On March 5, the House International Relations Committee unanimously approved, by voice vote, several bills en bloc, including a bill (H.R. 192) that would provide small loans to entrepreneurs and small business owners in developing countries. The House and the Senate approved a similar bill (H.R. 4073/S. 3032) last year; however, the measure was sent back to the House due to technical changes.
H.R. 192 would allocate $175 million in FY2003 and $200 million in FY2004 for microenterprise loans administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Additionally, the bill would require USAID to measure the poverty levels of potential loan recipients as a way to guarantee that half of the loans are given to the bottom 50 percent of inhabitants living below each country’s poverty line or to those who live on $1 or less per day.
The committee also approved a resolution (H. Con. Res. 57) that supports the goals of International Women’s Day. Sponsored by Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), H. Con. Res. 57 “recognizes and honors the women in the United States and in other countries who have fought and continue to struggle for gender equality and women’s rights.” The resolution also encourages the President to “reaffirm his commitment to pursue policies to protect the health and rights of women and girls.”
Another resolution (H. Con. Res. 26), which condemns the punishment of execution by stoning as a gross violation of human rights, was approved by the committee. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN), calls on the President to “formally communicate” the resolution to governments that impose stoning executions and also calls on the suspension of such death sentences.
