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Whereas on May 6, 1998, a military confrontation erupted

between Eritrea and Ethiopia, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of innocent civilians and the displacement of tens of thousands of people;

Whereas the peoples of Eritrea and Ethiopia have suffered for decades due to war and manmade famines and do not deserve once again to suffer due to armed conflict;

Whereas the conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia could destabilize the entire subregion and lead to a massive humanitarian crisis;

Whereas the Governments of Eritrea and Ethiopia have both stated that they are committed to a peaceful resolution of the conflict; and

Whereas the Governments of the United States and Rwanda, as well as countries in the region, have put forth proposals for resolving the conflict: Now, therefore, be it

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Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That the Congress

(1) calls on both Eritrea and Ethiopia immediately to bring an end to the violence between the two countries;

(2) commends the executive branch of the United States Government for brokering a moratorium on air raids between Eritrea and Ethiopia;

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courages continued United States engagement to

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ward a peaceful resolution of the conflict; and

(3) commends the recent efforts of the United States facilitation team to resolve the crisis, and en

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(4) calls on President Isaias Afewerki and

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Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to end the conflict

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peacefully before it escalates into a full-scale war.

105TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION

H.R. 4283

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Mr. BEREUTER (for himself, Mr. HAMILTON, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. LEACH, Mr.
HALL of Ohio, Mr. KANJORSKI, Mr. WALSH, Mrs. CLAYTON, Mr.
EHLERS, MS. WATERS, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Mr. SCOTT, Mr.
DICKS, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. Towns, Ms. CARSON, Mr. ABER-
CROMBIE, MS. NORTON, Mr. SNYDER, Mr. LIPINSKI, MS. SLAUGHTER,
Mr. SABO, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. WEXLER, MS. FURSE, Mrs.
CAPPS, MS. BROWN of Florida, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. BENTSEN, Mr. ACK-
ERMAN, Mr. GEJDENSON, Mr. MCHALE, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, Mr.
ENGEL, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. ROTHMAN, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. LANTOS,
Mr. CHABOT, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. GOODLING, Mrs. MORELLA, Mr. BER-
MAN, Mr. HORN, Mr. METCALF, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. PETRI, Mr. PORTER,
Mr. DIXON, Mrs. MALONEY of New York, Mr. STARK, Mr. OXLEY, Ms.
MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mr. HINOJOSA, Ms. STABENOW, Ms. CHRIS-
TIAN-GREEN, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, and Ms. KILPATRICK) introduced the
following bill; which
referred to the Committee

was

on

A BILL

To support sustainable and broad-based agricultural and rural development in sub-Saharan Africa, and for other purposes.

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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa

2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

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(a) SHORT TITLE.-This Act may be cited as the

3 "Africa: Seeds of Hope Act of 1998".

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(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.-The table of contents is

5 as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Findings and declaration of policy.

TITLE I-ASSISTANCE FOR SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

Sec. 101. Africa Food Security Initiative.

Sec. 102. Microenterprise assistance.

Sec. 103. Support for producer-owned cooperative marketing associations.
Sec. 104. Agricultural and rural development activities of the Overseas Private
Investment Corporation.

Sec. 105. Agricultural research and extension activities.

TITLE II-WORLDWIDE FOOD ASSISTANCE AND AGRICULTURAL

PROGRAMS

Subtitle A-Nonemergency Food Assistance Programs

Sec. 201. Nonemergency food assistance programs.

Subtitle B-Bill Emerson Humanitarian International Food Security Trust
Act of 1998

Sec. 211. Short title.

Sec. 212. Amendments to the Food Security Commodity Reserve Act of 1996.

Subtitle C-International Fund for Agricultural Development

Sec. 221. Review of the International Fund for Agricultural Development.

TITLE III-MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Sec. 301. Report.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND DECLARATION OF POLICY.

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(a) FINDINGS.-Congress finds the following:

(1) The economic, security, and humanitarian interests of the United States and the nations of sub-Saharan Africa would be enhanced by sustainable, broad-based public and private sector agricultural and rural development in each of the African

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nations. The United States should support such de

velopment.

(2) According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, the number of undernourished people in

Africa has more than doubled, from approximately 100,000,000 in the late 1960s to 215,000,000 in

1998, and is projected to increase to 265,000,000 by the year 2010. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, the term "under nutrition" means inadequate consumption of nutrients, often adversely affecting children's physical and mental development, undermining their future as productive and creative members of their communities.

(3)(A) Currently, agricultural production in Africa employs about two-thirds of the workforce but produces less than one-fourth of the gross domestic product in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the World Bank Group.

(B) Africa's food imports are projected to rise from less than 8,000,000 metric tons in 1990 to

more than 25,000,000 metric tons by the year 2020. (4) African women produce up to 80 percent of

the total food supply in Africa according to the

International Food Policy Research Institute.