Congressional Statements

Regarding World Bank Loans to India

A letter from Congressman Robert Andrews
to President Clinton
November 9, 1999

Dear Mr. President:

I was pleased to learn that upon signing the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2000, you soon thereafter invoked the flexible waiver authorities granted to you by Congress and removed a number of restrictions involving certain financial support and commercial loans to the Government of India. Your waiver, however, did not extend to one of the most important forms of financial assistance to India - the provision of loans by the World Bank for all "nonbasic" human needs.

In view of the current situation in India, in which the newly elected democratic government has just taken office, and its continuing cooperation and open dialogue with the U.S. on a broad range of issues, I urge you to waive the last remaining economic assistance sanction by authorizing the U. S. representatives who sit on the boards of the international financial institutions, such as the World Bank, to support and to not block World Bank loans to India. Those loans totaling $1.235 billion had moved to an advanced stage of approval within the World Bank, but were blocked by the invocation of the Glenn Amendment sanctions last year. I urge you, Mr. President, to exercise your newly granted comprehensive waiver authority to allow these critically needed development loans to go through to India for the following reasons:

The loans by the international financial institutions are critically needed by India to develop its infrastructure and to sustain economic activities in rural areas where the population mostly consists of India's poorest people. The affected projects are needed to expand India's badly needed power supply grid and to build and modernize the highway transportation network.

I understand that you may be deferring waiver of the international financial institutions loans pending further talks between the U.S. and the Government of India with respect to nonproliferation issues. While I strongly support your continuing efforts to encourage India to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, I do not believe that holding up World Bank loans will accomplish that goal. As you know, the World Bank loans are designed for projects to be carried out by India's State Governments, not the national government.

Continued imposition of this economic sanction on India hurts U.S. commerce. Without basic infrastructure improvements, such as electric power and road networks, attempts to develop and expand U.S. business investments in India are hindered.

It is in the national interest of the United States to support and sustain India's democratic principles. A waiver of this sanction will send a strong signal to the people of India, as well as to other nations, that the U.S. supports and, indeed, encourages the development of democratic institutions.

Mr. President, for all of the reasons I have outlined above, I believe it would be in the best national interest of the United States to exercise the authority that Congress has provided you with and to waive the U.S. opposition to loans to India by international financial institutions.

Sincerely,
Robert E. Andrews