madam chairman , i yield myself such time as i may consume . 
let me begin by extending my hearty congratulations to the distinguished chairman of the committee , the gentleman from illinois ( mr. hyde ) xz4001920 , and my very dear friend and neighbor , the gentleman from california ( mr. lantos ) xz4002310 , not only for their fine work on this legislation , but for their support of the amendment that i am offering here . 
i rise , madam chairman , to ask for my colleagues ' support for this amendment which i have authored to improve our government 's response to complex international conflict , and this amendment i hope will ultimately improve our ability to prevent the conflicts before they erupt . 
the events of september 11 of 2001 have obviously taught all of us that we no longer have the luxury of ignoring state failure . 
at the turn of the millennium , the government of afghanistan all too quickly collapsed , was replaced by the ruthless taliban , and became a safe haven for al qaeda . 
the attacks that our country suffered were a tragic wake-up call to the dangers that failed states pose to our national security . 
nearly 4 years later , too many countries remain beset by corruption , violence , resource scarcity , and literally no leadership . 
scores of these governments could collapse at a moment 's notice and be replaced by anarchy . 
these failing states represent a grave danger to the united states . 
our government must be prepared to stabilize where we can and reconstruct what we must in order to prevent a devastating vacuum of lawlessness from developing , which allows terrorists and rogue leaders to flourish . 
the president and congress have already taken a strong first step in addressing this challenge . 
the establishment of the office for the coordinator for reconstruction and stabilization created a central interagency coordination point for international stabilization and reconstruction operations . 
the office , headed by ambassador carlos pascual , will monitor political and economic stability worldwide and prepare plans for stabilization missions for the most dire of cases . 
but more must be done . 
madam chairman , one of the president 's top priorities for this new office is to create a civilian `` rapid response '' unit to deploy on short notice to sites of international instability . 
the goal is to mitigate any potential conflict and , if possible , prevent it . 
the amendment that i am offering would today authorize the creation of an active response corps comprised of u.s. government personnel who have the skills necessary for such missions . 
the amendment also will expand the use of civilian volunteers from outside the government who have the right talents and are willing to serve in stabilization reconstruction missions overseas . 
there are many americans who have the skills and desire to serve the country by preventing conflict and expanding democracy , as we heard today from prime minister singh . 
judges , law enforcement officers , civil administrators , constitutional experts , engineers , linguists , and many other individuals are needed to address the challenges posed by failing states . 
this amendment gives the state department the mechanism it needs to identify and rapidly deploy these volunteers who come from all walks of life . 
madam chairman , it is the top priority of every member of this body to protect the national security of the united states of america . 
fortress america is a thing of the past , and we can no longer comfortably ignore weak and failing states just because they sit halfway across the globe . 
when our government deems it necessary to initiate a stabilization or reconstruction operation , it must have the tools to do the job . 
this amendment provides the president with those tools . 
by deploying early with the most appropriate personnel , the active response corps will save lives by stabilizing countries and preventing the spread of conflict and civil strife , thereby reducing the need for later military intervention . 
for too many years , the united states has lacked the institutional civilian capacity to rapidly respond to failing states . 
we ignore the dangers of such states at our own peril . 
i am gratified to have the support , as i said , of the chairman and ranking minority member of the committee , and i ask my colleagues to join with us in support of this effort . 
madam chairman , i reserve the balance of my time . 
