Nancy Pelosi: “Mr. Chairman, it was my intention at this time to yield to my colleagues, but I cannot resist. I must respond to the…”

“Mr. Chairman, it was my intention at this time to yield to my colleagues, but I cannot resist. I must respond to the remarks of the gentleman. With all the respect that I have for him and knowing how important this issue is to so many Members of this Congress and to so many people in the religious community out there, I have to say, very regretfully, that his comments do a disservice to this debate. This is not a scheme. This is a plan. This is a plan that was very harshly scrutinized and developed by the G-7 in their debt proposal. That proposal is in jeopardy now. Why is it in jeopardy? Because the U.S. has not paid its share of the tab 1 year after the promise. Who is involved in this plan at the grassroots level? Well, let us start with the Vatican, His Holiness the Pope. Let us reach out then to an ecumenical movement, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who has spoken and traveled throughout the world promoting this plan. Desmond Tutu of South Africa stated: "The new moral crusade follows the Biblical principle of Jubilee. In the Bible it says, all belong to God. All debts are forgiven in the Jubilee year. Debtors make a new beginning." What this is about, Mr. Chairman, is an attempt on the part of people who minister to the needs of poor people throughout the world to alleviate poverty, promote democratic freedoms, and build markets for our products.”