[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 643 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 643

To urge reforms of the Enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) 
                  Initiative, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 6, 2003

Ms. Waters (for herself, Mr. Leach, Mr. Frank of Massachusetts, and Ms. 
Lee) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
                         on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To urge reforms of the Enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) 
                  Initiative, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Debt Cancellation for the New 
Millennium Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Enhanced HIPC Initiative was developed by the 
        countries of the G-7 during the G-7 Summit meeting in Cologne, 
        Germany, June 18-20, 1999.
            (2) The purpose of the Enhanced HIPC Initiative is to 
        provide debt relief to the world's poorest countries and enable 
        these countries to invest the savings from debt relief in HIV/
        AIDS treatment and prevention, health care, education, and 
        poverty reduction programs.
            (3) The Enhanced HIPC Initiative requires heavily indebted 
        poor countries (HIPCs) to develop and implement plans known as 
        Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) with the 
        participation of civil society for the purpose of reducing 
        poverty.
            (4) The Enhanced HIPC Initiative does not provide full 
        cancellation of the debts of HIPCs.
            (5) The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the 
        International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World 
        Bank) have sufficient resources to provide full cancellation of 
        the debts that HIPCs owe to these institutions.
            (6) The Enhanced HIPC Initiative requires HIPCs to 
        implement structural adjustment programs approved by the IMF, 
        which impose economic austerity upon these countries and are 
        strongly opposed by civil society in many of the countries in 
        which the programs have been implemented.
            (7) The process of developing and implementing PRSPs has 
        required considerable time and effort on the part of officials 
        and citizens in many HIPCs, and, as a result, these countries 
        have been unable to begin to receive debt relief as quickly as 
        had been planned.
            (8) The Enhanced HIPC Initiative requires HIPCs to continue 
        to make service payments on their debts while they are 
        developing and implementing PRSPs, as well as while they are 
        implementing the IMF's structural adjustment programs.
            (9) Many HIPCs have experienced revenue losses as a result 
        of reductions in prices for export commodities. These revenue 
        losses have reduced significantly the benefits of debt relief.
            (10) Bangladesh, Haiti, and Nigeria were excluded from the 
        Enhanced HIPC Initiative, although they are impoverished 
        countries with significant debt burdens.
            (11) The complete cancellation of the debts of impoverished 
        countries will remove a major impediment to poverty reduction 
        and economic growth, enable these countries to invest their 
        resources in HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention, health care, 
        education, and poverty reduction, and give these countries a 
        fresh start in the new millennium.

SEC. 3. REFORMS OF THE ENHANCED HIPC INITIATIVE.

    Title XVI of the International Financial Institutions Act (22 
U.S.C. 262p-262p-7) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 1625. REFORMS OF THE ENHANCED HIPC INITIATIVE.

    ``Congress urges the President to commence immediately efforts, 
within the Paris Club of Official Creditors, as well as the 
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank), the 
International Monetary Fund (IMF), and other appropriate multilateral 
development institutions to accomplish the following modifications in 
the Enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative:
            ``(1) Full debt cancellation.--The amount of debt relief 
        provided by the IMF and the World Bank under the Enhanced HIPC 
        Initiative for the benefit of a HIPC shall be sufficient to 
        completely cancel 100 percent of the debts owed by the HIPC to 
        these institutions. Debt cancellation shall be provided by the 
        IMF and the World Bank using their own resources.
            ``(2) Prohibition on structural adjustment programs.--The 
        provision of debt relief under the Enhanced HIPC Initiative 
        shall not be conditioned on any country adopting or 
        implementing any structural adjustment or stabilization program 
        of the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility of the IMF or any 
        other structural adjustment or stabilization program operated 
        solely or jointly by the IMF or the World Bank.
            ``(3) Immediate suspension of debt service payments for 
        countries developing prsps.--All HIPCs that are working in good 
        faith to develop and implement their Poverty Reduction Strategy 
        Papers (PRSPs) pursuant to the Enhanced HIPC Initiative shall 
        not be required to make service payments on their debts. The 
        PRSPs shall be developed and implemented with the participation 
        of civil society in order to ensure that the savings from debt 
        relief will be invested in HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention, 
        health care, education, and poverty reduction programs.
            ``(4) Country eligibility.--The eligibility requirements of 
        the Enhanced HIPC Initiative shall be revised to make 
        Bangladesh, Haiti, and Nigeria eligible.''.

SEC. 4. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.

    The Secretary of the Treasury shall provide or otherwise arrange 
for the provision of technical assistance upon request to heavily 
indebted poor countries (within the meaning of the Enhanced Heavily 
Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative) regarding compliance with 
all conditions for debt relief pursuant to the Enhanced HIPC 
Initiative, including the development and implementation of their 
Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PSRPs). The Secretary of the 
Treasury shall inform all such countries of the availability of the 
technical assistance within 30 days after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.

SEC. 5. REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.

    Not later than December 31 of each year, the President shall submit 
to the Committees on Financial Services, on Appropriations, and on 
International Relations of the House of Representatives and the 
Committees on Foreign Relations, on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
Affairs, and on Appropriations of the Senate a report, which shall be 
made available to the public, on the activities undertaken under this 
Act, and on the progress made in accomplishing the modifications to the 
Enhanced HIPC Initiative called for in this Act, for the preceding 
fiscal year.
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