[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3918 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3918

 To authorize United States participation in, and appropriations for, 
   the United States contribution to the ninth replenishment of the 
     resources of the Asian Development Fund and the United States 
    subscription to the fifth general capital increase of the Asian 
                           Development Bank.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 29, 2010

 Mr. Kerry (for himself and Mr. Cardin) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To authorize United States participation in, and appropriations for, 
   the United States contribution to the ninth replenishment of the 
     resources of the Asian Development Fund and the United States 
    subscription to the fifth general capital increase of the Asian 
                           Development Bank.

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

SECTION 1. ASIAN DEVELOPMENT FUND.

    The Asian Development Bank Act (22 U.S.C. 285 et seq.) is amended 
by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 33. NINTH REPLENISHMENT.

    ``(a) Contribution Authorized.--The United States Governor of the 
Bank is authorized to contribute $461,000,000 on behalf of the United 
States to the ninth replenishment of the resources of the Fund, to the 
extent such amounts are made available in advance through 
appropriations Acts.
    ``(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--In order to pay for the 
United States contribution under subsection (a), there are authorized 
to be appropriated, without fiscal year limitation, $461,000,000 for 
payment by the Secretary of the Treasury.

``SEC. 34. FIFTH CAPITAL INCREASE.

    ``(a) Subscription Authorized.--(1) The United States Governor of 
the Bank may subscribe on behalf of the United States to 1,104,420 
additional shares of the capital stock of the Bank.
    ``(2) Any subscription by the United States to the capital stock of 
the Bank shall be effective only to such extent and in such amounts as 
are made available in advance through appropriations Acts.
    ``(b) Limitations on Authorization of Appropriations.--(1) In order 
to pay for the increase in the United States subscription to the Bank 
under subsection (a), there are authorized to be appropriated, without 
fiscal year limitation, $13,323,173,083 for payment by the Secretary of 
the Treasury.
    ``(2) Of the amount authorized to be appropriated under paragraph 
(1)--
            ``(A) $532,929,240 shall be for paid in shares of the Bank; 
        and
            ``(B) $12,790,243,843 shall be for callable shares of the 
        Bank.''.

SEC. 2. REPORT ON REFORMS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) At the Group of Twenty (G-20) Summit, which took place 
        in Pittsburgh in September 2009, G-20 leaders agreed that 
        additional capital resources for the multilateral development 
        banks must be joined to key institutional reforms to ensure 
        effectiveness.
            (2) The Asian Development Bank agreed to undertake 
        institutional reforms as part of its negotiated agreement with 
        shareholders in order to receive an increase in capital 
        resources in the Fifth General Capital Increase (referred to in 
        this section as the ``GCIV'').
    (b) Reporting Requirement.--
            (1) Initial report.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
        of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury 
        shall submit a report to the Committee on Foreign Relations of 
        the Senate, the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, the 
        Committee on Financial Services of the House of 
        Representatives, and the Committee on Appropriations of the 
        House of Representatives describing the extent to which the 
        Asian Development Bank successfully implemented--
                    (A) the Pittsburgh G-20 reforms agreed to for 
                future capital increases at the multilateral 
                development banks, as referred to in the Pittsburgh 
                Communique; and
                    (B) the reforms agreed to in the context of the 
                GCIV, as referred to in the report of the Board of 
                Directors entitled ``Review of Asian Development Bank's 
                Resource Position and Proposal for a Fifth General 
                Capital Increase'' and endorsed by Governors under 
                Resolution No. 336, consistent with the principles 
                reflected in the Leaders' Statement issued at the 
                Pittsburgh G-20 summit in September 2009.
            (2) Second report.--Not later than 18 months after the date 
        of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury 
        shall submit an update of the report submitted under paragraph 
        (1) to the congressional committees set forth in paragraph (1).

SEC. 3. ENHANCING THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL EFFECTIVENESS OF 
              ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS IN THE MEKONG RIVER BASIN.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The Mekong River Basin--
                    (A) is home to the world's largest inland fishery;
                    (B) is one of the most productive regions of wet 
                rice cultivation;
                    (C) serves as a main and, in the near term, 
                irreplaceable source of animal protein and caloric 
                intake for more than 60,000,000 people; and
                    (D) faces increased vulnerability to the impacts of 
                global climate change, including sea-level rise, 
                saltwater intrusion, changes in rainfall patterns and 
                increased severity of extreme weather.
            (2) Hydro power development, including dams built upstream, 
        is occurring in the Mekong River Basin without sufficient 
        regional and national strategic development plans for water 
        usage and food security.
            (3) Individual projects require more robust assessments of 
        environmental, socioeconomic, and sociopolitical impacts, 
        including cumulative and transboundary impacts.
            (4) Without appropriate study, planning, and coordination, 
        ongoing and future hydro power activities pose serious 
        environmental, social, and regional political consequences.
            (5) The consequences referred to in paragraph (4)--
                    (A) will generate a food, livelihood, and human 
                security gap, especially for the most vulnerable 
                populations, which will be felt years before any 
                benefits from increased energy production; and
                    (B) may set back the region's hard-won peace and 
                stability.
    (b) Coordination and Consideration of Environmental and Social 
Impacts.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United 
States Executive Director of the Asian Development Bank--
            (1) to advocate for the Asian Development Bank to encourage 
        best practices in the areas of climate change adaptation, flood 
        and drought management, hydro power impact assessments, water 
        resource management, aquatic and terrestrial systems 
        management, food security, and livelihood;
            (2) to promote the incorporation of cooperative, 
        sustainable and equitable transboundary water management into 
        the activities of the Asian Development Bank;
            (3) to encourage the Asian Development Bank to enhance its 
        coordination with other multilateral and bilateral assistance 
        programs in the Mekong River Basin to reduce risks to the 
        region's environment, economy, and food security, including 
        through financial and policy support to the Secretariat of the 
        4-country Mekong River Commission (MRC), which will transition 
        from international to regional leadership in 2011;
            (4) to foster Asian Development Bank and bilateral donor 
        support to, and coordination with, the U.S. Lower Mekong 
        Initiative (LMI), particularly in the areas of the environment 
        and infrastructure development, which may include--
                    (A) technology transfers to monitor water flows and 
                water quality on a basin-wide and real-time basis;
                    (B) participatory scenario-building, interactive 
                workshops, and simulations involving government 
                officials, nongovernmental organizations, and research 
                organizations to build technical capacity; and
                    (C) the establishment of subregional centers of 
                excellence for education, training, and research on 
                environmental, energy, socioeconomic, and regional 
                cooperation related to national and transboundary water 
                management; and
            (5) to support studies to assess--
                    (A) the interaction between climate change and 
                proposed water infrastructure projects on the Mekong 
                River and its major tributaries, especially hydropower, 
                water transfer, and irrigation projects;
                    (B) the impact of such projects on the Mekong 
                River's critical environmental services; and
                    (C) the viability of the Mekong Delta after 
                upstream water development and rising sea levels.

SEC. 4. CONFLICT SENSITIVITY.

    (a) Findings.--Multilateral development bank activities in conflict 
or post-conflict countries may inadvertently--
            (1) fuel existing internal tensions and perceived 
        grievances; and
            (2) further strain a borrowing country's social fabric.
    (b) Declaration of Policy.--It is the policy of the United States 
to advocate and support the creation and adoption of formal policies 
and practices--
            (1) that ensure conflict sensitivity in lending;
            (2) that enhance development effectiveness by ensuring that 
        multilateral development banks pursue, to the maximum extent 
        practicable, opportunities for addressing causes and 
        consequences of the country's conflict; and
            (3) that ensure that--
                    (A) benefits from projects are transparently and 
                appropriately distributed;
                    (B) potential tensions are mitigated through broad 
                consultations and appropriate redress mechanisms;
                    (C) project implementation is sufficiently 
                conflict-sensitive;
                    (D) conflict-generated needs are adequately 
                identified and addressed in projects; and
                    (E) opportunities to strengthen reconciliation and 
                awareness have been adequately identified.
    (c) Promotion of United States Policy.--The Secretary of the 
Treasury shall instruct the United States Executive Director of each 
international financial institution to use the voice and vote of the 
United States to promote the policies and practices described in 
subsection (b).

SEC. 5. POWER GUIDELINES.

    (a) Declaration of Policy.--It is the policy of the United States 
to discourage multilateral development banks from providing financing 
for coal-fired power plants unless--
            (1) the multilateral development bank has provided, as 
        necessary, financing or technical assistance to develop the 
        institutional and technical capacity of the borrower country to 
        examine supply and demand side alternatives to new coal-fired 
        power plants, including the borrower's capacity to compare 
        alternatives based on a full-cost accounting of projects, 
        taking into account their social, health, and environmental 
        costs;
            (2) the multilateral development bank has analyzed--
                    (A) the technical and economic feasibility of no-
                carbon and low-carbon alternatives;
                    (B) the financial resources available for such 
                alternatives;
                    (C) the possible deployment of such resources in 
                selecting a no-carbon or low-carbon alternative; and
                    (D) the degree to which the project supports 
                efforts to provide electricity access to the poor;
            (3) after completing the analysis described in paragraph 
        (2), the multilateral development bank has determined that a 
        viable alternative to the new coal-fired power plant does not 
        exist;
            (4) the project uses best available technology (for the 
        size and duty cycle of the plant) for reducing greenhouse gas 
        emissions, except, for countries eligible for resources from 
        the International Development Association and not eligible for 
        loans from the International Bank for Reconstruction and 
        Development, if the project--
                    (A) addresses critical national security energy 
                needs that cannot otherwise be met;
                    (B) responds to national short-term emergencies; or
                    (C) overcomes substantial constraints on national 
                economic development when no viable alternatives exist; 
                and
            (5) projects in countries eligible for resources from the 
        International Development Association and loans from the 
        International Bank for Reconstruction and Development or in 
        countries eligible only for loans from the International Bank 
        for Reconstruction and Development are accompanied by concrete, 
        well-developed plans, including financing options, to the 
        extent possible, that, in the aggregate, will offset the 
        greenhouse gas emissions from the coal-fired power plants once 
        the plans are fully implemented.
    (b) Effect of Noncompliance.--If the relevant multilateral 
development bank considering a coal-fired power generation project in a 
country that is other than a country eligible for resources from the 
International Development Association and not eligible for loans from 
the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development has not met 
the conditions described in paragraphs (1) through (5) of subsection 
(a), the Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United States 
Executive Director to that multilateral development bank to vote 
against the extension by that institution of any loan or other 
financial assistance for such coal-fired power generation project.
    (c) Effect of Partial Compliance.--Notwithstanding subsection (b), 
if the relevant multilateral development bank described in subsection 
(b) has fully considered and met some, but not all, of the conditions 
described in paragraphs (1) through (5) of subsection (a) and the 
Secretary of the Treasury determines that substantial and significant 
steps have been taken to address the remaining unmet conditions, the 
Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United States Executive 
Director to that multilateral development bank to vote against or 
abstain from voting for the extension by that institution of any loan 
or other financial assistance for such coal-fired power generation 
project.
    (d) Annual Report.--In each of the 4 years following the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall submit a 
report to the appropriate congressional committees that includes--
            (1) a description and assessment of the coal-fired power 
        generation project approved at each multilateral development 
        bank in the previous 2 years, the financial assistance extended 
        by each multilateral development bank, and the level of 
        financing and implementation of plans described in subsection 
        (a)(5);
            (2) a list of the voting positions taken by the United 
        States Executive Director for all relevant votes;
            (3) a determination and analysis of the degree to which 
        each condition described in subsection (a) has been met; and
            (4) if the United States Executive Director voted to 
        abstain on a loan or other financial assistance pursuant to 
        subsection (c)--
                    (A) a description of efforts undertaken by the 
                multilateral development bank or borrower to meet the 
                standards under subsection (a); and
                    (B) an assessment of additional reasonable efforts 
                that could have been undertaken, but did not take 
                place.
    (e) 5-Year Report.--Not later than 5 years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall submit a 
report to the appropriate congressional committees that includes--
            (1) an analysis of the impact of the policies set forth in 
        this section; and
            (2) an analysis of the continued relevance of such policies 
        and recommended changes after taking into account the impact of 
        the polices and other changes in multilateral development bank 
        energy sector lending.

SEC. 6. ENERGY SUBSIDIES AND GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Inefficient fossil fuel subsides--
                    (A) encourage wasteful consumption;
                    (B) distort markets;
                    (C) reduce the Nation's energy security;
                    (D) impede investment in advanced and cleaner 
                energy sources; and
                    (E) undermine efforts to deal with the threat of 
                climate change.
            (2) According to the International Energy Agency, the costs 
        of fossil fuel consumption subsidies are approximately 
        $557,000,000,000 per year.
            (3) The poorest countries are often--
                    (A) the most exposed to the impacts of climate 
                change; and
                    (B) the least able to protect their vulnerable 
                populations and communities.
            (4) Multilateral development banks are in a position to 
        work with a range of stakeholders in developing countries, 
        including other donors--
                    (A) to pursue low-carbon growth opportunities; and
                    (B) to support efforts to boost climate change 
                resiliency that also support poverty alleviation.
    (b) Declaration of Policy.--It is the policy of the United States--
            (1) to promote the phasing out and rationalization of 
        inefficient fossil fuel subsidies;
            (2) to encourage all nations to adopt policies that will 
        phase out such subsidies worldwide, while striving to alleviate 
        adverse impact on the poorest individuals;
            (3) to provide public financial assistance to support the 
        deployment of sustainable clean energy in developing countries; 
        and
            (4) to support efforts to increase the resiliency of 
        developing countries, populations, and communities most 
        vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
    (c) Promotion of United States Policy.--The Secretary of the 
Treasury shall instruct the United States Executive Director of each 
international financial institution to use the voice and vote of the 
United States to promote the policy described in subsection (b) with a 
focus on the poorest countries and countries that are most vulnerable 
to the impacts of climate change.
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