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Shays Applauds Passage of
Foreign Aid Legislation
Washington, D.C. – Congressman Christopher Shays (R-CT)
today applauded the passage of H.R. 5522, the Foreign Operations
Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2007. The $21.3 billion
bill provides support for, among other programs, the Community
Action Program in Iraq, the Peace Corps, microbicide research
and development, and protection of women and children in emergencies,
all of which Shays has worked on extensively. The bipartisan
bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives today by a vote
of 373 to 34.
Community Action Program in Iraq
The legislation provides $50 million for the Community Action
Program in Iraq (CAP), which directly engages Iraqis in reconstructing
their own communities, while building a nation-wide grassroots
constituency for democracy. Typical CAP projects use both
U.S. and Iraqi funds and resources to rebuild schools, repair
water and sewage lines, build health clinics, as well as a
host of other infrastructure and development projects.
“According to Mercy Corps’ Iraq Director, not
a single CAP project has been destroyed by the insurgency.
This says it all,” Shays said. “I urge the Committee
to increase the funding even higher in the final bill. This
program is worth every penny.”
In March, Shays successfully offered an amendment to the
Supplemental bill (H.R. 4939) to increase CAP funding by $10
million. Click here for more information:
http://www.house.gov/shays/news/2006/march/marcommunityactionprogram.htm
Peace Corps
The bill also provides $325 million for the Peace Corps,
which is an increase of $5 million above the FY 06 level,
but $12 million below the President's request. Shays, in a
letter to the Committee, expressed his support for the President’s
funding level.
“As a former Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV), I know that
the 7,800 PCVs serving from Armenia to Zambia are tangible
evidence to the world community that America cares about our
global neighbors,” Shays said. “I encourage the
Committee to meet the President’s request for Peace
Corps funding.”
HIV/AIDS Prevention Research and Development
The legislation includes $3.4 billion to combat HIV/AIDS,
tuberculosis and malaria, $752 million above last year’s
level and the same as the President’s request. The bill
provides at least $445 million for the U.S. contribution to
the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria,
including $45 million for research and development of HIV/AIDS
prevention technologies for women.
Shays was especially supportive of funding for research and
development of microbicides -- a class of products currently
under development that women could apply topically to prevent
transmission of HIV and other infections. Shays, who spent
five days in Africa this year touring women’s health
facilities, is author of the Microbicides Development Act.
The bill will bolster and coordinate microbicide research
and development programs at the NIH, CDC, and USAID and require
the creation of a strategic plan to expedite research.
“As I saw during my trip to Africa with Planned Parenthood,
current prevention options are not enough,” Shays explained.
“If women and girls are to have a genuine opportunity
to protect themselves, their best option is the rapid development
of new HIV-prevention technologies like microbicides, which
women can initiate.” Click here to learn more about
Shays’ legislation: http://www.house.gov/shays/news/2005/september/septmicrobicide.htm.
Protection of Women and Children
H.R. 5522 also directs the Department of State to prioritize
the protection needs of women and children affected by humanitarian
emergencies, requiring them to report on U.S. activities to
meet that goal. Working with Save the Children, of Westport,
Shays and Representative Nita Lowey (D-NY) partnered on the
introduction of H.R. 1413, the Women and Children in Crisis
and Conflict Protection Act. The bill is designed to safeguard
the lives of women and children fleeing armed conflict, oppression,
famine, drought and natural disaster. Click here for more
information about H.R. 1413:
http://www.house.gov/shays/news/2005/march/marchconflict.htm.
Development Assistance, School of the Americas
Shays supported an amendment offered by Representative Earl
Blumenauer (D-OR) which would have added $250 million to development
assistance programs, drawing the funds from foreign military
financing.
He also voted for Representative Jim McGovern’s (D-MA)
amendment to prohibit funds for the Western Hemisphere Institute
for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC), formerly known as the
School of the Americas, because he is concerned that several
foreign military leaders who have been implicated and indicted
in murders, assassinations and other human rights violations
are graduates of the school.
Both amendments failed.
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