[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 61 (Thursday, April 17, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E650]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 JUBILEE ACT FOR RESPONSIBLE LENDING AND EXPANDED DEBT CANCELLATION OF 
                                  2008

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 16, 2008

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2634) to 
     provide for greater responsibility in lending and expanded 
     cancellation of debts owed to the United States and the 
     international financial institutions by low-income countries, 
     and for other purposes:

  Ms. LEE. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of the Hastings 
amendment to H.R. 2634 which expresses the sense of Congress that 
Haiti's debts should be immediately forgiven. This amendment seeks to 
empower a nation that has endured a turbulent past and has fought 
courageously to achieve a relative measure of stability.
  As the world has experienced a 40 percent rise in global food prices 
since mid-2007, Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, 
has keenly felt this increase on a greater scale. Eighty percent of 
Haiti's population lives on less than $2 a day. The cost of staple 
foods which Haiti's economy depends on, such as rice, beans, fruit, and 
condensed milk, has gone up 50 percent in the past year.
  The high cost of food in Haiti has led to anti-government protests 
and riots, in which at least 5 people have died and 40 people have been 
wounded. These extreme reactions to the humanitarian crisis will 
jeopardize Haiti's security and the capacity of its democratic 
institutions to govern effectively. To put it simply, Haiti's democracy 
cannot survive if it is unable to ensure that its people have access to 
basic food commodities at a reasonable price.
  The Hastings amendment reinforces the point that Haiti is scheduled 
to send $48,700,000 in debt payments to multilateral financial 
institutions in 2008--money that could be better spent on providing for 
its people.
  In light of this devastating global food crisis and the crisis in 
Haiti, we must urge the Secretary of the Treasury to do all that he can 
to expedite the complete and immediate cancelation of Haiti's debts to 
all international financial institutions.
  This is a reasonable amendment that responds to an urgent need, and I 
urge my colleagues to support it.

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