FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 08, 2006

CONTACT: Brendan Daly/Jennifer Crider 202-226-7616

Pelosi: ‘Foreign Assistance Around the World Is in Our Own National Interest’

Washington, D.C. – House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement on H.R. 5522, the Foreign Operations Appropriations Act, which provides critical foreign aid and investment.  The bill is being debated on the House floor this afternoon.

“We know that a strong and effective foreign policy requires a well-funded foreign assistance initiative.  The assistance we provide to other countries is a means to enhance our national security and promote democracy around the world.  It is in our own national interest.

“In an age of globalization, we have a more urgent responsibility to address the root causes of global poverty so that the fury of despair does not provoke more violence and suffering.  Global poverty undermines our national security by creating a fertile ground for terrorism, the spread of disease, environmental degradation and conflict.  We must provide the necessary resources because we know from experience that it is much easier to save a society from falling apart than it is to reconstruct it later.

“I applaud this bill’s increased levels of funding for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA).  This legislation also makes a vital contribution of $450 million in humanitarian relief efforts to the people of Sudan and Darfur that are desperately needed at this critical time.

“But I am disappointed by the low overall funding level of this bill, which has forced cuts in key accounts such as migration and refugee assistance, peacekeeping, assistance for Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, economic support funds and debt relief for poor countries.  This legislation also contains high levels of military assistance to Colombia despite the failure to achieve positive results there, and it places no conditions on military assistance to Indonesia and Guatemala even though there are serious concerns about military reforms and human rights in these countries.

“Despite these reservations, I support this bill.  It provides critical foreign aid investments that will boost the economy of developing nations and take a significant step toward addressing the needs of the poorest people of the world.”

“ Democrats are united in presenting a New Direction for America, one that will make our nation as strong as its people, one that brings opportunity, security, and prosperity to all Americans. ”

Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi