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THE WHITE HOUSE

                     Office of the Press Secretary
                         (Camp David, Maryland)
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                      July 13, 2000

STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

While the bill passed today underfunds vital international priorities and should not become law, the Waters amendment passed by the House of Representatives increasing funding to the Heavily Indebted Poorest Countries (HIPC) initiative is an enormously encouraging step. Relieving the world's poorest nations of crushing debt obligations will help free up crucial funds for education, health care, and basic human needs. Unsustainable debt continues to help keep too many poor countries and poor people in poverty. I urge Congress to pass the full amount that I have requested for debt relief this year. As it stands, this bill still falls far short of what is necessary to fully implement this initiative.

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