[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 114 (Thursday, August 5, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10414-S10415]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. CAMPBELL:
  S. 1514. A bill to provide that countries receiving foreign 
assistance be conductive to United States business; to the Committee on 
Foreign Relations.


             THE INTERNATIONAL ANTI-CORRUPTION ACT OF 1999

  Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, today I introduce the International 
Anti-Corruption Act of 1999 to address the growing problem of official 
and unofficial corruption abroad and the direct impact on U.S. 
business. This bill is based on S.1200, which I introduced in the 105th 
Congress.
  As the Co-chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in 
Europe, I intend to address this growing problem of corruption. Last 
month, I chaired a Commission hearing that focused on the issues of 
bribery and corruption in the OSCE region, an area stretching from 
Vancouver to Vladivostok. The Commission heard that, in economic terms, 
rampant corruption and organized crime in this vast region has cost 
U.S. businesses billions of dollars in lost contracts with direct 
implications for our economy.
  Ironically, Mr. President, in some of the biggest recipients of U.S. 
foreign assistance--countries like Russia and Ukraine--the climate is 
either not conducive or outright hostile to American business. Last 
month, I also attended the annual session of the OSCE Parliamentary 
Assembly in St. Petersburg, Russia, where I had an opportunity to sit 
down with U.S. business representatives to learn, first-hand, the 
obstacles they face.
  Mr. President, the time has come to stop providing aid as usual to 
those countries which line up to receive our assistance, only to turn 
around and fleece U.S. businesses conducting legitimate operations in 
these countries. For this reason, I am introducing the International 
Anti-Corruption Act of 1999 to require the State Department to submit a 
report and the President to certify by March 1 of each year that 
countries which are receiving U.S. foreign aid are, in fact, conducive 
to American businesses and investors. If a country is found to be 
hostile to American businesses, aid from the United States would be cut 
off. The certification would be specifically based on whether a country 
is making progress

[[Page S10415]]

in, and is committed to, economic reform aimed at eliminating 
corruption.
  Under my bill, if the President certifies that a country's business 
climate is not conducive for U.S. businesses, that country will, in 
effect, be put on probation. The country would continue to receive U.S. 
foreign aid through the end of the fiscal year, but aid would be cut 
off on the first day of the next fiscal year unless the President 
certifies the country is making significant progress in implementing 
the specified economic indicators and is committed to recognizing the 
involvement of U.S. business.
  My bill also includes the customary waiver authority where the 
national interests of the United States are at stake. For countries 
certified as hostile to or not conducive for U.S. business, aid can 
continue if the President determines it is in the national security 
interest of the United States. However, the determination expires after 
6 months unless the President determines its continuation is important 
to our national security interest.
  I also included a provision which would allow aid to continue to meet 
urgent humanitarian needs, including food, medicine, disaster and 
refugee relief, to support democratic political reform and rule of law 
activities, and to create private sector and nongovernmental 
organizations that are independent of government control, or to develop 
a free market economic system.
  Mr. President, instead of jumping on the bandwagon to pump millions 
of additional tax dollars into countries which are hostile to U.S. 
businesses and investors, we should be working to root out the kinds of 
bribery and corruption that have an overall chilling effect on much 
needed foreign investment. Left unchecked, such corruption will 
continue to undermine fledgling democracies worldwide and further 
impede moves toward a genuine free market economy. I believe the 
legislation I am introducing today is a critical step this direction, 
and I urge my colleagues to support its passage.
  I ask unanimous consent that the bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1514

       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 Anti-
     Corruption Act of 1999''.

     SEC. 2. LIMITATIONS ON FOREIGN ASSISTANCE.

       (a) Report and Certification.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than March 1 of each year, the 
     President shall submit to the appropriate committees a 
     certification described in paragraph (2) and a report for 
     each country that received foreign assistance under part I of 
     the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 during the fiscal year. 
     The report shall describe the extent to which each such 
     country is making progress with respect to the following 
     economic indicators:
       (A) Implementation of comprehensive economic reform, based 
     on market principles, private ownership, equitable treatment 
     of foreign private investment, adoption of a legal and policy 
     framework necessary for such reform, protection of 
     intellectual property rights, and respect for contracts.
       (B) Elimination of corrupt trade practices by private 
     persons and government officials.
       (C) Moving toward integration into the world economy.
       (2) Certification.--The certification described in this 
     paragraph means a certification as to whether, based on the 
     economic indicators described in subparagraphs (A) through 
     (C) of paragraph (1), each country is--
       (A) conducive to United States business;
       (B) not conducive to United States business; or
       (C) hostile to United States business.
       (b) Limitations on Assistance.--
       (1) Countries hostile to united states business.--
       (A) General limitation.--Beginning on the date the 
     certification described in subsection (a) is submitted--
       (i) none of the funds made available for assistance under 
     part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (including 
     unobligated balances of prior appropriations) may be made 
     available for the government of a country that is certified 
     as hostile to United States business pursuant to such 
     subsection (a); and
       (ii) the Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the 
     United States Executive Director of each multilateral 
     development bank to vote against any loan or other 
     utilization of the funds of such institution to or by any 
     country with respect to which a certification described in 
     clause (i) has been made.
       (B) Duration of limitations.--Except as provided in 
     subsection (c), the limitations described in clauses (i) and 
     (ii) of subparagraph (A) shall apply with respect to a 
     country that is certified as hostile to United States 
     business pursuant to subsection (a) until the President 
     certifies to the appropriate committees that the country is 
     making significant progress in implementing the economic 
     indicators described in subsection (a)(1) and is no longer 
     hostile to United States business.
       (2) Countries not conducive to united states business.--
       (A) Probationary period.--A country that is certified as 
     not conducive to United States business pursuant to 
     subsection (a), shall be considered to be on probation 
     beginning on the date of such certification.
       (B) Required improvement.--Unless the President certifies 
     to the appropriate committees that the country is making 
     significant progress in implementing the economic indicators 
     described in subsection (a) and is committed to being 
     conducive to United States business, beginning on the first 
     day of the fiscal year following the fiscal year in which a 
     country is certified as not conducive to United States 
     business pursuant to subsection (a)(2)--
       (i) none of the funds made available for assistance under 
     part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (including 
     unobligated balances of prior appropriations) may be made 
     available for the government of such country; and
       (ii) the Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the 
     United States Executive Director of each multilateral 
     development bank to vote against any loan or other 
     utilization of the funds of such institution to or by any 
     country with respect to which a certification described in 
     subparagraph (A) has been made.
       (C) Duration of limitations.--Except as provided in 
     subsection (c), the limitations described in clauses (i) and 
     (ii) of subparagraph (B) shall apply with respect to a 
     country that is certified as not conducive to United States 
     business pursuant to subsection (a) until the President 
     certifies to the appropriate committees that the country is 
     making significant progress in implementing the economic 
     indicators described in subsection (a)(1) and is conducive to 
     United States business.
       (c) Exceptions.--
       (1) National security interest.--Subsection (b) shall not 
     apply with respect to a country described in subsection (b) 
     (1) or (2) if the President determines with respect to such 
     country that making such funds available is important to the 
     national security interest of the United States. Any such 
     determination shall cease to be effective 6 months after 
     being made unless the President determines that its 
     continuation is important to the national security interest 
     of the United States.
       (2) Other exceptions.--Subsection (b) shall not apply with 
     respect to--
       (A) assistance to meet urgent humanitarian needs (including 
     providing food, medicine, disaster, and refugee relief);
       (B) democratic political reform and rule of law activities;
       (C) the creation of private sector and nongovernmental 
     organizations that are independent of government control; and
       (D) the development of a free market economic system.

     SEC. 3. TOLL-FREE NUMBER.

       The Secretary of Commerce shall make available a toll-free 
     telephone number for reporting by members of the public and 
     United States businesses on the progress that countries 
     receiving foreign assistance are making in implementing the 
     economic indicators described in section 2(a)(1). The 
     information obtained from the toll-free telephone reporting 
     shall be included in the report required by section 2(a).

     SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Appropriate committees.--The term ``appropriate 
     committees'' means the Committee on International Relations 
     of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign 
     Relations of the Senate.
       (2) Multilateral development bank.--The term ``multilateral 
     development bank'' means the International Bank for 
     Reconstruction and Development, the International Development 
     Association, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and 
     Development.
                                 ______