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Whereas microcredit programs have operated successfully in developing countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe, and in industrialized countries, including the United States;

Whereas more than 2,900 individuals from 137 countries attended a global microcredit summit held February 2 to 4, 1997, in Washington, D.C.;

Whereas the 1997 Microcredit Summit recognized that, to be successful, a strategy to address poverty must include a broad range of effective initiatives, and that microcredit is one such initiative;

Whereas at the 1997 Microcredit Summit a poverty measure

ment discussion group comprised of 600 individuals was formed, dedicated to finding effective and efficient poverty measurements for different regions of the world;

Whereas the 1997 Microcredit Summit adopted the goal of providing access to microcredit to 100,000,000 of the world's poorest families;

Whereas the 1997 Microcredit Summit began a campaign to achieve that goal by 2005, with four core themes to pursue that goal;

Whereas the first core theme is to target microcredit programs toward the poorest of the poor, which is defined for industrialized countries as all individuals who are below the poverty line, and for developing countries as the more impoverished half of individuals who are below the poverty line;

Whereas the second core theme is to target microcredit programs toward poor women, who studies have shown to be very adept at saving, highly creative as entrepreneurs, and consistent in applying earnings toward improving the

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well-being of their families, but who are more likely than men to be left out of poverty eradication programs; Whereas the third core theme is to foster the financial viability of institutions that offer microcredit programs; and Whereas the fourth core theme is to make measurable, positive impacts on the lives of individuals and families through microcredit programs: Now, therefore, be it

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Resolved, That the House of Representatives

(1) recognizes the importance of achieving the goal of the 1997 Microcredit Summit to provide access to microcredit to 100,000,000 of the world's poorest families;

(2) urges international and regional financial institutions and other organizations to explore the use of microcredit programs as a method of eradi

cating poverty;

(3) encourages appropriate public agencies to support the goal of the 1997 Microcredit Summit by developing, announcing, and implementing institutional action plans to achieve that goal;

(4) encourages the President of the United States to foster international support for the goal of the 1997 Microcredit Summit in his communications

with leaders of other Nations; and

(5) calls upon the President of the United States to affirm his commitment to the goal of the

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The Honorable Robert Menendez

H. Con. Res. 292—Calling for an end to the Conflict Between Ethiopia and Eritrea

I want to thank the gentleman from California for offering this timely resolution. The Horn of Africa, and in particular, the nations of Ethiopia and Eritrea are rich in natural and human resources. After many years of instability under the Mengistu (MEN-GIS-TU) regime, Ethiopia and Eritrea have been living in relative peace and increasing prosperity. Ethiopia, a country once known only for the terrible man-made famines it suffered in the 1980's, is now producing enough food to feed its populace.

The current crisis betwen Ethiopia and Eritrea which recently resulted in a military conflict, has the potential to destabilize the entire region, reverse the enormous progress made in the past 7 years and instigate another large-scale humanitarian crisis in Afri

ca.

I think we can all join in calling on President Issias (EE-SIGHUS) and Meles (MELL-US) to declare simultaneous cease-fires and to end this crisis before it escalates any further.

O