Tropical Forest and Coral Reef Conservation Reauthorization Act of 2021

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise this evening in support of H.R. 241, the Tropical Forest and Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2021, bipartisan legislation that I introduced along with my Democratic colleague, Mr. Sherman of California, earlier this year.

Developing countries are home to some of the world's most endangered and biologically diverse tropical forests and coral reefs. These critical ecosystems support the livelihoods of local populations, not to mention an abundance of animal species. Coral reefs are critical to the world's fish stocks and are magnets for tourism and the accompanying economic growth. It is in the interest of the whole world to protect and responsibly manage both tropical rainforests and coral reefs.

Unfortunately, however, whether it is deforestation, pollution, overfishing, or some other cause, these vital natural resources are threatened across the globe.

Today's legislation seeks to safeguard tropical forests and coral reefs by revitalizing the Tropical Forest and Coral Reef Conservation Act of 1998. Since the introduction of this legislation 23 years ago, this effort has been led by Ohio's great Senator, Rob Portman, who was in the House at that time and who is leading the effort in the Senate one more time before he leaves office. Congressman Sherman and I were cosponsors of that effort back in 1998, and we are proud of its results over the years.

This program has already protected, as my colleague from Texas mentioned, 67 million acres of tropical forests across the globe. In terms of carbon emission, that is the equivalent of taking 11 million cars off the road.

This program does development right. It forgives debt, which some developing nations owe the United States, in exchange for investment in local conservation. Instead of providing a handout with questionable results, the debt forgiveness comes with requirements that ensure that the money grows local economies and benefits those who rely on healthy ecosystems the most.

Also, by assisting developing countries to properly manage and sustainably develop their own resources, it follows the old adage of ``teaching a man to fish'' so that the American taxpayer doesn't have to keep providing the fish.

Our constituents back home are rightfully skeptical oftentimes about foreign aid because we have a lot of in effective programs that spend their money year after year without moving countries towards self- reliance. We owe it to the American taxpayers to ensure that aid programs are targeted, effective, and come to an end. H.R. 241 is all three.

Further, due to the peculiar structure of the type of debt this program forgives, developing countries would not have been paying back the portion that we are forgiving anytime soon anyway. A lot of it has already been outstanding for 10, 20, or even 30 years. Since the U.S. is unlikely to recoup the debt in a reasonable timeframe anyway, we might as well get something in return that benefits those countries, benefits us, and really benefits the entire world and those ecosystems and those forests and the animals that reside there and the coral reefs and the fish and other life that is there. So, really, it benefits so many.

Finally, our legislation is one more tool to counter China. Whereas China's One Belt One Road initiative oftentimes produces corrupt, elite-centered, get-rich-quick debt traps, our program is exactly the opposite. It brings transparency to natural resource management by engaging civil society, focuses on the people who depend on these ecosystems for food and economic activity instead of on elites, fosters sustainable development and is debt forgiveness instead of a debt trap. The One Belt One Road initiative oftentimes gets these countries in a huge debt trap that they never get out of, and China benefits instead of the countries that one thinks might benefit from One Belt One Road.

With this program, the State Department can showcase the U.S. development model and bring real gains in the developing world. It is in the interest of the whole world to protect tropical forests and coral reefs. This program does so in a targeted, proven, sustainable way, and pays for it by forgiving debt we would never have seen repaid anyway.

In my mind, this is a win for the taxpayer, a win for the developing countries, a win for America, and a win for the whole world. I would urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

I, again, thank Brad Sherman, Democratic congressman from California, for his cosponsorship and his leadership on this.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I will close by saying this is really a good bill. I thank Senator Rob Portman also for his leadership on this here in the House, when he was here, and then over in the Senate. We took this up after he left the House and have been working on it for years.

I thank Mr. Sherman and a lot of Republicans and Democrats for working on this together. This is bipartisan legislation that really does benefit the whole world. I wish we did more stuff like this around here.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 241) to reauthorize the Tropical Forest and Coral Reef Conservation Act of 1998.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 241.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 241, the Tropical Forest and Coral Reef Conservation Reauthorization Act of 2021, introduced by Mr. Chabot.

In this Congress, the House Foreign Affairs Committee aims to reprioritize and redouble our legislative efforts related to the environment, conservation, and climate change. Climate change already poses a significant threat, and what we do now will significantly impact how damaging climate change will be in the years to come.

If we do not act now, we will fail to mitigate the adverse effects posed by climate change. We will see growing food insecurity, migration and conflict, threatening our shared interests and security.

President Biden has already set a positive, ambitious agenda for international climate action. His first summit, the Climate Leaders Summit, will take place this very week, on April 22, during which the United States will reclaim its leadership role in galvanizing international support for protecting our planet.

We will continue to work closely with other nations in the lead-up to the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Glasgow this November and beyond, understanding that nothing short of an international response can meet this incredible challenge.

We have our work cut out for us, no doubt, which is why I am pleased to

bring forth this excellent bipartisan measure that would reauthorize the Tropical Forest and Coral Reef Conservation Act. This highly successful debt-for-nature program has yielded tangible environmental benefits and returns on investment since first enacted in 1998. It offers eligible countries the opportunity to reduce debt owed to the United States when they invest in local ecologically and economically vital forest and coral reef ecosystems.

It is a win-win situation. According to the Congressional Research Service, since 1998, restructured debt agreements have saved more than 67 million acres of tropical forests in countries such as Botswana, Brazil, the Philippines, and Indonesia. They help strengthen civil society in conservation and environmental protection efforts and build public-private partnerships in developing countries, thereby advancing U.S. international development and democracy objectives.

Furthermore, these agreements help reduce the debt in these developing countries, lessening fiscal pressures, promoting capital market reforms, and stimulating economic growth while helping to protect the environment.

The world's forests are nature's lungs, and the ocean's coral reefs support a quarter of all marine life. This legislation puts in place economic incentives that can help drive good environmental stewardship, while promoting robust democracies and economic growth overseas.

I am pleased to support this important bill and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume for the purpose of closing.

Madam Speaker, H.R. 241, introduced by Mr. Chabot, is a bipartisan bill that reauthorizes the Tropical Forest and Coral Reef Conservation Act.

The debt-for-nature swaps created by this program have been highly successful in generating support for tropical forest or coral reef conservation activities in exchange for relieving debt owed to the United States Government. This bill is a win-win, protecting forest and coral reef ecosystems, lessening the fiscal burden of low-income countries, and stimulating economic growth in local communities.

I hope my colleagues, both Republican and Democrat, will join me in supporting this bill.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.