Nita Lowey: “I rise in support of H.R. 2159. I want to thank our distinguished chairman, the gentleman from Alabama [Mr. Callahan]…”

“I rise in support of H.R. 2159. I want to thank our distinguished chairman, the gentleman from Alabama [Mr. Callahan], and the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Pelosi], our outstanding ranking member, who have worked so very hard in a bipartisan way to report out a bill that strikes a delicate balance on a number of very difficult issues. Mr. Chairman, this bill is far from perfect. The overall funding in the bill is substantially lower than what I would have liked, and several specific accounts are also too low. But this bill does represent a very serious bipartisan compromise. And again, I want to thank the chairman and our ranking member. The bill also includes the full $3 billion in aid package for Israel and the critical $80 million for refugee resettlement assistance. With the tragic bombings today in Jerusalem, we have seen once again how very important it is for the United States to express its strong support for Israel and the Israeli people. Although the development assistance account is lower than the administration requested, an issue I would like to see corrected in conference, it does include a critical $10 million increase for international microcredit programs, which I think are absolutely critical to help raise the level of prosperity around the world. Mr. Chairman, I remain concerned about the item in the bill for International Development Association, which is unacceptably low.”