Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that France, Germany, Russia, and other nations can contribute to Iraq's reconstruction by forgiving debts owed by Iraq to those nations and by making generous pledges for Iraq's reconstruction at the International Conference on Reconstruction in Iraq to be held in Madrid.

        [Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 198 Engrossed in House (EH)]

In the House of Representatives, U.S.,

October 16, 2003.
Whereas France, Germany, Russia, and other nations have expressed an interest in
assisting in the reconstruction of Iraq;
Whereas France, Germany, Russia, and other nations have previously encouraged
and provided debt relief as a way to assist other nations;
Whereas France, Germany, Russia, and other nations had extensive trade
relationships with Iraq;
Whereas loans and other support from France, Germany, Russia, and other nations
were used by the Saddam Hussein regime to support the development of its
weapons of mass destruction programs, the expansion of the Iraqi Army
that the regime used to invade its neighbors, and the building of
palaces, monuments, and other means of aggrandizing Saddam Hussein;
Whereas the United States has already provided approximately $3,000,000,000 in
the form of grants to provide for the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi
people and to rebuild Iraq's crumbling infrastructure; and
Whereas France, Germany, Russia, and other nations are capable of making
generous pledges for the reconstruction of Iraq at the International
Conference on Reconstruction in Iraq to be held in Madrid: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that France,
Germany, Russia, and other nations--
(1) should work with multilateral institutions and with creditor
nations in the ``Paris Club'' to establish a debt forgiveness program
for Iraq to aid its reconstruction;
(2) should make generous pledges for the reconstruction of Iraq at
the International Conference on Reconstruction in Iraq to be held in
Madrid; and
(3) should acknowledge the role that Iraq's current debt plays in
hindering its reconstruction.
Attest:

Clerk.