[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 28 (Tuesday, March 14, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H955-H956]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO THE REPUBLIC OF 
                               MOZAMBIQUE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Millender-McDonald) is recognized for 
5 minutes.
  Ms. MILLENDER-McDONALD. Mr. Speaker, we just passed out of this House 
tonight H.R. 431, a very important piece of legislation, expressing 
support for humanitarian assistance to the Republic of Mozambique. I 
want to commend our government, nongovernmental organizations, and 
other nations for their response to the flood crisis in Mozambique. 
Cyclone Eline devastated that poor country, driving residents from 
their homes, children from their schools, shopkeepers from their 
businesses, and doctors and patients from their clinics. The only 
refuge was roofs, treetops and scraps of land protruding here and there 
from swirling waters. One young woman, Sophie Pedro, gave birth to a 
baby girl in a tree top where she had sought refuge for 4 days.
  The heavy toll on the population and massive destruction of the 
infrastructure, however, have dwarfed these early emergency relief-and-
rescue efforts.

                              {time}  1915

  The flood waters have destroyed a decade-long economic recovery 
undertaken by Mozambique. Before these disastrous floods, Mr. Speaker, 
the government had embarked upon sustained efforts to manage public 
resources better, improve the climate for investors, and promote 
private sector development. Mozambique had complied with the Structural 
Adjustment Program requirements, the Enhanced Structural Adjustment 
Facility, and more recently the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries 
Initiative.
  Last year, Mozambique completed the requirement to receive $3.7 
billion in debt reduction from external creditors, the largest 
reduction under the HIPC Initiative. Prudent fiscal and monetary 
policies and structural reforms increased international confidence in 
Mozambique's economy, reflected in higher long-term capital in-flows 
and a stable exchange rate.
  However, the disaster now will cost the country nearly all their 
hard-won

[[Page H956]]

economic gains. It will take hundreds of millions of dollars to rebuild 
the transportation and communication infrastructure, schools, clinics, 
homes, and businesses.
  While Mozambique has been one of Africa's economic success stories, 
the floods threaten to return the country to conditions reminiscent of 
the command economy of the 1970s and the ravaging civil war of the 
1980s.
  To sustain its economic gains, Mozambique will need more than 
emergency aid and logistical relief. It will need long-term 
reconstruction and rehabilitation assistance. Already the multilateral 
institutions are considering new construction loans. Unfortunately, Mr. 
Speaker, these new loans will only compound Mozambique's existing debt 
burden, even with the substantial reductions under the HIPC program.
  I applaud the President's decision to forgive Mozambique's remaining 
bilateral debt and encourage this Congress, the World Bank, and the 
International Monetary Fund to follow suit. Mozambique has played by 
the rules. They have restructured their economy, adhered to all 
conditionalities imposed by the multilateral financial institutions, 
and stayed the course with their fiscal and monetary policies.
  The Mozambican people have made great short-term sacrifice for the 
long-term future prosperity of their country. If we do not address this 
current crisis with speedy and substantial current multilateral debt 
forgiveness, we will betray our social contract with the men, women, 
and children of Mozambique.
  In fact, Mr. Speaker, we should look at a permanent relief force so 
we will not have to come before this body every time a disaster occurs.

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