Dan Burton: “Mr. Chairman, the purpose of this amendment is to hold the Federal aid that is going to be given to the South African…”

“Mr. Chairman, the purpose of this amendment is to hold the Federal aid that is going to be given to the South African Government to the level that was originally to be funded for fiscal year 1994, that being about $99,146,000. Over the course of the next 3 to 4 years, they were going to increase that amount from $99 million a year to as much as $256 million a year, or over $600 million for the next 3 to 4 years. Mr. Chairman, while the goals of the package are certainly very commendable, there is also no question that the needs in South Africa are very urgent. It is also obvious that the rest of Africa is looking to South Africa to be the engine of economic growth for that continent. All of us are gratified that apartheid had been defeated and that South Africa has had elections. However, our assistance to South Africa is already very generous. They are among the largest recipients of U.S. development aid in the whole of Africa. We simply cannot afford at this time to raid the coffers of the American taxpayers any further. This is nothing but a political move in response to political pressure. I dare say that the American people, including black Americans, would be firmly opposed to increasing our assistance to South Africa, which as I pointed out already, is very, very generous.”