[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 22 (Thursday, March 2, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1114-S1115]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     U.S. ASSISTANCE TO MOZAMBIQUE

 Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I rise today in support of the 
Administration's decision to send urgently needed assistance to 
southern Africa, where heavy rains have caused devastating floods, 
particularly in the Republic of Mozambique.
  Last night President Clinton approved the deployment of a Joint Task 
Force to the region, including C-130 aircraft to deliver desperately 
needed supplies, and six heavy lift helicopters

[[Page S1115]]

to pluck survivors from the trees and rooftops where they cling to 
life. This assistance will supplement the efforts already underway, 
under the auspices of the U.S. Agency for International Development and 
the U.S. Department of Defense.
  Mr. President, this assistance comes not a moment too soon. 
Meteorologists believe that even more rain is likely to fall on the 
region in the very near future. The resources the world has already 
provided are stretched nearly to the breaking point, as the need to 
deliver food and other supplies to survivors competes with the need to 
rescue those precariously hanging on above the floodwaters, waiting to 
be evacuated to dry land. The Mozambican families who survived the 
threat of rising waters are now at risk again, as water-born diseases 
like cholera, malaria, and meningitis surge in the flood's aftermath.
  These floods are particularly tragic because the country most 
seriously affected by them, Mozambique, has made significant strides 
toward recovery from its long and brutal civil war. Though the country 
is still affected by extreme poverty, in recent years Mozambique has 
enjoyed exceptional rates of economic growth, and while more needs to 
be done, the country has improved its record with regard to basic human 
rights. Mr. President, the people of Mozambique have been fighting for 
a better future. This kind of disaster comes at a terrible time, but 
our intercession may help the people of Mozambique to hold to the 
opportunities that lay before them before the waters rose.
  The American government and the American people have reached out 
beyond our borders time and again to aid communities in crisis--from 
the earthquake victims in Turkey and Taiwan to the mudslide survivors 
in Venezuela. We stand united in a basic expression of human compassion 
again today. I applaud the Administration's action; I believe it is an 
entirely appropriate use of our country's resources, and I wish the 
people of southern Africa the very best as they work to recover from 
these devastating floods.

                          ____________________