---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 27 Jul 2000 14:25:41 -0700
From: International Bicycle Fund <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
To: wa-afr <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: [wa-afr] FW: From President Clinton re: Foreign Operations Bill
and HIPC
-----Original Message-----
From: Will Cusack [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, July 19, 2000 9:50 AM
To: Will Cusack
Subject: From President Clinton re: Foreign Operations Bill and HIPC
Hello State Chairpersons,
The attached message is from President Clinton regarding House
Resolution 4811, Making appropriations for foreign operations, export
financing, and related programs for the fiscal year ending September 30,
2001, and for other purposes.
The bill was sponsored by Rep Sonny Callahan (AL), was passed by the
House of Representatives and sent to the Senate for approval. The
President has highlighted several issues in the bill and is calling on
the House of Representatives and Senate to alter the bill before it is
sent to The White House for approval.
Currently, the Senate is calling for amendments to the bill and has
asked Senators McConnell (KY), Specter (PA), Gregg (NH), Shelby (AL),
Bennett (UT), Campbell (CO), Bond (MO), Stevens (AK), Leahy (VT), Inouye
(HI), Lautenberg (NJ), Harkin (IA), Mikulski (MD), Murray (WA) and Byrd
(WV) to confer on the amendments.
For more information regarding this bill please access the following
websites:
http://thomas.loc.gov/home/c106query.html (type "h.r. 4811" in bill
number section)
http://www.pub.whitehouse.gov/uri-res/I2R?urn:pdi://oma.eop.gov.us/2000/
7/17/8.text.1
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact
me.
Will Cusack
Legislative Advocacy and National Outreach
National Summit on Africa
1819 H Street, NW, Suite 810
Washington, DC 20006
(800) 934-3418 phone
(202) 861-8645 fax
[log in to unmask]
STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT
Yesterday the House of Representatives passed a foreign operations
bill which includes certain positive elements but is nonetheless deeply
flawed. I am pleased that members of both parties joined together to
support debt relief for the poorest of the poor nations, as illustrated
by
the vote on Representative Maxine Waters amendment. While this is an
encouraging step, I urge Congress to build on this support by fully
funding
my request for debt reduction to fully implement the landmark Cologne
debt
initiative. I am also pleased that a majority in the House supports our
efforts to halt the global spread of AIDS. In Africa, AIDS is a leading
cause of death and is undermining decades of effort to reduce mortality,
improve health, expand educational opportunities, and lift people out of
poverty.
However, it is unfortunate and unacceptable that this bill fails to
provide the resources necessary to support our efforts to keep building
peace and stability around the world. The House bill imposes deep,
untenable cuts to U.S. contributions to Multilateral Development Banks,
including the International Development Association which provides
loans
for the world?s neediest countries in areas like health, clean water
supplies, education, and other infrastructure needed for lasting poverty
reduction. It is counterproductive to slash development loans that are
aimed at lifting the world?s poorest nations from poverty, as they
reform
their social and economic policies, while providing debt relief to these
same nations for the same purpose. To do so undermines efforts to lift
these countries from deepest poverty and sends them in the wrong
direction
just when they are working to reverse the devastating spread of AIDS
among
their people. This bill also denies funding for other Multilateral
Development Banks, including draining resources from efforts to
encourage
developing nations to promote sound environmental policy. We must
support
the efforts of Multilateral Development Banks and we must fully fund our
obligation to debt relief for the world?s poorest nations.
This bill includes deep cuts in military assistance for nations
working with the United States to advance stability; in particular, it
would drain essential funds necessary to support Mid-East peace. It also
cuts funding from the Ex-Im bank which supports the export of American
products overseas.
Support for combating terrorism and nuclear proliferation is
inadequate. This bill fails to provide sufficient resources for work
with
scientists of other nations to reduce the threat of nuclear
proliferation,
and it denies funds to an Administration initiative for anti-terrorism
security training. By significantly cutting my request for funds to
support Eastern Europe and voluntary peacekeeping, the bill also fails
to
provide the resources needed to implement a lasting peace in Kosovo and
the
Balkans and to bring our troops home from that region as quickly as
possible.
In addition, Congress should not maintain the unnecessary
restrictions
on international family planning. We should not impose limitations on
foreign non-governmental organizations? use of their own money or their
ability to participate in the democratic process in their own country.
The
bill also fails to provide sufficient funding for international family
planning and other USAID development activities, thereby inhibiting our
efforts to increase development assistance to Africa and Latin America.
As this bill moves forward, I call on Congress to address the
numerous
and serious problems in it and to produce a foreign operations bill I
can
sign.
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