THE STAR NEWSPAPER: U.S. Congresswoman, Rep. Maxine Waters Want Debt Cancellation For Liberia

CONGRESSWOMAN WATERS

Washington, D.C. - Today, Rep. Maxine Waters (DCA) sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, urging him to support immediate and complete cancellation of Liberia's debts and arrears during the Liberia Partners' Forum in Washington, DC, February 13-15, 2007. The letter was signed by the following members of the House of Representatives: Barney Frank (D-MA), Chairman of the Financial Services Committee; Spencer Bachus (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Financial Services Committee; Donald Payne (D-NJ), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health; Christopher Smith (R-NJ), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health; Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade, and Technology; and Tom Lantos (D-CA), Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee. The text of the letter follows:
We appreciate your past support of debt cancellation for impoverished countries. We now urge you to support immediate and complete cancellation of Liberia's debts and arrears during the Liberia Partners' Forum in Washington, DC, February 13-15, 2007. The election of Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf made her the first woman head of state in Africa and marked the end of a 14-year civil war that killed 270,000 people and displaced almost one million. The country continues to suffer from grave poverty: 75 percent of its population lives on less than $1 per day while the unemployment rate is 85 percent. President Sirleaf's election was also a sign of hope for the people of Liberia who have suffered tremendously from both poverty and conflict. However, the new government requires the support and assistance of the international community to ensure national reconciliation and sustainable development for the Liberian people. Debt cancellation is essential to this process. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Liberia's total debt stands at $3.7 billion, $1.6 billion of which is owed to multilateral financial institutions, including $740 million to the IMF, $530 million to the World Bank, and $255 million to the African Development Bank. A total of $358 million is owed to the United States. Much of Liberia's debt burden was accumulated during the oppressive and undemocratic regimes of Samuel Doe and Charles Taylor, who did not use the loan funds for the benefit of the Liberian people. We are especially concerned that Liberia may be expected to pay off its arrears to multilateral financial institutions prior to obtaining new assistance in the form of grants, loans, or debt relief from the international community. This nation cannot afford additional delays and cannot reasonably be expected to drain such large amounts of money from its already fragile economy. The cancellation of Liberia's debts and arrears would enable the newly elected government to reduce poverty; improve health care, education and other essential government services; invest in critical infrastructure; and improve the lives of the Liberian people. The experience of partial debt relief and full debt cancellation in other impoverished countries has been successful. For example, the Ghanaian government has used the money saved through debt relief for basic infrastructure, including rural feeder roads, as well as increased expenditures on education and health care. In Zambia, 4,500 new teachers have been hired and fees for rural healthcare have been abolished. Therefore, we urge you to use your influence at the Liberia Partners' Forum to ensure that Liberia obtains complete cancellation of its debts and arrears without further delays. Your efforts to assist Liberia in its development are greatly appreciated, and we look forward to your response and to working with you to free Liberia from the tremendous burden of international debt.

PROFILE FOF REPRESENTATIVE MAXINE WATERS

Congresswoman Maxine Waters is considered by many to be one of the most powerful women in American politics today. She has gained a reputation as a fearless and outspoken advocate for women, children, people of color and the poor.

Elected in November 2004 to her eighth term in the House of Representatives with an overwhelming 80 percent of the votes in the 35th District of California, Congresswoman Maxine Waters represents a large part of South Central Los Angeles, the communities of Westchester and Playa Del Ray as well as the diverse cities of Gardena, Hawthorne, Inglewood and Lawndale.
Formerly the Chair of the 39-member Congressional Black Caucus (1997-98), Rep. Waters has held the influential leadership position of Chief Deputy Whip of the Democratic Party since the 106th Congress and was named Co-Chair of the powerful House Democratic Steering Committee.
She continues to be a member of the House Committee on Financial Services and the ranking member of its Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity. She also serves on the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit and the Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade, Technology.
She also continues to serve on the Committee on the Judiciary and its subcommittees on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property; on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security; and on Immigration, Border Security and Claims.
Following the 2000 Presidential election fiasco in Florida and elsewhere, Rep. Waters was named by Minority Leader Richard Gephardt to chair the Democratic Caucus Special Committee on Election Reform which held hearings throughout the country to prepare for Congressional consideration of minimum federal standards for elections practices.
Legislative Leadership
Throughout her 29 years of public service, Maxine Waters has been on the cutting edge, tackling difficult and often controversial issues. She has combined her strong legislative and public policy acumen and high visibility in Democratic Party activities with an unusual ability to do grassroots organizing.
Prior to her election to the House of Representatives in 1990, Congresswoman Waters had already attracted national attention for her no-nonsense, no-holds-barred style of politics. During 14 years in the California State Assembly, she rose to the powerful position of Democratic Caucus Chair. She was responsible for some of the boldest legislation California has ever seen: the largest divestment of state pension funds from South Africa; landmark affirmative action legislation; the nation’s first statewide Child Abuse Prevention Training Program; the prohibition of police strip searches for nonviolent misdemeanors; and the introduction of the nation’s first plant closure law.
As a national Democratic Party leader, Congresswoman Waters has long been highly visible in Democratic Party politics and has served on the Democratic National Committee since 1980. She was a key leader in five presidential campaigns: Sen. Edward Kennedy (1980), Rev. Jesse Jackson (1984 & 1988), and President Bill Clinton (1992 & 1996). In 2001, she was instrumental in the DNC’s creation of the National Development and Voting Rights Institute and the appointment of Mayor Maynard Jackson as its chair.
Following the Los Angeles civil unrest in 1992, Congresswoman Waters faced the nation’s media and public to interpret the hopelessness and despair in cities across America. Over the years, she has brought many government officials and policy makers to her South Central L.A. district to appeal for more resources. They included President Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, Secretaries of Housing & Urban Development Henry Cisneros and Andrew Cuomo, and Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve System. Following the unrest, she founded Community Build, the city’s grassroots rebuilding project.
She has used her skill to shape public policy and deliver the goods: $10 billion in Section 108 loan guarantees to cities for economic and infrastructure development, housing and small business expansion; $50 million appropriation for “Youth Fair Chance” program which established an intensive job and life skills training program for unskilled, unemployed youth; expanded U.S. debt relief for Africa and other developing nations; creating a “Center for Women Veterans,” among others.
Rep. Waters continues to be an active leader in a broad coalition of residential communities, environmental activists and elected officials that aggressively advocate for the mitigation of harmful impacts of the expansion plan for Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Furthermore, she continues initiatives to preserve the unique environmental qualities of the Ballona wetlands and bluffs, treasures of her district.
She is a co-founder of Black Women’s Forum, a nonprofit organization of over 1,200 African American women in the Los Angeles area. In the mid-80s, she also founded Project Build, working with young people in Los Angeles housing developments on job training and placement.
As she confronts the Republican-controlled Congress on issues such as poverty, economic development, equal justice under the law and other issues of concern to people of color, women, children, and poor people, Rep. Waters enjoys a broad cross section of support from diverse communities across the nation.
Throughout her career, Congresswoman Waters has been an advocate for international peace, justice, and human rights. Before her election to Congress, she was a leader in the movement to end Apartheid and establish democracy in South Africa. She opposed the 2004 Haitian coup d’etat, which overthrew the democratically-elected government of Jean-Bertrand Aristide in Haiti, and defends the rights of political prisoners in Haiti’s prisons. She leads congressional efforts to cancel the debts that poor countries in Africa and Latin America owe to wealthy institutions like the World Bank and free poor countries from the burden of international debts.
Congresswoman Waters is the founding member and Chair of the ‘Out of Iraq’ Congressional Caucus. Formed in June 2005, the ‘Out of Iraq’ Congressional Caucus is established to bring to the Congress an on-going debate about the war in Iraq and the Administration’s justifications for the decision to go to war, to urge the return of US service members to their families as soon as possible. The Caucus has more than 70 members.
Expanding access to health care services is another of Congresswoman Waters’ priorities. She spearheaded the development of the Minority AIDS Initiative in 1998 to address the alarming spread of HIV/AIDS among African Americans, Hispanics and other minorities. Under her continuing leadership, funding for the Minority AIDS Initiative has increased from the initial appropriation of $156 million in fiscal year 1999 to approximately $400 million per year today. She is also the author of legislation to expand health services for patients with diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.
She is lauded by African American entrepreneurs for her work to expand contracting and procurement opportunities and to strengthen businesses. Long active in the women’s movement, Rep. Waters has given encouragement and financial support to women seeking public office. Many young people, including those in the hip-hop music community, praise her for her support and understanding of young people and their efforts at self-expression. One testament to her work is the Maxine Waters Employment Preparation Center, a multimillion dollar campus providing education and employment opportunities to residents of the Watts area.
Personal Background
Maxine Waters was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the fifth of 13 children reared by a single mother. She began working at age 13 in factories and segregated restaurants. After moving to Los Angeles, she worked in garment factories and at the telephone company. She attended California State University at Los Angeles, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. She began her career in public service as a teacher and a volunteer coordinator in the Head Start program.
She is married to Sidney Williams, the former U.S. Ambassador to the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. She is the mother of two adult children, Edward and Karen, and has two grandchildren.