[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3129 Placed on Calendar Senate (PCS)]






                                                       Calendar No. 844
106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3129

                          [Report No. 106-425]

To provide for international debt forgiveness and the strengthening of 
 anticorruption measures and accountability at international financial 
                             institutions.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

           September 28 (legislative day, September 22), 2000

   Mr. Helms, from the Committee on Foreign Relations, reported the 
    following bill; which was read twice and placed on the calendar

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide for international debt forgiveness and the strengthening of 
 anticorruption measures and accountability at international financial 
                             institutions.

    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 ``International Debt Forgiveness and 
International Financial Institutions Reform Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. DEBT RELIEF UNDER THE HEAVILY INDEBTED POOR COUNTRIES (HIPC) 
              INITIATIVE.

    (a) Repeal of Limitation on Availability of Earnings on Profits of 
Nonpublic Gold Sales.--Paragraph (1) of section 62 of the Bretton Woods 
Agreements Act, as added by section 503(a) of H.R. 3425 of the 106th 
Congress (as enacted by section 1000(a)(5) of Public Law 106-113 (113 
Stat. 1536)), is amended--
            (1) by adding ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (B); and
            (2) by striking subparagraph (D).
    (b) Contributions to HIPC Trust Fund.--
            (1) Authorization of appropriations for contributions.--
        There is authorized to be appropriated for the period beginning 
        October 1, 1999, and ending September 30, 2003, $600,000,000 
        for purposes of United States contributions to the Heavily 
        Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Trust Fund administered by the 
        Bank.
            (2) Availability of amounts.--Amounts appropriated pursuant 
        to the authorization of appropriations in paragraph (1) shall 
        remain available until expended.
    (c) Certification Required.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), not 
        later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
        Secretary shall certify to the appropriate congressional 
        committees that the following requirements are satisfied:
                    (A) Access to certain information and documents.--
                The Bank and the Fund have given the Comptroller 
                General access to information and documents of the Bank 
                and the Fund necessary in order for the Comptroller 
                General to audit and monitor the operations of such 
                institutions. The Secretary shall consult with the 
                Comptroller General prior to making a certification 
                under this subparagraph.
                    (B) Implementation by the bank of certain 
                policies.--The Bank is implementing--
                            (i) policies providing for the suspension 
                        of a loan if funds are being diverted for 
                        purposes other than the purpose for which the 
                        loan was intended;
                            (ii) policies seeking to prevent loans from 
                        displacing private sector financing;
                            (iii) policies requiring that loans other 
                        than project loans must be disbursed--
                                    (I) on the basis of specific prior 
                                reforms; or
                                    (II) incrementally upon 
                                implementation of specific reforms 
                                after initial disbursement;
                            (iv) policies seeking to minimize the 
                        number of projects receiving financing that 
                        would displace a population involuntarily or be 
                        to the detriment of the people or culture of 
                        the area into which the displaced population is 
                        to be moved;
                            (v) policies vigorously promoting open 
                        markets and liberalization of trade in goods 
                        and services;
                            (vi) policies providing that financing by 
                        the Bank concentrates chiefly on projects and 
                        programs that promote economic and social 
                        progress rather than short-term liquidity 
                        financing; and
                            (vii) policies providing for the 
                        establishment of appropriate qualitative and 
                        quantitative indicators to measure progress 
                        toward graduation from receiving financing on 
                        concessionary terms, including an estimated 
                        timetable by which countries may graduate over 
                        the next 15 years.
                    (C) Implementation by the fund of certain 
                policies.--The Fund is implementing--
                            (i) policies providing for the suspension 
                        of a financing if funds are being diverted for 
                        purposes other than the purpose for which the 
                        financing was intended;
                            (ii) policies seeking to ensure that 
                        financing by the Fund normally serves as a 
                        catalyst for private sector financing and does 
                        not displace such financing;
                            (iii) policies requiring that financing 
                        must be disbursed--
                                    (I) on the basis of specific prior 
                                reforms; or
                                    (II) incrementally upon 
                                implementation of specific reforms 
                                after initial disbursement;
                            (iv) policies vigorously promoting open 
                        markets and liberalization of trade in goods 
                        and services;
                            (v) policies providing that financing by 
                        the Fund concentrates chiefly on short-term 
                        balance of payments financing; and
                            (vi) policies providing for the use, in 
                        conjunction with the Bank, of appropriate 
                        qualitative and quantitative indicators to 
                        measure progress toward graduation from 
                        receiving financing on concessionary terms, 
                        including an estimated timetable by which 
                        countries may graduate over the next 15 years.
            (2) Exception.--In the event that the Secretary cannot 
        certify that the Comptroller General has obtained the access 
        described in paragraph (1)(A) to information and documents, or 
        that a policy described in paragraph (1)(B) or (1)(C) is being 
        implemented, the Secretary shall, not later than 30 days after 
        the date of enactment of this Act, submit a report to the 
        appropriate congressional committees on the progress, if any, 
        made by the Bank and the Fund in providing such access to the 
        Comptroller General, or in adopting and implementing such 
        policy, as the case may be.
            (3) Subsequent reporting on denial of access.--
                    (A) Report required.--In the event that the 
                Comptroller General is denied the access described in 
                paragraph (1)(A) to information and documents of the 
                Bank or the Fund on or after the date specified in 
                subparagraph (B), the Comptroller General shall submit 
                a report to the appropriate congressional committees 
                and the Secretary notifying the committees and the 
                Secretary of such fact.
                    (B) Date of submission of report.--The date 
                specified in this subparagraph is the earlier of--
                            (i) the date a certification is made under 
                        paragraph (1) or, if a certification cannot be 
                        made, the date on which a report is submitted 
                        under paragraph (2); or
                            (ii) the date that is 30 days after the 
                        date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 3. STRENGTHENING PROCEDURES FOR MONITORING USE OF FUNDS BY 
              MULTILATERAL DEVELOPMENT BANKS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall instruct the United States 
Executive Director of each multilateral development bank to exert the 
influence of the United States to strengthen the bank's procedures and 
management controls intended to ensure that funds disbursed by the bank 
to borrowing countries are used as intended and in a manner that 
complies with the conditions of the bank's loan to that country.
    (b) Information to Appropriate Committees.--Upon the request of the 
chairman or ranking minority member of an appropriate congressional 
committee, the Secretary shall obtain from the bank and make available 
to such committee, on a confidential basis if necessary, data existing 
at the time of the request concerning the objectives described in 
subsection (a). In the event the Secretary is unable to obtain such 
existing data within 30 days of such request, the Secretary shall 
submit, within an additional period of 30 days, a report to the 
appropriate congressional committees setting forth the reasons for the 
failure to obtain such data.
    (c) Progress Evaluation.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate 
congressional committees a report evaluating the progress made toward 
achieving the objectives of subsection (a), including a description 
of--
            (1) any progress made in improving the supervision, 
        monitoring, and auditing of programs and projects supported by 
        each multilateral development bank, in order to identify and 
        reduce bribery and corruption;
            (2) any progress made in developing each multilateral 
        development bank's priorities for allocating anticorruption 
        assistance;
            (3) country-specific anticorruption programs supported by 
        each multilateral development bank;
            (4) actions taken to identify and discipline multilateral 
        development bank employees suspected of knowingly being 
        involved in corrupt activities; and
            (5) the outcome of efforts to harmonize procurement 
        practices across all multilateral development banks.

SEC. 4. REPORTS ON POLICIES, OPERATIONS, AND MANAGEMENT OF 
              INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS.

    (a) Annual Report on Financial Operations.--Beginning 180 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, or October 31, 2000, whichever 
is later, and on October 31 of each year thereafter, the Comptroller 
General shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a 
report on the sufficiency of audits of the financial operations of each 
multilateral development bank conducted by persons or entities outside 
such bank.
    (b) Annual Report on United States Supported Policies.--Beginning 
180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, or October 31, 2000, 
whichever is later, and on October 31 of each year thereafter, the 
Secretary shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional 
committees on--
            (1) the actions taken by recipient countries, as a result 
        of the assistance allocated to them by the multilateral 
        development banks under programs referred to in section 
        3(c)(1), to strengthen governance and reduce the opportunity 
        for bribery and corruption; and
            (2) how International Development Association-financed 
        projects contribute to the eventual graduation of a 
        representative sample of countries from reliance on financing 
        on concessionary terms and international development 
        assistance.
    (c) Amendment of Report on Fund.--Section 1705(a) of the 
International Financial Institutions Act (22 U.S.C. 262r-4(a)) is 
amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(1)'' before ``the progress''; and
            (2) by inserting before the period at the end the 
        following: ``, and (2) the progress made by the International 
        Monetary Fund in adopting and implementing the policies 
        described in section 3(c)(1)(C) of the International Debt 
        Forgiveness and International Financial Institutions Reform Act 
        of 2000''.
    (d) Report on Debt Relief.--Not later than 90 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit a report to the 
appropriate congressional committees on the history of debt relief 
programs led by, or coordinated with, international financial 
institutions, including but not limited to--
            (1) the extent to which poor countries and the poorest-of-
        the-poor benefit from debt relief, including measurable 
        evidence of any such benefits; and
            (2) the extent to which debt relief contributes to the 
        graduation of a country from reliance on financing on 
        concessionary terms and international development assistance.
    (e) Report on Operating Expenses.--Not later than 180 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit 
a report to the appropriate congressional committees describing the 
salaries, benefits, and operating expense account of each international 
financial institution for the preceding fiscal year.

SEC. 5. REPEAL OF BILATERAL FUNDING FOR INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL 
              INSTITUTIONS.

    Section 209(d) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 
2169(d); relating to bilateral funding for international financial 
institutions) is repealed.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    In this title:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee on 
        Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the 
        Senate, and the Committee on Banking and Financial Services and 
        the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
        Representatives.
            (2) Bank.--The term ``Bank'' means the International Bank 
        for Reconstruction and Development.
            (3) Comptroller general.--The term ``Comptroller General'' 
        means the Comptroller General of the United States.
            (4) Fund.--The term ``Fund'' means the International 
        Monetary Fund.
            (5) International financial institutions.--The term 
        ``international financial institutions'' means the multilateral 
        development banks and the International Monetary Fund.
            (6) Multilateral development banks.--The term 
        ``multilateral development banks'' means the International Bank 
        for Reconstruction and Development, the International 
        Development Association, the International Finance Corporation, 
        the Inter-American Development Bank, the Asian Development 
        Bank, the Inter-American Investment Corporation, the African 
        Development Bank, the African Development Fund, the European 
        Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the Multilateral 
        Investment Guaranty Agency.
            (7) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Treasury.




                                                       Calendar No. 844

106th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                S. 3129

                          [Report No. 106-425]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To provide for international debt forgiveness and the strengthening of 
 anticorruption measures and accountability at international financial 
                             institutions.

_______________________________________________________________________

           September 28 (legislative day, September 22), 2000

                 Read twice and placed on the calendar