IV
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. CON. RES. 100
Urging the President to redirect United States foreign assistance policies
and spending priorities toward promoting sustainable development, espe-
cially the reduction of global hunger and poverty in environmentally
sound ways.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 12, 1993
Mr. BEREUTER (for himself, Mr. HALL of Ohio, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. GEJDEN-
SON, Mr. MFUME, Mr. PENNY, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. HAST-
INGS, Mr. HOEKSTRA, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. MCCLOSKEY, Mr. EDWARDS
of California, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. DEUTSCH, Mr. TORRICELLI, Ms.
MCKINNEY, Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr. FINGERHUT,
Mr. WHEAT, and Mrs. MINK) submitted the following concurrent resolu-
tion; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Urging the President to redirect United States foreign assist-
ance policies and spending priorities toward promoting
sustainable development, especially the reduction of glob-
al hunger and poverty in environmentally sound ways.
Whereas the post-Cold War world is one of tremendous
human deprivation in which more than one-fifth of hu-
manity exists in poverty, living a life of hunger, illness,
and illiteracy;
Whereas tens of thousands of children in the developing
world die each day, many of them from preventable dis-
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eases, and millions of other children are disabled or blind
as a result of malnutrition;
Whereas poor people are victims of and contributors to envi-
ronmental degradation—victims insofar as they are dis-
proportionately exposed to pollution and toxic and radio-
active wastes, and contributors insofar as they accelerate
processes such as deforestation and soil erosion in their
fight for survival on marginal lands;
Whereas poverty-related conditions foster rapid population
growth, which in turn exacerbates pressures on land and
other natural resources, worsens unemployment, and
strains government services;
Whereas in recent decades, the income gap between richest
and poorest countries has widened, due in part to the
large accumulated debt of many developing countries,
with many countries now paying more in debt service
than they receive in assistance and investment;
Whereas this debt and the resulting economic adjustments
have taken their heaviest toll on the poor, especially
women, in the form of higher food prices, reduced health
care, education, housing, and other social services, and
higher unemployment;
Whereas poverty-related conditions of hunger, illiteracy, dis-
ease, and environmental degradation pose a serious
threat to the economic and physical security of the
United States and the world;
Whereas such conditions impede economic growth, undermine
new democracies, fuel political instability within countries
and across regions, foster displacement and massive mi-
gration, allow the spread of acquired immune deficiency
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syndrome (AIDS) and other epidemics, and damage the
environment;
Whereas the United States therefore has a direct self-interest
in promoting development that will avert such threats;
Whereas the United States has historically been a leader in
providing assistance in response to humanitarian emer-
gencies;
Whereas United States development cooperation has made
valuable contributions to sustainable development (includ-
ing increases in life expectancy and reductions in infant
and child mortality) through bilateral programs, includ-
ing selected programs of the Agency for International
Development, the Peace Corps, and public foundations
such as the Inter-American Foundation, the African De-
velopment Foundation, and Appropriate Technology
International, and through contributions to United Na-
tions organizations and programs;
Whereas some United States development cooperation efforts
have failed to respond adequately to the needs of poor
people and the environment or have even contributed to
environmental degradation and to impoverishment;
Whereas the easing of Cold War tensions requires a reassess-
ment of United States foreign assistance objectives, pro-
grams, and spending priorities, and presents a unique op-
portunity to shift the emphasis from military and secu-
rity-related priorities to addressing the urgent and inter-
related problems of poverty and environmental destruc-
tion;
Whereas a global consensus on the need for and on strategies
for achieving equitable, sustainable, and participatory de-
velopment has emerged through several decades of devel-
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opment experience and through international meetings on
nutrition, environment, children, and women;
Whereas United States citizens have historically dem-
onstrated strong support for humanitarian and sustain-
able development programs of the United States Govern-
ment—when they are confident that assistance reaches
poor people and communities;
Whereas United States citizens make generous private con-
tributions to nongovernmental organizations that engage
in international relief and sustainable development activi-
ties;
Whereas nongovernmental organizations, both in the United
States and in developing countries, are often highly quali-
fied 
actors 
in 
promoting 
grassroots 
development,
strengthening civil society, and providing humanitarian
assistance;
Whereas only 1 percent of the United States Government
budget is spent on foreign assistance, and only approxi-
mately 25 percent of that amount goes toward programs
focused on sustainable development and humanitarian
needs; and
Whereas since the mid-1980s, resources have begun to shift
within the foreign assistance budget toward increased ex-
penditures for humanitarian and sustainable development
programs: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring),
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This resolution may be cited as the ‘‘Many Neigh-
bors, One Earth Resolution’’.
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SEC. 2. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT POLICY AND PRO-
GRAM OF ACTION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The President is urged to develop
and implement a coordinated economic and development
policy and program of action designed to promote broad-
based, sustainable development that will reduce global
hunger and poverty in environmentally sound ways.
(b) PRINCIPAL OBJECTIVES.—This policy and pro-
gram of action should have as principal objectives the fol-
lowing 4 elements of sustainable development, which are
interrelated and mutually reinforcing:
(1) ECONOMIC
OPPORTUNITIES.—Expanding
economic opportunities for all women and men, espe-
cially the poor, to increase their productivity, earn-
ing capacity, and income in ways that do not harm
the environment.
(2) BASIC HUMAN NEEDS.—Meeting the basic
human needs for food, clean water, shelter, health
care, and education necessary for all people to be
productive and to improve their quality of life.
(3) ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION
AND
SUS-
TAINABLE USE OF NATURAL RESOURCES.—Promot-
ing environmental protection and sustainable use of
land, water, forests, and other natural resources,
taking into account the needs of present and future
generations.
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(4) PLURALISM, DEMOCRATIC
PARTICIPATION,
AND HUMAN RIGHTS.—Promoting pluralism, demo-
cratic participation in economic and political deci-
sions that affect people’s lives (especially participa-
tion by poor men and women), and respect for
human and civil rights, including the rights of fe-
males and indigenous peoples.
(c) ALL RELEVANT ACTIVITIES OF THE GOVERN-
MENT TO BE INCLUDED.—This policy and program of ac-
tion should involve all relevant international activities of
the United States Government, including—
(1) bilateral economic assistance programs;
(2) contributions to international and multilat-
eral development agencies and institutions;
(3) policies concerning international agricul-
tural, environmental, health, energy, trade, debt, and
monetary issues; and
(4) foreign military assistance programs.
(d) SPECIFIC ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN.—In further-
ance of this policy and program of action, the President
is urged to do the following:
(1) Propose the enactment of legislation provid-
ing for a post-Cold War foreign assistance program
that would have as its primary purpose the pro-
motion of sustainable development, especially the re-
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duction of hunger and poverty in environmentally
sound ways, and that would incorporate the 4 objec-
tives set forth in subsection (b).
(2) Develop and implement development co-
operation programs and projects in pursuit of the 4
objectives set forth in subsection (b).
(3) Ensure that activities carried out pursuant
to this policy and program of action build on com-
munity-based initiatives, wherever possible, and in-
vigorate local community-based development, espe-
cially the role of women in development.
(4) Ensure that development cooperation pro-
grams take into account the relevant local-level per-
spectives of the rural and urban poor (including
women, minorities and indigenous people) during the
design, planning, and implementation process for
project and program assistance. Toward this objec-
tive, the agency primarily responsible for administer-
ing such assistance should consult closely with, and
should involve directly in program and project deci-
sionmaking (especially at the identification and de-
sign stages), indigenous and United States-based
nongovernmental organizations that have dem-
onstrated effectiveness in or commitment to the pro-
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motion of community-based development on behalf of
sustainable development in developing countries.
(5) Provide government-to-government assist-
ance only to countries that exhibit a commitment to
development that promotes the 4 objectives set forth
in subsection (b) through relevant sectoral and na-
tional policies, with priority given to countries with
the highest incidence of hunger and poverty. In
countries where relevant sector or national policies
are clearly unfavorable to poor people or where the
government engages in patterns of gross violation of
internationally recognized human rights, United
States Government assistance should be provided
only through nongovernmental organizations.
(6) Give special priority to developing and im-
plementing policies and programs that give primary
benefit to the households of the absolute poor, tak-
ing steps to ensure that all members of such house-
holds benefit, including women and female children.
(7) Encourage and support the efforts of coun-
tries to reduce their level of military spending when
such spending is disproportionate to security needs
and disproportionate to spending on health, edu-
cation, and environmental protection.
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(8) Exercise leadership in building the global
commitment and cooperation necessary for countries
to make significant progress toward the goals adopt-
ed at the 1992 International Conference on Nutri-
tion, the 1992 United Nations Conference on Envi-
ronment and Development, the 1990 World Summit
for Children, and the 1985 World Conference on
Women. United States development cooperation ef-
forts should assist countries to establish national
priorities, formulate national strategies, and build
institutional and technical capacity directed toward
the attainment of these global goals, through proc-
esses that invite broad public participation.
(9) Enter into negotiations with highly indebted
poor countries that are committed to sustainable de-
velopment on reducing the debt owed by such coun-
tries to the United States Government, and, when-
ever possible, structure debt reduction (including
debt swaps) to support their sustainable develop-
ment strategies.
(10) Develop and propose an effective system of
evaluation and accountability for programs and
projects of development cooperation, resulting in re-
ports to the Congress on their effectiveness in fur-
thering the 4 objectives set forth in subsection (b),
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including assessment of strategies adopted to achieve
the objectives. Independent assessments conducted
by nongovernmental representatives in the United
States and recipient countries that have dem-
onstrated effectiveness in local, community-based de-
velopment should be an integral part of the system
of evaluation and accountability.
(11) Examine the necessity of restructuring or
replacing the Agency for International Development
in order to have an effective bilateral development
cooperation program that can achieve the 4 objec-
tives set forth in subsection (b). Whatever agency is
primarily responsible for administering assistance
under such program should be insulated from undue
influence from short-term, nondevelopmental inter-
ests.
(12) Give greater attention to linking emer-
gency relief efforts to conflict resolution, rehabilita-
tion, and longer-term development activities. The ca-
pability of the United States military to provide ap-
propriate logistical, transportation, and engineering
support in emergencies should be assessed, and a
formal coordination link established if appropriate.
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(C) Migration and refugee assistance and
emergency migration and refugee assistance.
(D) The Peace Corps.
(E) Government-funded foundations, in-
cluding the African Development Foundation,
the Inter-American Foundation, and Appro-
priate Technology International.
(F) The Development Fund for Africa.
(G) Those programs and projects funded
from the appropriations accounts for ‘‘Develop-
ment Assistance’’ and special initiatives that di-
rectly serve at least one of the four objectives
set forth in subsection (b), including programs
and projects involving small-scale appropriate
technology, micro and small enterprise credit,
farming system design and extension, technical
and management training, food security, pri-
mary health care, infectious disease control, nu-
trition, basic education, child survival, low-in-
come housing, potable water, basic sanitation,
infrastructure for meeting basic human needs,
environmental protection, energy efficiency, sus-
tainable agriculture and fisheries, sustainable
forest and water management, natural resource
conservation, pollution control, community-
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based media and communication, human rights,
women’s rights, civic processes, and voluntary
cooperation.
Increases in funding for such organizations, pro-
grams, and projects should be achieved by reallocat-
ing funds within the bilateral economic assistance
budget and by shifting funds from security assist-
ance programs.
(16) Direct that no less than $2,500,000,000 of
the amount of assistance called for in paragraph
(15) be used for sustainable development and hu-
manitarian needs in developing countries.
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