Alcee Hastings: “I rise in support of her very important amendment. The base bill makes deep cuts in funds available for loans to the…”

“I rise in support of her very important amendment. The base bill makes deep cuts in funds available for loans to the world's neediest countries. The 32 percent cut in funding for the International Development Association would severely impact the financing of investments in health, clean water supplies, education and other infrastructure needed to reduce poverty. Additional cuts are made in funding for the African Development Bank, the African Development Fund, the Asian Development Fund, and the Inter-American Investment Corporation. The reality is that what we are doing here is crushing nations that have been pretty much crushed to the ground. By allowing the debt to continue to run and interest to rise on it, we ultimately affect all such particulars that we would not want to as a fair-minded nation. I urge support for the gentlewoman's amendment.”