111th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2961
AN ACT
To provide debt relief to Haiti, and for other purposes.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the
Haiti Recovery
Act
.
Debt relief for Haiti
In general
Cancellation of debt
The Secretary of the Treasury should direct the United States Executive Director to each international financial institution to advocate in such institution—
the cancellation of any and all remaining debt obligations of Haiti, including debt obligations incurred before the date of the enactment of this Act;
the provision of debt service relief for all payments of Haiti remaining on the date of the enactment of this Act; and
to the extent practicable, the extension of any new assistance to Haiti be primarily in the form of grants until February 1, 2012.
International financial institution
The term international financial institution means each of the institutions listed in section 1701(c)(2) of the International Financial Institutions Act (22 U.S.C. 262r(c)(2)) and includes the International Development Fund for Agricultural Development.
Sense of the Senate
It is the sense of the Senate that international financial institutions should cancel any debt incurred by Haiti after the date of the enactment of this Act and before February 1, 2012, so that Haiti can rebuild after the devastation of the earthquake of January 2010.
Use of certain funds for poverty reduction
The Secretary of the Treasury should instruct the United States Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund to advocate the use of some of the realized windfall profits that exceed the required contribution to the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (as referenced in the IMF Reforms Financial Facilities for Low-Income Countries Public Information Notice (PIN) No. 09/94) from the ongoing sale of 12,965,649 ounces of gold acquired since the second Amendment of the Fund’s Article of Agreement, to provide debt stock relief, debt service relief, loan subsidies, and grants for Haiti.
Securing other relief for Haiti
The Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of State should use all appropriate diplomatic influence to secure cancellation of any and all remaining bilateral debt of Haiti.
Infrastructure investment
Trust fund
The Secretary of the Treasury should support the creation and utilization of a multilateral trust fund for Haiti that would leverage potential United States contributions and promote bilateral donations to such a fund for the purpose of making investments in Haiti's future, including efforts to combat soil degradation and promote reforestation and infrastructure investments such as electric grids, roads, water and sanitation facilities, and other critical infrastructure projects.
Increase in transfer of earnings
The Secretary of the Treasury should direct the United States Executive Director of the Inter-American Development Bank to seek to increase the transfer of its earnings to the Fund for Special Operations and to a trust fund or grant facility for Haiti.
Passed the Senate March 5, 2010.
Secretary