[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 119 (Wednesday, July 12, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2422-S2424]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 257. Mr. COONS (for himself and Mr. Cornyn) submitted an amendment
intended to be proposed by him to the
[[Page S2423]]
bill S. 2226, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2024 for
military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. ___. ENHANCING AMERICAN COMPETITIVENESS ACT OF 2023.
(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the
``Enhancing American Competitiveness Act of 2023''.
(b) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on
Appropriations, and the Committee on the Budget of the
Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on
Appropriations, and the Committee on the Budget of the House
of Representatives.
(2) Corporation.--The term ``Corporation'' means the United
States International Development Finance Corporation.
(c) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) The mission of the Corporation is to mobilize
investment to advance global development, foreign policy
objectives of the United States, and taxpayer interests.
(2) Congress established the Corporation to leverage
private sector capabilities and to serve as a robust
alternative to state-directed investments by authoritarian
governments and strategic competitors of the United States.
(3) Congress authorized the Corporation--
(A) to provide equity financing in order to provide the
Corporation with greater flexibility to invest in early- and
growth-stage companies, partner with other financial
institutions, and enable investees to scale operations more
effectively to create greater impact on developments;
(B) under section 1421(d) of the BUILD Act of 2018 (22
U.S.C. 9621(d))--
(i) to provide insurance and reinsurance of debt for the
purposes of furthering United States foreign policy,
development, and national security objectives; and
(ii) to insure debt investments;
(C) to collect insurance and reinsurance premiums and pay
insurance and reinsurance claims; and
(D) to make loans or guaranties upon such terms and
conditions as the Corporation may determine under section
1421(b) of the BUILD Act of 2018 (22 U.S.C. 9621(b)) for the
purposes of furthering foreign policy, development, and
national security objectives of the United States.
(4) Under section 1422(b)(3) of that Act (22 U.S.C.
9621(b)(3)), Congress limited the authority described in
paragraph (3)(D) by requiring that for any loan or guaranty
to a project, the parties to the project bear the risk of
loss in an amount equal to at least 20 percent of the
guaranteed support by the Corporation in the project.
(5) Congress authorized the Corporation to guaranty 100
percent of an obligation, including a loan, a bond issuance,
or a tranche of any such loan or bond in which other parties
to the project bear the risk of loss in an amount equal to at
least 20 percent of the guaranteed support by the Corporation
in the project.
(6) Obstacles to the implementation of the authorities
described in paragraph (3) have constrained the ability of
the Corporation to leverage its full capacity to enhance the
economic and strategic competitiveness of the United States
and to cooperate effectively with foreign partners and the
private sector.
(d) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the proper budgetary treatment of the insurance and
reinsurance authorities of the Corporation, including
insurance and reinsurance of debt, is not subject to
budgetary treatment under the requirements of Federal Credit
Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661 et seq.); and
(2) guaranties provided by the Corporation in excess of 80
percent of an obligation are exempt from applicable
provisions of the Office of Management and Budget Circular A-
129.
(e) Modification of Eligibility Definitions.--The Build Act
of 2018 (22 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.) is amended--
(1) in section 1402--
(A) by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) as
paragraphs (3), (4), and (5), respectively; and
(B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
``(2) Fragile and conflict-affected state.--The term
`fragile and conflict-affected state' means a country that--
``(A) is on the List of Fragile and Conflict-affected
Situations maintained by the Fragility, Conflict and Violence
Group of the World Bank; or
``(B) the Corporation, after consultation with the
Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States
Agency for International Development, designates as fragile
or conflict-affected.''; and
(2) in section 1412(c), by striking paragraph (2) and
inserting the following:
``(2) Eligible countries.--The Corporation may provide
support under title II in a country that is--
``(A) eligible to receive development lending from the
World Bank; and
``(B) a fragile and conflict-affected state.''.
(f) Budgetary Treatment of Equity Investments by the
Corporation.--Section 1421(c) of the BUILD Act of 2018 (22
U.S.C. 9521 (c)) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(7) Present value of equity account.--There is
established as a subaccount within the Corporate Capital
Account a fund to be known as the `Corporate Equity Account'
to carry out this subsection.
``(8) Budgetary treatment of equity investments.--
``(A) Calculation of the costs of investment.--
``(i) In general.--The cost of support provided under
paragraph (1) with respect to a project shall be the net
present value, at the time when funds are disbursed to
provide the support, excluding administrative costs and any
incidental effects on governmental receipts or outlays, of
the following estimated cash flows:
``(I) The purchase price of the investment.
``(II) Dividends, redemptions, and other shareholder
distributions during the term of the support.
``(III) Proceeds received upon a sale, redemption, or other
liquidation of the investment.
``(IV) Foreign currency fluctuations, for support
denominated in foreign currencies.
``(V) Any other relevant cashflow.
``(ii) Changes in terms included.--The estimated cash flows
described in subclauses (I) through (V) of clause (i) shall
include the effects of changes in terms resulting from the
exercise of options included in the agreement to provide the
support.
``(iii) Discount rate.--The discount rate shall be the
average interest rate on marketable Treasury securities of
similar maturity to the support provided under paragraph (1).
``(B) Transfer.--Subject to the availability of
appropriations, an amount equal to the cost of support
determined under subparagraph (A) shall be transferred from
the Corporate Capital Account to the Corporate Equity
Account.
``(C) Differential amount.--
``(i) Appropriation.--For any fiscal year, upon the
transfer of an amount pursuant to subparagraph (B), an amount
equal to the differential amount shall be appropriated, out
of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to
the Corporate Equity Account.
``(ii) Treatment as direct spending.--An amount
appropriated pursuant to clause (i) shall be recorded as
direct spending (as defined by section 250(c)(8) of the
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2
U.S.C. 900(c)(8)).
``(iii) Budgetary effects.--The following shall apply to
budget enforcement under the Congressional Budget Act of 1974
(2 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 900 et seq.), and the
Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (2 U.S.C. 931 et seq.):
``(I) Future appropriations.--Any amount appropriated
pursuant to clause (i) shall not be recorded as budget
authority or outlays for purposes of any estimate under the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 or the Balanced Budget and
Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.
``(II) Statutory paygo scorecards.--The budgetary effects
of any amounts appropriated pursuant to clause (i) shall not
be entered on either PAYGO scorecard maintained pursuant to
section 4(d) of the Statutory Pay As-You-Go Act of 2010 (2
U.S.C. 933(d)).
``(III) Senate paygo scorecards.--The budgetary effects of
any amounts appropriated pursuant to clause (i) shall not be
entered on any PAYGO scorecard maintained for purposes of
section 4106 of H. Con. Res. 71 (115th Congress).
``(IV) Elimination of credit for cancellation or rescission
of differential.--If there is enacted into law an Act that
rescinds or reduces an amount appropriated pursuant to clause
(i), the amount of any such rescission or reduction shall not
be--
``(aa) estimated as a reduction in direct spending under
the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 or the Balanced Budget
and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985; or
``(bb) entered on either PAYGO scorecard maintained
pursuant to section 4(d) of the Statutory Pay As-You-Go Act
of 2010 or any PAYGO scorecard maintained for purposes of
section 4106 of H. Con. Res. 71 (115th Congress).
``(iv) Differential amount defined.--In this subparagraph,
the term `differential amount' means the difference between
the cost of support provided under paragraph (1), as
determined under subparagraph (A), and the purchase price of
the equity investment involved.
``(D) Coordination.--
``(i) In general.--The Director of the Office of Management
and Budget, in consultation with the Corporation, shall be
responsible for coordinating the cost estimates required by
this paragraph.
``(ii) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subparagraph
shall be construed to change the authority or responsibility
of the Corporation to determine the terms and conditions of
eligibility for, or the amount of support provided by, the
Corporation.''.
(g) Maximum Contingent Liability.--Section 1433 of the
BUILD Act of 2018 (22 U.S.C. 9633) is amended by striking
``$60,000,000,000'' and inserting ``$100,000,000,000''.
(h) Reporting Requirement.--Not later than 180 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Chief Executive
Officer of the
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Corporation shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a plan to expand the financing of the Corporation
to support national security and development priorities of
the United States in critical regions, including--
(1) a description of the budgetary, staffing, and
programmatic resources necessary to carry out the plan; and
(2) the effective date and the basis used, in consultation
with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, to
calculate the net present value of funds appropriated for use
under section 1421(c) of the Build Act of 2018 (22 U.S.C.
9621(c)).
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