Date: 2004-07-15
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. H.R. 715 is an open rule that provides for the consideration of H.R. 4818. the Fiscal Year 2005 Foreign Operations. Export Financing. and Related Programs Appropriations bill. The rule provides 1 hour of general debate. evenly divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Appropriations. The rule also provides one motion to recommit. with or without instructions. I would like to take a moment to reiterate that we bring this rule forward in totally open fashion. Historically. appropriations legislation has come to the House governed by an. open rule. and we continue to do so in order to allow each and every Member of this House the opportunity to submit amendments for consideration. obviously as long as they are germane under the rules of the House. This legislation before us appropriates over $19 billion for operations across the globe. This bill is fiscally sound. while at the same time compassionate and responsive to needs of millions of people plagued by disease. famine and disaster. H.R. 4818 bolsters the Presidents Millennium Challenge Corporation to $1.25 billion. nearly a quarter of a billion dollars more than in fiscal year 2004. This expansion of foreign assistance is meant to help bring economic security. basic tenets of democracy and the rule of law to some of the worlds poorest. In May of this year. the Corporation began the first round of funding assistance by extending aid to 16 developing countries chosen from a total of 63 eligible nations. Each country that will receive this new funding is obligated to meet benchmarks for political. economic and social development. especially in transparency and anticorruption efforts. Never before has the United States concentrated aid grants to countries that have the capability for reform in this fashion. This program is really. I think. the future of U.S. foreign assistance and a most effective means to responsibly disseminate U.S. taxpayer money in the foreign area. The underlying legislation provides $2.2 billion to combat HIV/AIDS. tuberculosis and malaria. Combined with anticipated funding in the LaborHHS bill. Congress will commit to fulfill President Bushs commitment to 14 countries- on the African continent and the Caribbean by appropriating $2.8 billion. This continues the important mission to provide the training and technical assistance to private and voluntary organizations that work to eradicate that nightmarish disease. The United States already has a proven record on HIV/AIDS assistance. but this years funding will go far beyond previous obligations. In a speech given yesterday. U.S. AIDS Coordinator Randall Tobias remarked on the $2.4 billion that this Congress provided in fiscal year 2004. He said. "This year. America is spending nearly twice as much to fight global AIDS as the rest of the worlds donor governments combined." Our resolve to help all those across the globe who fight this disease is strong and serious. In addition to funding. the Federal Government enlists the expertise of various agencies. including the Food and Drug Administration. which assures that the medicines we send to Africa and the Caribbean are safe and effective to help those with HIV/AIDS. Mr. Speaker. the underlyinglegislation also provides $2.2 billion for military and economic assistance to Israel. I think we have to continue to ensure that our friends and allies remain secure. A strong Israel is necessary. not only for the region. but obviously we are committed to do everything we can to see that Israel is safe and secure within its boundaries. I would like to thank the gentleman from Florida (Chairman YOUNG) and the gentlemaii from Arizona (Chairman KOLBE) for their leadership on this important issue. I urge all of my colleagues to support both this rule and the underlying legislation. Mr. Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.