[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 76 (Wednesday, May 21, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E999-E1000]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 MICROENTERPRISE FOR SELF-RELIANCE ACT OF 2000 AND FOREIGN ASSISTANCE 
                         ACT OF 1961 AMENDMENTS

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. RAHM EMANUEL

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 14, 2003

  Mr. EMANUEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 192, ``The 
Microenterprise for Self-Reliance Act of 2000,'' which would help the 
poorest people, in the most impoverished countries, achieve self-
sufficiency and enjoy an improved quality of life through borrowing 
small loans in amounts as low as $100 million, to start up or expand 
small businesses.
  Microenterprise loans are among the most effective foreign 
investments our Nation can make. This important legislation promotes 
opportunity and free enterprise for millions of poor families around 
the world. A typical recipient of a micro loan is a mother with two or 
more children who lives in a developing country and uses the money for 
a small capital investment. Womens' Enews recounts the success story of 
33-year-old Maria Elba Contreras Lopez of Huatabampo, Mexico:

       ``Contreras Lopez invested her first loan of 1,000 pesos 
     (less than $100) into a gas stove to make tortillas. Two 
     years and another loan later, she has enlisted her husband's 
     help and tripled the family's income.''

  Stories like Maria's abound. Small infusions of cash around the world 
transform despair into hope, dejection into optimism and subsistence 
into prosperity. Families that regularly experienced infant mortality, 
untreated illnesses and malnutrition through no fault of their own can 
now glimpse a higher standard of living. As each family benefits, so 
does each community. The microenterprise program

[[Page E1000]]

opens the doors of the global economy to the poorest villages in the 
most remote locations where entrepreneurial creativity and hard work 
become bankable assets.
  As the story of Contreras Lopez indicates, devoting greater resources 
to effective humanitarian programs like microenterprise yields hope and 
empowerment to the world's poorest people and demonstrates that the 
United States is committed to spreading the rewards that can 
proliferate in a free-enterprise system. I firmly support expanding the 
reach of the Microenterprise for Self-Reliance Act of 2000 as a proven 
method of improving the lives of families and communities across the 
world, and I am proud to support this important measure.

                          ____________________