[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 102 (Monday, July 27, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1449-E1450]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              FOREIGN AID

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BERNARD SANDERS

                               of vermont

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 27, 1998

  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to have printed in the Record 
statements by high school students from my home state of Vermont, who 
were speaking at my recent town meeting on issues facing young people 
today. I am asking that you please insert these statements in the 
Congressional Record as I believe that the views of these young people 
will benefit my colleagues.

  Statement by Angela Deblasio and Lynne Clough Regarding Foreign Aid

       Angela Deblasio. Foreign aid is an essential part of the 
     United States' annual budget. This aid to less fortunate 
     nations helps to alleviate famine and the effects of 
     disasters. It promotes agricultural and industrial 
     production. It also provides U.S. know-how for basic health, 
     education and housing needs, while rewarding governments for 
     embracing American ideals and interests.
       Foreign aid is not just money. The United States aid 
     program consists of development, economic, military and food 
     assistance. Development assistance provides training and 
     advice in all areas. Economic support contributes to the 
     political stability and economic strength. Military aid 
     provides grants and credits for the purchase of weapons, 
     along with training and advice for the forces. Food aid is 
     free or reduced-price agricultural products.
       One of the great historical successes of American foreign 
     aid was the Marshal Plan.
       Lynne Clough. World War II left many scars in Western 
     Europe and the United States. Secretary of State George 
     Marshal proposed a plan that would not only help Western 
     Europe overcome poverty and resist temptations of communism, 
     but help Americans keep their jobs and offer more 
     opportunities.
       This plan became known as the Marshal Plan. We sent over 
     tons of goods and money to Western Europe. Then, in turn, 
     Western Europe bought our products, which gave Americans 
     jobs. Giving U.S. aid prevented Western Europe from falling 
     under the influence of communism and it gave us protection 
     from the Soviet Union.
       Aid to foreign countries has expanded over the past few 
     years.
       Angela Deblasio. For the past 37 years, Peace Corps 
     volunteers have worked together with the people of Africa and 
     other nations around the world. Today, Peace Corps volunteers 
     contribute to grassroots development projects in education, 
     business, the environment and health. They establish forest 
     conservation plans and find alternatives to wood as a source 
     of food.
       Volunteers work to involve people in protecting endangered 
     wildlife species and recycling projects. Peace Corps 
     volunteers help individuals in developing nations to learn 
     the skills necessary to help themselves.
       The best example of how the United States gains from 
     foreign aid is the country of Russia. The U.S. is currently 
     giving aid to the Russians. The American taxpayers are 
     definitely getting their money's worth. They are helping to 
     bring banking experts, legal experts, business experts, and 
     political scientists to the nation of Russia and create a 
     free democratic society based on free enterprise. Also, 
     American tax dollars are paying to help the nations of the 
     former Soviet Union safely dismantle nuclear weapons once 
     pointed at the United States. American aid is also helping to 
     ensure that the nuclear materials do not fall into the hands 
     of terrorists during these potentially dangerous times.
       Lynne Clough. ``Why spend our money on foreign aid?'' That 
     is a question many of us ask. As you just heard, foreign aid 
     helps America prosper. Foreign aid is only one percent of our 
     annual budget and is a very good investment. It provides 
     security by aiding our allies and sets up good trading 
     partners. Giving aid is also a way to deal with problems when 
     they are small, and perhaps prevent future conflict.

    Statement by Natalie Ross Regarding Student Drinking and Driving

       Natalie Ross. Good afternoon. I will have to be quite 
     honest with you: Many of the issues that I was going to speak 
     about today have already been brought up with the student 
     drinking and driving.
       Congressman Sanders. That doesn't make them less important 
     for you to bring them up.

[[Page E1450]]

       Natalie Ross. Recently, as you can tell by today, we had 
     many people who brought up many concerns about how 
     advertisers influence us, and many different things--we were 
     reminded of the tragedy up in Newport, which, unfortunately, 
     claimed two of my very close friends.
       I feel there is a message that we're sending to our youth 
     that is not totally appropriate. It has been engraved in our 
     brains for the longest time not to drink and drive, but I 
     think that message is totally appropriate for adults who are 
     of age, because they have the right to drink. But I think we 
     are only fighting the battle halfway when we tell students 
     not to drink and drive; I feel the message should be not to 
     drink at all.
       Many times students say, it is okay, you know, somebody 
     will bail me out. For example, we had a community forum in 
     St. Albans, and we have many parents who said, Sure, on prom 
     night, I will sit at City Hall and wait for all the teenagers 
     who are drinking, that are too, in their minds, drunk to 
     drive home, and I will go and get them. But I feel they are 
     sending the wrong message, because that is just saying: We 
     will come and get you if you mess up. And I feel that there 
     are too many times that people get off the hook too easily. 
     And I'm not exactly sure what the answer is, but I just 
     wanted to come today and express my concern about this.

 Statement by Nora Conlon, Megan Reardon, Blair Marvin, Shawn Beigen, 
      Kate Henry and Phillip Moore Regarding the U.N. and the U.S.

       Nora Conlon. A great deal of how successful the United 
     Nations is depends on the attitudes of its member states. 
     Americans have usually supported full U.S. cooperation with 
     the U.N., but the level of support declined markedly 
     beginning in the early 1970s, and remained relatively low 
     during the 1980s. The U.S.'s stance during that period toward 
     the United Nations was that of a reluctant participant.
       The 1990s have witnessed a strong revival of American 
     support for full U.S. cooperation with the United Nations 
     Nations. This is because President Clinton's administration 
     has expressed a great interest in the U.N., more so than its 
     predecessors. The U.N. support that exists now from Americans 
     is roughly equal to the strong support that existed in the 
     1960s. While American public support for the U.N. may be 
     high, nevertheless the United States Government's opinion of 
     the U.N.'s effectiveness is low.
       This chart illustrates U.S. cooperation with the United 
     Nations. The question asked was whether or not poll 
     respondents agreed with the statement: Should the United 
     States cooperate fully with the United Nations? The red line 
     represents the percentage of those who are in support of full 
     cooperation, while the black line represents those who oppose 
     full cooperation with the United Nations. You can see that 
     American support for the United Nations has increased 
     considerably, and yet the U.S. Government has taken a far 
     different stance towards the U.N.
       Kate Heney. The tension is between the U.S. and the U.N. is 
     financial. By a contradiction of terms, the U.S. is both the 
     greatest contributor and debtor of the 185 member countries 
     of the U.N. The United States is responsible for 25 percent 
     of U.N. expenditures, but despite a $60 billion surplus in 
     our own budget, we are $1.3 billion behind in our payments to 
     the peacekeeping budget of the U.N.
       Legislative efforts have been made to pay up--and, 
     actually, I have a question for you, Congressman, concerning 
     this. On March 26th, the State Department authorization bill 
     approved by voice vote an $819 million U.N. debt payment. 
     This has been stalled since 1997, because the House of 
     Representatives tried to include a provision holding that 
     none of the money was to fund any family planning 
     organization that performed abortions. President Clinton vows 
     to veto any bill containing the abortion provision.
       I believe that they have lost sight of the humanitarian 
     issues and that the payment of international peacekeeping 
     dues should not be prevented by conflicts within our own 
     government. I was wondering what your position was on this.
       Congressman Sanders. I will answer that question in a 
     minute, Okay? I am happy to answer that, but let's let 
     everybody make their statement.
       Blair Marvin. One of the reasons why the U.S. is 
     withholding a payment of its debt is that our government has 
     developed its own agenda for U.N. reform. The United States 
     emphasis on reform is intended to stabilize the U.N. 
     financially, making the organization more efficient. We 
     wanted it to be more focused on key priorities and more 
     accountable for its members.
       Progress has begun in areas of greater budget discipline. 
     The two key requirements in this is the lowering of the 
     U.S.'s assessed share of the U.N. budget from 25 percent to 
     20 percent over a three-year period, along with the creation 
     of a contested arrears account for debts disputed by the U.S.
       One other area of reform is the U.S. commitment to the 
     expansion the U.N. Security Council, which will strengthen 
     its effectiveness and this will enhance representation 
     throughout the world without detracting from its working 
     efficiency. The U.S. wishes to grant permanent seats to Japan 
     and accept three other seats from the developing nations from 
     the regions of Africa, Asia and Latin America.
       Phillip Moore. The U.N. is a valuable asset for the U.S. 
     foreign policy. On numerous occasions, the U.N. has given the 
     United States a chance to gain international backing for 
     issues important to American national interests--for 
     instance, the Persian Gulf War. The U.N. Security Council 
     provided for several measures which gave support for a 
     multinational coalition force, which helped regain control of 
     Kuwait from Iraq and also provided President Clinton with the 
     authorization to form a multinational force to help reinstall 
     the democratic government on Haiti.
       The peacekeeping missions of the U.N. are also vital to 
     American interests. Often, peacekeeping missions keep 
     regional conflicts from growing into a wider crisis which may 
     involve U.S. military intervention. For instance, on the 
     island of Cyprus. The two NATO nations of Greece and Turkey 
     have a conflict over the island of Cyprus. However, U.N. 
     forces have kept the issue from growing into open conflict. 
     And since the two nations are members of NATO, that could be 
     a serious problem for the alliance. Humanitarian aid of the 
     U.N. also benefits America as well, because it is in no one's 
     interest to allow members of other countries to go on 
     suffering.
       By not paying our dues to the U.N., we are weakening our 
     ability to play a larger role in the international community 
     and ultimately hurt our own national interest and well-being.
       Megan Reardon. We would like to leave you with a few 
     suggestions on the U.N., because it is a tough topic. We 
     propose you support the U.N. agencies on human rights and 
     economic and social development; and pay our dues, which is 
     an important one; support expansion of the Security Council 
     with Germany and Japan; and support and gain support for 
     collective peacekeeping.
       Congressman Sanders. Thank you. Excellent.

       

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