September 4, 2000
EDITORIAL:
Fate of world's poor up to Texans
___The fate of many of the world's poorest people awaits the action of two Texans.
___Sen. Phil Gramm, chair of the Senate Banking Committee, and Rep. Dick Armey, speaker of the House, will play major roles in deciding how much funding the United States provides next year for global debt relief.
___U.S. funding for debt relief is a key component of the international Jubilee 2000 campaign for debt relief for the world's poorest countries. In 1999, the G-8 wealthy-nation governments pledged to cancel $90 billion of foreign debt owed by 33 of the poorest countries. The U.S. share of that write-off is $960 million over four years. At the end of the 1999 congressional session, Congress approved debt relief funding for fiscal year 2000 but did not appropriate money for the following three years.
___Many Americans might wonder why our taxes should go to help eliminate debt incurred by foreign governments.
___First, almost all that debt was incurred by previous regimes. The loans primarily began in the 1970s--before the majority of citizens in these countries were born, and before most current leaders rose to power.
___Second, the United States and other Western countries were complicit in building up the debt. During the Cold War, our government urged totalitarian anti-communist leaders of many countries to take out huge loans for military buildup. They took the loans and then turned the funds back over to Western arms makers, who profited by the communist scare and fast loans.
___Third, this isn't a "foreign" concept. We do this in America. We call it bankruptcy.
___Fourth, the debt literally is crushing the life out of the poorest, least powerful people on the planet. The interest payments alone on much of this debt often exceed $400 per year per person--more than the average annual wage in those countries. In many countries, governments cannot afford to build infrastructure and provide food and medical care for their citizens because they are turning their funds over to interest payments.
___Fifth, we can afford it. Of the 17 strongest industrialized countries, the United States ranks last in per-capita giving to help the world's poor, noted sociologist/ethicist Tony Campolo. On a person-by-person basis, Norwegians out-give Americans 70 to 1.
___Sixth, Christ commanded it. Jesus said Christians demonstrate our love for and obedience to him to the degree that we provide food for "the least of these" (Matthew 25:40, 45). His judgment will fall harshly upon people who fail to feed the hungry.
___Global hunger fighters achieved an important victory in 1999, when Congress approved many elements of the Debt Relief for Poverty Reduction Act, reported David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World, a leading anti-hunger agency. "Congress did a good job of launching global debt relief," Beckmann said of the act. "They put together a remarkably good piece of legislation that balanced liberal and conservative concerns."
___Unfortunately, the necessary funding to get the job done was not approved. That's where the current appropriations bills come in. In mid-July, the House voted to provide $225 million in funding for fiscal year 2001. But that amount falls well short of the $435 million needed to keep the United States on track to provide its share of the debt-relief plan. The $435 million necessary still can be approved by Congress before it adjourns Oct. 6.
___Politics being what it is, some lawmakers oppose adequate funding on the grounds that more reforms are needed by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the multinational organizations that are central to achieving the debt reduction. However, desperately needed debt relief must not be held up by this debate over reform. As the policies now stand, the poor countries must develop poverty-reduction strategies, economic reforms and procedures to ensure that the funds saved by this debt reduction will be channeled directly to reducing poverty. Debt reductions will occur only as countries meet their poverty-reduction goals.
___Because of their roles in guiding the congressional budgeting process, Armey and Gramm are crucial to the success of this global poverty-reduction strategy, Beckmann observed. "Pope John Paul, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Billy Graham, Pat Robertson and Christian people all over the world have supported it," he said, "but staying on track depends upon these two Texans."
___You can help them by letting them know your feelings. Contact Armey at Room 301, Cannon House Office Bldg., Washington, D.C. 20515, (202) 225-7772. Contact Gramm at Room 370 Russell Bldg., Washington, D.C. 20510; (202) 224-2934.
___ Marv Knox
E-mail the editor at marvknox@baptiststandard.com
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