[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 132 (Friday, September 7, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11267-S11268]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   FOREIGN OPERATIONS APPROPRIATIONS

  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I strongly oppose coercive abortion or 
involuntary sterilization, and was pleased that the fiscal year 2008 
Foreign Operations Appropriations bill included a provision prohibiting 
U.S. funds from going to any organization or program that directly 
supports such horrific practices. Unfortunately, the amendment offered 
by Senator Brownback undermined this provision by allowing the 
President to deny funds to any organization or program that he claims 
supports such practices. This administration has misused similar 
language to deny resources to the United Nations Population Fund simply 
because this agency has programs in China, where the government 
practices coercive abortions to enforce its one child policy. In fact, 
however, the UNFPA's program in China is specifically designed to 
pressure the Chinese to end the use of coercive tactics, and this 
amendment would undermine the good work that the UNFPA does.
  (At the request of Mr. REID, the following statement was ordered to 
be printed in the Record.)
 Mrs. CLINTON. Mr. President, as we consider legislation to 
provide funding for our important international development and 
assistance programs, I would like to take the opportunity to highlight 
the issue of quality basic education and the ways in which increasing 
access to basic education can improve social, economic, and health

[[Page S11268]]

outcomes in countries around the world.
  We cannot underestimate the importance of efforts by our Government 
and its partners around the globe to provide access to education for 
girls and boys around the world. Basic education is the cornerstone for 
success in sustainable development. It has a profound impact on the 
future of individual children, their families, communities, and 
nations.
  A population that can read, write, and think critically is far more 
likely to achieve democracy, economic growth, and improved health. A 
2004 report by Barbara Herz and Gene Sperling from the Center on 
Universal Education at the Council on Foreign Relations detailed the 
benefits that result from investments in education, particular for 
girls and women. A single year of primary education correlates with a 
10 to 20 percent increase in women's wages later in life, and a study 
of South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa found that from 1960 to 1992, 
equality in education between men and women could have led to nearly 1 
percent higher annual per capita GDP growth.
  Nor is there any doubt that education saves lives. Educated children 
are less likely to contract HIV/AIDS and other deadly diseases. Oxfam 
estimates that if all children completed primary education, 700,000 new 
cases of HIV/AIDS in young people could be prevented each year, 
totaling 7 million cases in a decade.
  I would like to commend the Senate for its efforts to significantly 
increase U.S. investments in basic education in the developing world. 
Over the last 15 to 20 years, there has been dramatic progress, 
particularly for girls, in school enrollment around the world.
  In 2000, our Nation made a commitment to the goal of achieving 
universal basic education by 2015. Through some of the initiatives and 
partnership in which our Government is participating with its 
international partners, such as the Education for All Fast Track 
Initiative, we have made progress. Since the Fast Track Initiative was 
launched in 2002, approximately 4 million children each year--both boys 
and girls--have gained access to school.
  But much more needs to be done. We are not on track to meet our 2015 
goal. In order to do so, we would need to help millions more children 
enter school each year requiring a global financial commitment of more 
than $7 billion every year. Of the 77 million children who are not in 
school, three-fifths are girls. Forty-three percent of all out-of-
school children are in countries affected by conflict and are often the 
hardest to reach. Approximately half of the school-age children who 
start primary school do not complete it. And there are hundreds of 
millions more children who are denied the opportunity to complete a 
secondary school education to become the next generation of doctors, 
nurses, lawyers, scientists, and teachers. These statistics represent 
an unconscionable misuse of human potential--a misuse that we can and 
must remedy.
  I have introduced legislation--the Education for All Act--that would 
enable the U.S. Government to make a significant commitment to reach 
the 2015 goal and help children in developing countries, particularly 
areas experiencing conflict or humanitarian emergencies, have access to 
a quality basic education. But I would also encourage my colleagues to 
support increased appropriations for basic education programs, and as 
this legislation moves forward, I will work with my colleagues to 
ensure that the United States is in the strongest position to meet its 
2015 goal and make education for all a reality. This is not only the 
right thing to do for the world's children; it is right thing and the 
smart thing to do for this country.

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