Political Quotes

“I rise to support the Jackson amendment to add $480 million in emergency funds for Africa. This amendment would add $300 million for debt relief for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, $150 million for child survival programs in Africa, $20 million for economic support funds for Africa and $10 million for the African Development Fund. This bill underfunds a number of accounts that provide assistance to the people of sub-Saharan Africa, the poorest region of the world. More than 300 million people in sub-Saharan Africa survive on under $1 per day. Almost half of the continent does not have access to safe water sources. Only one in three African children completes elementary school, and one in three people in sub-Saharan Africa does not get enough to eat every day. Average life expectancy in Africa is just 49 years. In the countries hardest hit by the AIDS epidemic, life expectancy is just 30 years. As a member who has been working on the issue of debt relief for poor countries for many years, I am especially concerned about the lack of funding in this bill for debt relief for the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”