[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 100 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 100

   Urging the President to redirect United States foreign assistance 
     policies and spending priorities toward promoting sustainable 
 development, especially the reduction of global hunger and poverty in 
                      environmentally sound ways.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 12, 1993

Mr. Bereuter (for himself, Mr. Hall of Ohio, Mr. Gilman, Mr. Gejdenson, 
  Mr. Mfume, Mr. Penny, Mr. Frank of Massachusetts, Mr. Hastings, Mr. 
 Hoekstra, Mr. Ackerman, Mr. McCloskey, Mr. Edwards of California, Mr. 
 Oberstar, Mr. Deutsch, Mr. Torricelli, Ms. McKinney, Mr. Payne of New 
Jersey, Mr. Meehan, Mr. Fingerhut, Mr. Wheat, and Mrs. Mink) submitted 
    the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
   Urging the President to redirect United States foreign assistance 
     policies and spending priorities toward promoting sustainable 
 development, especially the reduction of global hunger and poverty in 
                      environmentally sound ways.

Whereas the post-Cold War world is one of tremendous human deprivation in which 
        more than one-fifth of humanity exists in poverty, living a life of 
        hunger, illness, and illiteracy;
Whereas tens of thousands of children in the developing world die each day, many 
        of them from preventable diseases, and millions of other children are 
        disabled or blind as a result of malnutrition;
Whereas poor people are victims of and contributors to environmental 
        degradation--victims insofar as they are disproportionately exposed to 
        pollution and toxic and radioactive wastes, and contributors insofar as 
        they accelerate processes such as deforestation and soil erosion in 
        their fight for survival on marginal lands;
Whereas poverty-related conditions foster rapid population growth, which in turn 
        exacerbates pressures on land and other natural resources, worsens 
        unemployment, and strains government services;
Whereas in recent decades, the income gap between richest and poorest countries 
        has widened, due in part to the large accumulated debt of many 
        developing countries, with many countries now paying more in debt 
        service than they receive in assistance and investment;
Whereas this debt and the resulting economic adjustments have taken their 
        heaviest toll on the poor, especially women, in the form of higher food 
        prices, reduced health care, education, housing, and other social 
        services, and higher unemployment;
Whereas poverty-related conditions of hunger, illiteracy, disease, and 
        environmental degradation pose a serious threat to the economic and 
        physical security of the United States and the world;
Whereas such conditions impede economic growth, undermine new democracies, fuel 
        political instability within countries and across regions, foster 
        displacement and massive migration, allow the spread of acquired immune 
        deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and other epidemics, and damage the 
        environment;
Whereas the United States therefore has a direct self-interest in promoting 
        development that will avert such threats;
Whereas the United States has historically been a leader in providing assistance 
        in response to humanitarian emergencies;
Whereas United States development cooperation has made valuable contributions to 
        sustainable development (including increases in life expectancy and 
        reductions in infant and child mortality) through bilateral programs, 
        including selected programs of the Agency for International Development, 
        the Peace Corps, and public foundations such as the Inter-American 
        Foundation, the African Development Foundation, and Appropriate 
        Technology International, and through contributions to United Nations 
        organizations and programs;
Whereas some United States development cooperation efforts have failed to 
        respond adequately to the needs of poor people and the environment or 
        have even contributed to environmental degradation and to 
        impoverishment;
Whereas the easing of Cold War tensions requires a reassessment of United States 
        foreign assistance objectives, programs, and spending priorities, and 
        presents a unique opportunity to shift the emphasis from military and 
        security-related priorities to addressing the urgent and interrelated 
        problems of poverty and environmental destruction;
Whereas a global consensus on the need for and on strategies for achieving 
        equitable, sustainable, and participatory development has emerged 
        through several decades of development experience and through 
        international meetings on nutrition, environment, children, and women;
Whereas United States citizens have historically demonstrated strong support for 
        humanitarian and sustainable development programs of the United States 
        Government--when they are confident that assistance reaches poor people 
        and communities;
Whereas United States citizens make generous private contributions to 
        nongovernmental organizations that engage in international relief and 
        sustainable development activities;
Whereas nongovernmental organizations, both in the United States and in 
        developing countries, are often highly qualified actors in promoting 
        grassroots development, strengthening civil society, and providing 
        humanitarian assistance;
Whereas only 1 percent of the United States Government budget is spent on 
        foreign assistance, and only approximately 25 percent of that amount 
        goes toward programs focused on sustainable development and humanitarian 
        needs; and
Whereas since the mid-1980s, resources have begun to shift within the foreign 
        assistance budget toward increased expenditures for humanitarian and 
        sustainable development programs: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This resolution may be cited as the ``Many Neighbors, One Earth 
Resolution''.

SEC. 2. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT POLICY AND PROGRAM OF ACTION.

    (a) In General.--The President is urged to develop and implement a 
coordinated economic and development policy and program of action 
designed to promote broad-based, sustainable development that will 
reduce global hunger and poverty in environmentally sound ways.
    (b) Principal Objectives.--This policy and program of action should 
have as principal objectives the following 4 elements of sustainable 
development, which are interrelated and mutually reinforcing:
            (1) Economic opportunities.--Expanding economic 
        opportunities for all women and men, especially the poor, to 
        increase their productivity, earning capacity, and income in 
        ways that do not harm the environment.
            (2) Basic human needs.--Meeting the basic human needs for 
        food, clean water, shelter, health care, and education 
        necessary for all people to be productive and to improve their 
        quality of life.
            (3) Environmental protection and sustainable use of natural 
        resources.--Promoting environmental protection and sustainable 
        use of land, water, forests, and other natural resources, 
        taking into account the needs of present and future 
        generations.
            (4) Pluralism, democratic participation, and human 
        rights.--Promoting pluralism, democratic participation in 
        economic and political decisions that affect people's lives 
        (especially participation by poor men and women), and respect 
        for human and civil rights, including the rights of females and 
        indigenous peoples.
    (c) All Relevant Activities of the Government To Be Included.--This 
policy and program of action should involve all relevant international 
activities of the United States Government, including--
            (1) bilateral economic assistance programs;
            (2) contributions to international and multilateral 
        development agencies and institutions;
            (3) policies concerning international agricultural, 
        environmental, health, energy, trade, debt, and monetary 
        issues; and
            (4) foreign military assistance programs.
    (d) Specific Actions To Be Taken.--In furtherance of this policy 
and program of action, the President is urged to do the following:
            (1) Propose the enactment of legislation providing for a 
        post-Cold War foreign assistance program that would have as its 
        primary purpose the promotion of sustainable development, 
        especially the reduction of hunger and poverty in 
        environmentally sound ways, and that would incorporate the 4 
        objectives set forth in subsection (b).
            (2) Develop and implement development cooperation programs 
        and projects in pursuit of the 4 objectives set forth in 
        subsection (b).
            (3) Ensure that activities carried out pursuant to this 
        policy and program of action build on community-based 
        initiatives, wherever possible, and invigorate local community-
        based development, especially the role of women in development.
            (4) Ensure that development cooperation programs take into 
        account the relevant local-level perspectives of the rural and 
        urban poor (including women, minorities and indigenous people) 
        during the design, planning, and implementation process for 
        project and program assistance. Toward this objective, the 
        agency primarily responsible for administering such assistance 
        should consult closely with, and should involve directly in 
        program and project decisionmaking (especially at the 
        identification and design stages), indigenous and United 
        States-based nongovernmental organizations that have 
        demonstrated effectiveness in or commitment to the promotion of 
        community-based development on behalf of sustainable 
        development in developing countries.
            (5) Provide government-to-government assistance only to 
        countries that exhibit a commitment to development that 
        promotes the 4 objectives set forth in subsection (b) through 
        relevant sectoral and national policies, with priority given to 
        countries with the highest incidence of hunger and poverty. In 
        countries where relevant sector or national policies are 
        clearly unfavorable to poor people or where the government 
        engages in patterns of gross violation of internationally 
        recognized human rights, United States Government assistance 
        should be provided only through nongovernmental organizations.
            (6) Give special priority to developing and implementing 
        policies and programs that give primary benefit to the 
        households of the absolute poor, taking steps to ensure that 
        all members of such households benefit, including women and 
        female children.
            (7) Encourage and support the efforts of countries to 
        reduce their level of military spending when such spending is 
        disproportionate to security needs and disproportionate to 
        spending on health, education, and environmental protection.
            (8) Exercise leadership in building the global commitment 
        and cooperation necessary for countries to make significant 
        progress toward the goals adopted at the 1992 International 
        Conference on Nutrition, the 1992 United Nations Conference on 
        Environment and Development, the 1990 World Summit for 
        Children, and the 1985 World Conference on Women. United States 
        development cooperation efforts should assist countries to 
        establish national priorities, formulate national strategies, 
        and build institutional and technical capacity directed toward 
        the attainment of these global goals, through processes that 
        invite broad public participation.
            (9) Enter into negotiations with highly indebted poor 
        countries that are committed to sustainable development on 
        reducing the debt owed by such countries to the United States 
        Government, and, whenever possible, structure debt reduction 
        (including debt swaps) to support their sustainable development 
        strategies.
            (10) Develop and propose an effective system of evaluation 
        and accountability for programs and projects of development 
        cooperation, resulting in reports to the Congress on their 
        effectiveness in furthering the 4 objectives set forth in 
        subsection (b), including assessment of strategies adopted to 
        achieve the objectives. Independent assessments conducted by 
        nongovernmental representatives in the United States and 
        recipient countries that have demonstrated effectiveness in 
        local, community-based development should be an integral part 
        of the system of evaluation and accountability.
            (11) Examine the necessity of restructuring or replacing 
        the Agency for International Development in order to have an 
        effective bilateral development cooperation program that can 
        achieve the 4 objectives set forth in subsection (b). Whatever 
        agency is primarily responsible for administering assistance 
        under such program should be insulated from undue influence 
        from short-term, nondevelopmental interests.
            (12) Give greater attention to linking emergency relief 
        efforts to conflict resolution, rehabilitation, and longer-term 
        development activities. The capability of the United States 
        military to provide appropriate logistical, transportation, and 
        engineering support in emergencies should be assessed, and a 
        formal coordination link established if appropriate.
            (13) Maintain or expand, relative to fiscal year 1993 
        levels, budgets and expenditures for emergency and 
        developmental food assistance.
            (14) Propose that for each of fiscal years 1994 through 
        1997 no less than the fiscal year 1993 level of $7,000,000,000 
        be provided for nonfood economic assistance, including 
        multilateral economic assistance, development assistance, 
        assistance from the Development Fund for Africa, assistance to 
        the independent states of the former Soviet Union and to 
        Eastern Europe, and other bilateral economic assistance.
            (15) Using the funds allocated for nonfood economic 
        assistance pursuant to paragraph (14), increase assistance from 
        the level of approximately $3,000,000,000 for fiscal year 1993 
        to no less than $3,700,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 
        1994 through 1997 for the following international and bilateral 
        organizations, programs, and projects that effectively serve 
        humanitarian needs and sustainable development objectives:
                    (A) Voluntary contributions to United Nations 
                organizations and programs.
                    (B) International disaster assistance.
                    (C) Migration and refugee assistance and emergency 
                migration and refugee assistance.
                    (D) The Peace Corps.
                    (E) Government-funded foundations, including the 
                African Development Foundation, the Inter-American 
                Foundation, and Appropriate Technology International.
                    (F) The Development Fund for Africa.
                    (G) Those programs and projects funded from the 
                appropriations accounts for ``Development Assistance'' 
                and special initiatives that directly serve at least 
                one of the four objectives set forth in subsection (b), 
                including programs and projects involving small-scale 
                appropriate technology, micro and small enterprise 
                credit, farming system design and extension, technical 
                and management training, food security, primary health 
                care, infectious disease control, nutrition, basic 
                education, child survival, low-income housing, potable 
                water, basic sanitation, infrastructure for meeting 
                basic human needs, environmental protection, energy 
                efficiency, sustainable agriculture and fisheries, 
                sustainable forest and water management, natural 
                resource conservation, pollution control, community-
                based media and communication, human rights, women's 
                rights, civic processes, and voluntary cooperation.
        Increases in funding for such organizations, programs, and 
        projects should be achieved by reallocating funds within the 
        bilateral economic assistance budget and by shifting funds from 
        security assistance programs.
            (16) Direct that no less than $2,500,000,000 of the amount 
        of assistance called for in paragraph (15) be used for 
        sustainable development and humanitarian needs in developing 
        countries.

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