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[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 117 (Thursday, August 2, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H5696-H5697]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

                              {time}  1900
                  UNITED STATES-AFRICA TRADE RELATIONS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 5, 2011, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rush) is recognized 
for the remainder of the hour as the designee of the minority leader.
  Mr. RUSH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend my fellow colleagues 
in the House for their leadership, for their vision, and for their 
votes today to strengthen the U.S.-Africa economic and trade relations. 
Passage of H.R. 5986 will also solidify the U.S. long-term investment 
in Africa.
  I want to commend my colleagues for voting to extend AGOA, the 
African Growth and Opportunity Act. And I would also like to applaud 
all of those advocates who worked tirelessly to pass H.R. 5986, the 
long overdue extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, AGOA, 
including the third-country fabric provision as a part of AGOA.
  This third-country fabric provision will enable eligible countries in 
sub-Saharan Africa to ship thousands of goods to the United States 
without paying import duties. This provision, which has been set to 
expire this September, on September 30, waives the duties on clothing 
from most AGOA countries, even if the yarn or fabric is made in a 
``third country,'' such as China, South Korea, or Vietnam. With passage 
of this important legislation, sewing jobs for hundreds of thousands of 
African workers will be protected and also created.
  The first beneficiaries for this bill will be the women of Africa, 
because about 70 to 80 percent of the workers in these burgeoning 
apparel and textile industries are women. Mr. Speaker, when women are 
working, families are fed and stability is a result.
  I am so pleased, Mr. Speaker, that once again AGOA will become the 
law and that the President will sign this law in the near future.

            The Death of Ghanaian President John Atta Mills

  Next, Mr. Speaker, I stand in the House well today to send my deepest 
sympathies, the sympathies of the people of the First Congressional 
District of Illinois, and to send our prayers to the Ghanaian people 
and to the family of the recently departed President John Atta Mills, 
the late president of Ghana. His death is a terrible loss not only for 
Ghana and its people, but for the entire world.
  Mr. Speaker, President Atta Mills was a tremendous leader. He 
solidified the foundation for peace and prosperity in the nation of 
Ghana, creating confidence in the Ghanaian political, socioeconomic 
system that led to massive foreign direct investments in Ghana, which 
resulted in the creation of millions of jobs for the Ghanaian people. 
He will be greatly missed.
  I also want to congratulate His Excellency, Mr. John Dramani Mahama, 
the new leader of Ghana.
  Mr. Speaker, the peaceful transition of power in Ghana clearly 
demonstrates that Ghana has embarked into an unwavering path and 
process for democracy and the democratic principles we all hold near 
and dear. Within hours of the passing away of the President, late 
President John Atta Mills, the Vice President was sworn in as the new 
President.
  The political violence that we witnessed after the passing of 
President Umaru Yar'Adua of Nigeria and President Bingu wa Mutharika of 
Malawi simply did not occur. This, Mr. Speaker, is evidence, sheer 
evidence that Ghana's democratic institutions are viable and are 
getting much stronger day by day.
  This just did not happen. It took strong leadership from previous 
Presidents of Ghana in order to lay the right foundation for this 
smooth transition of power in Ghana over the last week. People like 
former President Jerry Rawlings, who was elected in 1996. And lest we 
not forget Mr. Rawlings' party lost with a narrow margin, but he didn't 
try to fight and hold back the willful decision of the Ghanaian people. 
He conceded the election without any controversy.
  I also commend former President John Kufuor for his strong stance in 
support of the Ghanaian democratic march, the principles, and the 
democratic values that we cherish here in the United States.
  It is for these reasons that I stand here today to commend the 
Ghanaian people, the Ghanaian leadership, and the Ghanaian institutions 
for their stable, forward-thinking, and mature leadership. I commend 
them all this evening.

                           Niger Delta Crisis

  Mr. Speaker, on my final note before this body, I rise today to also 
urge this Congress to pass H. Con. Res. 121, a resolution to save the 
Niger Delta region, which is located in Nigeria. Over the last few 
years and months, a lot has been said and a lot has been written about 
the Niger Delta crisis that is occurring right now in Nigeria as we 
speak.

                              {time}  1910

  Just about a year ago, the United Nations Environment Program 
released a report, a startling report, a report calling for an urgent 
response to reverse the environmental destruction and devastation in 
the Ogoniland region of the Niger Delta wetlands. That report again was 
startling, intense, and accurate. It also called for the establishment 
of a $1 billion cleanup fund to finance the restoration and the cleanup 
of the Niger Delta region.
  Mr. Speaker, to give you some perspective on the scope of the 
destruction and on the devastation, it is estimated that the cleanup of 
the Niger Delta could take as many as 30 years to complete. Of course, 
Mr. Speaker, strong voices have begun to emerge and strong actions have 
taken place to do more to publicize these environmental atrocities.
  Just recently, I watched a movie directed by a brilliant Nigerian-
born filmmaker whose name is Jeta Amata. It was a movie titled ``Black 
November: Struggle for the Niger Delta.'' This movie raises the 
awareness of the tragedy of the Niger Delta and the Niger region. 
``Black November,'' the movie, is based upon the true story of the 
people of the Niger Delta, the communities in the Niger Delta that 
suffer extreme environmental degradation and extreme poverty in this 
oil-rich Niger Delta region.
  Mr. Speaker, the people of this Nation, we cannot, the American 
people cannot remain indifferent to the struggle of the people of the 
Niger region, the Niger Delta, as they struggle to clean up the 
pollution created by mostly American and other Western oil and 
petroleum companies. Most of the Niger Delta's 31 million people live 
on less than $1 a day, although this region is the very backbone of 
Nigeria's economy, with oil and gas extraction accounting for over 97 
percent of Nigeria's foreign exchange revenues.
  The Niger Delta region, which consists of nine states, makes up about 
12 percent of Nigeria's total land mass, and it is one of the world's 
10 most important wetlands and coastal marine ecosystems.
  Mr. Speaker, the social unrest, the criminality, illegal oil trade, 
the bunkering, and the general corruption have hindered oil and gas 
investment and production, as well as the Niger Delta region's 
development.
  Mr. Speaker, these numbers are alarming. The World Conservation Union 
and the representatives from the Nigerian federal government and the 
Nigerian Conservation Foundation calculated in 2006 that up to 1.5 
million tons of oil had been spilled in the Niger Delta over the last 
50 years--1.5 million tons. That is 50 times, that's right, 50 times, 
Mr. Speaker, the pollution released in the Exxon Valdez tanker disaster 
in Alaska a few years ago.
  This pollution, this oil spill, this devastation has severely limited 
the local inhabitants' access to clean water and has largely destroyed 
the fishing stock that the majority of the delta inhabitants depended 
on to make their daily living. A result also has been that illegal oil 
and gas refineries have become a source of income for these poor people 
who have unfortunately diverted their activities from fisheries 
destroyed by the oil spills. Illicit oil trade and illegal refineries 
are booming, and they are consequently threatening the economy, the 
security, and the environment of this very vital region in the world.

[[Page H5697]]

  Mr. Speaker, more importantly or just as importantly, in too many of 
the communities in the Niger region, people drink water from wells that 
are contaminated with benzene, which is a known carcinogen.

                              {time}  1920

  They drink this water, which has been estimated to be 900 times above 
the level that the World Health Organization uses as its guideline, 900 
times above the standards set by the World Health Organization.
  Since 2010, Nigeria has become one of our main strategic partners on 
the continent of Africa. This nation, Nigeria, is our Nation's second-
leading trading partner behind Great Britain. Mr. Speaker, these and 
other facts mean that the struggle of the people of the Niger Delta--
the struggle of the Nigerian people--is also the struggle of the 
American people.
  Mr. Speaker, the destiny of the two economies, the Nigerian economy 
and the American economy, are interconnected, interrelated, and 
intertwined. We cannot, and I emphasize, this Nation cannot afford to 
stay indifferent to the struggles of the people of the Niger Delta and 
the cleanup of the pollution that has been devastating this region for 
over the past 50 years. The struggle of the people of the Niger Delta 
is indeed our struggle, the struggle of the American people.
  I have led, and with cosigners, have introduced H. Con. Res 121 to 
urge all the stakeholders in the Niger oil and gas industry to come 
together, to work together, to collaborate together, and to address 
collectively the environmental impact of the oil and gas production in 
the Niger Delta.
  I must say, Mr. Speaker, that we should commend this Congress--and I 
certainly commend President Goodluck Jonathan for presenting the new 
Petroleum Industry Bill, the PIB, to the Nigerian Parliament, which has 
the support of all the stakeholders and has the input of all of the 
stakeholders.
  I also want to commend President Goodluck Jonathan for announcing the 
creation of the Hydro-Carbon Pollution Restoration Project, HYPREP, to 
look into the Ogoni land degradation, destruction, and devastation from 
the aforementioned oil spills. I applaud President Goodluck Jonathan 
for taking these initiatives. These are very important, critical first 
steps. It is my hope that all of the affected stakeholders will again 
come and meet again soon and collaborate strongly together to make the 
cleanup and rebuilding of the Niger region become a success story that 
the world will admire and that the world will celebrate.
  The new energy regulatory framework that's being created must be 
fair, it must be transparent, and it must create an appropriate avenue 
for the economic empowerment for local Niger Delta communities affected 
by the industry, including the women and the youth.
  Mr. Speaker, we cannot stand by. We must assist in this effort. The 
clock is ticking. We must support the people of the Niger Delta.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________
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