Sean Patrick Maloney: “Today we consider appropriating $25 million that would reassure the world about the U.S. commitment to saving women's…”

“Today we consider appropriating $25 million that would reassure the world about the U.S. commitment to saving women's lives. The Bush administration has systematically undermined that commitment in its continued assault on UNFPA, the U.N. Population Fund. Our allies watch in horror as the world's enormous need for family planning goes unmet; and meanwhile our government allies itself with Iran, Syria, and Afghanistan in opposing voluntary international family planning programs. Today, we can help to right that wrong by approving a measure that would direct $25 million to UNFPA programs to prevent and treat obstetric fistula, a devastating condition that afflicts 2 million women worldwide. No other agency works in this vital area. Let us send a message to the Bush administration that this Congress listens to the American people even if it does not. The world is waiting for us to act. UNFPA saves women's and children's lives.”