[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 21]
[Senate]
[Page 31056]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                        DEBT RELIEF LEGISLATION

  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, I want to note that Congress is taking 
the first important step toward providing debt relief for the Heavily 
Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. As co-sponsor, with Senator 
Mack, of legislation to authorize U.S. participation in this critically 
important international initiative, I believe that easing the debt 
burden of the world's poorest countries is one of the most meaningful 
things we can do to help these nations eradicate poverty and grow their 
economies on a sustainable basis.
  The final version of the Foreign Operations appropriations bill 
contained enough money and authorizations to permit the HIPC Initiative 
to go forward, but there is more we have to do in Congress, beginning 
early next year, to provide the resources necessary to address the debt 
burden of the countries that are expected to qualify. As ranking member 
on the authorizing subcommittee in Foreign Relations, I intend to work 
hard to achieve the necessary additional authorizations there, 
including the very important one for U.S. contributions to the HIPC 
Trust Fund. I would like today to engage Senator Gramm in a colloquy on 
the commitment I understand he made to the Administration to act on the 
necessary remaining IMF authorization in the Banking Committee as well.
  Mr. GRAMM. I thank the Senator. As you know, we agreed on language 
that would permit the U.S. to support mobilization of the amount of IMF 
gold necessary to provide a stream of interest earnings sufficient for 
IMF participation in the HIPC initiative. However, we agreed that only 
\9/14\ of the interest earnings could be used for HIPC debt relief, 
until such time as Congress authorized the U.S. to vote in favor of 
using the remaining \5/14\ of the earnings as well. I committed to the 
Administration that the Banking Committee would act on this remaining 
IMF authorization no later than May 1, 2000. It is my hope, of course, 
that the Foreign Relations Committee could act with similar dispatch.
  Mr. SARBANES. Thank you, Senator. I will certainly do everything I 
can to help you meet your May 1 deadline--in fact, I hope and believe 
we should be able to act sooner.

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