Mike Levin: “I must confess, I am deeply distressed by the tone of this debate, at least in parts of it. Let me just cite one fact.…”

“I must confess, I am deeply distressed by the tone of this debate, at least in parts of it. Let me just cite one fact. For the 41 Nations that have been identified as the most heavily-indebted poor countries, external long-term debt rose rapidly from less than $7 billion in 1970 to $169 billion today. There has been some reference that the amendment would pay off multinational banks, as if these are multinational corporations, kind of using that rhetorical device. We are talking about debt owed to multilateral institutions and governments, not in this instance to private for-profit institutions. It has also been said that cash flow is not affected. That is just patently wrong. Unless debt is eliminated, these countries cannot obtain further cash flow. With elimination of debt, they will. Mr. Chairman, this is no scheme. This is a proposal, an edifice built by sovereign nations, by the G-8, who have decided that it is in their self-interest to act on this debt. Then it is said, well, let us give the money to the child survival fund, instead. As a former assistant administrator of the Foreign Aid Agency, I am all for monies for child survival, but let no one think that that is an alternative to governments pulling their own weight.”