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New Bill Calls for Expanded
Debt Relief
On April 24, California Reps. Barbara Lee (D) and Maxine Waters
(D) introduced a bill (HR 1567) that calls for debt relief for
the world's poorest nations. Titled the "Debt Cancellation
for HIV/AIDS Response Act," the bill would allow the U.S.
Treasury Secretary to instruct the U.S. executive directors at
the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to "use
the voice, vote and influence of the United States" to push
debt relief efforts. Countries eligible to receive debt relief
include all nations eligible to participate in the IMF's Heavily
Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC) and
any other country "heavily affected by HIV/AIDS." The
bill "encourages" countries receiving debt relief to
spend "a significant proportion of the savings from debt
cancellation" on HIV/AIDS response efforts and "other
health priorities." Efforts to fight HIV/AIDS should be
based on "best practices," incorporating aspects such
as prevention, care, treatment and "affordable"
antiretroviral drugs.
The bill suggests
that the World Bank and the IMF use their reserve accounts or
net income to offset the costs of debt cancellation. Until debt
cancellation can be enacted, the bill calls for an
"immediate moratorium" on debt service payments
and interest accrual for those countries eligible for debt
relief. In addition, the bill would allow U.S. officials at the
IMF and World Bank to "oppose and vote against" any of
the institutions' programs that charge user fees or service
charges for "primary education or primary health care,
including prevention and treatment efforts for HIV/AIDS,
malaria, tuberculosis and infant, child and maternal
well-being." The bill states that the treasury secretary
must work with other governmental agencies and nongovernmental
organizations to develop strategies that "counter
corruption" in the countries eligible for debt relief. The
bill also would require the treasury secretary to present a
report to several congressional committees detailing "all
progress in debt cancellation efforts" and the effects
these actions have had on funding for HIV/AIDS programs and
projects (HR 1567 text, 4/26).
Congress Members Pledge Support
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Lee said that debt
cancellation for poor countries hit hard by HIV/AIDS must be
moved "to the forefront of our international agenda."
Waters added, "The IMF and the World Bank have not done
their part to free impoverished nations from debt." Noting
that the 11 countries that have already undergone debt relief
have increased spending on HIV/AIDS by $43 million, Lee said,
"Debt cancellation can and must be used to fight HIV/AIDS
and alleviate poverty." Lee stated that the bill represents
an additional component of the AIDS Marshall Plan signed by
former President Bill Clinton last year (Meredith McGroarty,
Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 4/26). That plan, the House
version of which (HR 3519) was co-sponsored by Lee (Kaiser Daily
HIV/AIDS Report, 5/16/00), created a World Bank AIDS Trust Fund
to provide grants to nations "most drastically affected by
the AIDS crisis" (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 8/21/00).
The debt relief
proposal crafted by Lee and Waters has gained the support of
several members of Congress, including Reps. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.),
Eva Clayton (D-N.C.) and Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), as well
as U.S. Virgin Islands Del. Donna Christian-Christensen (D).
Sanders said, "The international financial organizations
cannot turn their backs on one of the greatest tragedies of our
time" (McGroarty, Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 4/26).
Christian-Christensen added, "The forced cutbacks in the
very basic social services have weakened health and education
systems and undermined efforts to cope with the AIDS pandemic.
... If we are to help the people of Africa and the Caribbean to
address
this epidemic we must provide them with debt cancellation with
the stipulation -- as the Lee/Waters bill provides -- that at
least a portion of the savings from debt relief be linked to
programs to respond to and address the HIV/AIDS problem"
(Christian-Christensen statement, 4/25). Lee concluded by
stressing the importance of debt cancellation for poor nations,
stating, "AIDS kills and debt kills. Together we must kill
debt to kill AIDS."
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