Panel Approves Foreign Aid Bill for Latin America

On June 29, the House International Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere approved, by voice vote, a bill (H.R. 953) to establish a Social Investment and Economic Development Fund for the Americas.

Sponsored by Rep. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), the measure contains a number of findings, including:

• To make progress toward economic and social integration, there is a compelling need to focus on the social development of the people of the Americas which, in turn, will promote the economic and political development of the region;
• Investment in social development in the Americas, including investment in human and social capital, specifically in education, health, housing, and labor markets with the goal of combating social exclusion and social ills, will consolidate political democracy and the rule of law and promote regional economic integration and trade in the region;
• The particular challenge facing social and economic development in Latin America is the historic and persistent highly unequal distribution of wealth;
• Latin America also confronts the challenge of an increasing number of poor people approximately 44 percent of the population lives in poverty, and extreme poverty is a persistent problem; and
• Marginalized groups, including indigenous populations, people of African descent, women, people with disabilities, and rural populations, are socially excluded and suffer from poverty, stigma, and discrimination.

H.R. 953 would authorize $250 million annually through FY2010 for assistance to foster increased economic opportunity in the countries of the Western Hemisphere by nurturing public-private partnerships and microenterprise development; improving the quality of life and investing in human capital, specifically targeting education, health and disease prevention, and housing; strengthening the rule of law through improved efficiency and transparency in government services; and reducing poverty and eliminating the exclusion of marginalized populations.

The panel approved a similar bill (H.R. 3447) last year, but the full committee did not act on the measure before the end of the 108th Congress (see The Source, 5/7/04).