[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 113 (Monday, July 29, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S9082]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           U.S. AID TO AFRICA

 Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, The salaries of the most elite 
professional basketball players who became free agents and signed 
contracts during a 1-week period in July outstripped the amount of 
United States development aid to all African nations except Egypt. I 
discussed this development in a weekly column written for newspapers in 
my State and ask that it be printed in the Record.
  The column follows:

        NBA Star Pay Shoots Past U.S. Development Aid To Africa

                        (By Senator Paul Simon)

       Ask people at any town meeting whether we are spending too 
     much money on foreign aid and there will be a resounding 
     ``yes'' response--but there would not be if they knew the 
     facts.
       The world's poorest continent is Africa, and this year we 
     are spending $628 million in development aid to African 
     nations, if Egypt is excluded from the calculation.
       Compare that with the total for the contracts signed July 
     11th to July 18th for free agents with the National 
     Basketball Association: $927 million.
       Twenty-nine African nations have total government revenue 
     less than the amount paid to these star athletes.
       I have no objection to the money earned by Michael Jordan 
     and the others. They are players of unbelievable talent. And 
     the people of the nation are not making any great sacrifice 
     to provide these funds for them.
       Nor are we making a great sacrifice in foreign aid.
       That $628 million in aid to Africa compares to $1.2 billion 
     we get from one cent of gasoline tax in the United States. So 
     the aid to Africa is slightly more than one-half cent a 
     gallon, if we were to use the gasoline tax to pay for it, 
     which we are not.
       The United States was once the most generous nation in 
     helping the poor beyond our borders. Now, of the nations of 
     Western Europe and Japan, Australia and New Zealand, we are 
     dead last.
       We once gave almost 3 percent of our national income to 
     help the needy beyond our borders, and now we give less than 
     one-sixth of 1 percent. Norway gives eight times as much as 
     we do, in percentage terms.
       Foreign aid is less than 1 percent of our Federal budget. 
     And the total is getting smaller each year.
       Should we be doing a better job of giving opportunity to 
     the poor here at home?
       Of course we should. And those of us who advocate doing 
     more to help the poor at home are the same ones who advocate 
     helping them beyond our borders.
       If instead of giving the Defense Department $18 billion 
     more than they requested for this year and next, which we are 
     doing, we were to devote one-third of that amount to helping 
     the poor here at home, one-third to helping the impoverished 
     in other countries, and one-third to reduce the deficit, we 
     would have a stronger nation, a better nation, and a more 
     stable world.
       The United States is gradually becoming more short-sighted 
     and provincial both at home and abroad. ``Let's take care of 
     ourselves,'' is the cry, and ``ourselves'' excludes the poor 
     at home and the poor abroad.
       And so we fall far behind in paying our United Nations 
     dues, and do not provide adequate leadership in troubled 
     areas at home and abroad.
       Congressman Ray Thornton of Arkansas suggested that the 
     United States should have a Marshall Plan for impoverished 
     areas of our Nation. He is right. We need it both here and 
     for other nations.
       But that requires creativity, courage and compassion by 
     leaders. ``Welfare reform'' for too many has become a code 
     phrase for bashing the poor even more, though genuine reform 
     is obviously needed.
       The nation that led the world with the exciting and 
     compassionate and sensible Marshall Plan is now a nation in 
     retreat. We are now a nation that pays more money to a few 
     professional basketball players than we spend to give 
     opportunity to the people of Africa.
       We can do better.

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