[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1376 Introduced in House (IH)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1376
To improve the Enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC)
Initiative.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 20, 2003
Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. Frank of Massachusetts, Mr.
Leach, Mr. Lantos, Mr. Shays, Mr. Bachus, and Mrs. Maloney) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial
Services, and in addition to the Committee on International Relations,
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of
the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To improve the Enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC)
Initiative.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. AUTHORIZATIONS OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE HIPC TRUST FUND.
(a) Authorization To Meet Financing Gap in the Enhanced HIPC
Initiative.--In order to meet the President's commitment to fund the
United States share of the additional financing needs of the current
HIPC program, there are authorized to be appropriated to the President
$75,000,000 for fiscal year 2004, for payment to the Heavily Indebted
Poor Countries Trust Fund administered by the International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development.
(b) Additional Authorization for Funding Conditioned Upon
Improvement of the Enhanced HIPC Initiative.--In addition to the
amounts authorized to be appropriated under subsection (a), on a
determination by the Secretary of the Treasury that the agreement
described in section 1625 of the International Financial Institutions
Act has been reached, there are authorized to be appropriated to the
President such sums as may be necessary for payment to the Heavily
Indebted Poor Countries Trust Fund administered by the International
Bank for Reconstruction and Development to meet the additional
financing needs of the Enhanced HIPC Initiative that result from the
implementation of the agreement.
SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENT OF THE ENHANCED HIPC INITIATIVE.
Title XVI of the International Financial Institutions Act (22
U.S.C. 262p-262p-5) is amended by adding at the end the following new
section:
``SEC. 1625. IMPROVEMENT OF THE ENHANCED HIPC INITIATIVE.
``(a) In General.--In order to ensure that the Enhanced HIPC
Initiative achieves the objective of substantially increasing resources
available for human development and poverty reduction in heavily
indebted poor countries, the Secretary of the Treasury shall
immediately commence efforts within the Paris Club of Official
Creditors, as well as the International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (World Bank), the International Monetary Fund, and other
appropriate multilateral development institutions, to reach an
agreement to modify the Enhanced HIPC Initiative so that the Initiative
is carried out in accordance with the provisions set forth in
subsection (b).
``(b) Modifications.--The provisions set forth in this subsection
are the following:
``(1) Level of exports and revenues.--
``(A) In general.--The amount of debt stock
reduction approved for a country eligible for debt
relief under the Enhanced HIPC Initiative shall be
sufficient to reduce, for at least each year through
2006, or each of the first 3 years after the Decision
Point, whichever is later--
``(i) the net present value of the
outstanding public and publicly guaranteed debt
of the country to not more than 150 percent of
the annual value of exports of the country for
the year preceding the Decision Point; and
``(ii) the annual payments due on such
public and publicly guaranteed debt to not more
than--
``(I) 10 percent or, in the case of
a country suffering a public health
crisis, not more than 5 percent, of the
amount of the annual current revenues
received by the country from internal
sources; or
``(II) a percentage of gross
national product or other benchmark
which will yield a result substantially
equivalent to that which would be
achieved through application of
subclause (I).
``(B) Limitation.--In financing the objectives of
the Enhanced HIPC Initiative, an international
financial institution shall give priority to using its
own resources.
``(2) Relation to poverty and the environment.--The debt
cancellation under the Enhanced HIPC Initiative shall not be
conditioned on any agreement by an impoverished country to
implement or comply with policies that deepen poverty or
degrade the environment, including any policy that--
``(A) implements or extends user fees on primary
education or primary health care, including prevention
and treatment efforts for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis,
malaria, and infant, child, and maternal well-being;
``(B) provides for increased cost recovery from
poor people to finance basic public services such as
education, health care, or sanitation;
``(C) would have the effect of increasing the cost
to consumers with incomes of less than $2.00 per day
for access to clean drinking water through--
``(i) decreased public subsidy for water
supply, treatment, disposal, distribution, or
management; or
``(ii) reduced intrasectoral or
intersectoral subsidization of residential
water consumers with incomes of less than $2.00
per day; or
``(D) undermines workers' ability to exercise
effectively their internationally recognized worker
rights, as defined under section 526(e) of the Foreign
Operations, Export Financing and Related Programs
Appropriations Act, 1995 (22 U.S.C. 262p-4p).
``(3) Foreign government policies.--A country shall not be
eligible for cancellation of debt under the Enhanced HIPC
Initiative if the government of the country--
``(A) supports acts of international terrorism, as
determined by the Secretary of State under section
6(j)(1) of the Export Administration Act of 1979 (50
U.S.C. App. 2405(j)(1)) or section 620A(a) of the
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2371(a));
``(B) engages in gross violations of
internationally recognized human rights, such as
torture (as defined in section 2340 of title 18, United
States Code) or violations of the Convention Against
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane, or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment; or
``(C) has been designated, in the most recent
Department of State `Trafficking in Persons Report', as
a `Tier 3' nation pursuant to the Victims of
Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (Public
Law 106-386) for its failure to cooperate on
international trafficking in persons prevention
efforts.
``(4) Programs to combat poverty.--A country that is
otherwise eligible to receive cancellation of debt under the
Enhanced HIPC Initiative may receive such cancellation only if
the country has agreed--
``(A) to ensure that the financial benefits of debt
cancellation are applied to programs to combat poverty
(in particular through concrete measures to improve
basic services in education, nutrition, and health),
and to redress environmental degradation;
``(B) to ensure that the financial benefits of debt
cancellation are in addition to the government's total
spending on programs to combat poverty for the previous
year or the average total of such expenditures for the
previous 3 years, whichever is greater;
``(C) to implement transparent and participatory
policymaking and budget procedures, good governance,
and effective anticorruption measures; and
``(D) to broaden public participation and popular
understanding of the principles and goals of poverty
reduction.
``(c) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) AIDS.--The term ``AIDS'' means the acquired immune
deficiency syndrome.
``(2) Public health crisis.--A country is deemed to be
suffering `a public health crisis' if--
``(A) the nationwide HIV/AIDS infection rate for
the country, as reported in the most recent
epidemiological data as compiled by the Joint United
Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, is at least 5 percent
among women attending prenatal clinics, or 20 percent
or more among individuals in groups with high-risk
behavior; or
``(B) the country is suffering a health crisis or
epidemic, as defined by the World Health Organization.
``(3) Decision point.--The term `Decision Point' means the
date on which the executive boards of the World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund review the debt sustainability
analysis for a country and determine that the country is
eligible for debt relief under the Enhanced HIPC Initiative.
``(4) Enhanced hipc initiative.--The term `Enhanced HIPC
Initiative' means the multilateral debt initiative for heavily
indebted poor countries presented in the Report of G-7 Finance
Ministers on the Cologne Debt Initiative to the Cologne
Economic Summit, Cologne, June 18-20, 1999.
``(5) HIV.--The term `HIV' means the human immunodeficiency
virus, the pathogen that causes AIDS.
``(6) HIV/AIDS.--The term `HIV/AIDS' means, with respect to
an individual, an individual who is infected with HIV or living
with AIDS.''.
SEC. 3. MODIFICATION OF DETERMINATION OF COUNTRIES SUPPORTING TERRORISM
UNDER CERTAIN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS LAWS.
(a) Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.--
(1) General prohibition on assistance.--Section 620A(a) of
the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2371(a)) is
amended by inserting after ``international terrorism'' the
following: ``or has failed to cooperate with the United States
on efforts to combat international terrorism''.
(2) Enterprise for the americas initiative.--Section
703(a)(2) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2430b(a)(2)) is amended by
inserting after ``international terrorism'' the following:
``and has cooperated with the United States on efforts to
combat international terrorism''.
(b) Arms Export Control Act.--
(1) General prohibition on transactions.--Section 40(d) of
the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2780(d)) is amended in
the first sentence by inserting after ``international
terrorism'' the following: ``or has failed to cooperate with
the United States on efforts to combat international
terrorism''.
(2) Transfer of missile equipment or technology by united
states person.--Section 72(c) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2797a(c))
is amended by inserting after ``international terrorism'' the
following: ``or has failed to cooperate with the United States
on efforts to combat international terrorism''.
(3) Transfer of missile equipment or technology by foreign
person.--Section 73(f) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2797b(f)) is
amended by inserting after ``international terrorism'' the
following: ``or has failed to cooperate with the United States
on efforts to combat international terrorism''.
(4) Transfer of chemical or biological weapons by foreign
person.--Section 81(a)(2)(B) of such Act (22 U.S.C.
2798(a)(2)(B)) is amended by inserting after ``international
terrorism'' the following: ``or has failed to cooperate with
the United States on efforts to combat international
terrorism''.
(c) Export Administration Act of 1979.--
(1) General requirements.--Section 6(j)(1)(A) of the Export
Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. app. 2405(j)(1)(A)) is
amended--
(A) in subsection (j)(1)(A), by inserting after
``international terrorism'' the following: ``or has
failed to cooperate with the United States on efforts
to combat international terrorism''; and
(B) in subsection (l)(3)(B), by inserting after
``international terrorism'' the following: ``or to have
failed to cooperate with the United States on efforts
to combat international terrorism''.
(2) Transfer of chemical or biological weapons by foreign
person.--Section 11C(a)(2)(B) of such Act (50 U.S.C. app.
2410c(a)(2)(B)) is amended by inserting after ``international
terrorism'' the following: ``or has failed to cooperate with
the United States on efforts to combat international
terrorism''.
SEC. 4. REPORTS ON IMPLEMENTATION OF IMPROVEMENTS TO THE ENHANCED HIPC
INITIATIVE.
(a) Initial Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall submit to
the appropriate congressional committees a report describing the
progress made in concluding the agreement described in section 1625(b)
of the International Financial Institutions Act (as added by section 1
of this Act).
(b) Subsequent Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
submission of the initial report under subsection (a), the Secretary of
the Treasury shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate and the Committee on International Relations of the House of
Representatives a report describing the actions taken by countries to
satisfy the conditions set forth in the agreement referred to in
subsection (a).
SEC. 5. REPORT ON EXPANSION OF DEBT RELIEF TO NON-HIPC COUNTRIES.
(a) In General.--Within 90 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall submit to the Congress a
report on--
(1) the options and costs associated with expanding debt
relief to include poor countries who were not eligible for
inclusion in the Enhanced HIPC Initiative;
(2) options for burden-sharing among donor countries and
multilateral institutions of costs associate with expanding
debt relief; and
(3) options, in addition to the Enhanced HIPC Initiative,
to ensure debt sustainability in poor countries, particularly
in cases when the poor country has suffered an external
economic shock or a natural disaster.
(b) Specific Options To Be Considered.--Among the options for
expansion of debt relief, consideration should be given to making
eligible for the relief poor countries for which outstanding public and
publicly guaranteed debt requires annual payments in excess of 10
percent or, in the case of countries suffering a public health crisis,
5 percent of the amount of the annual current revenues received by the
countries from internal sources.
(c) Enhanced HIPC Initiative Defined.--In this section, the term
``Enhanced HIPC Initiative'' means the multilateral debt initiative for
heavily indebted poor countries presented in the Report of G-7 Finance
Ministers on the Cologne Debt Initiative to the Cologne Economic
Summit, Cologne, June 18-20, 1999.
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