[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4150 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4150

  To appropriate funds necessary for United States participation in a 
quota increase and the New Arrangements to Borrow of the International 
                 Monetary Fund, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 25, 1998

  Mr. Stenholm (for himself, Mr. Dooley of California, Mr. Minge, Mr. 
 Boswell, and Mr. Etheridge) introduced the following bill; which was 
      referred to the Committee on Banking and Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To appropriate funds necessary for United States participation in a 
quota increase and the New Arrangements to Borrow of the International 
                 Monetary Fund, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,
That the following sums are appropriated, out of any money in the 
Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the International Monetary 
Fund for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1998, and for other 
purposes, namely:

                    MULTILATERAL ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE

                  funds appropriated to the president

                  loans to international monetary fund

                       new arrangements to borrow

    For loans to the International Monetary Fund (Fund) under the New 
Arrangements to Borrow, the dollar equivalent of 2,462,000,000 Special 
Drawing Rights, to remain available until expended; in addition, up to 
the dollar equivalent of 4,250,000,000 Special Drawing Rights 
previously appropriated by the Act of November 30, 1983 (Public Law 98-
181), and the Act of October 23, 1962 (Public Law 87-872), for the 
General Arrangements to Borrow, may also be used for the New 
Arrangements to Borrow.

                          united states quota

    For an increase in the United States quota in the International 
Monetary Fund, the dollar equivalent of 10,622,500,000 Special Drawing 
Rights, to remain available until expended.

                           GENERAL PROVISIONS

    Sec. 101. Conditions for the Use of Quota Resources. (a) None of 
the funds appropriated in this Act under the heading ``United States 
Quota, International Monetary Fund'' may be obligated, transferred or 
made available to the International Monetary Fund until 30 days after 
the Secretary of the Treasury certifies that the major shareholders of 
the International Monetary Fund, including the United States, Japan, 
the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and 
Canada have publicly agreed to, and will seek to implement in the Fund, 
policies that provide for conditions in stand-by agreements or other 
arrangements regarding the use of Fund resources, requiring that the 
recipient country--
            (1) liberalize restrictions on trade in goods and services 
        and on investment, at a minimum consistent with the terms of 
        all international trade obligations and agreements; and
            (2) to eliminate the practice or policy of government 
        directed lending on non-commercial terms or provision of market 
        distorting subsidies to favored industries, enterprises, 
        parties, or institutions.
    (b) Subsequent to the certification provided in subsection (a), in 
conjunction with the annual submission of the President's budget, the 
Secretary of the Treasury shall report to the appropriate committees on 
the implementation and enforcement of the provisions in subsection (a).
    (c) The United States shall exert its influence with the Fund and 
its members to encourage the Fund to include as part of its conditions 
of stand-by agreements or other uses of the Fund's resources that the 
recipient country take action to remove discriminatory treatment 
between foreign and domestic creditors in its debt resolution 
proceedings. The Secretary of the Treasury shall report back to the 
Congress six months after the enactment of this Act, and annually 
thereafter, on the progress in achieving this requirement.
    (d) Bankruptcy Law Reform.--The United States shall exert its 
influence with the International Monetary Fund and its members to 
encourage the International Monetary Fund to include as part of its 
conditions of assistance that the recipient country take action to 
adopt, as soon as possible, modern insolvency laws that--
            (1) emphasize reorganization of business enterprises rather 
        than liquidation whenever possible;
            (2) provide for a high degree of flexibility of action, in 
        place of rigid requirements of form or substance, together with 
        appropriate review and approval by a court and a majority of 
        the creditors involved;
            (3) include provisions to ensure that assets gathered in 
        insolvency proceedings are accounted for and put back into the 
        market stream as quickly as possible in order to maximize the 
        number of businesses that can be kept productive and increase 
        the number of jobs that can be saved; and
            (4) promote international cooperation in insolvency matters 
        by including--
                    (A) provisions set forth in the Model Law on Cross-
                Border Insolvency approved by the United Nations 
                Commission on International Trade Law, including 
                removal of discriminatory treatment between foreign and 
                domestic creditors in debt resolution proceedings; and
                    (B) other provisions appropriate for promoting such 
                cooperation.
The Secretary of the Treasury shall report back to Congress six months 
after the enactment of this Act, and annually, thereafter, on the 
progress in achieving this requirement.
    (e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to create any 
private right of action with respect to the enforcement of its terms.
    Sec. 102. Transparency and Oversight. (a) Not later than 30 days 
after enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall 
certify to the appropriate committees that the Board of Executive 
Directors of the International Monetary Fund has agreed to provide 
timely access by the Comptroller General to information and documents 
relating to the Fund's operations, program and policy reviews and 
decisions regarding stand-by agreements and other uses of the Fund's 
resources.
    (b) The Secretary of the Treasury shall direct, and the U.S. 
Executive Director to the International Monetary Fund shall agree to--
            (1) provide any documents or information available to the 
        Director that are requested by the Comptroller General;
            (2) request from the Fund any documents or material 
        requested by the Comptroller General; and
            (3) use all necessary means to ensure all possible access 
        by the Comptroller General to the staff and operations of the 
        Fund for the purposes of conducting financial and program 
        audits.
    (c) The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the 
Comptroller General and the U.S. Executive Director of the Fund, shall 
develop and implement a plan to obtain timely public access to 
information and documents relating to the Fund's operations, programs 
and policy reviews and decisions regarding stand-by agreements and 
other uses of the Fund's resources.
    (d) No later than July 1, 1998 and, not later than March 1 of each 
year thereafter, the Secretary of the Treasury shall submit a report to 
the appropriate committees on the status of timely publication of 
Letters of Intent and Article IV consultation documents and the 
availability of information referred to in (c).
    Sec. 103. Advisory Commission. (a) The President shall establish an 
International Financial Institution Advisory Commission (hereafter 
``Commission'').
    (b) The Commission shall include at least five former United States 
Secretaries of the Treasury.
    (c) Within 180 days, the Commission shall report to the appropriate 
committees on the future role and responsibilities, if any, of the 
International Monetary Fund and the merit, costs and related 
implications of consolidation of the organization, management, and 
activities of the International Monetary Fund, the International Bank 
for Reconstruction and Development and the World Trade Organization.
    Sec. 104. Bretton Woods Conference. Not later than 180 days after 
the Commission reports to the appropriate committees, the President 
shall call for a conference of representatives of the governments of 
the member countries of the International Monetary Fund, the 
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World 
Trade Organization to consider the structure, management and activities 
of the institutions, their possible merger and their capacity to 
contribute to exchange rate stability and economic growth and to 
respond effectively to financial crises.
    Sec. 105. Reports. (a) Following the extension of a stand-by 
agreement or other uses of the resources by the International Monetary 
Fund, the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the U.S. 
Executive Director of the Fund, shall submit a report to the 
appropriate committees providing the following information--
            (1) the borrower's rules and regulations dealing with 
        capitalization ratios, reserves, deposit insurance system and 
        initiatives to improve transparency of information on the 
        financial institutions and banks which may benefit from the use 
        of the Fund's resources;
            (2) the burden shared by private sector investors and 
        creditors, including commercial banks in the Group of Seven 
        Nations, in the losses which have prompted the use of the 
        Fund's resources;
            (3) the Fund's strategy, plan and timetable for completing 
        the borrower's pay back of the Fund's resources including a 
        date by which the borrower will be free from all international 
        institutional debt obligation; and
            (4) the status of efforts to upgrade the borrower's 
        national standards to meet the Basle Committee's Core 
        Principles for Effective Banking Supervision.
    (b) Following the extension of a stand-by agreement or other use of 
the Fund's resources, the Secretary of the Treasury shall report to the 
appropriate committees in conjunction with the annual submission of the 
President's budget, an account--
            (1) of outcomes related to the requirements of section 110; 
        and
            (2) of the direct and indirect institutional recipients of 
        such resources: Provided, That this account shall include the 
        institutions or banks indirectly supported by the Fund through 
        resources made available by the borrower's Central Bank.
    (c) Not later than 30 days after the enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary shall submit a report to the appropriate committees of 
Congress providing the information requested in paragraphs (a) and (b) 
for the countries of South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand and the 
Philippines.
    Sec. 106. Certifications. (a) The Secretary of the Treasury shall 
certify to the appropriate committees that the following conditions 
have been met--
            (1) No International Monetary Fund resources have resulted 
        in support to the semiconductor, steel, automobile, 
        shipbuilding, or textile and apparel industries in any form;
            (2) The Fund has not guaranteed nor underwritten the 
        private loans of semiconductor, steel, automobile, 
        shipbuilding, or textile and apparel manufacturers; and
            (3) Officials from the Fund and the Department of the 
        Treasury have monitored the implementation of the provisions 
        contained in stabilization programs in effect after July 1, 
        1997, and all of the conditions have either been met, or the 
        recipient government has committed itself to fulfill all of 
        these conditions according to an explicit timetable for 
        completion; which timetable has been provided to and approved 
        by the Fund and the Department of the Treasury.
    (b) Such certifications shall be made 14 days prior to the 
disbursement of any Fund resources to the borrower.
    (c) The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United States 
Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund to use the voice 
and vote of the Executive Director to oppose disbursement of further 
funds if such certification is not given.
    (d) Such certifications shall continue to be made on an annual 
basis as long as Fund contributions continue to be outstanding to the 
borrower country.
    (e) After consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the 
United States Trade Representative, the Secretary of Commerce shall 
establish a team composed of employees of the Department of Commerce--
            (1) to collect data on import volumes and prices, and 
        industry statistics in--
                    (A) the steel industry;
                    (B) the semiconductor industry;
                    (C) the automobile industry;
                    (D) the textile and apparel industry; and
                    (E) shipbuilding;
            (2) to monitor the effect of the Asian economic crisis on 
        these industries;
            (3) to collect accounting data from Asian producers; and
            (4) to work to prevent import surges in these industries or 
        to assist United States industries affected by such surges in 
        their efforts to protect themselves under the trade laws of the 
        United States.
    (f) The Secretary of Commerce shall provide administrative support, 
including office space, for the team.
    (g) The Secretary of the Treasury and the United States Trade 
Representative may assign such employees to the team as may be 
necessary to assist the team in carrying out its functions under 
subsection (e).
    Sec. 107. Limitations on International Monetary Fund Loans to 
Indonesia. The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United 
States Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund to use the 
voice and vote of the United States to prevent the extension of 
International Monetary Fund resources--
            (1) directly to or for the direct benefit of the President 
        of Indonesia or any member of the President's family; and
            (2) the Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the 
        Executive Director to use the United States voice and vote to 
        oppose further disbursement of funds to Indonesia on any 
        International Monetary Fund terms or conditions less stringent 
        than those imposed on the Republic of Korea and the Philippines 
        Republic.
    Sec. 108. Advocacy of Policies to Enhance the General Effectiveness 
of the International Monetary Fund. The Secretary of the Treasury shall 
instruct the United States Executive Director of the International 
Monetary Fund to use aggressively the voice and vote of the United 
States to vigorously promote policies to encourage the opening of 
markets for agricultural commodities and products by requiring 
recipient countries to make efforts to reduce trade barriers.
    Sec. 109. Advisory Committee on IMF Policy. (a) In general.--The 
Secretary of the Treasury shall establish an International Monetary 
Fund Advisory Committee (in this section referred to as ``Advisory 
Committee'').
    (b) Membership.--The Advisory Committee shall consist of 8 members 
appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury, after appropriate 
consultations with the relevant organizations, as follows--
            (1) at least 2 members shall be representatives from 
        organized labor;
            (2) at least 2 members shall be representatives from 
        nongovernmental environmental organizations;
            (3) at least 2 members shall be representatives from 
        nongovernmental human rights or social justice organizations.
    (c) Duties.--Not less frequently than every six months, the 
Advisory Committee shall meet with the Secretary of the Treasury to 
review and provide advice on the extent to which individual 
International Monetary Fund country programs meet requisite policy 
goals, particularly those set forth as follows--
            (1) in this Act;
            (2) in Article I(2) of the Fund's Articles of Agreements, 
        to promote and maintain high levels of employment and real 
        income and the development of the productive resources of all 
        members;
            (3) in section 1621 of Public Law 103-306, the Frank/
        Sanders amendment on encouragement of fair labor practices;
            (4) in section 1620 of Public Law 95-118, as amended, on 
        respect for, and full protection of, the territorial rights, 
        traditional economies, cultural integrity, traditional 
        knowledge, and human rights of indigenous peoples;
            (5) in section 1502 of Public Law 95-118, as amended, on 
        military spending by recipient countries and military 
        involvement in the economies of recipient countries;
            (6) in section 701 of Public Law 95-118, on assistance to 
        countries that engage in a pattern of gross violations of 
        internationally recognized human rights; and
            (7) in section 1307 of Public Law 95-118, on assessments of 
        the environmental impact and alternatives to proposed actions 
        by the International Monetary Fund which would have a 
        significant effect on the human environment.
    (d) Inapplicability of Termination Provisions of the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act.--Section 14(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act shall not apply to the Advisory Committee.
    Sec. 110. Borrower Countries. The Secretary of the Treasury shall 
consult with the office of the United States Trade Representative 
regarding prospective International Monetary Fund borrower countries, 
including their status with respect to title III of the Trade Act of 
1974 or any executive order issued pursuant to the aforementioned 
title, and shall take these consultations into account before 
instructing the United States Executive Director of the International 
Monetary Fund on the United States position regarding loans or credits 
to such borrowing countries.
    Sec. 111. Definitions. For the purposes of this title, 
``appropriate committees'' includes the Appropriations Committee, the 
Committee on Foreign Relations, Committee on Finance and the Committee 
on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee 
on Appropriations and the Committee on Banking and Financial Services 
in the House of Representatives.
    This Act may be cited as the ``1998 International Monetary Fund 
Appropriations Act''.
                                 <all>