Chris Smith: “Mr. Chairman, the gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. Obey], and the gentleman from Louisiana [Mr. Livingston], have made a…”

“Mr. Chairman, the gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. Obey], and the gentleman from Louisiana [Mr. Livingston], have made a number of difficult decisions in allocating scarce funds for America's foreign assistance program. They and the subcommittee have tried to responsibly divvy up a relatively small pie of available resources and make a number of policy determinations. I am sure it was not easy or painless. I for one would have been much happier if there were some changes. I would have liked to have seen more child survival fund dollars. The Child Survival Fund saves lives by funding immunizations and oral rehydration therapy. But I can appreciate the fact that more money for the Fund just could not be found. Mr. Chairman, I would just note parenthetically that I first offered as a member of the authorizing committee a $275 million earmark for the Child Survival Fund that was passed by the authorizing committee to the foreign aid bill and have for years worked to try to boost the money available for these low-cost health interventions which literally have saved millions of lives. In the mid eighties I traveled to El Salvador on two separate occasions to participate in their countrywide vaccination days and know firsthand that for literally pennies per child, we can save, boost, and enhance the life of a child. It's truly remarkable.”