----- Original Message ----- From: Robert Naiman To: Robert Naiman Sent: Saturday, October 07, 2000 7:40 PM Subject: [waggers] PLEASE ACT: Abolition of IMF/WB "user fees" on primary health and education blocked by U.S. Treasury
Many of you are -- hopefully -- aware that one of the most controversial World Bank/International Monetary Fund "structural adjustment" policies imposed in poor countries is the policy of promoting "user fees" for primary health care and education. This form of education and health care privatization has been notoriously responsible for keeping kids in developing countries out of school and blocking poor people from accessing basic health care.
The House passed language in the Foreign Operations bill to end this practice, but this legislation is now threated by the opposition of the U.S. Treasury Department.
This is the likely the only progressive reform of IMF/WB structural adjustment policies which stands a chance of passage in the current Congressional session.
We need to act IMMEDIATELY to save this provision.
Rep. Kucinich is circulating a letter of Congressional Democrats to the two Democratic Appropriators with the most influence in the final negotiations, Rep. David Obey and Rep. Nancy Pelosi. Rep. Pelosi has strongly supported the abolition of user fees, but she needs strong backing from House Democrats to win.
How you can help:
Unions: we need letters from your local and from your international if possible to House Democrats urging them to sign the Kucinich letter in support of abolishing user fees ASAP. NGOs: we need a letter from your organization to House Democrats asking them to sign the Kucinich letter.
Individuals: we need you to call your Member of Congress TUESDAY and ask them to sign the Kucinich letter supporting the abolition of user fees. Congressional switchboard is 202-225-3121. If your Member of Congress is Republican, but you have a Democratic Senator, contact that office and ask them to signify their support for the abolition of user fees by contacting Senator Leahy's office.
Everyone: if you have contacts among House Democratic Members or their staffs, we need you to contact them IMMEDIATELY and ask them to sign the Kucinich letter in support of the abolition of user fees.
If we fail, it will mean one more year that World Bank user fee policies keep kids in Africa and the rest of the developing world from getting the education and health care which is their birthright. PLEASE ACT.
Tell staffers you speak to that they may communicate their sign-ons to Jaron Bourke in Rep. Kucinich's office at 225-5871.
Thank you for any help you can provide.
-b
----- Original Message ----- From: Soren <Soren at afgj.org> To: <stop-wb-imf at 50years.org> Sent: Friday, October 06, 2000 6:18 PM Subject: (50 Years) U.S. ALERT: save user fee ban, avert SAP conditions on debt relief
We have learned that the landmark amendment passed by the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this year to withhold U.S. funds from the IMF and World Bank unless they eliminate required "user fees" for primary health and education programs may be in danger.
Negotiations are now underway to reconcile the House bill (with the amendment) with the Senate bill (which does not have it). We need to send a clear signal that Democrats in the House support the amendment, and that they oppose harmful new conditions on debt relief being suggested by Republicans.
The letter below is being circulated by Rep. Dennis Kucinich. It is addressed to the two most influential House Democrats in determining the fate of the Foreign Operations appropriations bill.
If you are in the U.S. or are a U.S. citizen and your Representative is a Democrat or Independent, PLEASE CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE ON TUESDAY (October 10) to urge her/him to sign on to this letter. It may mean the difference in providing health care and education for people in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and Latin America, and in preventing debt relief from becoming another tool for advancing the neoliberal "free trade" agenda. THE CAPITOL SWITCHBOARD (for all Representatives and Senators) IS 202/224-3121.
Tell the staffer you speak to that they may communicate their sign-ons to Jaron Bourke in Rep. Kucinich's office at 225-5871.
Thanks! 50 Years Is Enough Network
=============================== LETTER FROM HOUSE DEMOCRATS
Honorable David Obey Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Dear Rep. Obey and Rep. Pelosi:
We write to you concerning a matter of urgent concern: attempts in conference negotiations to link debt relief to inappropriate and harmful structural adjustment conditions on the world's poorest countries. We believe that U.S. legislation on debt relief must be consistent with the program's aims: to relieve the burden of the world's most impoverished people.
We ask that you, as the leading Democratic negotiators, strongly *oppose* efforts to require rapid trade liberalization as a prerequisite for bilateral or multilateral debt relief in the current fiscal year.
Further, we ask that you strongly *support* provisions in the House Foreign Operations bill that do support reforms of the international financial institutions to make them more transparent, to clarify and separate their roles, to keep them within their mandates, and to permit developing countries to guarantee investments in basic health care and education. Specifically, we strongly urge you to maintain Section 588 in the final bill submitted to the President. It is essential to use Congress' leverage to prevent international financial institutions from imposing or encouraging "user fees" on primary health care and education.
In this way, we can fulfill the United States' pledge to provide meaningful debt relief to the world's poorest countries.
Sincerely,
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