Stephanie Tubbs Jones: “Mr. Chairman, I am a new member of the Committee on Banking and Financial Services; and over this past session, I have…”

“Mr. Chairman, I am a new member of the Committee on Banking and Financial Services; and over this past session, I have had an opportunity to hear us debate the issue of debt relief. More recently in Banking, we have had a discussion of a bill called Prohibiting Predatory Lending, where lenders have preyed upon low-income mostly inner-city minority senior women and caused them to put themselves deeper in debt than they were before the lending was had. Tonight we have the opportunity to step up to get rid of the predatory lenders, to not be predatory lenders any more for the African nations. We have the right and the opportunity to make it right, to let these nations step away from these predatory loans and allow them the opportunity to begin anew, to provide relief so that African growth and opportunity can be had, so that African people can have jobs, so that African people can be relieved of unnecessary debt. We want and we should as a country be prepared to step up to the plate because we all want to get into Africa and do business. We know how rich Africa is, what opportunities there are for growth not only for that country but for our country as well. So why not give them the opportunity to be relieved of debt? And do not think that we can run through Africa and do business and not get AIDS. AIDS is a serious issue. It is an economic security issue that will affect us all.”