[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 12722-12727]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



            TROPICAL FOREST CONSERVATION ACT REAUTHORIZATION

  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2131) to reauthorize the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 
1998 through fiscal year 2004, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 2131

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

     SECTION 1. ELIGIBILITY FOR BENEFITS.

       Section 805(a)(2) of the Tropical Forest Conservation Act 
     of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 2431c(a)(2)) is amended by striking 
     ``major''.

[[Page 12723]]



     SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS TO SUPPORT REDUCTION 
                   OF DEBT UNDER THE FOREIGN ASSISTANCE ACT OF 
                   1961 AND TITLE I OF THE AGRICULTURAL TRADE 
                   DEVELOPMENT AND ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1954.

       (a) Reauthorization.--Section 806 of the Tropical Forest 
     Conservation Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 2431d) is amended by 
     adding at the end the following new subsection:
       ``(d) Authorization of Appropriations for Fiscal Years 
     After Fiscal Year 2001.--For the cost (as defined in section 
     502(5) of the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990) for the 
     reduction of any debt pursuant to this section or section 
     807, there are authorized to be appropriated to the President 
     the following:
       ``(1) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2002.
       ``(2) $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2003.
       ``(3) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2004.''.
       (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 808(a)(1)(D) of the 
     Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 
     2431f(a)(1)(D)) is amended by striking ``to appropriated 
     under sections 806(a)(2) and 807(a)(2)'' and inserting ``to 
     be appropriated under sections 806(a)(2), 807(a)(2), and 
     806(d)''.

     SEC. 3. CHAIRPERSON OF THE ENTERPRISE FOR THE AMERICAS BOARD.

       Section 811(b)(2) of the Tropical Forest Conservation Act 
     of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 2431i(b)(2)) is amended by striking ``from 
     among the representatives appointed under section 
     610(b)(1)(A) of such Act or paragraph (1)(A) of this 
     subsection'' and inserting ``and shall be the representative 
     from the Department of State appointed under section 
     610(b)(1)(A) of such Act''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Ohio (Mr. Chabot) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot).


                             General Leave

  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on H.R. 2131, the bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Ohio?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2131, the Tropical 
Forest Conservation Act reauthorization, and I want to commend the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Portman) for his leadership and hard work on 
this important legislation. I am proud to be one of the 28 original 
cosponsors of this piece of legislation.
  Tropical forests provide a wide variety of benefits to the entire 
world. They act as carbon sinks, helping to reduce greenhouse gases as 
they absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and 
provide habitat for many plant species that are used to develop 
lifesaving medicines and pharmaceutical products.
  It has been estimated that up to 30 million acres of tropical forests 
are lost each year, an area roughly the size of Pennsylvania. This 
alarming rate of destruction emphasizes the need to act, and act 
quickly, to preserve these valuable assets for future generations.
  The Tropical Forest Conservation Act reauthorization is a sound, 
free-market approach to a very serious global environmental problem. It 
will encourage the preservation of tropical forests without creating a 
burden on the American taxpayer. It is a good, sensible piece of 
legislation. It is worthy of our support, and I urge its adoption.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. 
Portman) for proposing this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2131 which reauthorizes 
the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998, and commend the gentleman 
from Ohio (Mr. Portman) for introducing this reauthorization bill, and 
the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), the chairman of the Committee 
on International Relations, for moving it so expeditiously through the 
legislative process.
  Mr. Speaker, 3 years ago Congress overwhelmingly approved the 
landmark Tropical Forest Conservation Act. This legislation provided 
funding for the administration to pursue actively debt swaps, buybacks 
and other devices with developing nations in return for concrete 
efforts to protect tropical forests. Since Congress enacted this 
important legislation, the Clinton administration successfully 
concluded an agreement to reduce debt owed by the Government of 
Bangladesh to the United States in exchange for a new plan to protect 4 
million acres of mangrove forests in that country. These forests 
protect the world's only genetically secure population of Bengal 
tigers.
  At the moment, Mr. Speaker, there are 11 nations on 3 continents 
interested in negotiating new tropical forest conservation debt 
reduction agreements with the United States. It is critical that the 
Bush administration continue the active implementation of the Tropical 
Forest Conservation Act. Tropical forests around the globe are rapidly 
disappearing. The latest figures indicate that 30 million acres of 
tropical forests are being lost every single year. This is an area 
larger than the State of Pennsylvania. Tropical forests harbor much of 
the world's biodiversity. They act as carbon sinks, absorbing massive 
quantities of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, thereby reducing 
greenhouse gases. The United States National Cancer Institute has 
identified over 3,000 plants that are active against cancer, 70 percent 
of which can be found in tropical forests.
  Mr. Speaker, the U.S. must continue to play a leadership role in 
protecting the world's tropical forests. By reauthorizing this act and 
providing reasonable funding for the next 3 fiscal years, I am 
confident that we can help save tens of thousands of acres of tropical 
forests around the globe. I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 
2131.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Portman), the principal sponsor of the 
legislation.
  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. 
Chabot) for yielding me this time, and I thank the distinguished 
gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) for his statement and for his 
strong support of this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of this legislation. It 
is bipartisan, it is bicameral, and it is reauthorizing a program which 
can work well to address serious problems.
  Mr. Speaker, we introduced this bill with 33 other colleagues in 
order to continue what is a very innovative conservation program which 
helps protect the world's most valuable tropical forests through these 
debt-for-nature mechanisms.
  Mr. Speaker, I also thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) and 
the ranking member (Mr. Lantos) gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter) 
and other members of the Committee on International Relations, 
including the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot), for their expedited 
consideration of the legislation and unanimous approval of it on June 
20.
  I also want to thank them for the improvements they made to the 
legislation. The three amendments that were accepted in committee, I 
think, perfect the legislation and make it work better, given the 
evolving nature of some of the debt-for-nature relationships we might 
have.
  Four years ago I introduced this original bill with our former 
colleagues Lee Hamilton and John Kasich. It was approved by the House 
and passed by the Senate under unanimous consent, and was signed into 
law by President Clinton. The legislation was developed with the 
support and input of a lot of people, including some of the major 
respected international environmental organizations such as the Nature 
Conservancy, the World Wildlife Fund and Conservation International. 
Their support and ongoing commitment to this program and their 
involvement in this program as a potential third party has been and 
will continue to be very valuable to its success.
  Mr. Speaker, I also note that our freshman colleague, the gentleman 
from Illinois (Mr. Kirk), was instrumental in developing the original 
Tropical Forest Conservation Act when he

[[Page 12724]]

was a senior member of the Committee on International Relations staff. 
I am delighted that he is an original cosponsor of this legislation 
before us today.
  The United States has a significant national interest in protecting 
these forests around the world. As has been said by the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Lantos), these forests provide a wide range of 
benefits. We know they harbor between 50 and 90 percent of the 
terrestrial biodiversity on Earth. We know that they act as carbon 
sinks, absorbing massive quantities of carbon dioxide from the 
environment, and we know that carbon dioxide taken out of the 
atmosphere helps reduce the effect of greenhouse gases. They also help 
regulate rainfall on which agriculture and coastal resources depend, 
and they are important to regional and global climate.
  Furthermore, these tropical forests are the breeding ground for new 
medicines. We are told that fully a quarter of the prescription drugs 
currently used in the United States come from tropical forests. We are 
also told that of the more than 3,000 plants the National Cancer 
Institute has identified as being active against cancer, 70 percent are 
found in these tropical forests.
  Regrettably, these forests are rapidly disappearing. The gentleman 
from California (Mr. Lantos) talked about that, and stated an area the 
size of Pennsylvania is being destroyed every year. We believe that 
half the tropical forests are already gone.
  The heavy debt burden of these countries that have these forests is a 
contributing factor to the disappearance of these forests. Why? Because 
these countries must resort to exploitation of their natural resources, 
timber, minerals, and precious metals, to generate revenue to service 
burdensome external debt.
  At the same time, poor governments tend to have very few resources to 
set aside and protect their tropical forests. This act addresses these 
economic pressures by authorizing the President to allow eligible 
countries to engage in debt swaps, buybacks or restructuring in 
exchange for protecting threatened tropical forests on a sustained 
basis over time.
  The legislation is based on the previous Bush administration's 
Enterprise for the Americas Initiative that allowed the President to 
structure certain debt in exchange for conservation efforts, but only 
in Latin America.
  This legislation and its predecessor expands on the countries 
eligible, the requirements, and the legislation expands it beyond Latin 
America to protect tropical forests that are threatened worldwide. The 
bill provides for very innovative ways to leverage scarce resources 
available for international conservation.
  Under two of the three options made available under this bill, third-
party debt swaps where third parties can come in, such as the Nature 
Conservancy or Conservation International, and also debt buybacks, in 
those two cases, there is no cost at all to the United States 
Government.

                              {time}  1515

  Under the third option provided for under this legislation, the 
United States and an eligible country can agree to restructure the 
debt. Our Government in this case does provide a subsidy to cover the 
difference between the so-called net present value of the debt and the 
net present value of whatever the new debt is. Now, net present value 
is a fancy term, but it refers to what an investment bank, say, on Wall 
Street might use as they look at the debt to determine what it is 
really worth, what its actual value is.
  Our Government provides this subsidy because we get something in 
return for it. We get something in return in the sense that the amount 
of debt forgiven is often lower than the amount that is placed in these 
tropical forest funds. Therefore, we get leverage. In fact, taxpayers 
will usually get at least $2 in conservation funds back into the fund 
in local currency for every $1 of Federal funds that would be spent.
  Part of this leverage comes from the fact that the host country is 
required to use local currency in a tropical forest fund. Second, these 
tropical forest funds have integrity, are broadly supported within the 
host country; and, therefore, conservation organizations are interested 
in placing their own private money in these funds. We believe this is 
producing additional private sector leverage of government conservation 
dollars, and we believe the potential for that is great.
  The final point I would just like to make about the restructuring 
option is that I believe if we are going to reduce or eliminate debts 
that are owed by poorer countries to the United States, it only makes 
sense that we get something in return for it. In this case we do, in 
fact, get something in return through this initiative. It is a win-win-
win, for us, for the poorer country, and for the environment.
  Last year, as mentioned earlier, the United States did conclude a 
tropical forest debt reduction agreement with Bangladesh, which is a 
less developed country that is heavily burdened by foreign debt. The 
gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter), who is with us this afternoon, 
has been quite focused on Bangladesh. In fact, I can remember at the 
first hearing we had on this subject 3 or 4 years ago, he raised the 
fact that Bangladesh was a country that ought to be included within the 
requirements because they could use this initiative in order to reduce 
some of their debt and save some of their endangered tropical forests. 
In fact, that has happened. It allows in Bangladesh the protection of 
over 4 million acres of endangered mangrove forests, and it protects 
the world's only genetically secure population of Bengal tigers.
  At present, we believe there are at least 11 nations on three 
continents interested in negotiating these kinds of Tropical Forest Act 
debt reduction agreements. In fact, we have reason to believe that 
Belize, El Salvador, and Thailand are ready to move on such agreements 
this year. Furthermore, as many Members know, President Bush has 
expressed his strong support for this program.
  I would also like to briefly address the authorization for funds 
included in this legislation. First, I want to make the point this 
authorization is actually less than the authorization over the last 3 
years. In fact, looking out over the 3-year period, it is roughly $100 
million less than was provided in the previous and original 
authorization.
  Second, I would say this authorization is consistent with what the 
Bush administration has said is their commitment to providing adequate 
funding for this initiative. In other words, it fits within the budget 
so long as we are making progress toward restructuring agreements 
around the world, and, again, I think there is adequate evidence that 
we have lots of countries lined up and interested, and we will be able 
to move forward aggressively from this point on.
  Before I close, Mr. Speaker, I would like to offer my thanks and 
appreciation, also, to some key staff members who got us here today: 
Adolfo Franco, Frank Record, Peter Yeo, David Abramowitz, Keith O'Neil, 
and Carol Doherty of the Committee on International Relations majority 
and minority staffs for their expertise and all their diligent work on 
this legislation. I would also like to thank Tim Miller and Maile 
Gradison of my office for their dedication to this initiative, and Jeff 
Burnam with Senator Lugar and Jim Green with Senator Biden for helping 
to develop the companion bill on the Senate side, which is identical to 
the legislation introduced in the House and almost identical to the 
legislation that we have on the floor this afternoon.
  Again, this is a good program, worthy of reauthorization. It holds 
great promise. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to 
enthusiastically support the passage today of H.R. 2131.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I want to commend my friend for his eloquent 
statement, and I want to identify myself with it.
  Mr. Speaker, it gives me a great deal of pleasure to yield such time 
as he may consume to the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. 
Faleomavaega), one of the nationally recognized leaders in this field.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to be a cosponsor of H.R.

[[Page 12725]]

2131, which reauthorizes the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998.
  I want to commend the author of the legislation, the gentleman from 
Ohio (Mr. Portman), and the chairman and ranking Democratic member of 
the Committee on International Relations, the gentleman from Illinois 
(Mr. Hyde), and the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. 
Lantos) for their leadership in moving consideration of this important 
measure which facilitates debt reduction in Third World countries by 
supporting their efforts for conservation of fragile tropical forests.
  Mr. Speaker, the provisions of the Tropical Forest Conservation Act 
basically allow less-developed nations that owe loans to the United 
States to restructure their debt repayment, funneling savings into a 
tropical rain forest protection fund which provides for the 
conservation and maintenance of native forest resources in each 
participating country.
  According to the World Wildlife Fund, Mr. Speaker, in recent years up 
to 42 million acres of tropical forests have been devastated annually 
throughout the world. Indeed, approximately one-half of the planet's 
tropical forests no longer exist. In the Asia-Pacific region alone, it 
is estimated that 88 percent of original forest lands have now been 
destroyed.
  Mr. Speaker, these careless actions have a dramatic negative impact 
on the environment that is global in nature. The destruction of 
tropical forest lands on this scale destroys the Earth's ability to 
recycle carbon dioxide, significantly contributing to greenhouse gases 
and climate warming.
  Perhaps more importantly, we sacrifice and lose the rich and unique 
biodiversity of these tropical forest ecosystems which, incidentally, 
contain over half of the world's plant and animal species.
  Mr. Speaker, tropical forest plants have been used for centuries by 
indigenous native peoples to treat illnesses and disease. Most of the 
Earth's 265,000 flowering plants are located in tropical regions, and 
less than 1 percent of these plants have been scientifically tested for 
effectiveness against disease.
  I am appreciative of the fact that the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. 
Portman) had alluded earlier about a win-win situation for the 
reauthorization of this legislation. Mr. Speaker, over the years, as a 
classic example, it has been my privilege to know one of the world's 
leading ethnobotanists, Dr. Nafanua Paul Cox, for the tremendous work 
that he has done in saving rain forests and tropical forests in the 
South Pacific region.
  I say this personally, because of his efforts over the years, he has 
sent hundreds of herbal plant medicines that were used by my people for 
centuries and now the latest discovery by the National Institutes of 
Health, a certain drug that has come out of this research conducted by 
Dr. Cox is a substance called protrastin that may have very positive 
effects in curing HIV. I am talking about AIDS. That is all because of 
the preservation of these plants.
  Mr. Speaker, we must preserve these tropical resources that may hold 
the key to curing cancer, even AIDS and other deadly diseases 
afflicting humanity. If rare tropical plants are not protected, their 
genetic codes and potential benefits will be lost forever to mankind.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this piece of 
legislation. I thank my good friend from Ohio for his management of 
this legislation and especially the ranking member, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Lantos), for his leadership in bringing this 
legislation to the floor. Again, I urge my colleagues to support this 
bill.
  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter), one of the distinguished members of the 
Committee on International Relations.
  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in very strong support of this 
legislation. It has been very well explained by many of my colleagues, 
including the distinguished primary sponsor of this legislation and the 
original act, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Portman). So I will not have 
to go over the details, that is for sure; but I do want to mention and 
reemphasize one thing the gentleman from Ohio said and, that is, that 
the program builds upon former President George Bush's innovative 
Enterprise for the Americas Initiative and is another creative example 
of how our country can address developing-country debt while helping to 
protect the environment.
  The act gives the President the authority to reduce certain forms of 
development assistance and food aid debt owed to the United States in 
exchange for the deposit by eligible developing countries of local 
currencies in a tropical forest fund to preserve, restore and maintain 
tropical forests. These funds are used by qualified nongovernmental 
organizations working to preserve the world's most endangered tropical 
forests.
  A board of directors in the United States comprised of U.S. public 
and private officials oversees this program and annually reports to 
Congress on progress made to implement the program.
  The gentleman from Ohio was gracious in mentioning at the time the 
House International Relations Committee proceeded to mark up the 
original act. Frankly, I was interested in Bangladesh because when it 
has come to debt forgiveness or debt reduction in the past, by a 
strange set of circumstances, Bangladesh has fallen through the cracks 
and they needed some assistance. I wanted to make sure that they were 
not neglected. It turns out they are the first beneficiary of the 
Tropical Forest Conservation Act.
  Before I offered my amendment to assure eligibility for Bangladesh I 
had to look to see if it had a tropical forest to be saved in that 
country of such huge population density with all of its drought and 
flooding problems. They do. As mentioned in terms of square miles, I 
will put it in square kilometers, 14,000 square kilometers of tropical 
forest areas in the Chittagong Hill Tracts and in the Sunderbans. As 
mentioned by the gentleman from Ohio, this is one of the few remaining 
refuges for the Bengal tiger. Currently, the Bangladeshi board of 
directors, which will disburse the trust funds, is reviewing how 
similar boards operate in establishing its procedures for implementing 
the agreement.
  There are only 11 countries considering it right now on three 
different continents, but I have no doubt the number will expand 
dramatically when interested people and their governments understand 
the benefits.
  Mr. Speaker, this Member would like to very specifically commend the 
distinguished gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Portman), the sponsor of this 
legislation and the original act; and the ranking member of the 
Committee on International Relations, the distinguished gentleman from 
California (Mr. Lantos), for their leadership and support for 
conservation efforts in the developing world and for their work to 
reauthorize this program. Of course, the expedited treatment of this 
legislation by our chairman, the distinguished gentleman from Illinois 
(Mr. Hyde), is also to be commended; and I am pleased to be an original 
cosponsor.
  Mr. Speaker, this Member urges all of our colleagues to support the 
reauthorization of the Tropical Forest Conservation Act, as it provides 
direct benefits to both developing and developed countries.

                              {time}  1530

  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Rohrabacher), also a distinguished member of the 
Committee on International Relations.
  Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2131.
  Mr. Speaker, let me just note that the argument that we must try to 
preserve our tropical rain forests because the tropical rain forests 
have a possible treasure house of biodiversity for this generation and 
future generations I think is a very valid argument.
  I have lived in jungles in my life. I understand the many thousands, 
if not tens of thousands, of variety of not only animal and insect and 
plant life but all kinds of life that is surrounding one in the jungle. 
And, yes, in future

[[Page 12726]]

generations we may find tremendous assets that are right in front of 
our face but we do not recognize it now.
  The idea of trading debt with some of these countries and getting for 
that debt a commitment to try to preserve these rain forests, I think, 
is a very good idea. Let us just remember that in many cases these 
countries would not be repaying that debt anyway. So this is a win-win 
proposal.
  Let me just say, however, that believing in this bill and believing 
in the biodiversity of the jungles does not mean that one has to 
believe that the jungles in some way contribute to helping the global 
warming situation. I have heard that several times in the arguments 
here on the floor.
  Let me just say that global warming, if one takes it by the people 
who advocate that, I believe global warming is a bunch of global 
baloney myself, but even if one does believe in global warming as 
precisely presented by those people who are trying to convince the rest 
of us that it is true, one would not want to preserve the rain forests. 
In fact, consistent with the global warming theory what one would want 
to do is to clear-cut all of the rain forests and bulldoze them because 
the rain forests are one of the major contributors on this planet of 
CO2 and methane, which are the global-warming gases.
  Termites eating in the jungles produce more of what they call 
greenhouse gases than does the internal combustion engine. By the way, 
I do not believe in global warming so I would never advocate bulldozing 
the jungles, but if one believes in it that is what they want to do and 
they, of course, want to also get rid of old growth trees. The older 
the growth of the trees, the more one wants to cut it down and replant 
young trees. The essence of global warming is saying that one wants 
young, vibrant trees and plants to take in carbon dioxide and give out 
oxygen.
  Let me just say, our jungles and our old growth trees do just the 
opposite. They give out more CO2 than they are taking in 
oxygen. So let us support this effort to try to save the jungles and 
save those forests and rain forests around the world and let us take 
advantage of this very commonsensical approach of debt restructuring. 
Let us not get trapped into using arguments that just do not hold water 
and are not scientifically viable. There has been enough nonsense on 
global warming and other areas.
  Let us just say that the rain forests are valuable and let us save 
them.
  Mr. GILCHREST. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. ROHRABACHER. I yield to the gentleman from Maryland.
  Mr. GILCHREST. Mr. Speaker, I would just like to say that the number 
of facts that are out there dealing with carbon dioxide, methane, and a 
number of other greenhouse gases show that in the last 50 years the 
dramatic increase in those gases are evidence that human activity is 
causing the climate to warm.
  Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, let me say that 
means one would clear-cut all of the jungles to get rid of the 
CO2 buildup if that was true.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Kirk).
  Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot) 
for yielding me this time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2131. I would like to 
particularly thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Portman) for his strong 
leadership on this issue. He is one of our environmental leaders here 
in the Congress, and I salute him.
  I also want to thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), and the gentleman from Nebraska 
(Mr. Bereuter) for bringing this legislation to the floor and thank Tim 
Miller from the staff of the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Portman) for his 
work.
  Under President Bush's 1990 Enterprise for the Americas Initiative 
Act, the United States sponsored many debt-for-nature swap programs. 
The Tropical Forest Conservation Act, based on this idea, was first 
introduced by the gentleman from Ohio in 1997 with bipartisan support 
and was signed into law in 1998.
  As a congressional staffer, I had the honor to work on that 
legislation and help him achieve that goal. I am pleased to support 
this bill which continues in that tradition.
  Bangladesh is the first country which benefited from this program. 
Because Bangladesh has been able to restructure its debt, it was able 
to create a national forest fund of almost $9 million, which went to 
protecting the Mangrove Swap area, home to over 500 wild tigers. 
Currently, there are 11 nations on three continents interested in 
considering debt forgiveness under this program, including places like 
Belize and El Salvador.
  I think the United States has an important national interest in 
supporting the protection of the world's natural resources, including 
tropical forests. Tropical forests are home to half of all known plants 
and animals. We are losing an area equal to a football field a minute, 
and this must stop.
  The gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Portman) is our leader on this issue and 
built on the work of the previous Bush and Clinton administrations. 
Later this year, the Congress will consider legislation building on 
this model to protect coral reefs. Coral reefs are home to most aquatic 
plants and animals. Many reefs are disappearing, and most of them are 
in developing countries.
  I salute the leaders on this issue, commend the gentleman for this 
legislation, and urge the House adoption of this bill.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Tropical 
Forest Conservation Act Reauthorization. This bill extends the Tropical 
Forest Conservation Act of 1998, which passed in this body and was 
signed into law by President Clinton. Today's legislation allows the 
U.S. Agency for International Development to relieve some of the 
foreign debt owed to the United States. In return, participating 
nations agree to establish trust funds to protect local tropical 
rainforests and other environmentally sensitive areas. This bill 
authorizes $225 million to be spent over the next three fiscal years to 
pay for this important conservation program and for the cost of debt 
forgiveness.
  This innovative tool, the so-called ``debt for nature swap'', helps 
countries with undeveloped natural resources reduce their foreign debts 
by buying it back and agreeing to spend a portion of the proceeds on 
conservation projects. This is especially vital because tropical 
forests contain half of the world's known species of plants and 
animals. They contain a diversity of organic materials that could lead 
to the development of life-saving new medicines and tropical forests 
help slow global climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide. 
Increasingly, however, these fragile forests are succumbing to logging, 
roadbuilding and development. Since 1950, half of the world's tropical 
forests have disappeared and they are disappearing at a rate of 30 
million acres each year. The countries that carry the heaviest debt 
contribute significantly to this loss because they extract valuable 
natural resources in order to generate needed revenue.
  A recent report in the Journal of Science highlights the problems 
affecting Brazil's tropical forests. The report states that the rapid 
growth of Brazil's population is leading to the equally rapid expansion 
of railroads, pipelines and highways into the delicate Amazon forest 
areas. The devastation of the Brazilian rainforest will take place in 
only 20 years because of a $40 billion project to encourage 
development.
  In tropical countries throughout the world, the deterioration of the 
rainforest will have dramatic and devastating effects on wildlife 
habitat, genetic diversity, the quality of watersheds and the global 
climate. The United States, because of our role as an economic leader, 
should promote creative solutions such as the one contained in this 
bill.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, at this time I want to thank the gentleman 
from Ohio (Mr. Portman) for reminding us of tragedy of the rapidly 
disappearing tropical forests, and the importance of protecting the 
world's most diverse ecosystems.
  Tropical forests contain approximately half of the world's species of 
plants and animals. Unfortunately, over half of the tropical forests on 
Earth have disappeared, and, with more than 30 million acres which are 
lost each year, the destruction of these volatile ecosystems continues.

[[Page 12727]]

  The majority of those forests are located in developing nations that 
are plagued by poverty and extensive debt burdens. The Tropical Forests 
Conservation Act offers up to $325 million in debt relief to developing 
nations in exchange for the sustained protection of threatened tropical 
forests. These conditions also include the creation of a favorable 
climate for private sector investment, cooperation on narcotics 
measures, on state-sponsored terrorism, and a democratically elected 
government.
  This bill enjoys wide bipartisan support, support from the 
administration, and from various environmental groups. I urge support 
for this bill, and, once again, commend the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. 
Portman) for introducing legislation to extend this important 
environmental program.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Simpson). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot) that the House suspend 
the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2131, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  The title of the bill was amended so as to read:

       ``A bill to reauthorize the Tropical Forest Conservation 
     Act of 1998 through fiscal year 2004, and for other 
     purposes.''

  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________