[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 87 (Wednesday, May 19, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2790-S2791]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 1526. Mr. BARRASSO submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
to amendment SA 1502 proposed by Mr. Schumer to the bill S. 1260, to
establish a new Directorate for Technology and Innovation in the
National Science Foundation, to establish a regional technology hub
program, to require a strategy and report on economic security,
science, research, innovation, manufacturing, and job creation, to
establish a critical supply chain resiliency program, and for other
purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
Strike section 3250 and insert the following:
SEC. 3250. ADDRESSING CHINA'S SOVEREIGN LENDING PRACTICES IN
LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN.
(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Since 2005, the Government of China has expanded
sovereign lending to governments in Latin America and the
Caribbean with loans that are repaid or collateralized with
natural resources or commodities.
(2) Several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean
have received a significant amount of sovereign lending from
the Government of China and are now facing challenges in
repaying those loans.
(3) In 2009, the People's Republic of China became a member
of the Inter-American Development Bank.
(4) Since it was established in 1959, the Inter-American
Development Bank has completed a total of nine capital
increases.
(5) The ninth capital increase occurred in March 2010,
resulting in an increase of $70,000,000,000 of total capital,
the largest capital increase in the Bank's history.
(6) The United States Congress has never authorized and
appropriated a capital increase for the Inter-American
Development Bank before the formal completion of the review
of the capital needs of the Bank and negotiations on the
capital increase.
(7) In March 2021, the Board of Governors of the Inter-
American Development Bank approved a resolution authorizing
the analytical work required to consider a potential capital
increase.
(8) At the meeting, President Claver-Carone outlined how
the Inter-American Development Bank Group in 2020 reached
historic financing levels of nearly $24,000,000,000 for
governments and firms in the region in response to the COVID-
19 pandemic.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the Government of China's predatory economic practices
and sovereign lending practices in Latin America and the
Caribbean negatively influence United States national
interests in the Western Hemisphere;
(2) the Inter-American Development Bank, the premier
multilateral development bank dedicated to the Western
Hemisphere, should play a significant role supporting the
countries of Latin America and the Caribbean in achieving
sustainable and serviceable debt structures; and
(3) the United States should work with the Inter-American
Development Bank to strengthen the Bank's ability to help the
countries of Latin America and the Caribbean achieve lasting
economic development and debt restructuring.
(c) Addressing China's Sovereign Lending in the Americas.--
The Secretary of the Treasury and the United States Executive
Director to the Inter-American Development Bank shall use the
voice, vote, and influence of the United States--
(1) to advance efforts by the Bank to help countries
restructure debt resulting from sovereign lending by the
Government of China in order to achieve sustainable and
serviceable debt structures; and
(2) to establish appropriate safeguards and transparency
and conditionality measures to protect debt-vulnerable member
countries of the Inter-American Development Bank that borrow
from the Bank for the purposes of restructuring Chinese
bilateral debt held by such countries and preventing such
countries from incurring subsequent Chinese bilateral debt.
(d) Briefings.--
(1) Implementation.--Not later than 90 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, and every 90 days thereafter,
the President shall provide to the Committee on Foreign
Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Financial
Services of the House of Representatives a briefing detailing
efforts to carry out subsection (c).
(2) Progress in achieving sustainable and serviceable debt
structures.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and every 180 days thereafter for a
period of 3 years, the President shall provide to the
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the
Committee on Financial Services of the House of
Representatives a briefing on efforts by the
[[Page S2791]]
Bank to support countries in Latin American and the Caribbean
in their efforts to achieve sustainable and serviceable debt
structures.
(e) Report Required.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury
shall submit to Congress a report about the reform priorities
of the United States at the Inter-American Development Bank,
the economic development needs of Latin America and the
Caribbean, and the capital needs of the Bank as part of the
strategy of the United States to advance economic development
efforts in Latin America and the Caribbean during the 10
years after such date of enactment.
(2) Elements.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall--
(A) list the critical development needs of Latin America
and the Caribbean;
(B) assess the adequacy of the current capital of the
Inter-American Development Bank;
(C) outline the reform priorities of the United States for
the Bank;
(D) describe the role the Bank plays in the broader United
States strategy for Latin America and the Caribbean;
(E) describe the extent to which the Bank has visibility
and transparency on the bilateral loans the Government of
China has made in Latin America and the Caribbean;
(F) identify the extent to which China's bilateral programs
are coordinated with Bank projects; and
(G) assess the challenges posed by China's dual role as a
bilateral lender in Latin America and the Caribbean and a
member of the Bank.
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