[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 537 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 537

To require the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the United States 
Executive Directors of the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank to 
use the voice and vote of the United States to oppose the provision of 
  any loan or financial or technical assistance for a project for the 
construction of hydroelectric dams or electricity transmission systems 
in the Mekong River Basin unless the Secretary makes certain assurances 
          with respect to the project, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 9, 2011

   Mr. Webb introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
             referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the United States 
Executive Directors of the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank to 
use the voice and vote of the United States to oppose the provision of 
  any loan or financial or technical assistance for a project for the 
construction of hydroelectric dams or electricity transmission systems 
in the Mekong River Basin unless the Secretary makes certain assurances 
          with respect to the project, 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 ``Mekong River Protection Act of 
2011''.

SEC. 2. OPPOSITION OF THE UNITED STATES TO LOANS AND ASSISTANCE FROM 
              THE WORLD BANK AND THE ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK WITH 
              RESPECT TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF HYDROELECTRIC DAMS AND 
              ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS IN THE MEKONG RIVER 
              BASIN.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the 
United States Executive Directors of the World Bank and the Asian 
Development Bank to use the voice and vote of the United States to 
oppose the provision of any loan or financial or technical assistance 
for a project for the construction of hydroelectric dams or electricity 
transmission systems in the Mekong River Basin unless, not later than 
21 days before a vote to provide such a loan or such assistance, the 
Secretary of the Treasury submits the report described in subsection 
(b) to the committees specified in subsection (c).
    (b) Report Described.--The report described in this subsection is a 
report that, based on information provided by the Bank considering 
providing a loan or other assistance with respect to a project 
described in subsection (a), provides the following assurances with 
respect to the project:
            (1) The project will be carried out in a manner that 
        adheres to the safeguard policies of the Bank with respect to 
        protecting the environment, ensuring the safety of dams, the 
        involuntary resettlement of people displaced by dams, 
        indigenous peoples, and the reduction of poverty.
            (2) The project will not result in significant adverse 
        effects on--
                    (A) water flows along the Mekong River mainstream 
                and its tributaries or the seasonal changes in the flow 
                of the river; or
                    (B) local or regional public health, food security, 
                or the environment.
            (3) The project includes a plan to incorporate the benefits 
        gained by the generation of electricity and irrigation projects 
        into the local and national economies in the area surrounding 
        the site of the project.
            (4) The project includes a contingency plan to address the 
        effects on income and food insecurity that might arise from 
        disruptions along the Mekong River during the construction 
        phase of the project.
            (5) The project was developed taking into consideration 
        assessments of the environmental and socioeconomic impact of 
        the project on the Mekong River Basin region and the results of 
        those assessments have been made available to all countries 
        along the Mekong River.
            (6) The development of the project included consultations 
        with the governments of the countries along the Mekong River 
        and appropriate regional multilateral institutions and 
        community organizations.
    (c) Committees Specified.--The committees specified in this 
subsection are--
            (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on 
        Appropriations of the Senate; and
            (2) the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee 
        on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
    (d) World Bank Defined.--In this section, the term ``World Bank'' 
means the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the 
International Development Association.
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