[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 107 (Friday, July 18, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1509-E1510]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    FOREIGN RELATIONS AUTHORIZATION ACT, FISCAL YEARS 2004 AND 2005

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. ADAM B. SCHIFF

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 15, 2003

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 1950) to 
     authorize appropriations for the Department of State for the 
     fiscal years 2004 and 2005, to authorize appropriations under 
     the Arms Export Control Act and the Foreign Assistance Act of 
     1961 for security assistance for fiscal years 2004 and 2005, 
     and for other purposes:

  Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of full and 
continued funding for the United Nations Population Fund, or UNFPA. 
Since beginning operations in 1969, the UNFPA has provided over $6 
billion in vital maternal and child health programs to women in 150 
countries around the world.
  This makes the UNFPA the single largest global source of multilateral 
funding for maternal health and family planning programs. The United 
States' contribution alone to the UNFPA last year provided 
approximately 870,000 women in developing countries with modern 
contraception, thereby preventing 500,000 unwanted pregnancies, 200,000 
abortions, and thousands of maternal and child deaths.
  The programs supported by UNFPA are both timely and relevant. In the 
past eight months, UNFPA has delivered modern obstetric care to such 
locations as Kinshasa, in the

[[Page E1510]]

Democratic Republic of the Congo; Kabul, Afghanistan; and Baghdad, 
Iraq, helping to rebuild reproductive health services in the places 
where they are needed the most. Its campaigns to prevent the spread of 
HIV and AIDS have reached five continents and more than 140 nations. It 
would be no exaggeration to say that the UNFPA has been on the cutting 
edge of health care delivery the world over.
  These programs, so vital to families around the world, depend on the 
support of 136 donor countries, including the United States. By our 
continued support for UNFPA, we recognize the importance of global 
reproductive health services and ensure that the Population Fund will 
be able to continue delivering them.
  Indeed, the costs of ending our support for UNFPA are staggering. The 
$34 million denied to UNFPA in 2002 would have prevented some two 
million unwanted pregnancies, 800,000 abortions, 4,700 maternal deaths, 
nearly 60,000 cases of maternal illness or disability, and 77,000 
infant and child deaths.
  The amendment offered in the House International Relations Committee 
by my colleague, Mr. Crowley, has made our support for these programs 
possible, while still maintaining the h1ghest standards for human 
rights, ensuring that each dollar provided to the UNFPA will be used 
for the promotion of the noble ends that it was created to serve. Any 
cuts or restrictions to UNFPA funding levels will only jeopardize the 
health and well-being of millions of women the world over.
  Mr. Chairman, members of the House, I thank you for your time, and I 
urge my colleagues to oppose cutting amendments and resume our support 
for the UNFPA, which will continue--with our assistance--to deliver 
vital family planning and reproductive health services to families 
around the globe.

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