Albert Russell Wynn: “I am very proud that Americans and specifically American taxpayers are not selfish, that they cannot bear the spectacle…”

“I am very proud that Americans and specifically American taxpayers are not selfish, that they cannot bear the spectacle of 22 million people infected with AIDS in Africa; they cannot turn their backs on those people, and that they are not selfishly thinking only of their own concerns. With respect to this amendment, I am here to support it. Here are the facts: the President asked for $475 million, this committee only gave $82 million, and that is a travesty. Now, we hear a lot about corruption, but I am sure the chairman is not trying to say that the people who are dying in Africa ought to be sacrificed because of a corrupt leader. What we need to know about the facts of this issue is this: in Tanzania, for example, the government spends four times as much money on debt payments as it spends on health and education combined. What we need to know in this debate is that Uganda, Zambia, Nicaragua, and Honduras spends more on debt service than they spend on health and education combined.”