[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3027 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3027

To propose principles governing the provision of International Monetary 
                       Fund assistance to Russia.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 5, 1999

 Mr. Weldon of Pennsylvania (for himself, Mr. Abercrombie, Ms. Kaptur, 
 Mr. Armey, Mr. Murtha, Mr. Cox, Mr. Leach, Mrs. Tauscher, Mr. Saxton, 
 Mr. Taylor of North Carolina, Mr. Kucinich, Mr. Royce, Mr. Burton of 
Indiana, Mr. Gilman, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Holden, Mr. Brady of Pennsylvania, 
 Mr. Graham, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Hayes, Mr. Rohrabacher, Mr. Sherwood, Mr. 
  Pitts, Mrs. Fowler, Mr. DeLay, Mr. Goss, Mr. Watts of Oklahoma, Mr. 
Gibbons, Mr. Bartlett of Maryland, Mr. Snyder, Mr. Ortiz, Mr. Andrews, 
   Ms. Brown of Florida, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Schaffer, Mr. Sisisky, Mr. 
   Goode, Mr. Hoeffel, Mr. Dicks, Mr. Kanjorski, Mr. Thornberry, Mr. 
Stenholm, Mr. Pickett, Mr. Condit, Mr. Peterson of Minnesota, Mr. Ryan 
of Wisconsin, Mr. Hall of Texas, Mr. Lazio, Mr. Reyes, and Mr. Sanders) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
  Banking and 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 propose principles governing the provision of International Monetary 
                       Fund assistance to Russia.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Russian Economic Restoration and 
Justice Act of 1999''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; GOALS.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
            (1) the United States has spent billions of dollars to aid 
        Russia through the provision of funds to the International 
        Monetary Fund and other international financial institutions, 
        and through other programs;
            (2) many of these funds have been siphoned off by corrupt 
        institutions; and
            (3) the average Russian family has yet to see an 
        improvement in their standard of living.
    (b) Goals.--It is the sense of the Congress that--
            (1) the United States must find a way to more effectively 
        support democracy and the establishment of free markets in 
        Russia; and
            (2) the following principles should be applied to 
        international financial institution assistance to Russia:
                    (A) establish a joint Russian-United States 
                legislative oversight commission to monitor the use of 
                Western resources in Russia;
                    (B) focus Western resources on programs, such as 
                housing, that will help to develop a Russian middle 
                class;
                    (C) make Western resources available to reform-
                minded regional governments;
                    (D) deny corrupt Moscow-based financial 
                institutions access to Western resources;
                    (E) reform the International Monetary Fund;
                    (F) put the horse in front of the cart: make 
                reforms precede--not follow--the provision of 
                resources;
                    (G) create a program which will link United States 
                business leaders with their Russian counterparts in 
                order to provide Russian businesses with a pool of 
                resources to assist them in making the successful 
                transition to a market-based economy; and
                    (H) bring 15,000 Russian students to the United 
                States to study economics, business administration, and 
                agricultural production so that they can return to 
                Russia to develop the human capital to support a free 
                market system.

SEC. 3. PRINCIPLES GOVERNING INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND ASSISTANCE TO 
              RUSSIA.

    The Bretton Woods Agreements Act (22 U.S.C. 286-286mm) is amended 
by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 61. PRINCIPLES GOVERNING INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND ASSISTANCE 
              TO RUSSIA.

    ``(a) Conditions and Limitations of Assistance.--The Secretary of 
the Treasury shall instruct the United States Executive Director at the 
Fund to use the voice and vote of the United States to urge the Fund--
            ``(1) to not provide any assistance to the government of 
        the Russian Federation or of any political subdivision of the 
        Russian Federation, or to any other entity in the Russian 
        Federation, until there is in effect a Russian federal law that 
        implements the economic reforms described in subsection (b); 
        and
            ``(2) to provide assistance to the Russian Federation or a 
        political subdivision of the Russian Federation only to aid the 
        implementation of such reforms.
    ``(b) Economic Reforms.--The economic reforms described in this 
subsection are the following:
            ``(1) Land reform, including private ownership of land.
            ``(2) Further privatization of state-owned industrial 
        enterprises.
            ``(3) Tax reform, including increased collection of tax 
        obligations.
            ``(4) Development of effective commercial law, including 
        the ability of individuals to seek enforcement of contracts by 
        an effective judicial system.
            ``(5) Establishment of residential mortgage financing 
        system for middle class individuals residing in the Russian 
        Federation.
            ``(6) The development of criteria for evaluating the 
        effectiveness of regional economic reform programs in the 
        Russian Federation, and the use of such criteria to assure that 
        Western resources are provided to the political subdivisions of 
        the Russian Federation on an equitable basis, taking into 
        account the necessity to provide incentives for political 
        subdivisions to implement viable economic reforms and to reward 
        those that have made progress in implementing such reforms.
            ``(7) The development of steps to make the recipients of 
        Western resources in the Russian Federation accountable for the 
        use of such resources.''.

SEC. 4. RUSSIAN-AMERICAN FINANCIAL OVERSIGHT COMMISSION.

    (a) In General.--The Speaker of the House of Representatives and 
the President of the Senate shall seek to enter into negotiations with 
the State Duma and the Federation Council of the Russian Federation for 
the establishment of a commission which would--
            (1) be composed of 8 Members of the United States Congress 
        and a total of 8 Deputies from the State Duma and Federation 
        Council;
            (2) monitor expenditures of the funds provided to the 
        government of the Russian Federation or a political subdivision 
        of the Russian Federation by the United States or the 
        international community, for the purpose of evaluating that the 
        funds are used for only for the purposes for which provided; 
        and
            (3) create a working group of financial experts tasked with 
        developing a comprehensive program to reform, privatize, or 
        close industrial enterprises in the Russian Federation that are 
        bankrupt and are (or would be) not competitive under conditions 
        of a market economy without significant government financial 
        support.
    (b) Membership.--On the successful conclusion of negotiations under 
subsection (a), the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 
President of the Senate are jointly authorized to appoint 8 Members of 
Congress to the commission established pursuant to subsection (a).

SEC. 5. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.

    (a) Establishment of Joint United States-Russian Business, 
Economics, and Agricultural Education Programs.--It is the sense of the 
Congress that the United States and the government of the Russian 
Federation should conclude an agreement under which students in the 
Russian Federation would enroll in colleges and universities in the 
United States at undergraduate and graduate levels for the purpose of 
developing a network of specialists in business administration, 
economics, and agricultural production in the Russian Federation, and 
students so enrolled would, on completion of their studies in the 
United States, be required to return to the Russian Federation and work 
for the federal or a regional government in Russia.
    (b) Linking of United States Business Leaders With Russian 
Federation Business Leaders.--It is the sense of the Congress that the 
United States and the government of the Russian Federation should 
create a program which would link successful United States business 
leaders with their counterparts in the Russian Federation, so that 
companies in the Russian Federation will be better able to access a 
pool of resources and knowledge to assist them in their transition to 
successfully competing in a market-based economy.

SEC. 6. IMF REFORM COMMISSION.

    The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United States 
Executive Director at the Fund to use the voice and vote of the United 
States to urge the Fund to create a commission, composed of prominent 
international financial experts, for the purpose of drawing up 
recommendations for reforming the Fund, with a view to achieving more 
transparency in the structures of the Fund and increasing the 
effectiveness of Fund programs while decreasing financial risk.

SEC. 7. RUSSIAN HOUSING LOAN PROGRAM.

    (a) Loan Program.--There is hereby established a pilot housing loan 
program for the people of Russia, with such funds as may be made 
available, as the means by which the average Russian citizen may attain 
affordable home ownership.
    (b) Restrictions.--None of the funds under this section may be made 
available--
            (1) for transfer to the Government of Russia; or
            (2) for the purposes of providing Russian military housing.
    (c) Establishment of Administering Corporation.--
            (1) In general.--There is established a nonprofit 
        corporation (in this section referred to as the 
        ``Corporation'').
            (2) Purpose.--The purpose of the Corporation shall be to 
        administer directly funds made available under this section.
            (3) Recommendations regarding the membership of board of 
        directors.--It is the sense of the Congress that the 
        Corporation should consist of a 13-member Board of Directors, 
        the members of which should be appointed by the President of 
        the United States from lists provided by the following 
        individuals:
                    (A) Two members from a list provided by the Speaker 
                of the United States House of Representatives.
                    (B) One member from a list provided by the minority 
                leader of the United States House of Representatives.
                    (C) Two members from a list provided by the 
                majority leader of the United States Senate.
                    (D) One member from a list provided by the minority 
                leader of the United States Senate.
                    (E) Two members appointed by the President of the 
                United States at his discretion.
                    (F) Four members from a list provided by the 
                President of the Russian Federation.
                    (G) One member from a list provided by the Chairman 
                of the Russian State Duma.
            (4) Recommendations regarding the chairman of the board of 
        directors, terms of office, and authority.--It is the sense of 
        the Congress that the President of the United States should 
        select a Chairman of the Board of Directors from among the 13 
        board members, that the Chairman should serve a single 2-year 
        term, and that the entire Board of Directors should serve a 2-
        year term and have the authority to select other officers and 
        employees to carry out the purposes of the Corporation.
    (d) Loan Size and Type.--Since it is the intent of the housing loan 
program to provide loans for the average middle-income potential 
Russian home buyer, loans shall range between the equivalent of $10,000 
to $50,000 (U.S.). This amount shall be determined by the Corporation 
and shall fluctuate in accordance upon market conditions. Loans shall 
be for a term of 10 to 30 years and may be prepaid at any time without 
penalty. Loan payments shall be amortized on a basis of level monthly 
payments.
    (e) Working Groups.--The Corporation shall have the authority to 
establish working groups comprised of Russian and American experts, for 
the purpose of making recommendations on topics essential to the 
success of the program, including, but not limited to--
            (1) the preparation of the necessary legal and regulatory 
        changes;
            (2) the involvement of United States housing trade and 
        labor associations in providing materials, training, and joint 
        venture capital;
            (3) ensuring adequate offsite infrastructure for new 
        housing sites; and
            (4) other issues as deemed appropriate by the Corporation.
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