[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 21 (Tuesday, February 25, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1516-S1517]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 APPROVING THE PRESIDENTIAL FINDING REGARDING THE POPULATION PLANNING 
                                PROGRAM

  Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, I am pleased to speak in favor of the 
resolution which will be before the Senate which would provide for 
early release of critical international population funds.
  Mr. President, I am deeply distressed by the erosion in the U.S. 
commitment to international family planning programs. Despite the fact 
that the United States played a lead role in the U.N.

[[Page S1517]]

Population Conference in Cairo in 1994, and, indeed, we convinced other 
nations to increase their contributions to international family 
planning efforts, in the United States in the past year family planning 
funds were cut below 35 percent below the previous year, and then 
additional restrictions were added to that.
  So the net effect was the budget, which previously was $547 billion, 
has now shrunk to $72 billion this year. These cuts are devastating 
families around the world.
  According to a recent report released by the Rockefeller Foundation, 
in 1 year 7 million couples in developing countries will lose access to 
modern contraceptives, resulting in 4 million unplanned pregnancies. 
But here is the important part, Mr. President. As a result of lack of 
family planning and information in these countries around the world, 
1.6 million of those unwanted pregnancies will end in abortion. That is 
the last thing we want.
  Tragically, the international family planning program which we are 
going to vote on at 2:30 has become bogged down over the debate about 
abortion. I am perplexed about this, Mr. President. Why should those 
who oppose family planning also oppose abortion? Or, to put it the 
other way around, why should those who oppose abortion oppose family 
planning? Study after study has shown that lack of family planning 
leads to more unintended pregnancies, which leads to more abortions. If 
we want to end abortions, reduce the number of abortions, it is clear 
that we should have greater family planning than we currently have.

  Let me illustrate this with an example in two countries. Russia. 
Russia has very little contraception available and abortion is the 
primary method of birth control. The average Russian woman has at least 
four abortions in her lifetime. I am absolutely shocked by that.
  Now let us look at Hungary. Hungary has made family planning services 
widely available and the abortion rate in that country has dropped 
dramatically.
  The impact these programs, that is, our family planning programs, 
have on the health and well-being of women and children around the 
world just cannot be denied. But there is another issue here that 
should not be overlooked, and that is the important role that 
population programs play in improving global environment or sustaining 
the environment of this globe which we are all traveling around on.
  Listen to these statistics. The Earth now supports 5.7 billion human 
beings. In 30 years, it is estimated that the world population will 
grow from 5.7 billion to 8.3 billion, a 46-percent growth in 30 years--
a 46-percent growth in the population of this world. We are growing by 
86 million people a year; 90 percent of this increase will be in the 
so-called developing world.
  India, let us take India as an example. India has to feed an 
additional 16 million people a year, and so many of these additional 
people that we have in the world are children. And 40 percent of the 
population of the average less developed nation is under the age of 15.
  To say that this population explosion has put pressure on our natural 
resources is, of course, a terrific understatement. Over the past 50 
years, the Earth is estimated to have lost one-fifth of its topsoil and 
one-fifth of its tropical rain forests, plus tens of thousands of plant 
and animal species so important to biodiversity. Overfishing in our 
oceans combined with pollution has resulted in the plundering of two-
thirds of the fisheries of the world. Fifty years ago we had these 
fisheries. Two-thirds of them are now gone.
  Let us just take a look at Bangladesh. There are 120 million people 
in Bangladesh, crammed into a country the size of Wisconsin, and that 
number is expected to rise in this little country the size of 
Wisconsin, rise from the current 120 million people to 200 million in 
the next 30 years--200 million people in a country the size of 
Wisconsin. Overpopulation in that country of Bangladesh and upstream in 
the Himalayas has led to severe deforestation. The poor people there 
have cut down every tree in sight. They have used them for firewood. 
They have used them for building materials. They have tried to clear 
for farmland. With no trees to hold the topsoil in place, it simply 
washes away. Overcrowding has forced thousands of people in Bangladesh 
to settle on land that is nothing more than washed away topsoil 
deposits from the Ganges and Bramaputra Rivers. That sorry land of 
Bangladesh is horribly vulnerable to flooding and storm surges. One 
flood, in 1988, inundated three-quarters of the country, killing tens 
of thousands of people.
  Now, what can we do about all of this? First, we must focus on 
education in the developing nations, particularly female literacy. The 
statistics show absolutely that if we teach young women to read, 
everything else follows: Greater marriage, greater use of 
contraception, fewer and healthier children, better maternal health and 
a smaller likelihood of living in poverty. That is the first thing. 
Educate these folks, particularly the young women.

  Second, the developed nations should do everything they can to 
influence population growth because that leads to better maternal and 
child health. Poor health keeps a nation poor and undeveloped. 
Ironically, poor health even contributes to overpopulation. If parents 
can be certain that their children will survive, they will invest more 
in them emotionally and materially and feel less pressure to have 
additional children.
  So that is the second thing. Do everything we can to improve maternal 
and child health.
  Third, and most relevant to the matter before us today, the Cairo 
Conference stressed the importance of redoubling our efforts to 
increase access to family planning. In the 28 countries that have 
received the largest amount of family planning funds, the average 
family size has decreased 40 percent over the past 30 years--a 40 
percent decrease in the average population size because of the family 
planning funds that have been distributed in those nations.
  Mr. President, the United States plays a critical role in providing 
family planning services abroad. I feel strongly we should continue our 
leadership role in this area. It is both humane and environmentally 
sound. I urge my colleagues to support the early release of these 
family planning funds. In other words, vote for the release of these 
funds, which we will do shortly after the noon break.
  Mr. President, I also hope that we can in future years increase the 
funding for these critical programs in our appropriations measures.
  I thank the Chair.

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