[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4364 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4364

To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require the governments 
  of low income oil-producing countries to meet certain requirements 
   relating to their oil revenues in order to be eligible to receive 
                   United States economic assistance.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 13, 2004

   Mr. Hyde introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on International Relations, and in addition to the Committee 
 on Financial Services, 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 amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require the governments 
  of low income oil-producing countries to meet certain requirements 
   relating to their oil revenues in order to be eligible to receive 
                   United States economic assistance.

    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 ``United States Economic Assistance 
Conditionality Act of 2004''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The governments of low income oil-producing countries 
        often do not provide information to the people of such 
        countries regarding their oil revenues. Such opacity can hide 
        billions of dollars worth of financial impropriety.
            (2) The governments of such countries have generally 
        refused to disclose information regarding their oil revenues 
        when pressed by international organizations and others, 
        proclaiming that such disclosure is an infringement on national 
        sovereignty.
            (3) As a result, the people of such countries are left 
        without the necessary information to ensure proper management 
        and accountability regarding such oil revenues. Dispossessed, 
        the people of such countries are often left marginalized and at 
        the mercy of donor assistance. In Angola, for example, one in 
        every four oil dollars earned is unaccounted for. At the same 
        time, one in four Angolan children dies before the age of five 
        from preventable diseases.
            (4) In some low income oil-producing countries, government-
        imposed royalties and fees on the revenues of business 
        enterprises engaged in oil production are often misappropriated 
        and squandered. These businesses are then left vulnerable to 
        accusations of complicity with corruption.
            (5) The governments of low income oil-producing countries 
        that mismanage oil revenues are often unstable and do not 
        survive, creating further instability that threatens the supply 
        of vital industrial commodities and forcing the international 
        community to respond with costly emergency assistance to those 
        countries.
            (6) A key to promoting political, economic, and social 
        reform in low income oil-producing is transparency in public 
        finances.
            (7) If the governments of such countries tell their people 
        how much oil revenue the government receives and how that 
        revenue is allocated and expended, the resulting transparency 
        will engender more realistic public expectations, more 
        plausible national development programs, and better means to 
        combat corruption and promote democracy, respect for human 
        rights, and the rule of law.
            (8) Transparency by such foreign governments will benefit 
        United States business enterprises as well. Respect for the 
        rule of law, codified regulatory practices, and transparent 
        bidding and award practices deter corruption and encourage a 
        level playing field in such countries for United States 
        business enterprises.
            (9) Export credit activities and other bilateral 
        concessional loan programs of the United States Government for 
        low income oil-producing countries should require that any 
        assistance under such activities and programs be conditional on 
        appropriate transparency by the governments of such countries 
        relating to oil revenues.
            (10) International financial institutions such as the World 
        Bank should incorporate revenue transparency across their 
        lending and technical assistance portfolios by making full 
        transparency a condition of all their financial support and by 
        including it in their national poverty reduction strategy 
        consultations.
            (11) One bold and promising model is the Chad/Cameroon 
        Pipeline Project, under which the Government of Chad, private 
        investors, and the World Bank Group have established an 
        accountability and oversight mechanism for the country's 
        revenues derived from oil production.
            (12) Donald Norland, former United States Ambassador to 
        Chad, in testimony on April 18, 2002, before the Committee on 
        International Relations of the House of Representatives stated 
        that the Chad/Cameroon Pipeline Project ``has addressed these 
        extraordinarily challenging issues in ways that may well serve 
        as a model for developing natural resources in other 
        countries''.
            (13) Ambassador Norland further testified that: ``Success 
        will require keeping the project in the spotlight of public 
        attention as well as under constant scrutiny and monitoring by 
        outside groups . . . Scrutiny is the key to transparency. 
        Transparency is, in turn, indispensable in guaranteeing that 
        oil resources go . . . to projects that reduce poverty while 
        preserving the environment and advancing human rights . . . to 
        make sure that revenues go to benefit the people of Chad and 
        not to private bank accounts.''.

SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON UNITED STATES ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE FOR LOW INCOME 
              OIL-PRODUCING COUNTRIES.

    Chapter 1 of part III of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 
U.S.C. 2351 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating the second section 620G (as added by 
        section 149 of Public Law 104-164 (110 Stat. 1436)) as section 
        620J; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 620K. LIMITATION ON UNITED STATES ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE FOR LOW 
              INCOME OIL-PRODUCING COUNTRIES.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Low income country.--The term `low income country' 
        means a country that has a per capita income equal to or less 
        than the historical ceiling of the International Development 
        Association, as defined by the International Bank for 
        Reconstruction and Development.
            ``(2) Low income oil producing country.--The term `low 
        income oil-producing country' means a low-income country that 
        produces an average of not less than 100,000 barrels of oil or 
        equivalent per day based on the most recent information 
        available by the Energy Information Administration of the 
        Department of Energy.
            ``(3) Oil.--The term `oil' includes crude oil, natural gas 
        plant liquids, other petroleum-based liquids, and petroleum-
        based refinery byproducts.
            ``(4) United states economic assistance.--The term `United 
        States economic assistance' means any of the following:
                    ``(A) Bilateral economic, development, or technical 
                assistance (other than military assistance, 
                humanitarian assistance, or assistance to prevent, 
                treat, and monitor HIV/AIDS) provided by any department 
                or agency of the United States Government to a foreign 
                country under any program, project, or activity that is 
                contained within the major budget functional category 
                150 (relating to International Affairs), including 
                assistance under--
                            ``(i) chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign 
                        Assistance Act of 1961 (relating to development 
                        assistance);
                            ``(ii) chapter 10 of part I of that Act 
                        (relating to the Development Fund for Africa);
                            ``(iii) chapter 11 of part I of that Act 
                        (relating to assistance for the independent 
                        states of the former Soviet Union);
                            ``(iv) chapter 12 of part I of that Act 
                        (relating to assistance for the countries of 
                        the South Caucasus and Central Asia region);
                            ``(v) chapter 4 of part II of that Act 
                        (relating to the Economic Support Fund); or
                            ``(vi) the Support for East European 
                        Democracy (SEED) Act of 1989.
                    ``(B) Bilateral economic, development, or technical 
                assistance (other than military assistance, 
                humanitarian assistance, or assistance to prevent, 
                treat, and monitor HIV/AIDS) provided by any department 
                or agency of the United States Government to a foreign 
                country under any program, project, or activity that is 
                contained within any of the following major budget 
                functional categories:
                            ``(i) 270 (relating to Energy).
                            ``(ii) 300 (relating to Natural Resources 
                        and the Environment), including programs, 
                        projects, and activities of the Environmental 
                        Protection Agency, the Department of the 
                        Interior, and the United States Army Corps of 
                        Engineers).
                            ``(iii) 350 (relating to Agriculture), 
                        including assistance provided under title I of 
                        the Agricultural Trade Development and 
                        Assistance Act of 1954, the Food for Progress 
                        program, and other programs administered by the 
                        Department of Agriculture, such as programs 
                        administered by the Commodity Credit 
                        Corporation.
                            ``(iv) 370 (relating to Commerce and 
                        Housing Credit).
                            ``(v) 400 (relating to Transportation).
                            ``(vi) 500 (relating to Education, 
                        Training, Employment, and Social Services).
                            ``(vii) 550 (relating to Health).
                            ``(viii) 750 (relating to the 
                        Administration of Justice).
                            ``(ix) 800 (relating to the General 
                        Government).
    ``(b) Identification; Determinations.--Not later than October 1, 
2005, and not later than each October 1 thereafter, the President, 
acting through the Board of Directors of the Millennium Challenge 
Corporation--
            ``(1) shall identify all countries in the world that are 
        low income oil-producing countries (as defined in subsection 
        (a)(1)); and
            ``(2) for each country identified under paragraph (1)--
                    ``(A) shall determine whether or not the country 
                scores in the top quartile of all low income countries 
                in each of the three indicators described in subsection 
                (d), as required under subsection (c)(1)(A); and
                    ``(B) shall determine whether or not the government 
                of the country meets the requirements of subsection 
                (e), as required under subsection (c)(1)(B).
    ``(c) Limitation on Economic Assistance.--
            ``(1) Limitation.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
        law (other than a provision of this section), United States 
        economic assistance may be provided for fiscal year 2007 and 
        each subsequent fiscal year for a low income oil-producing 
        country only if the President, acting through the Board of 
        Directors of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, determines 
        that--
                    ``(A) the country scores in the top quartile of all 
                low income countries in each of the three indicators 
                described in subsection (d); and
                    ``(B) the government of the country meets the 
                requirements of subsection (e).
            ``(2) Rule of construction.--The limitation on assistance 
        under paragraph (1) shall not apply to a low income oil-
        producing country that is determined by the Board of Directors 
        of the Millennium Challenge Corporation to be an eligible 
        country under section 607 of the Millennium Challenge Act of 
        2003 (22 U.S.C. 7706) and is identified as such by the Chief 
        Executive Officer of the Corporation under section 608(d) of 
        such Act (22 U.S.C. 7707(d)).
    ``(d) Indicators.--The indicators referred to in subsection 
(c)(1)(A) are the following:
            ``(1) Total expenditures on health.--The amount expended by 
        the government of the country at all levels on health divided 
        by the gross domestic product of the country.
            ``(2) Total expenditures on primary education.--The amount 
        expended by the government of the country at all levels on 
        primary education divided by the gross domestic product of the 
        country.
            ``(3) Primary education completion rate.--The number of 
        students who complete primary education divided by the total 
        population of individuals of the same age in the country.
    ``(e) Requirements.--The requirements referred to in subsection 
(c)(1)(B) are the following:
            ``(1) Transparency relating to oil revenues.--The 
        government of the country makes publicly available information 
        on--
                    ``(A) the amount of revenues received by the 
                government through the production of oil in the country 
                for the preceding calendar year, whether through 
                royalties, rents, taxes, customs, duties, or otherwise; 
                and
                    ``(B) the allocation of such revenues among the 
                various departments and agencies of the government.
            ``(2) Allocation and expenditure of oil revenues.--The 
        government of the country allocates and expends an appropriate 
        amount of the revenues referred to in paragraph (1) on 
        education, food and nutrition assistance, and public health 
        programs for the people of the country.
            ``(3) UN convention against corruption.--The country is a 
        signatory to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption 
        (Document A/58/422), as adopted by the United Nations General 
        Assembly on October 31, 2003.
    ``(f) Report.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than October 1, 2006, and not 
        later than October 1 of each year thereafter, the President, 
        acting through the Board of Directors of the Millennium 
        Challenge Corporation, shall prepare and transmit to Congress a 
        report that contains--
                    ``(A) for the fiscal year beginning on the 
                applicable October 1--
                            ``(i) the identification each low income 
                        oil-producing country, as required under 
                        subsection (b)(1); and
                            ``(ii) the determinations with respect to 
                        each such low income oil-producing country, as 
                        required under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of 
                        subsection (b)(2); and
                    ``(B) for the prior fiscal year, an identification 
                of each low income oil-producing country that received 
                United States economic assistance by reason of the 
                application of subsection (c)(1) and the amounts and 
                purposes of such assistance.
            ``(2) Special rule for initial report.--The requirement to 
        include information described in subparagraph (B) of paragraph 
        (1) shall not apply to the initial report required to be 
        submitted under such paragraph.''.

SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON UNITED STATES SUPPORT FOR MULTILATERAL ASSISTANCE 
              FOR CERTAIN COUNTRIES.

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

``SEC. 64. LIMITATION ON UNITED STATES SUPPORT FOR MULTILATERAL 
              ASSISTANCE FOR CERTAIN COUNTRIES.

    ``The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United States 
Executive Directors at the Fund and at the Bank to use the voice, vote, 
and influence of the United States to oppose the making of a loan by 
the Fund or the Bank, respectively, to the government of any country 
not eligible to receive United States economic assistance by reason of 
section 620K of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.''.
                                 <all>