[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 17820-17821]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                   AFRICAN GROWTH AND OPPORTUNITY ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                    HON. JUANITA MILLENDER-McDONALD

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 16, 1999

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 434) to 
     authorize a new trade and investment policy for sub-Sahara 
     Africa.

  Ms. MILLENDER-McDONALD. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of 
H.R. 434, the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act. I am honored to say 
that today, the vast majority of American civic, religious, and 
business leaders strongly support this bill. More important, all 43 
nations of sub-Saharan Africa have voiced unanimous support for this 
bold step toward stronger economic ties between the United States and 
Africa.
  We have also recognized that Africa's fragile democracies cannot 
sustain themselves without economic prosperity. I am proud to say that 
our government supported and promoted free and fair elections in every 
country where leaders were willing to allow liberty to flourish.
  Now, we turn our attention toward strengthening Africa economically 
through US-Africa trade. The globalization of the economy, marked by 
integration of markets throughout the world, has made Africa the new 
economic frontier for economic growth. Western Europe and Japan are 
aggressively pursuing new trade relations with African countries. This 
vast continent, with its enormous resources and human capacity, may 
become the world's economic engine well into the 21st Century.
  Africa is on the brink of a major economic revival. The United States 
faces strong competition from the European and Asian economic 
communities. The Africa Growth and Opportunity Act provides the United 
States

[[Page 17821]]

with a mechanism to leverage stronger US-African public and private 
partnerships while promoting African and American long-term economic 
interests.
  HR 434 is bipartisan, provides a viable framework for modernizing 
Africa's trade infrastructure, strengthens relations between the 
African and American private sector, promotes African economic reform, 
and lays a foundation for future cooperation.
  HR 434 is the beginning of an ongoing relationship between the United 
States and Africa. The bill's requirement that the President create and 
convene regularly a U.S.-Africa Economic Forum means there will be 
opportunity to revisit and expand the program as trade increases.
  Much has been said about the need for debt relief for Africa. 
Congressman Jesse Jackson has forcefully brought this point home to all 
of us. The Africa Growth and Opportunity Act calls for deep debt relief 
for the poorest countries in Africa. We should keep a discussion alive 
on this serious matter and seek to address the debt burden in an 
appropriate manner.
  However, today we began to build strong trade relations between the 
United States and Africa as it is a critical part of Africa's economic 
recovery and is good for American businesses.
  I urge passage of HR 434.

                          ____________________