[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 136 (Thursday, October 26, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1948]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




WAIVING POINTS OF ORDER AGAINST CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 4811, FOREIGN 
OPERATIONS, EXPORT FINANCING, AND RELATED PROGRAMS APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 
                                  2001

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                               speech of

                            HON. KEN BENTSEN

                                of Texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 25, 2000

  Mr. BENTSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation, 
which includes a critical provision to provide debt relief to 30 of the 
world's poorest countries, fulfilling a pledge by the United States to 
help alleviate the often crippling debts that have hindered economic 
development in the Third World.
  The plan includes the full $435 million sought by President Clinton 
for debt relief for highly indebted poor countries (HIPC) as well as 
language allowing the International Monetary Fund to revalue its gold 
reserves for additional debt forgiveness. I applaud the work of the 
Administration, which spearheaded the international effort to relieve 
debt from the world's poorest countries. This program requires such 
nations to reallocate funds from debt payments into human capital 
development and prohibits the participation of nations with excessive 
military spending, involvement in drugs, terrorist activity or human 
rights violations. It is important to note that the United States is 
not the largest creditor, either bilaterally or multilaterally, but 
without U.S. leadership and participation this effort could not 
succeed. Most of the debt targeted for relief are longstanding 
bilateral loans by the World Bank and other international financial 
institutions.
  I want to congratulate Mr. Callahan, the Chairman of the Foreign 
Operations Subcommittee, who included compromise language that requires 
a 2-year moratorium on construction project loans from international 
banks to countries that will benefit from the debt relief effort. While 
we support responsible direct debt relief for poor countries, I 
strongly agree that we take steps to ensure the money isn't used just 
to pay off bad loans rather than directly assisting poor people.
  In fact, the moratorium provisions are substantively similar to an 
amendment I offered last November during the House Banking Committee's 
consideration of H.R. 1095, legislation which took an important step in 
relieving some of the debt loads carried by the world's poorest 
nations. The amendment I offered would have imposed strict conditions 
against further lending for a period of five years for any country that 
obtains debt relief. While I strongly support debt relief, I believe it 
should be structured to ensure that participating countries cannot 
return to high levels of debt acquisition without a reasonable 
``cooling-off'' period; similar to the conditions required by law in 
the U.S. for individuals who declare bankruptcy. While my amendment was 
not approved by the Committee, I am pleased that similar provisions 
were included in this Conference Report.
  As a member of the House Banking Committee, I am especially pleased 
that the Leadership chose to make this commitment to debt relief. I 
believe much credit should go to my colleague and Chairman of the 
Banking Committee, Jim Leach. Last year, under his leadership, the 
Banking Committee approved took critical steps toward realizing our 
debt relief goals through passage of H.R. 1095. While some of the most 
important provisions of H.R. 1095 were realized last year, the debt 
relief provisions included in this conference report help us to fully 
abide by our pledge to engage in meaningful debt relief for the world's 
poorest countries.
  I am also pleased with the $2.82 billion in aid to Israel contained 
in this bill. U.S. aid to Israel is always essential, but it is 
especially important today with the ongoing crisis in the Middle East. 
As the region is engulfed in violence, it is precisely at such moments 
that the clear demonstration of U.S. support for Israel and her 
security, as manifested in this foreign aid bill, is vitally important. 
U.S. aid to Israel, both economic and military, helps Israel meet its 
most pressing security needs. As other nations in the Middle East 
expand and modernize their arsenals, U.S. aid provides Israel with the 
means to obtain the advanced American weaponry it needs to defend 
itself. By keeping Israel's strong and prepared, U.S. aid actively 
deters aggressors form attacking Israel without an American military 
presence, which Israel has never sought. It is only through an 
affirmative vote for this Conference Report that Israel will receive 
this critical U.S. support.
  Mr. Speaker, at less than 1 percent of the federal budget, foreign 
aid helps the U.S. confront threats to our national security and 
promotes peace and democracy while supporting humanitarian objectives. 
I urge my colleagues to support the debt relief provisions in this 
bill, U.S. aid to Israel and passage of the Fiscal Year 2001 Foreign 
Operations Appropriation Conference Report..

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