[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 38 (Monday, September 20, 2004)]
[Pages 2024-2025]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on the Millennium Challenge Account

September 16, 2004

    The Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) is a groundbreaking 
initiative that encourages all nations to embrace political and economic 
reform and has enjoyed bipartisan support since I announced it 2 years 
ago. The powerful combination of trade, open markets, and good 
government is history's proven method to defeat poverty on a large 
scale, to vastly improve health and education, to build a modern 
infrastructure while safeguarding the environment, and to spread liberty 
and enterprise.
    Already, the MCA has encouraged countries to govern justly, invest 
in their people, and promote economic freedom. The MCA

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will support these efforts, helping the poorest countries seize the 
opportunities of the global economy and meet the needs of their people 
for better health and education, cleaner water, and a brighter future. I 
urge Congress to ensure that the MCA can fulfill its promise as a bold 
new vision for international development and a powerful expression of 
the generous spirit of the American people.