[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 110 (Wednesday, July 30, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H6346-H6361]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      FOREIGN OPERATIONS, EXPORT FINANCING, AND RELATED PROGRAMS 
                        APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1998

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of 
Thursday, July 24, 1997 and rule XXIII, the Chair declares the House in 
the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union for the 
consideration of the bill, H.R. 2159.

                              {time}  1712


                     In the Committee of the Whole

  Accordingly the House resolved itself into the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union for the consideration of the bill (H.R. 
2159) making appropriations for foreign operations, export financing, 
and related programs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1998, and 
for other purposes, with Mr. Thornberry in the chair.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The CHAIRMAN. Pursuant to the order of the House of Thursday, July 
24, 1997, the bill is considered read for the first time.
  The gentleman from Alabama [Mr. Callahan] and the gentlewoman from 
California [Ms. Pelosi] each will control 30 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Alabama [Mr. Callahan].
  Mr. CALLAHAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  (Mr. CALLAHAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. CALLAHAN. Mr. Chairman, it is my privilege today to summarize the 
work of the Subcommittee on Foreign Operations as well as the full 
Committee on Appropriations in developing the fiscal 1998 Foreign 
Operations, Export Financing and Related Agencies appropriation bill.
  First, I want to publicly express my appreciation for the cooperation 
extended by my colleague the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Pelosi], 
San Francisco to be specific, and her staff for their help in crafting 
this bill. Like the gentleman from Louisiana [Mr. Livingston] and the 
gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. Obey]] before us, the ranking minority 
member and chairman do not agree with every detail of this bill, but we 
jointly recommend this bill to the House.
  Again, this year the committee recommends a bill that is less than in 
previous years. We as well as our counterparts in the Senate fully 
recognize that foreign programs are not entitlements and must be 
subjected to the same scrutiny as domestic programs.
  This year less than 5 percent of the money in this bill goes to the 
headline countries, such as Bosnia and Cambodia and Haiti. Another 43 
percent supports the Middle East peace process, and that amount will 
not increase. But most of the money goes elsewhere to places where 
diplomats are seldom seen. What is it used for? It helps children, it 
protects victims of disasters and war, it promotes responsible economic 
growth in poor countries, it creates jobs at home through trade and 
investment, and that is why the $12.267 billion is needed to fund this 
appropriations bill.

                              {time}  1715

  Let me move on to some of the specifics in this bill, beginning with 
the possible impact of the Congressional Budget Resolution.
  At $12.267 billion in discretionary budget authority, this bill is 
now $233 million under our 602(b) allocation, it is $4.6 billion less 
than the President's request, and $4.5 billion less than the Senate 
bill. It is also $87,000 below last year's appropriation bill. Let me 
once again reemphasize that this year, once again, in voting for the 
final passage of this bill, Members will be cutting foreign aid as we 
have done for the last 2 years.
  Not every dollar level nor every policy in this bill will find its 
way into the final conference report in September. The President has no 
objection to the House passage of this bill, but his advisers signal 
that he is unlikely to sign a bill at this appropriation level. The 
House conferees will do our best to hold the line, but the final 
outcome will be different from what we recommend today, I am sure.
  Let me move on to some of the policy issues we have addressed this 
year, and then to some of the major programs funded through this 
measure.
  The committee again directs through the report language that Israel 
and Egypt receive the traditional amount of economic and support funds 
and military assistance. However, leaders of Israel and Egypt have 
publicly indicated their intention to gradually reduce the burden of 
economic support by American taxpayers. Our efforts are complicated by 
the urgent needs of Jordan, Israel's principal peace partner today.
  With regard to the South Caucasus and Black Sea-Aegean region, the 
committee has worked hard to develop a balanced approach. The bill 
language directs the administration to provide humanitarian assistance 
to conflictive zones throughout the South Caucasus, including Karabagh 
for the first time.
  We also provide for democracy training in Azerbaijan, and a cap of 
$40 million in ESF for Turkey, half of which is to be in the form of 
projects for specific purposes, as directed by section 571. Finally, 
the committee has reiterated current law with regard to trade and 
export agencies in the region.
  Our chairman, the gentleman from Louisiana [Mr. Livingston], and the 
gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Porter] and the gentleman from Michigan 
[Mr. Knollenberg] have worked hard on the provisions I have just 
discussed.
  They and the managers oppose all amendments that would disadvantage 
the United States' efforts to mediate conflict in the Caucasus and 
Aegean regions.
  There are several policy regions involving spending in our own 
hemisphere. Many of our Members favor tighter control over training at 
the School of the Americas. We have included language in the bill this 
year which I believe will address most of the concerns. Before taking a 
position on any amendment to ban IMET funding for the School of the 
Americas, I ask all Members to take time to read the committee's bill 
language on page 29.
  Guatemala, Haiti, and Panama are three other countries that have 
drawn attention from many Members. The committee welcomes and supports 
the peace settlement in Guatemala. Several Members had the opportunity 
to witness this first hand in April of this year.

[[Page H6347]]

  The stagnation in the Government of Haiti makes it difficult for the 
committee to recommend types of long-term development assistance that 
cannot be implemented by the weak government there. We encourage USAID 
to focus on humanitarian assistance, including food aid, as long as 
former President Aristide blocks progress in rule of law and 
privatization.
  Finally, the committee is disturbed by the situation in Panama. 
Critical port facilities have been leased to Chinese companies in a 
less than transparent manner. These leases are also a potential threat 
to United States national security.
  As it has for many years, this bill includes language in two places 
prohibiting the use of funds to pay for abortions or involuntary 
sterilization. The underlying law, the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, 
also explicitly prohibits the use of funds in this bill for abortion. I 
repeat, none of the funds in this bill can be used for abortion.
  Like a majority of the House, I voted two times earlier this year for 
the Mexico City policy legislation. That legislation is in conference 
in the Senate as part of the U.N. reform legislation. Our Mexico City 
policy champion, the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Smith] is a senior 
conferee. I wish him luck in working out this issue with the President 
and with the Senate.
  Our new child survival and disease programs fund is retained, and 
incidentally, we received more correspondence from Members of this body 
requesting that we continue the funding of the child support program 
than any other single issue in our entire bill. We have increased this 
funding this year to $650 million, with the increase aimed at the 
alarming increase in the incidence of infectious diseases. Again this 
year we recommend at least $100 million to UNICEF, and that it be 
provided from the child survival fund.
  For export and investment assistance programs the committee 
recommends a gross total of $753 million, which is partially offset by 
collections of $251 million. The subsidy appropriations for the 
Eximbank is $632 million, the same as the request. At a later point in 
the process the committee will consider increasing this amount if a 
further request is received from the bank's new President and the 
director of OMB. Although the committee has deferred acting on the 
request of $60 million for subsidy appropriations for the OPIC, it 
fully supports $32 million needed for its administrative expenses.
  As an extension of OPIC's statutory sunset operating statute is 
expected to be reported by the Committee on International Relations 
within a few days, I will oppose any amendment to kneecap OPIC by 
slashing its operating expenses. With bipartisan support for an 
expanded OPIC role in moving Africa from aid dependence to global 
trading presence, this is no time for us to cripple OPIC.

  Other AID development assistance programs as well as disaster 
assistance are amply provided for. Our report directs that an 
additional $10 million be provided for the microenterprise grants so 
many Members have also endorsed. It also directs an additional $20 
million for Latin America and the Caribbean, and it recommends a full 
request for Africa be funded in the child survival and disease programs 
fund and the development assistance fund. In all of these cases the 
emphasis is on alleviating poverty through economic growth.
  Mr. Chairman, I am going to abbreviate the rest of my remarks, but 
let me again emphasize to Members in the House that this is once again 
a cut in foreign aid. We recognize it is far below the President's 
request, some $4 billion below what President Clinton has requested.
  We at the same time want to express our appreciation for the talent 
of Secretary Madeleine Albright. She is a remarkable and delightful 
diplomat, and we want to do everything we can to provide her the 
necessary tools that she needs to continue her quest for world peace, 
and to continue the diplomacy that she so professionally has performed 
in her tenure as Secretary of State.
  Once again, we are facing cuts. We are facing a time in this country 
when the American people want us to cut back on government spending, 
and they did not send us to Washington to cut everything but foreign 
aid. So Members can proudly, as Members of this House, go home and tell 
their constituents that they did the responsible thing: gave the 
administration an acceptable level of funding, but at the same time, 
recognizing the austerity program that we are in, we are respectfully 
cutting the President's request by $4 billion.
  Mr. Chairman, I include for the Record a letter dated 16 July 1997 
from Carol Bellamy, Executive Director, UNICEF,

                                                        UNICEF

                                      New York, NY, July 16, 1997.
     Hon. Sonny Callahan,
     Chairman, Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export 
         Financing, and Related Programs, Capitol Building, 
         Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: As you may be aware, the Secretary-
     General has today unveiled before the UN General Assembly an 
     ambitious UN reform proposal. For your information, I have 
     today welcomed the proposal and expressed gratitude to the 
     Secretary-General for taking into consideration UNICEF's 
     unique identity, mandate and relationship with its partners 
     in the field. I personally look forward to working with the 
     Secretary-General, his senior staff, and our sister UN 
     agencies over the months ahead to work out the details 
     associated with these reforms. I know that together, and with 
     your support, we can indeed improve the effectiveness and 
     efficiency of the United Nations funds and programs.
       I want to take this opportunity as well to thank you again 
     for responding so quickly to UNICEF's concerns about earlier 
     versions of the UN reform proposals that failed to appreciate 
     the unique public/private nature of UNICEF, its relationship 
     with national governments, and its role as the sole UN agency 
     focussing on the survival, development and protection of the 
     whole child. Your letters and report language have ensured 
     that the highest levels of the United Nations, which are 
     truly committed to effective reform, understand that we can 
     move forward with reform without damaging UNICEF.
       We will be fully engaged in the UN reform process over the 
     next several months and look forward to keeping you informed 
     of our progress.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Carol Bellamy,
                                               Executive Director.

  Mr. Chairman, I include for the Record the following tabular 
material:

[[Page H6348]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH30JY97.000



[[Page H6349]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH30JY97.001



[[Page H6350]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH30JY97.002


    

[[Page H6351]]

  Mr. CALLAHAN. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the foreign operations export, 
finance, and related programs legislation, and in doing so, commend our 
chairman, the gentleman from Alabama [Mr. Callahan], for his 
exceptional leadership in forging the bipartisan bill to the floor 
today. Although we may not agree on all of the issues in the bill, we 
come with a unified message.
  Hopefully the amendments that have been introduced on the floor will 
not do damage to the bipartisanship that the gentleman from Alabama 
[Mr. Callahan] imposed upon us, that he nurtured as we went along. He 
indeed is the gentleman from Alabama. I am grateful to him for his 
accessibility in terms of hearing our case and putting some of our 
priorities into the legislation.
  I also want to join him in commending our chairman of the full 
committee, the gentleman from Louisiana [Mr. Livingston], for his 
participation in the bipartisan spirit to bring this bill to the floor, 
and the gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. Obey], our ranking member of the 
full committee, a longtime chair of the Subcommittee on Foreign 
Operations, Export Financing and Related Programs of the Committee on 
Appropriations for his great wisdom and spirit of bipartisanship.
  Before I begin, Mr. Speaker, I want to acknowledge the hard work of 
the majority and minority staff, Charlie Flickner, Bill Inglee, John 
Shank, Nancy Tippens, Lori Maes, Mark Murray, and Carolyn Bartholomew, 
and thank them for their very, very hard work, not only in bringing the 
legislation to the floor, but for the hearing process and all that went 
into developing this piece of legislation today.
  Before I proceed on the substance of the bill, Mr. Chairman, I want 
to join our colleagues, the gentleman from New York [Mr. Gilman] and 
the gentleman from California [Mr. Lantos], in the resolution that 
preceded our bringing the foreign operations bill to the floor.
  I, too, want to extend my condolences to the people of Israel for 
their suffering because of the tragic terrorist act. It is appropriate 
that this resolution preceded our bill, because our bill has made a 
very, very strong commitment to peace in the Middle East. These 
senseless terrorist acts are not in furtherance of that peace. I wanted 
to add my voice of sympathy to those of our colleagues who spoke on the 
resolution.
  Mr. Chairman, this legislation addresses foreign operations, export 
financing, and related programs, as its title describes. As the world's 
sole remaining superpower and as the beacon of hope and opportunity for 
people around the world, it is within our ability and indeed it is 
vital to our national interest to provide the necessary resources to 
meet our collective foreign policy goals.
  We have and will continue to have disagreements in this body about 
the framework of our foreign policy goals and just what constitutes our 
national security interest. The fact of the matter is, however, that 
the overwhelming majority of funds in this bill go to an agenda on 
which we can all agree.
  These include alleviating poverty, fighting illness and eradicating 
disease worldwide, educating the poor, caring for refugees and 
displaced persons, teaching women about their choices, saving the lives 
of starving children, facilitating the transition to free markets and 
to democratic society, addressing environmental degradation, helping 
American companies enhance their export opportunities, providing small 
loans to those who need help to start businesses in the microenterprise 
arena that the First Lady and the administration has taken such 
leadership in, and promoting basic human rights and democratic 
freedoms.
  These goals, as I say, are those which we can all agree upon. They 
are important and they should be funded adequately.
  We are all familiar with President Kennedy's inaugural address when 
he said, and Americans of a certain age and generation all know what he 
said in the inaugural address, ``To those peoples in the huts and 
villages of half the globe, struggling to break the bonds of mass 
misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for 
whatever period is required, not because the Communists may be doing 
it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. If a free 
society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who 
are richer.''
  Many things have changed since that day in 1961, but many things have 
not. Our foreign policy is no longer based on containing communism, but 
there are many more people in the world struggling to break the bonds 
of mass misery today than there were in 1961. We are in fact providing 
those people with vital assistance.
  Thus, we have an even greater challenge before us today than we had 
in 1961, and should not be bound by artificial limits on what we are 
spending to meet our basic responsibility as the world's only remaining 
superpower to make the world healthier and more secure for all of us.
  We as Members of this body have a challenge before us with respect to 
demonstrating to the American people that their lives are indeed 
affected by what happens in today's world. The fact is that an 
overwhelming majority of people in this country support providing 
needed humanitarian assistance and helping poor women and children 
better their lot in life throughout the world.

                              {time}  1730

  Secretary Albright, and I wish to associate myself with the remarks 
of our distinguished chairman, the gentleman from Alabama [Mr. 
Callahan], in his praise of our distinguished Secretary of State, 
Secretary Albright, has said that 1 percent of our budget may determine 
50 percent of the history that is written about our era; and it will 
affect the lives of 100 percent of the American people. We have a 
challenge before us, and that is to convince the American people that, 
as I mentioned before, that their lives are affected by what happens 
inside our borders and that we can effectively respond to those needs. 
But their lives are also affected by what happens outside our borders.
  We on a more practical note also have to demonstrate that the funds 
we do provide make a difference. I for one intend to respond to this 
challenge by speaking out and working for higher funding level than 
what is currently in this bill. With all due respect to my 
distinguished chairman, this is one area where we have disagreement and 
that is on the funding level.
  The total funding level in this bill is simply too low to meet these 
challenges that I mentioned above. The total of $12.3 billion is $1 
billion below the administration's request level of $13.3 billion, if 
we are just counting what is appropriated in this bill. We have not 
provided enough to even meet our annual contribution level for the 
International Development Association, known as IDA, much less pay the 
over $200 million in past due payments. These funds enable the World 
Bank lending to the poorest countries in the world. Underfunding of 
this account has led to the imposition of procurement restrictions 
against American companies, and this funding level means that these 
restrictions may continue to be in effect.
  The bill provides little or no funding for the new Partnership for 
Freedom initiative for the new independent states. Indeed, there is 
funding in here for the Partnership for Peace but not for the new 
initiative. These new republics are making strides toward democracy and 
the establishment of free market economies, with our help and against 
overwhelming internal obstacles.
  It is now time to refocus our aid programs, having learned what works 
and what does not. There should be absolutely no question that we need 
to remain engaged with an enlightened and robust aid program in these 
newly independent states and more funding is needed to accomplish this.
  Again, I want to compliment my distinguished chairman, the gentleman 
from Alabama [Mr. Callahan], because of some of the items in the bill 
that it does fund adequately. The bill contains funding for many vital 
programs such as the child survival account which is a special one for 
our chairman, development assistance programs, refugee assistance, 
export assistance, anti-terrorism, nonproliferation, demining and the 
Peace Corps, to name a few. Given

[[Page H6352]]

these funding levels and the cooperation shown by the gentleman from 
Alabama [Mr. Callahan] and the leadership shown by the gentleman from 
Alabama [Mr. Callahan] in putting this bill together, I would like to 
support the bill and fully intend to. As I said, I hope that the 
amendments on the floor do not do violence to our spirit and the peace 
that the gentleman from Alabama [Mr. Callahan] has created around this 
bill.
  The committee has acted responsibly in putting together a bill which 
reflects bipartisanship and compromise. While its funding level is too 
low in some areas, as I have previously stated, it has many aspects 
worthy of support.
  In closing Mr. Chairman, I want to again quote President Kennedy. As 
I said earlier, many Americans are familiar with President Kennedy's 
inaugural address in which he said, ``ask not what your country can do 
for you but what you can do for your country.'' But how many Americans 
know the line that follows, and that line is, ``my fellow citizens of 
the world, ask not what America will do for you but what together we 
can do for the freedom of men.''
  President Kennedy laid down a challenge to the American people to act 
to improve their own country and to act to work with the peoples of 
other nations to work for freedom and alleviation of poverty. We must 
respond to this challenge by meeting our responsibilities in the spirit 
of humanity and generosity and in the national interest of our great 
country.
  With that, Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CALLAHAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from 
Michigan [Mr. Knollenberg], a member of the appropriations 
subcommittee.
  Mr. KNOLLENBERG. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2159, 
the 1998 appropriations bill for foreign operations. As a member of 
this subcommittee, I want to commend my friend, the chairman of the 
committee, the gentleman from Alabama [Mr. Callahan], who has been, I 
think, outstanding in his ability to work with all sides. Shepherding 
this bill is no different than any other, of course, but it is 
difficult when it is an appropriations bill and he has done it, I 
think, with grace, with diligence and with impartiality.
  I want to thank also the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Pelosi] for 
her work with the chairman and the committee. The entire subcommittee 
staff should also be thanked for all the work that they have done to 
bring about this bill. Each member of the subcommittee has worked in a 
bipartisan way to craft this bill so that it reflects the Nation's 
international priorities while maintaining a goal of fiscal 
responsibility and a balanced budget.
  The bill again holds the line on foreign aid spending. At the same 
time, the bill maintains funding for our most important foreign aid 
priorities. I want to especially thank the chairman for working with 
myself and others to include increased funding for the microenterprise 
program. This helpful program provides small loans to the poorest 
individuals of the less developed countries in an effort to create 
self-reliance. That program has been very successful.
  I applaud the bill's continued commitment to the Middle East peace 
process. In addition to maintaining the funding levels at the same 
level for both Egypt and Israel, the bill requires now a detailed 
report of the progress toward compliance with the Oslo peace accords.
  The bill contains our strong commitment to democracy building in 
Russia while addressing our concerns about Russian exports of nuclear 
and ballistic missile technology. With Russia and the United States 
already at odds over the Russian sale of nuclear reactors to Iran, 
Russia now plans to aid Cuba in revitalizing a dangerous Chernobyl 
style nuclear reactor just 90 miles off our coast. This must not be 
allowed to happen. This grave situation is addressed in the bill by 
stipulating that aid to Russia is contingent upon stopping the 
development of any nuclear program or ballistic missile capacity. We 
are sending a powerful signal to Russia that its interaction with 
dangerous rogue states like Iran is unacceptable.
  Finally, I want to highlight the provisions of this bill that deal 
with the ongoing conflict in the Caucasus. Many people do not even know 
about the history of this small troubled region of the former Soviet 
Union. But this conflict will continue to have an impact upon America, 
on our interests because of the neighboring countries that surround 
that community.
  I am glad and proud to have worked with the chairman and with members 
of this subcommittee to craft what I consider a productive, positive 
proposal that will facilitate peace in the region and reinforce the 
U.S. role as an unbiased mediator in the peace process. Whether you 
know it or not, each of us has a vested interest in the outcome of the 
Caucasus. U.S. interest can best be served through a swift and 
meaningful resolution to conflicts plaguing this troubled region.
  This proposal also removes obstacles to the delivery of humanitarian 
relief to needy people throughout the Caucasus. It clarifies section 
907 of the Freedom Support Act and allows democracy building and 
electoral reform activities in Azerbaijan. Section 907 should not 
preclude programs designed to create a more democratic Azerbaijan 
because democratic nations are inherently more peaceful.
  The bill contains the $95 million package of assistance to Armenia 
meeting the pressing humanitarian and development needs there and 
hopefully hasten its progress toward stability, peace and prosperity.
  With our support we may finally see this region free of bloodshed and 
conflict and rich with prosperity and opportunity.
  The subject of foreign aid often sparks heated debate on the floor. 
We all have strong opinions about of course how we feel about things 
and about a number of programs that are close to us. I asked my 
colleagues not to let these heated discussions keep us away from coming 
to closure to resolution on the business at hand which is to pass this 
bill, a fair bill. We need them to unite behind it.
  I want to again thank the chairman, the gentleman from Alabama [Mr. 
Callahan] for all of his work and his leadership in bringing the 
influence, his influence into this to bring about, I believe, a very, 
very outstanding bill.
  I ask Members to support the bill and I want to in closing thank the 
chairman for yielding this time to me.
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman 
from Virginia [Mr. Moran], distinguished member of the Committee on 
Appropriations.
  Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Chairman, first of all, I hope this bill 
passes because I doubt that there are any two Members of this body that 
are any more well liked and respected than the gentlewoman from 
California [Ms. Pelosi] and the gentleman from Alabama [Mr. Callahan]. 
But I would like to enter into a colloquy with the chairman if I could.
  Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you and the gentlewoman from California 
[Ms. Pelosi] and the members of the subcommittee for the attention and 
the funding that you have given to demining activities in this bill. I 
know that you and the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Pelosi] are well 
aware of the challenge that land mines pose to humanitarian 
development, refugee resettlement and rehabilitation throughout the 
developing world. Many of these efforts cannot even begin or must be 
suspended or terminated until the land mines are marked or removed. 
These areas, mine awareness, education and demining activities, must go 
hand in hand with humanitarian relief and development programs.
  A number of our private voluntary organizations, nongovernmental 
organizations are trying to initiate and implement these sorts of 
antiland mine programs. However, we have learned that these demining 
funds have not been made available to them. It is my understanding that 
private voluntary organizations and nongovernmental organizations may 
apply for these demining funds and that these funds may be used for 
mine awareness and education programs, mapping and marking and the 
training of deminers as well as the removal of mines. Can the chairman 
confirm my interpretation?
  Mr. CALLAHAN. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. MORAN of Virginia. I yield to the gentleman from Alabama.

[[Page H6353]]

  Mr. CALLAHAN. Mr. Chairman, the gentleman is correct. It is the 
understanding of the committee that the nongovernmental agencies that 
you are talking about can apply for these funds for the activities the 
gentleman mentioned.
  Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman very much 
for this confirmation and his strong leadership in this area. I thank 
my friend and the ranking member of the subcommittee, the gentlewoman 
from California [Ms. Pelosi], as well. I hope the bill passes.
  Mr. CALLAHAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from 
California [Mr. Packard], who is also a member of the appropriations 
subcommittee.
  Mr. PACKARD. Mr. Chairman, I wanted to take a moment to compliment 
the chairman of this subcommittee and the ranking Democrat, the 
gentlewoman from California [Ms. Pelosi], for their very fine 
leadership in crafting this bill. I am proud to rise in support of the 
bill that has been brought to the floor today. I especially rise in the 
hopes that all the Members will recognize the strong leadership of the 
gentleman from Alabama [Mr. Callahan] and also the gentlewoman from 
California [Ms. Pelosi] in crafting this financially prudent and yet 
socially and morally responsible bill.
  As the gentleman from Alabama [Mr. Callahan] likes to point out, 
there are not many people in his district in Alabama who even know much 
about foreign operations and fewer that would probably care about it. 
Yet he as chairman has taken the time to become extremely familiar with 
the issues and expert in management of the bill. And so I certainly 
want to compliment him.
  There is no greater testament than the example set in creating, 
recreating, and increasing funding for the child survival account in 
this bill. The administration chose not to include this account in 
their budget submission and I cannot imagine them leaving this 
important area out of their budget submittal. This administration chose 
not to include an account which provides child survival and disease 
eradication throughout the world. What is worse, they chose not to 
include it. When they chose not to include it, they would have provided 
less money for it while increasing funding for Russia.
  I am proud to say that the chairman and ranking member of the 
committee and members of the subcommittee not only corrected this 
situation but increased the funding for child survival and the basic 
functioning of our foreign operations funding.
  I certainly recommend this bill to all Members of the House. I hope 
that it will pass. I hope that we will be able to keep unwanted and 
undesirable amendments from cluttering the bill. We would like to send 
this bill to the President in a form that he can sign.
  I again want to compliment the leadership of this committee. It is a 
pleasure for me to serve with them. I am very proud of this bill. I 
think that we have done a lot of good things. We have fenced some of 
the money, particularly to Russia, and also another one of our 
independent states where a serious problem with corruption takes place. 
We fenced the money with the requirement that they make improvements on 
corruption in these countries before the money would be able to be 
released.

                              {time}  1745

  Also, I was pleased to see us fence some of the money as it relates 
to going to Russia and tying it to religious freedom in Russia.
  All in all, I am very proud of the bill, very proud to sign on to it 
and recommend its vote.
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Chairman, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from 
Illinois [Mr. Yates], the distinguished gentleman who is the ranking 
member of the Interior Subcommittee; more importantly for this bill, he 
has been a Member of this House since the inception of the Marshall 
plan.
  (Mr. YATES asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. YATES. I thank the gentlewoman very much. She can always 
introduce me. I thank her very, very much for that very gracious 
introduction.
  The gentlewoman from California is correct, when the Secretary of 
State testified before the Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export 
Financing and Related Programs of the Committee on Appropriations 
earlier this year, we spoke about foreign aid, and foreign aid stemming 
from the time of Thomas Jefferson. And although my tenure on the 
committee does not quite go back that far, I did begin my association 
at the time of Harry Truman.
  At that time the Marshall plan had just been inaugurated. I was lucky 
enough as a freshman to become a member of the Marshall Plan Committee. 
And during the almost 50 years that I have served in this House, I have 
been on the subcommittee on foreign aid. I have seen a major transition 
in both the political situation in the world and how foreign assistance 
and export programs can address these changes.
  I believe that the Committee on Appropriations has been at the 
forefront in initiating reform and guiding the new direction of foreign 
assistance following the ending of the cold war. This bill continues 
that tradition, because this bill is essentially the product of two of 
the ablest Members of the House, and I refer of course to the chairman 
and the ranking member, the gentleman from Alabama [Mr. Callahan] and 
the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Pelosi].
  I have worked with every chairman and every ranking member of this 
subcommittee for almost the last 50 years, and I would say that the two 
that have drafted this bill are essentially the most able that I have 
witnessed in all that time. This bill does reflect the touch that they 
have given to us.
  The ironic truth about foreign aid is that it is much cheaper than 
Americans think it is, and it does things that most Americans do not 
realize that it does do. Like defense, it helps preserve our national 
security. And as stated in USA Today, ``This is no time to be penny-
wise and pound-foolish.'' Our foreign assistance program helps finance 
the building blocks of a new international structure that is more 
peaceful and more stable than the one we left behind.
  I can say that now after working on this committee for so many years. 
I have seen how it has helped rebuild Europe under the Marshall plan 
and I have seen how it has helped bring underdeveloped countries to a 
much more developed state. I believe this bill is a worthy one and I 
believe that it deserves our support. Certainly I look forward to 
supporting it as it goes through the House.
  Mr. CALLAHAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from 
Illinois [Mr. Porter].
  Mr. PORTER. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of the bill. 
I want to begin by commending my friend, the chairman of the 
subcommittee, the gentleman from Alabama [Mr. Callahan], for the 
bipartisan and consensus promoting manner in which he has brought the 
bill to the floor of the House. I think he has reflected very well the 
concerns of the members of the subcommittee in crafting the bill and he 
has done just an outstanding job of bringing us together in support of 
it.
  I would also like to say that we have had the wise counsel and 
support of the gentleman from Louisiana, Mr. Bob Livingston, and I 
appreciate especially his flexibility and thoughtfulness in dealing 
with me and with my colleague the gentleman from Michigan, Mr. Joe 
Knollenberg, who I have worked very closely with on the very difficult 
issues of the Caucasus and Turkey.
  I also want to commend the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Pelosi] 
in her first year as ranking member of the subcommittee. She has done 
an excellent job of working to improve the lives of people around the 
world, and it is always a delight and a pleasure to work with her.
  I believe, Mr. Chairman, that this is a good bill and one which all 
the Members of the body should support. I am pleased that we have been 
able to move forward in funding initiatives that reflect our commitment 
to the values of democracy, freedom, economic opportunity, the rule of 
law, and respect for human rights.
  An example of this cooperation is involved with United States 
involvement and relations with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh, 
and Turkey. In the past, these issues have always been a stumbling 
block in this bill, which led to angry floor debate which allowed 
Members, including myself, to achieve perhaps moral victories

[[Page H6354]]

but may not have been the most productive manner to advance the ideals 
and goals we have for this region.
  This year we have taken a different tack by attempting to work out a 
balanced and fair approach to the region before the bill reached the 
floor in an effort to avoid that ugly floor fight that neither advanced 
our cause nor inspired trust among the other countries in the region.
  I am pleased with the committee's overall funding level for 
development assistance and their support for the United Nations' 
development program and the World Conservation Union.
  My dedicated colleague and friend, Joe Knollenberg, approached me 
earlier this year about bringing together a package of legislative and 
report language ideas which could address the concerns that many 
Members have about these issues. Joe and I, with the help of our 
chairmen, our staff, and the subcommittee staff, took a great step 
forward through cooperation and consensus and I am very proud of the 
work that we did on this bill. Joe, congratulations on your fine work 
on this bill and your leadership on this issue in general.
  Many of my colleagues have asked me about the provisions in this 
regard and what they will mean for the United States' policy there. We 
have included in the bill an exception to section 907 which allows for 
the first time for democracy building assistance to go to Azerbaijan. 
President Aliyev of Azerbaijan is in town this week to meet with 
President Clinton and Members of Congress, and I hope that the members 
of the subcommittee were able to speak with him this afternoon about 
the provisions of the bill.
  As in all the former Soviet republics, the development of democracy 
in Azerbaijan has been uneven. We are confident that by making it 
possible for the NED and similar institutions to begin working in 
Azerbaijan, we are taking an important step towards improving the lives 
of the average Azeri citizen.
  Moreover, we have provided legislative direction for the State 
Department to give assistance to all needy persons in the Caucasus. 
This would include refugees in Azerbaijan, needy people in Nagorno-
Karabakh and internally displaced persons in Georgia.
  I am hopeful that this provision will remove the artificial barriers 
to assistance which our State Department has set up once and for all so 
that the people who desperately need our help can get it. Other than 
these important exceptions, however, we have left section 907 intact.
  With regard to Turkey, Mr. Speaker, this bill showcases a new 
approach that we are cautiously optimistic about. One-half of the 
economic support funds for Turkey will be directed to projects run by 
NGO's, private voluntary organizations and others to promote democracy, 
encourage economic development of areas that have been affected by 
internal conflicts, and other purposes that we have been encouraging 
the Turkish Government to undertake for years.
  This new approach has taken a leap of faith by those of us with 
strong feelings on both sides of this issue. These have been difficult 
times for Turkey, and the dramatic shifts in the situation there have 
caused all of us to reexamine our approach to that important ally. 
Concerns about the future of democracy and the spread of Islamic 
fundamentalism have lead us to look for new ways to support Turkey on 
the path that is not only in Turkey's best interest but in our own as 
well.
  It would be easy to come to the floor, as I have in the past, to talk 
about the serious problems that Turkey has, but these problems have not 
gone away and in many ways they have worsened in the past year. But I 
believe that if we want to truly help the Turkish people, we must bring 
about reforms from within the country and promote an atmosphere where 
democracy is secure enough to take bold steps, such as ending the armed 
conflict in the southeast. I believe that what we are doing in this 
bill will quietly and profoundly have that effect.
  In addition to creating the climate in which we could make these 
steps forward on the caucasus, I want to thank the chairman for 
including funding and language concerning important initiatives in 
Burma, China, Northern Iraq, Tibet, Cyprus, and other areas which are 
of great concern to me. I wish that all Members could have the 
privilege of having such a cooperative Chairman.
  While I am very proud of the efforts we have made in this bill and 
appreciative of Chairman Callahan's work, I must again express my 
disappointment that this House continues to cut overall levels of 
foreign assistance. I believe that this is the era of American 
leadership, and we are squandering a golden opportunity to bring an 
ever-expanding circle of countries into our sphere of influence. I hope 
that we can begin to realize this opportunity and that the Republican 
Party, which for so long led the way in international affairs, can 
return to engagement in this vital area of our national policy.
  The reduced appropriation for the multilateral financial institutions 
from the requested amount is of particular concern to me. These 
institutions have received significant reductions in past years, 
resulting in vast arrears. The administration has negotiated an 
agreement to pay off these arrears and I believe that the subcommittee 
should work to honor this agreement.
  I am also concerned that the so-called Leahy provision, which is 
intended to keep U.S. counter-narcotics assistance out of the hands of 
human rights abusers, was stricken from the bill on a point of order 
due to the objection of my friend from New York, Mr. Gilman, and my 
friend from Illinois, Mr. Hastert. I hope that we can work together to 
deal with their concerns about the administration's implementation of 
this policy, and resolve this issue prior to the conference on the 
House and Senate bills.
  I would also like to address an issue--the situation in Cambodia--
that was brewing as we drafted the bill earlier this year but has 
exploded in violence and bloodshed in recent weeks. In January, several 
of my colleagues and I visited Cambodia. We met with human rights 
activists and others who had so much hope for the future of Cambodia. 
These individuals had dedicated their lives to bringing a better life 
to the people of Cambodia, to cementing the gains of democracy and 
freedom in Cambodia, and to securing a stable society for their 
children. We also met with Prime Ministers Ranariddh and Hun Sen. The 
meeting with Mr. Hun Sen was ominous, looking back on it, for he did 
not have the same hopefulness as the people of his country. I am 
devastated by what has happened in Cambodia, and I support the effort 
by Congressman Rohrabacher to mover our policy to take a strong stand 
against the lawless acts of Hun Sen and a strong stand with the people 
of Cambodia. I hope that Chairman Callahan will also support this 
amendment when it comes to the floor.
  Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to express my 
condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the 
horrible terrorist attack in Israel today. I am outraged by this act of 
cowardice and I am angry at the failure of those who could have 
prevented this heinous act. I am hopeful that the House can be a force 
to end this pattern of hatred and violence, and I urge all parties to 
continue to move forward on the path to peace in spite of the actions 
of extremists.
  Mr. Chairman, this bill, I think, is in excellent condition. Sure, 
there are places where I disagree with it, but I think the chairman has 
done an outstanding job of bringing both sides of the aisle together, 
people with divergent interests, and crafting a bill that we can all be 
proud of, and I urge the support of all Members.
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Indiana [Mr. Visclosky], a member of the Committee on Appropriations.
  (Mr. VISCLOSKY asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
his remarks.)
  Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me 
this time.
  Mr. Chairman, I would like to commend the work of the chairman, the 
gentleman from Alabama [Mr. Callahan], as well as the ranking member, 
the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Pelosi]. I recognize the committee 
faced a number of very difficult issues, and I believe that they have 
done the very best job possible.
  While I support the general thrust of the bill, I am very concerned 
about the specific issue of the current United States relationship with 
several countries located in the Caucasus, specifically Turkey, Greece, 
and Armenia.
  The committee has decided to provide assistance to all three 
countries and has conditioned some of the aid. This conditioned aid is 
a reasonable response by the United States to a difficult situation. 
However, I am concerned about the very unreasonable attitude Turkey has 
displayed with respect to the conditions that we are placing on our 
assistance.

[[Page H6355]]

  I would like to remind the House that last year this Chamber cut 
economic support fund assistance to Turkey on two separate votes. This 
year, the gentleman from Florida [Mr. Bilirakis], others and I will not 
be offering an amendment to cut United States assistance to Turkey. 
That decision, at least for myself, is based only on the firm 
understanding that Turkey will act responsibly during the next 12 
months.
  Mr. Chairman, I want to make it clear that I do support the consensus 
policies on the Caucasus and Turkey developed by the committee. 
However, it is important for Turkey to understand that the assistance 
we are providing this year is not a blank check. The situation in 
Turkey must improve or next year I do not believe the House will be as 
accommodating as it has been this year.
  Mr. CALLAHAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
New Jersey [Mr. Frelinghuysen] a member of the subcommittee.
  (Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN asked and was given permission to revise and 
extend his remarks.)
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding 
me this time.
  Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of this bill. First, I want to 
thank our chairman, the gentleman from Alabama [Mr. Callahan], and our 
ranking member, the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Pelosi], for their 
leadership of our subcommittee and our excellent staffs.
  As the chairman has stated, the subcommittee has again done more with 
less, as have the agencies that carry out U.S. foreign policy 
objectives. For less than $12.3 billion, slightly less than last year's 
bill, we continue to provide the essential tools to promote and protect 
America's leadership and interests around the globe.
  With this bill we maintain our strong commitment to Israel and the 
Middle East peace process. We provide critical funding for child 
survival programs, and we continue America's longstanding support of 
development assistance for the poorest of the poor. We provide support 
for the new democracies of Eastern Europe and place increased emphasis 
on important priorities in our own hemisphere.
  Further, we have provided resources to help American companies enter 
new markets, to provide global environmental resources, and to combat 
the threat of international narcotics and terrorism from reaching our 
shores. And these investments are made for less than 1 percent of the 
overall budget and within the framework of our balanced budget plan.
  Despite this, most Americans remain skeptical about foreign aid. They 
either believe that we spend far more on it than we do in reality or 
they simply are not convinced of its value. I believe that it is 
imperative that we explain to the taxpayers the return on our 
investment in these programs.
  Earlier this year I invited AID Administrator Atwood to my district 
to explain to my constituents the value of our investment in AID 
programs. He showed how a small New Jersey company in Morris Plains, 
with the help of AID, developed a product to keep polio vaccines safe 
for use around the world.
  Success stories like that are a direct result of our foreign aid 
programs. This new product is helping our efforts to eradicate polio 
throughout the world and has created economic growth and opportunity in 
New Jersey.
  Again, the amount for all these programs, from building democracy and 
feeding hungry children to fighting the war against drugs and opening 
new markets for America's goods and services, equals less than 1 
percent of the budget.
  Lastly and most importantly, Mr. Chairman, I believe now is an 
especially critical time for the President, President Clinton, to 
exercise his leadership in making a stronger case for this investment 
to the American people.

                              {time}  1800

  I urge my colleagues to support this bill and reject proposals for 
further reductions.
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the 
gentlewoman from New York [Mrs. Lowey], a member of the subcommittee.
  (Mrs. LOWEY asked and was given permission to revise and extend her 
remarks.)
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of H.R. 2159.
  I want to thank our distinguished chairman, the gentleman from 
Alabama [Mr. Callahan], and the gentlewoman from California [Ms. 
Pelosi], our outstanding ranking member, who have worked so very hard 
in a bipartisan way to report out a bill that strikes a delicate 
balance on a number of very difficult issues.
  Mr. Chairman, this bill is far from perfect. The overall funding in 
the bill is substantially lower than what I would have liked, and 
several specific accounts are also too low. But this bill does 
represent a very serious bipartisan compromise. And again, I want to 
thank the chairman and our ranking member.
  The bill also includes the full $3 billion in aid package for Israel 
and the critical $80 million for refugee resettlement assistance. With 
the tragic bombings today in Jerusalem, we have seen once again how 
very important it is for the United States to express its strong 
support for Israel and the Israeli people.
  Although the development assistance account is lower than the 
administration requested, an issue I would like to see corrected in 
conference, it does include a critical $10 million increase for 
international microcredit programs, which I think are absolutely 
critical to help raise the level of prosperity around the world.
  Mr. Chairman, I remain concerned about the item in the bill for 
International Development Association, which is unacceptably low. The 
$606 million included in the bill is only slightly more than half of 
what the administration has requested for IDA, and I would call on the 
chairman to work with me and my colleagues to increase this amount in 
conference, as well.
  Mr. Chairman, the bill does have some compromises which we worked 
very hard to support. The bill preserves current law, prohibiting the 
U.S. funds for the performance of abortions or to lobby for or against 
abortion. It also prohibits the funds from being used to support any 
biomedical research that relates to the performance of abortions.
  Mr. Chairman, I offer my very strong support for this bipartisan 
bill.
  In the past, we have spent many hours debating amendment after 
amendment on the floor regarding Greece, Turkey, and the Caucasus 
region. This year, we have reported out a bill that addresses most of 
our concerns in this area. Now there are some provisions I would have 
written differently, and I'm sure some of my colleagues feel the same 
way, but what is in the bill represents a good balance on this issue. 
And I want to thank the chairman and Ms. Pelosi, and also Mr. 
Knollenberg and Mr. Porter for all of their hard work on this issue. 
Microcredit is a critical tool in the fight to eradicate poverty 
worldwide and enjoys wide bipartisan support in the Congress and the 
administration.
  Providing these small, low interest loans to the millions of low-
income entrepreneurs around the world would be a major step toward the 
eradication of poverty. This is especially true among women, who are 
very often the heads of households, and benefit tremendously from 
microcredit programs. This is a critical time for microcredit. We have 
come a long way this year alone, but we must do more. The increase for 
microcredit in this bill will allow us to help thousands of people pull 
themselves out of poverty.
  IDA makes critical investments in the development of the world's 
poorest countries. It provides assistance in health care, education, 
and other areas of human capital, creating the climate needed for 
sustainable growth and helping to turn these nations from aid 
recipients to trading partners.
  This bill also strikes a balance in the area of international family 
planning assistance, one of the most important forms of aid that we 
provide to other countries. No one can deny that the need for family 
planning services in developing countries is urgent and the aid we 
provide is both valuable and worthwhile.
  Nearly 600,000 women die each year of causes related to pregnancy and 
childbirth--most live in developing countries.
  Each year, 250,000 women die from unsafe abortions. Most of these 
disabilities and deaths could be prevented.
  Only 20 to 35 percent of women in Africa and Asia receive prenatal 
care.
  Five hundred million married women want contraceptives but cannot 
obtain them.
  This bill preserves current law prohibiting the use of U.S. funds for 
the performance of abortions or to lobby for or against abortion. It

[[Page H6356]]

also prohibits the funds from being used to support any biomedical 
research that relates to the performance of abortions as a method of 
family planning.
  These restrictions represent a compromise in this area and I hope 
that we will pass this bill without upsetting this compromise. 
Unfortunately, some of my colleagues see this matter differently and 
are planning to offer an amendment that, if passed, could hold the 
entire foreign aid bill hostage for the third year in a row. I strongly 
urge my colleagues to oppose these efforts to disrupt our bipartisan 
compromise.
  Mr. Chairman, as I have stated, I do have some very serious 
reservations about specific provisions in this bill. But on the whole, 
it represents a good compromise between Chairman Callahan, Ranking 
Member Pelosi, and all of the members of the subcommittee. I urge 
passage of this bill.
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to my 
colleague, the gentleman from California [Mr. Torres], a distinguished 
member of the subcommittee.
  (Mr. TORRES asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. TORRES. Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman, and I thank my 
ranking member for that kind introduction.
  I rise, of course, to commend both the gentleman from Alabama [Mr. 
Callahan], the chairman, and the gentlewoman from California [Ms. 
Pelosi], the ranking member, for their diligent work in crafting this 
year's foreign assistance package. I also want to commend the majority 
and minority staff for their tireless efforts to produce this very fine 
bill.
  However, I must note that the bill falls short in certain areas. 
While I respectively acknowledge the willingness of the gentleman from 
Alabama [Mr. Callahan] to work with me and members of the subcommittee 
in addressing concerns that we all have about the School of the 
Americas, I am not convinced that we should continue to spend one more 
dime on this facility.
  And that is why I intend to offer an amendment, together with my 
colleagues, the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Yates] and the gentleman 
from Pennsylvania [Mr. Foglietta], to prohibit any of the bill's funds 
from being used at the school.
  I am also deeply troubled that there may be a move to strike from the 
bill a critical counternarcotics assistance accountability provision, 
specifically referred to as the Leahy amendment. This provision, which 
I supported in last year's bill, prohibits U.S. counternarcotics aid 
from going to human rights violators in certain foreign countries. It 
prevents U.S. aid from going to specific military units where there is 
credible evidence they have been involved in violations.
  The Colombian armed forces and their paramilitary allies are 
implicated in hundreds of murders a year. Colombian military units 
responsible for some of the worst human rights atrocities in recent 
years were also those that received U.S. assistance. We should be doing 
everything possible to ensure that U.S. aid is used for 
counternarcotics efforts and not for murdering civilians.
  The human right provisions is the very minimum standard we should 
utilize before releasing millions of dollars in military aid to combat 
narco-trafficking. Rather than striking it from the bill, I believe we 
should be expanding the provision to include all forms of 
counternarcotics assistance. Regrettably, the rule does not permit this 
important provision from a point of order.
  Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of H.R. 2159, the fiscal year 
1998 Foreign Operations appropriations bill as reported out of the full 
committee. I want to commend Chairman Callahan and the distinguished 
ranking member, Ms. Pelosi, for their diligent work in crafting this 
year's foreign assistance package. I also want to commend both the 
majority and minority staff for their tireless efforts to produce this 
bill.
  However, I must vote that the bill falls short in several areas. 
While I respectfully acknowledge Chairman Callahan's willingness to 
work with me and others on the subcommittee in addressing concerns we 
all have about the U.S. Army School of the Americas, I am not convinced 
that we should continue to spend one more dime on this facility. That 
is why I intend to offer an amendment, together with my colleagues Mr. 
Yates and Mr. Foglietta, to prohibit any of the bill's funds from being 
used at the school.
  I am also deeply troubled that there may be a move to strike from the 
bill a critical counternarcotics assistance accountability provision, 
specifically referred to as the Leahy amendment. This provision, which 
I supported in last year's bill, prohibits U.S. counternarcotics aid 
from going to human rights violators in foreign countries.
  It prevents U.S. aid from going to specific military units where 
there is credible evidence they've been involved in violations. The 
Colombian Armed Forces and their paramilitary allies are implicated in 
hundreds of murders a year. Colombian military units responsible for 
some of the worst human rights atrocities in recent years were also 
those that received U.S. assistance.
  We should be doing everything possible to ensure that U.S. aid is 
used for counternarcotics efforts and not for murdering civilians. The 
human rights provision is the very minimum standard we should utilize 
before releasing millions of dollars in military aid to combat narco 
trafficking. Rather than striking it from the bill, I believe we should 
be expanding the provision to include all forms of counternarcotics 
assistance. Regretfully, the rule does not protect this important 
provision from a point of order.
  I am, however, pleased that this bill provides full funding for the 
fund for special operations, the concessional lending arm of the Inter-
American Development Bank. The FSO extends loans to the poorest 
countries in Latin America and the Caribbean for programs designed to 
alleviate poverty. FSO programs benefit those most in need, especially 
women and children and microentrepreneurs who have little access to 
credit through regular financial sources.
  The U.S. contribution to the Fund for Special Operations is an 
effective investment in the development of our poorest neighbors in the 
Western Hemisphere. The fully funded level of $20.83 million for the 
FSO is critical in leveraging funds from other donor nations around the 
world and I am pleased that this bill provides the administration's 
request.
  I am also pleased that the bill directs an increase of $20 million 
for programs in the Latin America and Caribbean region. U.S. assistance 
to Latin America has been scaled back dramatically in recent years. 
Despite bill and report language in last year's bill, aid to Latin 
America has continued to be slighted. The relatively modest sums 
directed toward sustainable development in Latin America are a 
worthwhile long-term investment in the economic and political stability 
of our closest neighbors.
  Further, the United States has made certain commitments to the 
region, such as contributions to consolidating peace in Central 
American nations, which should be honored.
  I also want to note that the bill provides the fourth and final 
tranche to complete the capitalization of the North American 
Development Bank, or NADBANK. This funding is critical for the Bank to 
realize its potential to clean up the border region and address the 
domestic needs of displaced workers and businesses.
  Again, my thanks to Chairman Callahan for his cooperation in working 
with all members of this subcommittee to craft this bill in a 
bipartisan manner.
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the 
distinguished gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Pallone].
  (Mr. PALLONE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the foreign 
operations appropriations bill. The bill makes a significant effort to 
realize the balanced policy in the Caucasus region. And I am urging my 
colleagues in the bipartisan Armenian caucus to support the consensus 
position on the Caucasus, which was so painstakingly worked out by the 
subcommittee members.
  I urge those who will participate in the House-Senate conference to 
do everything possible to retain the House position in conference. The 
House bill maintains the economic sanctions on Azerbaijan which were 
enacted into law under section 907 of the Freedom Support Act in 
response to that country's continuing blockade to Armenia and Nagorno 
Karabagh. Unlike the Senate bill, the House bill does not allow for 
funds to go to Azerbaijan from the Export-Import Bank, the Overseas 
Private Investment Corporation, or the Trade and Development Agency. 
The House bill maintains the integrity of section 907, while the 
exceptions in the Senate bill render the prohibition on aid to 
Azerbaijan virtually meaningless.
  One of the truly honorable provisions in this bill is the language 
making funds available for humanitarian assistance through 
nongovernmental organizations in conflict zones throughout the 
Transcaucasus, including Nagorno Karabagh.

[[Page H6357]]

  And finally, the bill provides a $95 million soft earmark for 
Armenia. Given the challenges facing Armenia, with blockades imposed by 
neighbors on their east and west, and in light of the strides that 
Armenia is making in terms of establishing democracy and a market 
economy, I believe this earmark is fully justified.
  Mr. Chairman, I would also like to stress our policy with regard to 
India. I believe we should remain consistent with the longstanding 
American goal of promoting greater cooperation with countries like 
India that promote democracy, free markets, and stability.
  I understand that we will be asked to consider an amendment to cut 
development aid to India. I urge Members not to support this 
unjustified proposal. Last year, India held nationwide elections in 
which more than 400 million people voted for free and fair elections. 
And this year, in the Indian state of Punjab, some 60 percent of the 
voters turned out for free elections, which resulted in the election of 
a Sikh dominated government. India has taken concrete steps to address 
human rights issues with the establishment of a national human rights 
commission that has won international praise for its independence and 
effectiveness.
  Finally, Mr. Chairman, I am extremely concerned about a provision in 
the Senate foreign ops bill which would relax current United States 
sanctions on Pakistan. Under the Glenn-Symington provision, certain key 
United States trade and export promotion programs have been withheld 
from Pakistan in the past because of Pakistani involvement in nuclear 
proliferation. In recent years, Pakistan has moved forward with an 
aggressive program of acquiring nuclear technology and weapons.
  I urge the Members not to recede to the Senate on this ill-advised 
provision in conference.
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from Maryland [Mr. Hoyer], a distinguished member of the 
Committee on Appropriations.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman from California [Ms. 
Pelosi] for yielding me the time.
  Mr. Speaker, U.N.- and NATO-led forces were involved in the recent 
apprehension of two individuals and the killing of a third who had been 
indicted by the International War Crimes Tribunal. The recent arrests 
and the tribunal's sentencing of Dusan Tadic to 20 years in prison for 
his part in the torture and murder of innocent civilians are a major 
step forward.
  Yet the fact remains that, while the war crimes tribunal has publicly 
indicted 76 people to date, 66 indicted suspects remain at large, 
despite the fact that the tribunal has been issued international 
indictments, despite the fact that the Dayton accords requires the 
parties to that agreement to surrender those who are within their 
effective jurisdiction, and despite the fact the U.S. Security Council 
Resolution 827 requires all states to cooperate in this effort.
  This must stop, Mr. Speaker. If countries do not live up to their 
international obligations and cooperate with the tribunal, we should 
not cooperate with them. I am pleased that the legislation before us 
provides for sanction against those countries which harbor war 
criminals. The bill permits the President to withhold foreign 
assistance from these states and instructs the Secretary of the 
Treasury to oppose assistance from the international financial 
institutions.
  I would have preferred frankly an outright ban on such aid but am 
pleased that we are moving in the right direction. I want to thank the 
gentleman from Alabama [Mr. Callahan] and the gentlewoman from 
California [Ms. Pelosi] for their support and leadership in this 
effort.
  I am pleased this committee has recommended a $3 million voluntary 
contribution to the war crimes tribunal to assist in its challenging 
work. In closing, Mr. Speaker, let me just say that I would have 
preferred that we had done more to assist the emerging democracy in 
Russia and other CIS states. I understand the constraints that the 
committee was under. And I am rising in support of this bill and 
looking forward to their success in conference.
  Mr. CALLAHAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Florida [Mr. Goss], member of the Committee on Rules.
  (Mr. GOSS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. GOSS. Mr. Chairman, I thank the distinguished chairman for 
yielding me the time. I point out that less than 1 percent of the 
Federal budget we are talking about here, foreign aid spending, is not 
the problem when it comes to our budget ills. But it is clear that 
everything is on the table when we talk about the budget.
  The reason I am supporting this bill is not budgetary, however. It is 
because this bill was crafted by making difficult choices, shifting 
limited resources and reflecting new priorities. And I congratulate 
both the chairman and ranking member for that. Also of course it keeps 
spending down, and Chairman Callahan has done a fabulous job at that.
  In fact, Chairman Callahan has delivered a bill that comes in, I 
understand, at $4.6 billion below the President's request and below the 
spending allocation. That is a pretty good trick in these tight 
budgetary times.
  But the important point is the committee has prioritized spending to 
fund child survival programs and to fund efforts in nonproliferation, 
antiterrorism, and counternarcotics. As chairman of the House Permanent 
Select Committee on Intelligence, that is a very important area for me. 
And it is an area of critical concern involving both the security and 
the quality of life for Americans at home and abroad.
  And I think it is very important that this bill focuses on that. And 
I am pleased it does, and that is one of the reasons I strongly support 
it.
  But as a southwest Floridian, I am pleased that this bill will choke 
off some of the international assistance that might be funneled to 
Fidel Castro to complete dangerous nuclear reactors at Juragua. The 
foreign operations bill also includes $72 million in funding for 
operations in Haiti. But the gentleman from Alabama [Mr. Callahan] has 
wisely conditioned that aid on progress on economic reforms and 
investigations into political killings since President Preval's 
election.
  Although I would have preferred language that included all the 
killings since the troops returned President Aristide, I am 
nevertheless pleased to see that we have some specific markers set out 
on accountability in this area.
  To date, and to the best of our ability to get an accounting from the 
Clinton team, we know that more than $3 billion has been spent for 
Haiti and we see little evidence for that $3 billion of good governance 
or any other progress we were hoping for in that nation. I urge support 
for this legislation.
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the 
gentlewoman from California [Ms. Woolsey].
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the bipartisan 
consensus that the committee has reached in this bill on the troubled 
Caucasus region in Armenia.
  Since Azerbaijan began its blockade of Armenia 5 years ago, the 
citizens of Armenia have suffered from lack of shelter, lack of heat, 
lack of food and lack of crucial medicine. In fact, the world food bank 
has described Armenia as a prefamine state. Even worse, Mr. Chairman, 
the Armenians in Nagorno Karabagh have been blockaded by Azerbaijan for 
8 years.
  That is why we must maintain economic sanctions against them. That is 
why economic sanctions will send a clear and straightforward message to 
the perpetrators of this cruel and senseless blockade. It is a message 
that their actions will no longer be tolerated.
  Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to join me in congratulating the 
committee on a job well done and in supporting this important 
consensus.
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Texas [Mr. Bentsen].
  (Mr. BENTSEN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. BENTSEN. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the bill.
  Mr. Chairman, I rise to support the fiscal year 1998 foreign 
operations appropriations bill.
  Especially at this critical juncture of the peace process, and in 
light of today's tragic bombing in Jerusalem, the United States must 
continue to support Israel and help assure its

[[Page H6358]]

security as it takes the very difficult steps needed to secure peace. 
Any cuts in foreign aid to Israel now could damage Israel's security, 
its negotiating posture, and the peace process, as well as other United 
States interests in the region. As one of the United States' strongest 
allies and the only true democracy in the Middle East, Israel is 
certainly deserving of this support.
  I want to emphasize that this measure is in the United States' 
strategic and economic best interest. Israel is the most reliable ally 
of the United States in the Middle East and continued foreign aid 
funding will maintain a solid partnership with the United States. 
Because of the depth of the United States-Israel relationship and the 
permanence of Israel's democracy, the United States knows we can depend 
on Israel in a crisis. By its continued support of Israel, the United 
States honors a historic commitment to a fellow democracy with which we 
share unique security, economic, and cultural ties.
  I am especially pleased by the growing relationship between Israel 
and my State of Texas. Texas and Israel are substantial trading 
partners, sharing economic interests in telecommunications, medical 
technology, hightech computers, and agriculture. In 1996, Texas exports 
to Israel totaled nearly $580 million in goods and services, which 
represented an 89 percent increase since 1995. With regard to medical 
technology, Israel and Texas have established many joint research 
programs. For example, the Texas-Israel Telemedicine Exchange has 
brought together the Texas Children's Hospital in Houston and the Rabin 
Medical Center in Petach Tikvah in developing a telemedicine framework 
for Israel's hospitals and health care clinics. As this partnership 
continues to develop, new business opportunities will make the 
economies of Texas and Israel stronger and more competitive in the 21st 
century.
  The United States has a strong national interest in bringing peace, 
stability, and economic growth to one of the most strategic and 
potentially destabilizing regions of the world. The United States can 
best achieve these goals by continuing its commitment to ensuring 
Israel's security. I urge my colleagues to continue a proud tradition 
of support for Israel and to recognize that our Nation's national 
interests will be reinforced by voting for this appropriation.

                              {time}  1815

  Mr. CALLAHAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Delaware [Mr. Castle].
  (Mr. CASTLE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. CASTLE. I thank the distinguished gentleman for yielding me this 
time.
  Mr. Chairman, I am the chairman of a subcommittee on the Committee on 
Banking and Financial Services called the Subcommittee on Domestic and 
International Monetary Policy. We deal with the Eximbank as well as the 
international financial institutions.
  My 1 minute will not allow me to go into all the different aspects of 
this, but we are very supportive of this legislation. We are also very 
supportive of the concept that the United States of America needs to 
continue to be involved with some of these organizations, including the 
World Bank, the International Development Association and some of the 
various development funds which are out there.
  We think that the International Development Association has become a 
symbol of the willingness of the United States to meet its 
international obligations. We will not be able to effectively advance 
our reform agenda unless we stay fully involved and keep our payments 
up to date, which we are attempting to do at this point and which this 
legislation indeed attempts to do.
  These are difficult choices. Few Members really wish to in some 
instances subsidize export promotion or be involved in some of these 
supports overseas with respect to these areas, but as we go more and 
more into international trading and an international economy, I feel 
they are necessary.
  I hope that all Members would take the time at some point to more 
fully understand what we are doing. It is relatively limited compared 
to most countries that offer the same level of support. But for today, 
I believe the foreign operations appropriations bill is doing just the 
right thing.
  Mr. Chairman, I rise to comment on the provisions of this bill 
regarding the international financial institutions [IFI's] and the 
Export-Import Bank of the United States [Eximbank]. Both the IFI's and 
Eximbank are within the authorizing jurisdiction of the Subcommittee on 
Domestic and International Monetary Policy, which I chair.
  For fiscal year 1998, the administration requested the support of the 
Banking Committee for authorization of U.S. contributions to the 11th 
replenishment of the International Development Association [IDA]; the 
7th replenishment of the All Development Fund [ADF]; the European Bank 
for Reconstruction and Development [EBRD]; the Inter-American 
Development Bank [IDB]; the Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility of 
the International Monetary Fund [IMF]; and the New Arrangements to 
Borrow [NAB], a new multilateral line of credit available to the IMF in 
the event of a serious threat to the international financial system. In 
addition, the committee has been requested to reauthorize the Export-
Import Bank of the United States for 4 additional years.
  Specifically, with respect to the international financial 
institutions, the administration requested authorization of 
appropriations in the amount of $1.6 billion over 2 years for U.S. 
contributions to IDA-11; $400 million over 4 years for the U.S. 
contribution to ADF-7; $285 million over 8 years for the U.S. 
contribution to the second general capital increase of the EBRD; $76.8 
million over 3 years for a scheduled capital subscription to the IDB; 
$75 million over 10 years for the interest subsidy account of the ESAF 
facility of the IMP; and approximately $3.4 billion (as valued in 
special drawing rights) for U.S. participation in the NAB.
  On May 8, 1997, the Subcommittee on Domestic and International 
Monetary Policy considered and favorably reported by voice vote to the 
full Banking Committee H.R. 1488, the International Financial 
Institution Reform and Authorization Act of 1997. That bill fully 
authorizes over 2 years the U.S. contribution to the 11th replenishment 
of IDA, the World Bank facility that provides concessional lending to 
the world's poorest developing countries. The subcommittee intends to 
work closely with the Treasury and other interested parties to ensure 
that the World Bank remains on the reform path and that U.S. taxpayer 
resources are used effectively. This commitment to ongoing reform is 
reflected in the policy provisions of H.R. 1488.
  But the subcommittee also recognized that IDA has become a symbol of 
the willingness of the United States to meet its international 
obligations. I believe the United States cannot effectively advance 
reform or our policy priorities if we remain in arrears to IDA and 
other multilateral lending institutions. In this regard, I would 
strongly support efforts to address past due payments to the 
international financial institutions in a manner consistent both with 
the overall request, and the assumption of a cap adjustment for 
exchanges of monetary assets and for international organization arrears 
as provided for in the budget resolution. Let's get these arrears 
behind us to ensure that America can effectively lead these 
institutions in a way that advances our national interests.
  The regional development banks were all authorized at the fiscal year 
1998 appropriations request level, not because of a lack of 
subcommittee support, but in recognition of existing fiscal 
constraints. The ESAF was also authorized at the fiscal year 1998 
level, although future subcommittee support for the ESAF will depend on 
the results on an ongoing external review of this facility. The 
subcommittee also authorized U.S. participation in the NAB. As you 
know, U.S. participation in the NAB entails no scoring of budgetary 
outlays.
  On May 8, 1997, the Subcommittee on Domestic and International 
Monetary Policy also considered and favorably reported by voice vote to 
the full Banking Committee H.R. 1370, a bill to reauthorize the U.S. 
Export-Import Bank through September 30, 2001. That bill was passed by 
voice vote, as amended, by the full Banking Committee on July 9 of this 
year.
  These international issues present Congress with difficult choices. 
Few Members wish to subsidize export promotion, but the heavy hand of 
our foreign competitors in trade finance makes continued U.S. support 
for Eximbank imperative. Likewise, many observers can point to specific 
failings by the international financial institutions, and the 
bipartisan agreement on the need for reform suggests that a good deal 
of the criticism of the IFI's has been at least partially valid. Yet 
there is also strong bipartisan agreement that the IFI's continue to 
make an important contribution to economic development and to the 
stability of the international financial system. On balance, they were 
serve U.S. international economic as well as foreign policy interests. 
I would urge my colleagues to give them their support.
  Mr. CALLAHAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from 
Arizona [Mr. Pastor].
  Mr. PASTOR. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this 
time. I would like to engage the gentleman from Alabama in a brief 
colloquy regarding the sustainable desert

[[Page H6359]]

development program for combating desertification, a program which I 
support. Am I correct to understand that the committee's intent is that 
the $5 million made available under this bill is to be administered by 
the Agency for International Development on a competitive peer-reviewed 
basis?
  Mr. CALLAHAN. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. PASTOR. I yield to the gentleman from Alabama.
  Mr. CALLAHAN. The gentleman from Arizona is correct.
  Mr. PASTOR. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for his time and 
assistance in this matter.
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Ohio 
[Mr. Traficant].
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Chairman, I will take more time when I strike the 
last word on an OPIC amendment.
  A company from my district agreed to be a model investment company in 
Gaza under OPIC, and they experienced a number of unethical and 
downright illegal activities that must be brought before the Congress. 
The company is Bucheit International and, among other things, they 
allowed a private individual over there to cancel checks, to put up as 
collateral their account for a private loan. I have never seen such 
type of banking irregularities ever.
  This was the only company to make an investment of $4.4 million in 
Gaza which caused them to default on a $2 million loan. Under the 5-
minute rule I am going to explain it more fully, but I am hoping we do 
not conclude business today and that I could put some language in here 
that will protect American companies that are being ripped off. We 
cannot have the PLO, who sponsors terrorism, also ripping off American 
companies.
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  In closing, I want to commend our distinguished chairman for his 
tremendous leadership in crafting this legislation and bringing such a 
strong bipartisan bill to the floor. I think the strength of our bill 
today and the consensus that he built will go a long way to taking us 
to passage and to conference, where some of the fights will be tougher 
ones and where we will have the battle over priorities and how much 
money is the appropriate figure to have in this legislation.
  I want to once again thank the majority and the minority staff and, 
very important, the distinguished members of the subcommittee, both 
Republican and Democratic members of the committee for the cooperation 
they gave to our chairman and to me as ranking member.
  I believe that this bill is a very important one to the Congress and 
to our country. Because of the resources that we are appropriating here 
today, the Clinton administration will be able to promote democratic 
freedoms, stop proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, promote 
U.S. exports through the export finance provisions of this legislation, 
and indeed work for our national security by promoting peace throughout 
the world.
  I come from a different kind of district than the district of the 
gentleman from Alabama [Mr. Callahan]. I am sympathetic to him in terms 
of having to sell foreign assistance back home. I come from a very 
globally oriented district that places a very high value on the 
leadership role that the United States plays in the world, and I think 
that the commitment that we make here today and hopefully an expanded 
one that we will come out of the conference with is one that does 
promote the values of our country. I urge my colleagues to support the 
legislation the gentleman from Alabama [Mr. Callahan] has brought to 
the floor today.
  Mr. CALLAHAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  In closing let me reemphasize that this once again cuts last year's 
appropriation level. It is $4.6 billion below the President's request 
and it is $233 million under our 602(b) allocation.
  Once again, this is a vote on final passage of this bill to cut 
foreign aid.
  Mr. POMEROY. Mr. Chairman, I want to express my appreciation to the 
House Appropriations Committee for its support of overseas programs by 
U.S. cooperatives and credit unions. I have supported the work of 
cooperatives and credit unions in my state. These people-to-people 
assistance programs are the types of foreign aid that the American 
people fully support.
  In its report (105-176), the Committee stated that:

       The Committee continues to support development efforts 
     carried out by United States cooperatives and credit unions. 
     These programs promote free markets, create business linkages 
     with the United States, export American technology, and build 
     local economies, and help create a friendly climate for new 
     and expanding United States markets. They enable people to 
     achieve dignity and lasting economic benefits through member-
     owned businesses.

  Overseas cooperative development is a unique type of self-help 
assistance, carried out in America's tradition of humanitarian 
assistance and in America's national interest. Critical support for 
these efforts comes from the U.S. Agency for International Development.
  Cooperatives provide private sector approach to international 
development that combines a humanitarian concern with a business 
discipline. Cooperatives give people a stake in the system by bringing 
them into the marketplace. They introduce democratic business practices 
in many countries with little experience in democracy.
  In the U.S., they have enhanced and promoted the economic well-being 
of farmers and spread the benefits of free markets through credit 
unions and community-based businesses. Cooperatives have used their 
domestic experiences to share their business know-how abroad. In turn, 
these overseas programs directly benefit America by enhancing stability 
in developing countries, building long-term business partners and 
increasing international sales and investments by U.S. businesses.
  The following are a few examples of overseas U.S. cooperative 
development efforts:
  In El Salvador, illegal immigration is slowed as cooperatives develop 
two-way trade in non-traditional and non-competitive products. In 
Bolivia, United States agricultural and electric cooperatives support 
alternative crops to coca production, and thus are combating illegal 
drug trafficking.
  In Africa, cooperatives and credit unions are carrying out micro-
enterprise programs that reverse the flow of capital and bring it back 
to rural communities. In Indonesia, cooperatives are helping micro-
entrepreneurs in the production of specialty export crops, integrated 
livestock and fishery production and rural enterprise development 
including joint ventures with United States companies.
  In Romania, United States housing and other cooperatives are playing 
a crucial role in strengthening civil society to address decaying 
social problems by providing training and technical assistance in 
management, accounting, fundraising, marketing and financial analysis 
to new and struggling non-governmental organizations.
  In Georgia, United States agricultural cooperatives have built a 
network of growers with a seed production cooperative and are building 
a supply association for inputs to private farmers. The new cooperative 
is a private sector alternative to the defunct government wheat seed 
and multiplication and supply system.
  Through programs like these, cooperatives provide hope for economic 
prosperity through grassroots businesses that provide jobs, income, 
basic education and democratic experience. By providing private sector 
to private sector assistance, rather than government to government 
assistance, U.S. cooperatives are better able to link American 
communities and cooperative businesses with overseas partners that, in 
turn, serve U.S. economic interests.
  Mrs. KENNELLY of Connecticut. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the 
fiscal year 1998 foreign operations appropriations bill and wish to 
express my strong support for a provision in the bill which would 
permit $95 million in aid to promote important economic reforms in 
Armenia.
  Armenia, can play an pivotal role in American foreign policy in the 
Caucasus region with our continued support. Current economic and 
political reforms taking place offer important opportunities for the 
emergence of a strong pro-western government that can compete on the 
world market, and open trade opportunities for the United States.
  Continued economic support combined with an expanded U.S. role in the 
Caucasus region as co-Chair of the Organization for Security and 
Cooperation in Europe, Minsk Group, will be critical to breaking the 
current impasse between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabagh. 
Further, a lifting of the blockade of Armenia by its neighbors in 
conjunction with a peaceful settlement to the Nagorno-Karabagh issue 
will only lead to greater stability and growth in the region. I urge 
the Administration to remain diligent on these important issues and 
applaud the committees decision to earmark foreign assistance to 
Armenia.
  Mr. KOLBE. Mr. Chairman, I have been a longtime advocate of funding 
for research in the field of sustainable development of arid lands in 
order to fight desertification, and I applaud the committee's decision 
to recommend greater resources be made available for this

[[Page H6360]]

important work. Significant work has been accomplished in this field by 
the University of Arizona and its cooperating partners in the 
International Arid Lands Consortium. It is vital, however, that the 
funds for Middle East Desertification activity be administered by AID 
in a competitive, peer-reviewed program that will encourage the best 
scientists, researchers, and land managers in this important field to 
seek solutions to the complicated problems associated with 
desertification.
  Resources for important research have become all too scarce, and I 
know my colleagues on both sides of the aisle agree that we must ensure 
that those funds we do make available are expended in a fashion that 
will produce tangible results and inspire taxpayer confidence. Peer-
review is vital to assessing the quality of the science produced by 
federal funding, and increasing the number of disciplines involved in 
arid lands sciences will help bring about a greater utilization of 
sustainable arid land management techniques.
  It is for these reasons I ask that Congress require any program that 
results from this funding for the Middle East Desertification 
activities be administered through a peer-reviewed, competitive 
process.
  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to note that there are 
several provisions in the FY 1998 Foreign Appropriations bill aimed at 
curbing human rights violations and promoting democratic ideals. A 
number of countries affected by these stipulations are Guam's neighbors 
in the Asia-Pacific region. Not only are we in close proximity to 
nations such as South Korea and China, the people of Guam also enjoy 
social and cultural links with them.
  I stress the importance of promoting democracy and human rights in 
Asia, and I am confident that certain aspects of this bill will 
contribute towards greater acceptance of self-determination and 
individual liberties. For example, the Committee's recommendation that 
the State Department select a special envoy to facilitate the peaceful 
resolution of the East Timor dilemma should United Nations efforts fail 
is a clear signal of American commitment to the plight of the East 
Timorese. I had the pleasure of meeting Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo, a 
co-recipient of the Nobel Prize for his work in East Timor, and was 
amazed by his dedication to provide the East Timorese with an 
international voice. We must continue our support for leaders such as 
Bishop Belo in their peaceful quest for basic human rights.
  I am also pleased that an arrangement is provided for an East-Asian 
Pacific democracy fund, as proposed in the President's budget request, 
which would promote democracy and democratic institutions in China. 
Although the details of this fund have yet to be finalized by the State 
Department and approved by Congress, it is yet another pledge to 
protect democracy. As we cautiously observe China's management of Hong 
Kong, we must continue to constructively engage China economically and 
politically. Through economic relations, diplomatic maneuverings and 
democratic influences, it will not be long before China and its 
territories enjoy the same freedoms we experience every day.
  The United States is a major player in the global area, and the 
provisions we debate in Congress tonight command international 
attention. Democracy and human rights do not stem merely from a 
nation's automatic self-awareness. Sometimes we must prod and remind 
others and ourselves that democratic principles and respect for 
individual liberties are necessary components of a strong, stable 
nation.
  Mr. ORTIZ. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of the Overseas 
Private Investment Corporation and to express my opposition to the 
amendments offered by Mr. Royce and Mr. Paul to H.R. 2159, the fiscal 
year 1998 Foreign Operations Appropriations Act. These amendments would 
do nothing but hurt American businesses and American workers.
  Mr. Chairman, at a time when American businesses are facing increased 
competition in the global marketplace, it is inconceivable to me that 
we, the very Government charged with helping our businesses, would 
obstruct the most important means to this end. To those who support the 
elimination of OPIC, I implore them to give up the isolationist belief 
that if we ignore foreign trade deficits, they will simply go away. 
Nothing could be farther from the truth. We must engage our competitors 
in the global marketplace or we will become a second place economic 
power.
  Mr. Chairman, there is a reason we have trade deficits with some 
foreign nations--they actively support their businesses to a much 
greater extent than we do. If we cut OPIC, we tie the hands of American 
businesses just as they are poised to step into the ring. My colleagues 
have to understand this essential fact: the global marketplace is not 
going to go away. If we stick our heads in the sand and let foreign 
businesses get the upper hand in the global marketplace, then we are 
turning our backs on our own people and our own future. Let us make no 
mistake, Mr. Chairman, we need OPIC.
  The CHAIRMAN. All time for general debate has expired.
  Pursuant to the order of the House of Thursday, July 24, 1997, the 
bill shall be considered for amendment under the 5-minute rule.
  Amendments printed in House Report 105-184 may be offered only by a 
Member designated in the report or the order of the House and only at 
the appropriate point in the reading of the bill, are considered as 
having been read, are debatable for the time specified in the report or 
the order of the House, equally divided and controlled by the proponent 
and an opponent, are not subject to amendment except as specified in 
the report, and are not subject to a demand for division of the 
question.
  No other amendment shall be in order unless printed in the 
Congressional Record.
  The Chairman of the Committee of the Whole may postpone a request for 
a recorded vote on any amendment and may reduce to a minimum of 5 
minutes the time for voting on any postponed question that immediately 
follows another vote, provided that the time for voting on the first 
question shall be a minimum of 15 minutes.
  The Clerk will read.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 2159

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the 
     following sums are appropriated, out of any money in the 
     Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the fiscal year 
     ending September 30, 1998, and for other purposes, namely:

               TITLE I--EXPORT AND INVESTMENT ASSISTANCE


                export-import bank of the united states

       The Export-Import Bank of the United States is authorized 
     to make such expenditures within the limits of funds and 
     borrowing authority available to such corporation, and in 
     accordance with law, and to make such contracts and 
     commitments without regard to fiscal year limitations, as 
     provided by section 104 of the Government Corporation Control 
     Act, as may be necessary in carrying out the program for the 
     current fiscal year for such corporation: Provided, That none 
     of the funds available during the current fiscal year may be 
     used to make expenditures, contracts, or commitments for the 
     export of nuclear equipment, fuel, or technology to any 
     country other than a nuclear-weapon State as defined in 
     Article IX of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear 
     Weapons eligible to receive economic or military assistance 
     under this Act that has detonated a nuclear explosive after 
     the date of enactment of this Act.


                         subsidy appropriation

       For the cost of direct loans, loan guarantees, insurance, 
     and tied-aid grants as authorized by section 10 of the 
     Export-Import Bank Act of 1945, as amended, $632,000,000 to 
     remain available until September 30, 1999: Provided, That 
     such costs, including the cost of modifying such loans, shall 
     be as defined in section 502 of the Congressional Budget Act 
     of 1974: Provided further, That such sums shall remain 
     available until 2013 for the disbursement of direct loans, 
     loan guarantees, and insurance obligated in fiscal years 1998 
     and 1999: Provided further, That funds appropriated by this 
     paragraph are made available notwithstanding section 2(b)(2) 
     of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945, in connection with the 
     purchase of lease of any product by any East European 
     country, any Baltic State, or any agency or national thereof.


                        administrative expenses

       For administrative expenses to carry out the direct and 
     guaranteed loan and insurance programs (to be computed on an 
     accrual basis), including hire of passenger motor vehicles 
     and services as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 3109, and not to 
     exceed $20,000 for official reception and representation 
     expenses for members of the board of Directors, $48,614,000: 
     Provided, That necessary expenses (including special services 
     performed on a contract or fee basis, but not including other 
     personal services) in connection with the collection of 
     moneys owed the Export-Import Bank, repossession or sale of 
     pledged collateral or other assets acquired by the Export-
     Import Bank in satisfaction of moneys owed the Export-Import 
     Bank, or the investigation or appraisal of any property, or 
     the evaluation of the legal or technical aspects of any 
     transaction for which an application for a loan, guarantee or 
     insurance commitment has been made, shall be considered 
     nonadministrative expenses for the purposes of this heading: 
     Provided further, That, notwithstanding subsection (b) of 
     section 117 of the Export Enhancement Act of 1992, subsection 
     (a) thereof shall remain in effect until October 1, 1998.


       overseas private investment corporation noncredit account

       The Overseas Private Investment Corporation is authorized 
     to make, without regard to fiscal year limitations, as 
     provided by 31 U.S.C. 9104, such expenditures and commitments 
     within the limits of funds available to

[[Page H6361]]

     it and in accordance with law as may be necessary: Provided, 
     That the amount available for administrative expenses to 
     carry out the credit and insurance programs (including an 
     amount for official reception and representation expenses 
     which shall not exceed $35,000) shall not exceed $32,000,000: 
     Provided further, That project-specific transaction costs, 
     including direct and indirect costs incurred in claims 
     settlements, and other direct costs associated with services 
     provided to specific investors or potential investors 
     pursuant to section 234 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 
     1961, shall not be considered administrative expenses for the 
     purposes of this heading.

  Mr. PORTER. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word to engage 
the chairman of the subcommittee in a colloquy.
  Mr. Chairman, I am seeking clarification with regard to a provision 
we included in the bill regarding Economic Support Funds for Turkey. It 
is my understanding that this provision limits the overall level of 
assistance to $40 million, with no less than half of the funds to be 
spent on democracy building and other activities by nongovernmental 
organizations, private voluntary organizations or other 
instrumentalities, and these funds will be administered through the 
Agency for International Development.
  Mr. CALLAHAN. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. PORTER. I yield to the gentleman from Alabama.
  Mr. CALLAHAN. The gentleman is correct. The Agency for International 
Development will be responsible for administering the project elements 
of section 571 utilizing NGO's, PVO's and other instrumentalities 
consistent with the purposes outlined in this section and in 
consultation with this subcommittee.
  Mr. PORTER. I would also like to clarify that these two tracks of 
assistance are not severable, and if for whatever reason the directed 
assistance were not provided and spent in the manner provided in the 
bill, then the government of Turkey would not receive the direct 
government-to-government assistance.
  Mr. CALLAHAN. That is the intention of the committee in including the 
provision, and the administration will be apprised that this is the 
appropriate interpretation of this provision.
  Mr. PORTER. I thank the gentleman for taking the time to clarify this 
matter and for his leadership on this issue.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. PORTER. I yield to the gentleman from Florida.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Chairman, I wish to engage the distinguished gentleman from 
Illinois, a member of the Committee on Appropriations, in a further 
discussion on the issue of Economic Support Funds to Turkey.
  Mr. PORTER. I am pleased to engage in a discussion with the gentleman 
from Florida.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. As the gentleman knows, I had originally intended to 
offer a bipartisan amendment with the gentleman from Indiana [Mr. 
Visclosky]. However, based on this discussion and the one preceding it, 
I will not offer my amendment.
  It is my understanding that the concept of the Economic Support Fund 
was first established in the foreign assistance act of 1961 because 
Congress recognized that special circumstances, either economic, 
political or security conditions, may necessitate the need to give 
economic assistance to foreign countries. The ESF is a flexible but 
complex aid category and continues play an important role in promoting 
U.S. interests overseas.
  Last Congress ESF funds were made available to Turkey to support 
efforts to reform its economy. This Congress only $20 million in ESF 
funds will be made available as a cash transfer to the Turkish 
government, a 10 percent reduction from the fiscal year 1997 level.
  Mr. PORTER. The gentleman is correct. The Economic Support Fund helps 
provide economic assistance for countries that, given special 
circumstances, may require U.S. aid. In addition, the ESF funds made 
available as a cash transfer to the government of Turkey will be no 
more than $20 million for fiscal year 1998.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. If the gentleman will further yield, it is my 
understanding that the NGOs and PVOs referred to in the gentleman's 
colloquy with the distinguished gentleman from Alabama [Mr. Callahan], 
the chairman of the Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export 
Financing and Related Programs of the Committee on Appropriations, 
referred to nongovernmental organizations and private voluntary 
organizations. It is also my understanding that at least $20 million of 
the assistance available in section 571 will be spent on democracy 
building and other economic development activities administered by the 
U.S. Agency for International Development. This agency will utilize 
NGOs, PVOs and other instrumentalities.
  Mr. PORTER. The gentleman is correct. My understanding of the 
assistance made available in section 571 is that no less than half the 
funds are made available for democracy building and other activities by 
nongovernmental organizations.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. I thank the gentleman so very much for his 
clarification on this issue.
  Mr. TAYLOR of North Carolina. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last 
word to engage in a colloquy with the gentleman from Alabama, the 
chairman of the subcommittee.
  Mr. Chairman, I intended to offer an amendment to establish a pilot 
program to provide affordable housing in the Russian Federation. This 
program would prohibit any funds from being used to support Russian 
military housing. It has the support of the gentleman from New York 
[Mr. Gilman] the authorizing committee chairman, and also the gentleman 
from Indiana [Mr. Hamilton], the ranking member. I understand that the 
gentleman will pursue this program with the executive branch. It is my 
understanding that he will also pursue this concept in conference. 
Therefore, my legislative language is not necessary. Is that the 
understanding of the gentleman from Alabama?
  Mr. CALLAHAN. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. TAYLOR of North Carolina. I yield to the gentleman from Alabama.
  Mr. CALLAHAN. I thank the gentleman first of all for withdrawing his 
amendment because he knows my feeling on language in this bill, but by 
withdrawing it, we will pursue this issue in conference and I will also 
discuss this pilot program with the executive branch as well.
  Mr. TAYLOR of North Carolina. I thank the gentleman very much.
  Mr. CALLAHAN. Mr. Chairman, I move that the Committee do now rise.
  The motion was agreed to.
  Accordingly, the Committee rose; and the Speaker having resumed the 
chair, Mr. Thornberry, Chairman of the Committee of the Whole House on 
the State of the Union, reported that that Committee, having had under 
consideration the bill (H.R. 2159) making appropriations for foreign 
operations, export financing, and related programs for the fiscal year 
ending September 30, 1998, and for other purposes, had come to no 
resolution thereon.

                          ____________________