[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 46 (Tuesday, April 25, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H1698-H1700]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 AUTHORIZING PARTICIPATION IN ENTERPRISE FOR THE AMERICAS MULTILATERAL 
                            INVESTMENT FUND

  Ms. PRYCE of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 4916) to authorize United States participation in, 
and appropriations for, the United States contribution to the first 
replenishment of the resources of the Enterprise for the Americas 
Multilateral Investment Fund.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 4916

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. FIRST REPLENISHMENT OF THE RESOURCES OF THE 
                   ENTERPRISE FOR THE AMERICAS MULTILATERAL 
                   INVESTMENT FUND.

       The Inter-American Development Bank Act (22 U.S.C. 283 et 
     seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``SEC. 39. FIRST REPLENISHMENT OF THE RESOURCES OF THE 
                   ENTERPRISE FOR THE AMERICAS MULTILATERAL 
                   INVESTMENT FUND.

       ``(a) Contribution Authority.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Secretary of the Treasury may 
     contribute on behalf of the United States $150,000,000 to the 
     first replenishment of the resources of the Enterprise for 
     the Americas Multilateral Investment Fund.
       ``(2) Subject to appropriations.--The authority provided by 
     paragraph (1) may be exercised only to the extent and in the 
     amounts provided for in advance in appropriations Acts.
       ``(b) Limitations on Authorization of Appropriations.--For 
     the United States contribution authorized by subsection (a), 
     there are authorized to be appropriated not more than 
     $150,000,000, without fiscal year limitation, for payment by 
     the Secretary of the Treasury.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Ohio (Ms. Pryce) and the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Maloney) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Ohio.
  Ms. PRYCE of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  The Multilateral Investment Fund, or MIF, was created as a mechanism 
to stimulate innovation and economic growth for Latin America and 
Caribbean countries and is operated by the Inter-American Development 
Bank, IADB, an organization that oversees many programs and loans that 
benefit the economically challenged in those areas.
  Projects funded through the MIF are focused on new development 
approaches that work to promote inclusive economic growth. The IADB has 
made the central goal of the MIF to use both grants and investments to 
demonstrate new ways in developing micro- and small enterprises, to 
build workers' skills, strengthen environmental management, and improve 
the functions of financial markets.
  This legislation fulfills the President's FY 2007 budget request for 
$25 million, or a total of $150 million over 6 years, to be given in 
replenishing the MIF and meet the U.S. commitment.
  At the close of FY 2005, the total amount of projects approved by the 
MIF exceeded $1 billion, encompassing 799 projects with an additional 
$1 billion in co-financing that was put to use in meeting MIF goals.
  Our authorizing this new replenishment allows for a continuation of 
all the good work the IADB has been doing in the area of microfinance.
  Microfinance projects are especially important to developing areas in 
helping break the cycle of poverty by providing a loan to start a small 
or microenterprise, a business usually defined as having less than 10 
employees in an economic hardship area.
  Through small business growth, areas are then able to demonstrate 
that they have potential to attract wider sources of capital and enable 
further expansion of services for microenterprises. Building the small 
firm sector offers the greatest potential to generating job growth, 
which will lead to lasting freedom from poverty.
  The MIF has pioneered the creation of venture capital for small 
business in Latin America and the Caribbean and continues to look for 
opportunities that would improve venture capital for small businesses 
by supporting reforms and regulatory and legislative frameworks, and by 
helping to remove barriers to small business financing.
  This legislation honors our commitment to these countries, will 
attract further capital investment and help create stable, reliable 
trading partners in these developing nations.
  Madam Speaker, I am so pleased to have the ranking members of the 
full committee and my subcommittee, Mr. Frank and Mrs. Maloney, as well 
as my subcommittee vice chair, Mrs. Biggert, and Chairman Spencer 
Bachus, joining me in supporting this replenishment; and I ask for my 
colleagues to support this bill.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. MALONEY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in strong bipartisan support of H.R. 4916, a 
bill that will authorize continued United States participation in and 
appropriations for the U.S. contribution to the first replenishment of 
the resources of the Enterprise for the Americas Multilateral 
Investment Fund.
  This bill was introduced with strong bipartisan support by 
Representative Pryce, who chairs the subcommittee on which I serve as 
the ranking member, Congressman Frank, Congresswoman Biggert and 
myself, and was reported unanimously out of the committee by voice 
vote.
  The MIF is operated by the Inter-American Development Bank and is 
governed by a donors committee composed of representatives of 37 member 
countries. The United States is the MIF's largest contributor with 42 
percent, and as such exercises considerable influence over its 
strategic direction and the individual projects it approves.
  The MIF does exactly the kinds of things that those who follow the 
work of the international financial institutions on both sides of the 
aisle wish these institutions would do. Its principal work is to 
administer a private sector grant program to assist in developing 
microenterprises which particularly help small women-owned businesses, 
it builds workers' skills, it strengthens environmental management, and 
it improves the efficiency of financial markets in Latin America and 
the Caribbean.
  Roughly 80 percent of MIF projects are undertaken in direct 
partnership with private sector business associations, trade groups and 
non-governmental organizations. Typically, MIF resources are matched 
dollar for dollar with contributions from these groups.
  MIF resources also leverage additional funds from other sources, 
providing a multiplier effect for projects

[[Page H1699]]

that have consistently been recognized as among the most innovative and 
effective of multilateral development institutions.
  The total authorization for U.S. participation contained in this 
legislation is $150 million over 6 years. The remaining member 
countries have pledged over $350 million. The first installment of the 
U.S. contribution, $25 million, was included in the President's budget 
request for fiscal year 2007.
  The Financial Services Committee has conducted close oversight over 
MIF programs since the fund was first established in 1993. In 13 years 
of operation, MIF has worked with over 400 private sector organizations 
throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, approving over $1 billion 
for roughly 800 different projects. The MIF is the single largest 
source of technical assistance for this part of the world.
  One area in which the MIF's work has attracted particular attention 
in recent years involves the impact of remittances, transfer of money 
by foreigners to their home countries in that region. Thanks to the 
fund's efforts, the fees accompanying sending of these moneys back home 
have been significantly lowered, from 15 percent to 5 percent. Thanks 
to MIF technical assistance, the recipients of these funds have 
channeled them into their countries' formal financial systems, helping 
them to create badly needed jobs.
  Madam Speaker, I would like to note that the House report that 
accompanies this bill mentions that the U.S. has an overdue balance 
resulting from the U.S. pledge to the original MIF agreement. While no 
funds are included in this bill for that purpose, the committee urges 
the administration to seek funding to pay this amount in back dues.
  MIF is an example of a program that actually works. It offers proof 
that multilateral institutions can provide win-win solutions. MIF shows 
that U.S. taxpayers can benefit while hardworking citizens of Latin 
America and the Caribbean who wish to start a business and compete in 
the global economy can pull themselves out of poverty.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. PRYCE of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to my good friend 
and chairman of the subcommittee, Spencer Bachus.
  Mr. BACHUS. Madam Speaker, I thank Chairman Pryce, and will start by 
commending Chairman Pryce and Congresswoman Maloney and Congresswoman 
Biggert and also Ranking Member Frank for this legislation.
  A lot of citizens might be hearing this debate and they may be 
thinking, what has this got to do with the United States? What do 
problems in Latin America have to do with the United States? What is in 
it for me, my constituents might ask me? Why would you support spending 
$25 million a year on this program? What do Americans get out of this 
program?
  I submit to you that this program is probably one of the best uses of 
our taxpayers' money for one simple reason: when I go home today, 
people say to me, illegal immigration; do something about illegal 
immigration.

                              {time}  1530

  Well, let me say this to fellow Members: if you want to do something 
about illegal immigration, this vote today, a ``yes'' vote on this 
bill, will do more from a practical standpoint to stem the flow of 
illegal immigration than anything else.
  James Schlessinger, one of my favorite quotes is a quote of his when 
he says: ``When a problem has no solution, it is not a problem. It is a 
fact.''
  Well, I can tell you that illegal immigration is a fact. But it is 
also a problem that has solutions. And the first solution, the first 
step to solving it we can take today by voting for this bill.
  Now, why is that? Well, let me tell you about illegal immigration. 
Let me tell you about Mexico, one of the countries that benefits from 
this program. It creates small enterprises, small jobs in Mexico. In 
Mexico every year, 600,000 Mexicans enter the job force; but there is 
only room for 150,000 of them. So almost a half million of them cannot 
even get a job at any wage.
  The ones that do get a job is at one-fifth of what Americans pay, 
American jobs. Guatemala, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, we are 
beginning to have more and more illegal immigrants from those 
countries. The reason? In the countries that I have just mentioned, 
about one out of every five young men or women that enters the job 
market can get a job.
  So I can tell you it is a fact of life when they cannot get a job at 
any salary, they are going to try to come over here. Yes, we can build 
walls. Yes, we can employ more people on the border. But a cheaper, 
more practical, more long-term solution is this legislation today which 
will create the very jobs these countries need. And that is not the 
large government enterprises. It is the private enterprise businesses.
  I close by saying this: another great thing about this program is we 
have partners. It is not a government program. The NGOs, the private 
sector business organizations, trade groups, they are all involved in 
this.
  Let us vote ``yes'' on this. Let us start creating jobs in those 
countries and stemming the flow of illegal immigration.
  Mrs. MALONEY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I agree completely with the gentleman. This not only will help the 
economic development, but certainly will give immigrants a reason to 
stay in their own countries and develop their own economy.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. PRYCE of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as she may 
consume to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Biggert) who has done so 
much work in this area.
  Mrs. BIGGERT. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. 
Pryce) for yielding me time.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4916, the bill that 
really authorizes the United States' contribution to the first 
replenishment of the resources of the Enterprise for the Americas 
Multilateral Investment Fund, which is often referred to as MIF.
  I want to thank Chairman Pryce for her leadership on the 
authorization bill and on all of the domestic and international 
economic development initiatives that she has undertaken since becoming 
chairman of the House Financial Services Domestic and International 
Monetary Policy Trade and Technology Subcommittee. It is an honor to 
serve as her vice-chairman.
  I also thank the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Maloney) for all the 
work that she has done as the ranking member of the committee. And I 
would like to thank Mr. Bachus for really being able to put this all in 
context of what this really means for all of us in the United States 
and why this is so important.
  It is important and in the U.S.'s best interest that we support 
international economic development initiatives as we fight the war on 
terror. It is especially important that we fund homegrown, 
microeconomic projects in developing countries.
  These projects are often supported through MIF's technical and 
financial supports. The Inter-American Development Bank is doing 
important work to marry the public and private sectors, is working to 
engage the international community and pro-democracy, pro-free trade, 
and pro-free market.
  Through a variety of initiatives, programs and projects, the bank is 
promoting sustainable economic growth in developing countries. Just as 
important as it is to the U.S., it is important to many developing 
countries to promote job growth, improve education, expand health care, 
enhance environmental standards, produce clean energy, develop sound 
infrastructure, and increase access to financial markets and 
institutions.
  The MIF fund, which is operated by the International American 
Development Bank, is a critical component of all of these marks of 
economic stability for developing countries, particularly in Latin 
America and the Caribbean, as they work towards stabilizing their 
governments and towards sustainable economic growth.
  H.R. 4916 authorizes the U.S. contribution of $150 million to MIF and 
sends a strong message to our neighbors in the south, and to the 
international community and the leaders in the Inter-American 
Development Bank that we support their efforts.

[[Page H1700]]

  Madam Speaker, I would like to commend the U.S. delegation that 
participated in the 47th annual Inter-American Development Bank 
meetings that were held earlier this month and for their hard work. In 
particular, I would like to commend the bank's leaders and staff for 
taking the helm of anti-corruption initiatives and for promoting 
ethical practices within the bank.
  In addition, I would like to recognize the new Inter-American 
Development president, Luis Alberto Moreno, for his leadership in 
promoting public-private partnerships, especially those that involve 
small businesses.
  I would also like to thank him for facilitating discussions about 
Latin American debt relief and development at this year's annual 
meeting. MIF is a proven winner in meeting important job creation and 
economic goals throughout the region.
  By tapping the talents, strengths, and resources of private sector 
groups and organization, we can continue to help others help 
themselves. This is a great program that leverages small dollars into 
big results for many people throughout Latin America.
  Madam Speaker, I am again pleased to lend my support to the chairman 
for her legislation, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.
  Mrs. MALONEY. Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support 
this important legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. PRYCE of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for 
time. It has been a pleasure working with the gentlewoman from New 
York.
  Ms. WATERS. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4916, a bill to 
authorize U.S. participation in the Enterprise for the Americas 
Multilateral Investment Fund (the Fund/MIF). The bill provides $150 
million for the Fund. While this may appear to be a small amount 
compared to some of our other commitments to multilateral institutions, 
the reauthorization of the Fund represents an important step in our 
continuing efforts to underwrite economic development activities 
outside of our own borders.
  In the broadest sense the Fund is designed to promote private sector 
development in Latin America and the Caribbean. There are two 
overarching themes related to the Fund. One is to reduce poverty and 
promote grass roots economic growth in this part of the world. By 
strengthening micro and small enterprise capacities, the Fund 
stimulates improvements in the business environment and engages the 
private sector in the development process. Two, by underwriting 
projects that promote innovation, the Fund pilots new concepts, 
determining their feasibility for the commercial market, as well as 
whether they can be adapted on a larger scale.
  To date, more than 75 percent of Fund project activities have been 
undertaken in partnership with the private sector. More than $1 billion 
has been approved for 800 projects. Through these projects MIF has 
become one of the best known organizations with private sector partners 
in Latin America and the Caribbean. As the largest provider of 
technical assistance in the Region, it is no doubt why this 
reauthorization has bipartisan support. Indeed, the Fund provides a 
stellar example of how we can best use our resources to promote 
development, while reducing poverty and raising the standard of living 
of our neighbors. Madam Speaker, I urge support of the bill.
  Ms. PRYCE of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Pryce) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 4916.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________