Maxine Waters: “I think it has been said that this was an unauthorized expenditure. And I am not sure exactly what is meant by that…”

“I think it has been said that this was an unauthorized expenditure. And I am not sure exactly what is meant by that except to say that the request that has been made by the gentleman is formally before this House without it having to be designated as authorized as such. This is extremely important that he is given the opportunity to have this considered simply because he has spoken and others have spoken about what is going on on the Continent, the need to have more democracy, the need not to have dictatorships, the need to make sure that the dollars that we are trying to get in debt relief is spent in a wise fashion. Well, this would help that process. We have countries that have so much potential, but they need to be assisted in their efforts to maintain the peace. We have Angola that has been involved for many years and we have done nothing to assist them. We have supported Zabimbi who is up in the bush rather than giving support to someone who is trying to carry out democracy in Angola. We have new leadership in the Congo with no assistance to Kabila about how to resolve the differences between the Hutus and the Tutsis. So I would ask that this be made in order and that the gentleman be allowed to offer this amendment.”