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 Weakened Amendment for Debt Relief Passes US Senate AIDS Bill Vote

May 16th 2003 (Posted to web 08-07-03)

From Jubilee USA 

Washington, DC (May 16) - In exceptionally late night vote on the Senate's legislation for global AIDS, last night Republican Senators voted down every amendment offered to perfect the legislation, except one: an amendment for deeper debt relief for impoverished nations, especially those burdened by high levels of HIV/AIDS.

The amendment championed by Senators Biden (D-DE) and Santorum (R-PA) passed the Senate in a voice vote to be included as a part of the final Senate AIDS bill. However, the language was weakened in a last minute deal with the White House in order to gain support for its passage. The Senators agreed to change the amendment to a recommendation for the White House to take action ("should") for deeper debt relief, instead of a mandate for action ("shall").

"We applaud Senators Santorum and Biden for their courageous leadership to fight for deeper debt relief for impoverished nations impacted by AIDS," said Marie Clarke, Executive Director of Jubilee USA Network. "However, the children and orphans of Africa will still carry the debt on their backs, unless President Bush responds to the Senate's request with strong action for debt cancellation at the G8 meetings in Evian."

The problem of severe indebtedness hinders poor countries' abilities to address their own health crises or provide basic services for their people. The 14 countries identified by the President in the AIDS initiative spent $9.1 billion in 2001 servicing debt - many times than what is expected to be delivered to them for the fight against AIDS.

Debt relief has proven to be one of the most important components on an effective fight against HIV/AIDS. Almost every single country that has qualified for debt relief so far, has used the savings for their nation HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment plans.

"Literally hundreds of people from around the country have called or faxed their Senators in support of this amendment in the last 24 hours alone. Without the support of average Americans this amendment would not have passed," said Mara Vanderslice, Program Director for Jubilee USA.

Jubilee USA Network is made up of 70 faith based, labor and citizen activist organizations dedicated to lifting the burden of unpayable and unjust debt from the world's poorest countries.



BACKGROUND

Santorum/Biden debt relief proposal will:
  • Nearly DOUBLE current debt relief for the world's poorest nations by -cutting an additional $1 Billion in both bilateral and multilateral debt service annually
  • Add to the current criteria for "debt sustainability" by saying no country that currently qualifies for HIPC debt relief should pay more than 5% of its budget on debt service annually (10% if the country has no health emergency)
  • Allow the poorest countries to redirect more of their scarce revenues into increased spending on education, health and the crucial fight against HIV/AIDS

Examples of how debt relief has been used for the fight against HIV/AIDS:

  • Uganda, the first country to receive debt relief used $1.3 million of its debt savings specifically for their national HIV/AIDS plan. This investment played a key role in the government's success in reducing HIV infection rates by 40%
  • Cameroon received a $114 million cut in debt service. With help from debt savings, a comprehensive national HIV/AIDS strategic plan was launched. The plan included promoting behavior change among young people, making voluntary testing and counseling widely available and preventing HIV transmission from pregnant women to their babies.
  • Malawi received a cut in debt service of 30%, or $28 million. These funds financed the purchase of critical drugs for hospitals and health centers, hiring extra staff and support in primary health centers, and training new nurses.

For more information on the Bill, visit www.jubileeusa.org