To authorize United States participation in, and appropriations for, the United States contribution to the first replenishment of the resources of the Enterprise for the Americas Multilateral Investment Fund.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong bipartisan support of H.R. 4916, a bill that will authorize continued United States participation in and appropriations for the U.S. contribution to the first replenishment of the resources of the Enterprise for the Americas Multilateral Investment Fund.

This bill was introduced with strong bipartisan support by Representative Pryce, who chairs the subcommittee on which I serve as the ranking member, Congressman Frank, Congresswoman Biggert and myself, and was reported unanimously out of the committee by voice vote.

The MIF is operated by the Inter-American Development Bank and is governed by a donors committee composed of representatives of 37 member countries. The United States is the MIF's largest contributor with 42 percent, and as such exercises considerable influence over its strategic direction and the individual projects it approves.

The MIF does exactly the kinds of things that those who follow the work of the international financial institutions on both sides of the aisle wish these institutions would do. Its principal work is to administer a private sector grant program to assist in developing microenterprises which particularly help small women-owned businesses, it builds workers' skills, it strengthens environmental management, and it improves the efficiency of financial markets in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Roughly 80 percent of MIF projects are undertaken in direct partnership with private sector business associations, trade groups and non-governmental organizations. Typically, MIF resources are matched dollar for dollar with contributions from these groups.

MIF resources also leverage additional funds from other sources, providing a multiplier effect for projects

that have consistently been recognized as among the most innovative and effective of multilateral development institutions.

The total authorization for U.S. participation contained in this legislation is $150 million over 6 years. The remaining member countries have pledged over $350 million. The first installment of the U.S. contribution, $25 million, was included in the President's budget request for fiscal year 2007.

The Financial Services Committee has conducted close oversight over MIF programs since the fund was first established in 1993. In 13 years of operation, MIF has worked with over 400 private sector organizations throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, approving over $1 billion for roughly 800 different projects. The MIF is the single largest source of technical assistance for this part of the world.

One area in which the MIF's work has attracted particular attention in recent years involves the impact of remittances, transfer of money by foreigners to their home countries in that region. Thanks to the fund's efforts, the fees accompanying sending of these moneys back home have been significantly lowered, from 15 percent to 5 percent. Thanks to MIF technical assistance, the recipients of these funds have channeled them into their countries' formal financial systems, helping them to create badly needed jobs.

Madam Speaker, I would like to note that the House report that accompanies this bill mentions that the U.S. has an overdue balance resulting from the U.S. pledge to the original MIF agreement. While no funds are included in this bill for that purpose, the committee urges the administration to seek funding to pay this amount in back dues.

MIF is an example of a program that actually works. It offers proof that multilateral institutions can provide win-win solutions. MIF shows that U.S. taxpayers can benefit while hardworking citizens of Latin America and the Caribbean who wish to start a business and compete in the global economy can pull themselves out of poverty.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I agree completely with the gentleman. This not only will help the economic development, but certainly will give immigrants a reason to stay in their own countries and develop their own economy.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this important legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Pryce) for yielding me time.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4916, the bill that really authorizes the United States' contribution to the first replenishment of the resources of the Enterprise for the Americas Multilateral Investment Fund, which is often referred to as MIF.

I want to thank Chairman Pryce for her leadership on the authorization bill and on all of the domestic and international economic development initiatives that she has undertaken since becoming chairman of the House Financial Services Domestic and International Monetary Policy Trade and Technology Subcommittee. It is an honor to serve as her vice-chairman.

I also thank the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Maloney) for all the work that she has done as the ranking member of the committee. And I would like to thank Mr. Bachus for really being able to put this all in context of what this really means for all of us in the United States and why this is so important.

It is important and in the U.S.'s best interest that we support international economic development initiatives as we fight the war on terror. It is especially important that we fund homegrown, microeconomic projects in developing countries.

These projects are often supported through MIF's technical and financial supports. The Inter-American Development Bank is doing important work to marry the public and private sectors, is working to engage the international community and pro-democracy, pro-free trade, and pro-free market.

Through a variety of initiatives, programs and projects, the bank is promoting sustainable economic growth in developing countries. Just as important as it is to the U.S., it is important to many developing countries to promote job growth, improve education, expand health care, enhance environmental standards, produce clean energy, develop sound infrastructure, and increase access to financial markets and institutions.

The MIF fund, which is operated by the International American Development Bank, is a critical component of all of these marks of economic stability for developing countries, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean, as they work towards stabilizing their governments and towards sustainable economic growth.

H.R. 4916 authorizes the U.S. contribution of $150 million to MIF and sends a strong message to our neighbors in the south, and to the international community and the leaders in the Inter-American Development Bank that we support their efforts.

Madam Speaker, I would like to commend the U.S. delegation that participated in the 47th annual Inter-American Development Bank meetings that were held earlier this month and for their hard work. In particular, I would like to commend the bank's leaders and staff for taking the helm of anti-corruption initiatives and for promoting ethical practices within the bank.

In addition, I would like to recognize the new Inter-American Development president, Luis Alberto Moreno, for his leadership in promoting public-private partnerships, especially those that involve small businesses.

I would also like to thank him for facilitating discussions about Latin American debt relief and development at this year's annual meeting. MIF is a proven winner in meeting important job creation and economic goals throughout the region.

By tapping the talents, strengths, and resources of private sector groups and organization, we can continue to help others help themselves. This is a great program that leverages small dollars into big results for many people throughout Latin America.

Madam Speaker, I am again pleased to lend my support to the chairman for her legislation, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4916) to authorize United States participation in, and appropriations for, the United States contribution to the first replenishment of the resources of the Enterprise for the Americas Multilateral Investment Fund.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

The Multilateral Investment Fund, or MIF, was created as a mechanism to stimulate innovation and economic growth for Latin America and Caribbean countries and is operated by the Inter-American Development Bank, IADB, an organization that oversees many programs and loans that benefit the economically challenged in those areas.

Projects funded through the MIF are focused on new development approaches that work to promote inclusive economic growth. The IADB has made the central goal of the MIF to use both grants and investments to demonstrate new ways in developing micro- and small enterprises, to build workers' skills, strengthen environmental management, and improve the functions of financial markets.

This legislation fulfills the President's FY 2007 budget request for $25 million, or a total of $150 million over 6 years, to be given in replenishing the MIF and meet the U.S. commitment.

At the close of FY 2005, the total amount of projects approved by the MIF exceeded $1 billion, encompassing 799 projects with an additional $1 billion in co-financing that was put to use in meeting MIF goals.

Our authorizing this new replenishment allows for a continuation of all the good work the IADB has been doing in the area of microfinance.

Microfinance projects are especially important to developing areas in helping break the cycle of poverty by providing a loan to start a small or microenterprise, a business usually defined as having less than 10 employees in an economic hardship area.

Through small business growth, areas are then able to demonstrate that they have potential to attract wider sources of capital and enable further expansion of services for microenterprises. Building the small firm sector offers the greatest potential to generating job growth, which will lead to lasting freedom from poverty.

The MIF has pioneered the creation of venture capital for small business in Latin America and the Caribbean and continues to look for opportunities that would improve venture capital for small businesses by supporting reforms and regulatory and legislative frameworks, and by helping to remove barriers to small business financing.

This legislation honors our commitment to these countries, will attract further capital investment and help create stable, reliable trading partners in these developing nations.

Madam Speaker, I am so pleased to have the ranking members of the full committee and my subcommittee, Mr. Frank and Mrs. Maloney, as well as my subcommittee vice chair, Mrs. Biggert, and Chairman Spencer Bachus, joining me in supporting this replenishment; and I ask for my colleagues to support this bill.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to my good friend and chairman of the subcommittee, Spencer Bachus.

Madam Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Biggert) who has done so much work in this area.

Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time. It has been a pleasure working with the gentlewoman from New York.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I thank Chairman Pryce, and will start by commending Chairman Pryce and Congresswoman Maloney and Congresswoman Biggert and also Ranking Member Frank for this legislation.

A lot of citizens might be hearing this debate and they may be thinking, what has this got to do with the United States? What do problems in Latin America have to do with the United States? What is in it for me, my constituents might ask me? Why would you support spending $25 million a year on this program? What do Americans get out of this program?

I submit to you that this program is probably one of the best uses of our taxpayers' money for one simple reason: when I go home today, people say to me, illegal immigration; do something about illegal immigration.

Well, let me say this to fellow Members: if you want to do something about illegal immigration, this vote today, a ``yes'' vote on this bill, will do more from a practical standpoint to stem the flow of illegal immigration than anything else.

James Schlessinger, one of my favorite quotes is a quote of his when he says: ``When a problem has no solution, it is not a problem. It is a fact.''

Well, I can tell you that illegal immigration is a fact. But it is also a problem that has solutions. And the first solution, the first step to solving it we can take today by voting for this bill.

Now, why is that? Well, let me tell you about illegal immigration. Let me tell you about Mexico, one of the countries that benefits from this program. It creates small enterprises, small jobs in Mexico. In Mexico every year, 600,000 Mexicans enter the job force; but there is only room for 150,000 of them. So almost a half million of them cannot even get a job at any wage.

The ones that do get a job is at one-fifth of what Americans pay, American jobs. Guatemala, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, we are beginning to have more and more illegal immigrants from those countries. The reason? In the countries that I have just mentioned, about one out of every five young men or women that enters the job market can get a job.

So I can tell you it is a fact of life when they cannot get a job at any salary, they are going to try to come over here. Yes, we can build walls. Yes, we can employ more people on the border. But a cheaper, more practical, more long-term solution is this legislation today which will create the very jobs these countries need. And that is not the large government enterprises. It is the private enterprise businesses.

I close by saying this: another great thing about this program is we have partners. It is not a government program. The NGOs, the private sector business organizations, trade groups, they are all involved in this.

Let us vote ``yes'' on this. Let us start creating jobs in those countries and stemming the flow of illegal immigration.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4916 authorizing a replenishment of the Enterprise Fund for the Americas.

The Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) was created in 1993 as part of the `Enterprise for the Americas' initiative to provide technical assistance in Latin American and Caribbean countries to stimulate innovation and economic growth. The objective of the fund is to use grants and investments to develop micro enterprises, build worker skills, strengthen environmental management and improve the functions of financial markets. I'm pleased to be able to say that the Multilateral Investment Fund has been a model of reform and transparency for other multilateral banks of reform and transparency. The Fund has aggressively embraced transparency in it's work. It is on the front line of change in a development sector where indictments of ineffectiveness are most often heard.

Experience demonstrates that private sector development agencies can be a powerful and transformative development tool. In Poland and across central Europe these types of funds have helped build small and medium size businesses, created jobs, changed the economic environment and helped establish a middle class. Given the rapidly deteriorating political condition in Latin America, we need every arrow in our quiver if we are to demonstrate to countries in our hemisphere the inherent value of open market--both political and economic.

In the preceding 4 years, Congress provided almost $72 million for the MIF. Although the U.S. has pledged $150 million over the next six years for MIF II, meeting that commitment will depend on budget constraints and shifting spending priorities. There are many competing needs in the fiscal year 2007 budget and it will be no different In following budget years. It is, however, worth noting that our pledge has leveraged thus far an additional $352 million from 36 other countries.

We need to be innovative in our development work if we are to increase trade and build small and medium size businesses. The Enterprise for the Americas Multilateral Investment Fund helps to achieve these goals. I support this legislation.