Patrick Leahy: “let me take a very short time to summarize what amendment No. 1807 does. This is a very important amendment offered by…”

“let me take a very short time to summarize what amendment No. 1807 does. This is a very important amendment offered by myself and the Senator from Rhode Island. The Chafee-Leahy amendment is supported by the Archbishop of Monrovia. A man, who for years, stood up to the brutal regime of Charles Taylor. It provides $200 million to address basic needs--food, water, shelter--of the people of Liberia. There is a humanitarian emergency in that country, as 74% of Liberians lack access to safe drinking water, 60 percent lack access to acceptable sanitation, and 75 percent live in poverty. The administration's own number for Liberia is $200 million. In testimony before the House, the top Africa official at the State Department said the U.S. needed $200 million to address this crisis. The amendment is extremely flexible. It allows the administration to spend these funds virtually any way it wants, including humanitarian, reconstruction, long-term development, or security assistance. The amendment is fully offset. It does not add a dime to the Iraq supplemental. Relief groups with operations in Liberia strongly support this amendment. Catholic Relief Services, Amnesty International and a range of other NGOs strongly support this amendment.”