Donald M. Payne: “let me begin by commending Chairman Frank for bringing this very important legislation to the floor, and his ranking…”

“let me begin by commending Chairman Frank for bringing this very important legislation to the floor, and his ranking member, Mr. Bachus, who has really been a real champion in these issues over the years. Let me give special congratulations to Congresswoman Maxine Waters for her tireless effort to bring H.R. 2634, the Jubilee Act for Responsible Lending and Expanded Debt Cancellation to the floor for consideration, and her long history of working to help the world's countries to elevate their people out of poverty. While nonprofit organizations and Members of Congress initially fought for debt relief, many of us never imagined that we would still find ourselves here today. Unfortunately, with the likes of Debt Advisory International, Elliott Associates, the burdensome IMF and World Bank policies, we must redouble our efforts to prevent such policies and companies from pecking away at the hard-won gains that we have made and must continue to make. As chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, I understand how the redirection of monies towards debt servicing and vulture funds has crippled African countries' attempts to improve upon development indicators. Sub-Saharan Africa receives approximately $13 billion in aid every year, yet spends $15 billion in servicing old and many times odious debts.”