of women’s rights – it’s a human rights issue, it’s a national security issue.”

 

NOTE: Lead Republican McCaul recently traveled with a bipartisan delegation to Côte d’Ivoire, Rwanda, and Tunisia to assess security and development initiatives, specifically focusing on strengthening women’s economic participation and entrepreneurship. McCaul has been actively involved in the rollout of the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP), joining Ivanka Trump, USAID Administrator Mark Green, and OPIC CEO David Bohigian for the official launch overseas. You can read more information on the congressional delegation and efforts to empower women’s success in Africa, here. 

 

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