[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 134 (Wednesday, July 29, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S4579]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             IDB PRESIDENCY

  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I rise to speak about the campaign 
currently underway to select the next president of the Inter-American 
Development Bank in September of this year.
  The IDB has served as the preeminent development bank in the Americas 
since 1959. For more than six decades, it has brought together the 
United States, Canada, and our partners from Latin America and the 
Caribbean to advance an agenda for development and inclusive economic 
growth in our hemisphere. The United States has proudly been a leading 
voice to strengthen the IDB's critical mission in the Americas, and 
donors from the European Union to Japan and South Korea, have provided 
enduring support to the institution.
  In September, the IDB will hold elections to select its next 
president. Last month, the United States announced it would nominate 
Mauricio Claver Carone, the current National Security Council senior 
director for the Western Hemisphere, as our candidate to be the next 
president of the IDB. Since Mr. Claver Carone's nomination was 
announced, more than 15 governments in the region have offered their 
support for his candidacy. These governments represent a wide range of 
ideological perspectives, levels of economic development, and different 
historic relationships with the IDB. In recent weeks, the Secretary 
General of the Organization of American States, our hemisphere's other 
premier multilateral institution, offered words of support for Mr. 
Claver Carone's candidacy.
  I have known Mr. Claver Carone for over two decades. During this 
time, Mr. Claver Carone has demonstrated a commitment to inclusive 
economic development in Latin America and the Caribbean, and he has 
been an outspoken advocate for democracy and human rights in our 
hemisphere. In his more recent roles at the National Security Council, 
the International Monetary Fund, and the Treasury Department, he has 
worked with governments across the region and across the ideological 
spectrum to advance United States' partnerships in the Americas. He has 
also worked to address the political, economic, and humanitarian crisis 
in Venezuela, and counter the agendas of governments that seek to 
counter U.S. interests in the region, from Cuba's authoritarian regime 
to Putin's Russia to China's Government. Of equal importance, he has 
shown the ability to work in a bipartisan manner with Democrats and 
Republicans in the United States, including in the U.S. Congress.
  While I have been and remain an ardent critic of many aspects of the 
Trump administration's foreign policy towards Latin America and the 
Caribbean and I have not always agreed with every policy decision that 
Mr. Claver Carone has made during his service to our government, I 
recognize his consistent commitment to advancing U.S. national 
security, our foreign policy interests, and an agenda of shared 
priorities with our partners in the hemisphere.
  For these reasons, I support Mr. Claver Carone's candidacy and would 
welcome the opportunity to continue working with him as the next 
president of the Inter-American Development Bank.
  I recognize that selection of the next IDB president is taking place 
2 months before the United States holds general elections and that some 
have concerns about the implications of this timing. Given that the 
United States is the IDB's largest shareholder, the next IDB president 
must commit to working in a bipartisan manner with the next U.S. 
President and their administration, regardless of party. This is an 
essential task for the success of the IDB. As the senior Democrat in 
the Foreign Relations Committee, I would look forward to working with 
Mr. Claver Carone to ensure that this happens.
  As COVID-19 continues to spread across the Americas and severe 
economic impacts follow, the IDB will play an absolutely essential role 
in the recovery of countries across the region. This makes the 
selection of the IDB's next president of the utmost importance. The IDB 
needs leadership that can achieve consensus across the Western 
hemisphere and set the stage for a decade-long recovery effort. The 
task is formidable, but I remain confident that the United States can 
and will play an integral part in supporting the IDB's efforts and our 
partners in the region.

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