From the article:
Electricity expansion is the next big thing in U.S.-Africa relations. Boosting energy access is good for American business, good for American foreign policy, and transformative for millions of poor people—all at no cost to U.S taxpayers. This is an easy policy win. But the Senate has to move quickly. Specifically, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) needs to act.
Step one was taken by President Obama when he announced Power Africa last June. This White House initiative aims to catalyze the power sector in six African countries and bring electricity to 20 million families for the very first time.
Then, on May 8, the House passed H.R.2548, the Electrify Africa Act of 2014. Led by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.) and Ranking Member Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), this supportive legislation attracted broad bipartisan support and 117 co-sponsors. It helped too that the Congressional Budget Office scored the bill as saving $86 million. Next up is a companion bill from the Senate.
Why should Chairman Menendez, Ranking Member Bob Corker (R-Tenn.)—or the American public—even care about this issue?
Read the article here
