Led by Maxine Waters, in a very close vote, the House overturned the previous vote against debt relief money- Nathan ----
July 13, 2000 House Votes To Restore Debt Relief By The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Rejecting cuts by Republican leaders, the House voted Thursday to give President Clinton most of the money he wants for debt relief for the world's poorest nations.
The 216-211 vote on an amendment by Rep. Maxine Waters., D-Calif., reversed a voice vote late Wednesday that would have cut Clinton's request for $262 million by two-thirds.
Waters' measure takes money from foreign military aid and training and devotes it to debt relief, which would now get a total of $237 million next year.
``Without American leadership, debt relief will never become a reality,'' she said. ''... Most of the debts owed by poor countries were accumulated during the Cold War, and many are the result of loans to corrupt dictators who are no longer in power.''
The House voted 221-206 earlier Thursday to ban the use of U.S. funds overseas by private organizations that perform abortions.
``Why we should we use taxpayers' money ... to fund international family planning lobbyists?'' said Rep. Walter B. Jones, R-N.C.
House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt said the restriction on family planning funds is ``one of many glaring flaws'' in a bill that would devote $13.3 billion in the next fiscal year to foreign aid. The House was expected to complete the bill late Thursday.
Lawmakers also voted 267-156 Thursday to restore $42 million that the House Appropriations Committee had cut from Clinton's request of $244 for combating the AIDS epidemic in Africa.
Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers and Gene Sperling, head of the president's National Economic Council, told reporters Wednesday that cutting Clinton's request for debt relief would prevent the United States from meeting its obligations under a program launched last year by the world's richest industrial countries.
``The president's advisers will recommend that the president veto the bill,'' Summers said then.
The votes Thursday may spare Clinton some embarrassment when he attends this year's annual economic summit next week in Japan.
At last year's summit, the world's seven richest countries -- the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Italy and Canada -- pledged to write off $50 billion in debt owed by poor nations.
The debt issue has been pushed by a collection of religious organizations operating under the banner, Jubilee 2000. In a ceremony outside the Capitol, the group presented the members of Congress with boxes full of petitions it said had been signed by 500,000 Americans urging debt forgiveness for poor nations.