Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2004 and 2005 CONGRESSMAN ADAM B. SCHIFF OF CALIFORNIA IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Tuesday, July 15, 2003 The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 1950) to authorize appropriations for the Department of State for the fiscal years 2004 and 2005, to authorize appropriations under the Arms Export Control Act and the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 for security assistance for fiscal years 2004 and 2005, and for other purposes: Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of full and continued funding for the United Nations Population Fund, or UNFPA. Since beginning operations in 1969, the UNFPA has provided over $6 billion in vital maternal and child health programs to women in 150 countries around the world. This makes the UNFPA the single largest global source of multilateral funding for maternal health and family planning programs. The United States' contribution alone to the UNFPA last year provided approximately 870,000 women in developing countries with modern contraception, thereby preventing 500,000 unwanted pregnancies, 200,000 abortions, and thousands of maternal and child deaths. The programs supported by UNFPA are both timely and relevant. In the past eight months, UNFPA has delivered modern obstetric care to such locations as Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Kabul, Afghanistan; and Baghdad, Iraq, helping to rebuild reproductive health services in the places where they are needed the most. Its campaigns to prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS have reached five continents and more than 140 nations. It would be no exaggeration to say that the UNFPA has been on the cutting edge of health care delivery the world over. These programs, so vital to families around the world, depend on the support of 136 donor countries, including the United States. By our continued support for UNFPA, we recognize the importance of global reproductive health services and ensure that the Population Fund will be able to continue delivering them. Indeed, the costs of ending our support for UNFPA are staggering. The $34 million denied to UNFPA in 2002 would have prevented some two million unwanted pregnancies, 800,000 abortions, 4,700 maternal deaths, nearly 60,000 cases of maternal illness or disability, and 77,000 infant and child deaths. The amendment offered in the House International Relations Committee by my colleague, Mr. Crowley, has made our support for these programs possible, while still maintaining the h1ghest standards for human rights, ensuring that each dollar provided to the UNFPA will be used for the promotion of the noble ends that it was created to serve. Any cuts or restrictions to UNFPA funding levels will only jeopardize the health and well-being of millions of women the world over. Mr. Chairman, members of the House, I thank you for your time, and I urge my colleagues to oppose cutting amendments and resume our support for the UNFPA, which will continue--with our assistance--to deliver vital family planning and reproductive health services to families around the globe.