[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 117 (Thursday, August 2, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H5696-H5697]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 1900
UNITED STATES-AFRICA TRADE RELATIONS
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 5, 2011, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rush) is recognized
for the remainder of the hour as the designee of the minority leader.
Mr. RUSH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend my fellow colleagues
in the House for their leadership, for their vision, and for their
votes today to strengthen the U.S.-Africa economic and trade relations.
Passage of H.R. 5986 will also solidify the U.S. long-term investment
in Africa.
I want to commend my colleagues for voting to extend AGOA, the
African Growth and Opportunity Act. And I would also like to applaud
all of those advocates who worked tirelessly to pass H.R. 5986, the
long overdue extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, AGOA,
including the third-country fabric provision as a part of AGOA.
This third-country fabric provision will enable eligible countries in
sub-Saharan Africa to ship thousands of goods to the United States
without paying import duties. This provision, which has been set to
expire this September, on September 30, waives the duties on clothing
from most AGOA countries, even if the yarn or fabric is made in a
``third country,'' such as China, South Korea, or Vietnam. With passage
of this important legislation, sewing jobs for hundreds of thousands of
African workers will be protected and also created.
The first beneficiaries for this bill will be the women of Africa,
because about 70 to 80 percent of the workers in these burgeoning
apparel and textile industries are women. Mr. Speaker, when women are
working, families are fed and stability is a result.
I am so pleased, Mr. Speaker, that once again AGOA will become the
law and that the President will sign this law in the near future.
The Death of Ghanaian President John Atta Mills
Next, Mr. Speaker, I stand in the House well today to send my deepest
sympathies, the sympathies of the people of the First Congressional
District of Illinois, and to send our prayers to the Ghanaian people
and to the family of the recently departed President John Atta Mills,
the late president of Ghana. His death is a terrible loss not only for
Ghana and its people, but for the entire world.
Mr. Speaker, President Atta Mills was a tremendous leader. He
solidified the foundation for peace and prosperity in the nation of
Ghana, creating confidence in the Ghanaian political, socioeconomic
system that led to massive foreign direct investments in Ghana, which
resulted in the creation of millions of jobs for the Ghanaian people.
He will be greatly missed.
I also want to congratulate His Excellency, Mr. John Dramani Mahama,
the new leader of Ghana.
Mr. Speaker, the peaceful transition of power in Ghana clearly
demonstrates that Ghana has embarked into an unwavering path and
process for democracy and the democratic principles we all hold near
and dear. Within hours of the passing away of the President, late
President John Atta Mills, the Vice President was sworn in as the new
President.
The political violence that we witnessed after the passing of
President Umaru Yar'Adua of Nigeria and President Bingu wa Mutharika of
Malawi simply did not occur. This, Mr. Speaker, is evidence, sheer
evidence that Ghana's democratic institutions are viable and are
getting much stronger day by day.
This just did not happen. It took strong leadership from previous
Presidents of Ghana in order to lay the right foundation for this
smooth transition of power in Ghana over the last week. People like
former President Jerry Rawlings, who was elected in 1996. And lest we
not forget Mr. Rawlings' party lost with a narrow margin, but he didn't
try to fight and hold back the willful decision of the Ghanaian people.
He conceded the election without any controversy.
I also commend former President John Kufuor for his strong stance in
support of the Ghanaian democratic march, the principles, and the
democratic values that we cherish here in the United States.
It is for these reasons that I stand here today to commend the
Ghanaian people, the Ghanaian leadership, and the Ghanaian institutions
for their stable, forward-thinking, and mature leadership. I commend
them all this evening.
Niger Delta Crisis
Mr. Speaker, on my final note before this body, I rise today to also
urge this Congress to pass H. Con. Res. 121, a resolution to save the
Niger Delta region, which is located in Nigeria. Over the last few
years and months, a lot has been said and a lot has been written about
the Niger Delta crisis that is occurring right now in Nigeria as we
speak.
{time} 1910
Just about a year ago, the United Nations Environment Program
released a report, a startling report, a report calling for an urgent
response to reverse the environmental destruction and devastation in
the Ogoniland region of the Niger Delta wetlands. That report again was
startling, intense, and accurate. It also called for the establishment
of a $1 billion cleanup fund to finance the restoration and the cleanup
of the Niger Delta region.
Mr. Speaker, to give you some perspective on the scope of the
destruction and on the devastation, it is estimated that the cleanup of
the Niger Delta could take as many as 30 years to complete. Of course,
Mr. Speaker, strong voices have begun to emerge and strong actions have
taken place to do more to publicize these environmental atrocities.
Just recently, I watched a movie directed by a brilliant Nigerian-
born filmmaker whose name is Jeta Amata. It was a movie titled ``Black
November: Struggle for the Niger Delta.'' This movie raises the
awareness of the tragedy of the Niger Delta and the Niger region.
``Black November,'' the movie, is based upon the true story of the
people of the Niger Delta, the communities in the Niger Delta that
suffer extreme environmental degradation and extreme poverty in this
oil-rich Niger Delta region.
Mr. Speaker, the people of this Nation, we cannot, the American
people cannot remain indifferent to the struggle of the people of the
Niger region, the Niger Delta, as they struggle to clean up the
pollution created by mostly American and other Western oil and
petroleum companies. Most of the Niger Delta's 31 million people live
on less than $1 a day, although this region is the very backbone of
Nigeria's economy, with oil and gas extraction accounting for over 97
percent of Nigeria's foreign exchange revenues.
The Niger Delta region, which consists of nine states, makes up about
12 percent of Nigeria's total land mass, and it is one of the world's
10 most important wetlands and coastal marine ecosystems.
Mr. Speaker, the social unrest, the criminality, illegal oil trade,
the bunkering, and the general corruption have hindered oil and gas
investment and production, as well as the Niger Delta region's
development.
Mr. Speaker, these numbers are alarming. The World Conservation Union
and the representatives from the Nigerian federal government and the
Nigerian Conservation Foundation calculated in 2006 that up to 1.5
million tons of oil had been spilled in the Niger Delta over the last
50 years--1.5 million tons. That is 50 times, that's right, 50 times,
Mr. Speaker, the pollution released in the Exxon Valdez tanker disaster
in Alaska a few years ago.
This pollution, this oil spill, this devastation has severely limited
the local inhabitants' access to clean water and has largely destroyed
the fishing stock that the majority of the delta inhabitants depended
on to make their daily living. A result also has been that illegal oil
and gas refineries have become a source of income for these poor people
who have unfortunately diverted their activities from fisheries
destroyed by the oil spills. Illicit oil trade and illegal refineries
are booming, and they are consequently threatening the economy, the
security, and the environment of this very vital region in the world.
[[Page H5697]]
Mr. Speaker, more importantly or just as importantly, in too many of
the communities in the Niger region, people drink water from wells that
are contaminated with benzene, which is a known carcinogen.
{time} 1920
They drink this water, which has been estimated to be 900 times above
the level that the World Health Organization uses as its guideline, 900
times above the standards set by the World Health Organization.
Since 2010, Nigeria has become one of our main strategic partners on
the continent of Africa. This nation, Nigeria, is our Nation's second-
leading trading partner behind Great Britain. Mr. Speaker, these and
other facts mean that the struggle of the people of the Niger Delta--
the struggle of the Nigerian people--is also the struggle of the
American people.
Mr. Speaker, the destiny of the two economies, the Nigerian economy
and the American economy, are interconnected, interrelated, and
intertwined. We cannot, and I emphasize, this Nation cannot afford to
stay indifferent to the struggles of the people of the Niger Delta and
the cleanup of the pollution that has been devastating this region for
over the past 50 years. The struggle of the people of the Niger Delta
is indeed our struggle, the struggle of the American people.
I have led, and with cosigners, have introduced H. Con. Res 121 to
urge all the stakeholders in the Niger oil and gas industry to come
together, to work together, to collaborate together, and to address
collectively the environmental impact of the oil and gas production in
the Niger Delta.
I must say, Mr. Speaker, that we should commend this Congress--and I
certainly commend President Goodluck Jonathan for presenting the new
Petroleum Industry Bill, the PIB, to the Nigerian Parliament, which has
the support of all the stakeholders and has the input of all of the
stakeholders.
I also want to commend President Goodluck Jonathan for announcing the
creation of the Hydro-Carbon Pollution Restoration Project, HYPREP, to
look into the Ogoni land degradation, destruction, and devastation from
the aforementioned oil spills. I applaud President Goodluck Jonathan
for taking these initiatives. These are very important, critical first
steps. It is my hope that all of the affected stakeholders will again
come and meet again soon and collaborate strongly together to make the
cleanup and rebuilding of the Niger region become a success story that
the world will admire and that the world will celebrate.
The new energy regulatory framework that's being created must be
fair, it must be transparent, and it must create an appropriate avenue
for the economic empowerment for local Niger Delta communities affected
by the industry, including the women and the youth.
Mr. Speaker, we cannot stand by. We must assist in this effort. The
clock is ticking. We must support the people of the Niger Delta.
With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
____________________