[House Report 117-317]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


117th Congress     }                                 {     Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session        }                                 {     117-317

======================================================================



 
         UKRAINE COMPREHENSIVE DEBT PAYMENT RELIEF ACT OF 2022

                                _______
                                

  May 10, 2022.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Ms. Waters, from the Committee on Financial Services, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 7081]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Financial Services, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 7081) to seek immediate bilateral, multilateral, 
and commercial debt service payment relief for Ukraine, having 
considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an 
amendment and recommends that the bill as amended do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose and Summary..............................................     2
Background and Need for Legislation..............................     3
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation...................     3
Hearings.........................................................     4
Committee Consideration..........................................     4
Committee Votes..................................................     4
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................     6
Statement of Performance Goals and Objectives....................     6
New Budget Authority and C.B.O. Cost Estimate....................     6
Committee Cost Estimate..........................................     7
Federal Mandates Statement.......................................     7
Advisory Committee Statement.....................................     7
Applicability to Legislative Branch..............................     7
Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff 
  Benefits.......................................................     7
Duplicative Federal Programs.....................................     7

    The amendment is as follows:
    Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``Ukraine Comprehensive Debt Payment 
Relief Act of 2022''.

SEC. 2. SUSPENSION OF MULTILATERAL DEBT PAYMENTS OF UKRAINE.

  (a) United States Position in the International Financial 
Institutions.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United 
States Executive Director at each international financial institution 
(as defined in section 1701(c)(2) of the International Financial 
Institutions Act) to use the voice, vote, and influence of the United 
States to advocate that the respective institution immediately suspend 
all debt service payments owed to the institution by Ukraine.
  (b) Official Bilateral and Commercial Debt Service Payment Relief.--
The Secretary of the Treasury, working in coordination with the 
Secretary of State, shall commence immediate efforts with other 
governments and commercial creditor groups, through the Paris Club of 
Official Creditors and other bilateral and multilateral frameworks, 
both formal and informal, to pursue comprehensive debt payment relief 
for Ukraine.
  (c) Multilateral Financial Support for Ukraine.--The Secretary of the 
Treasury shall direct the United States Executive Director at each 
international financial institution (as defined in section 1701(c)(2) 
of the International Financial Institutions Act) to use the voice and 
vote of the United States to support, to the maximum extent 
practicable, the provision of concessional financial assistance for 
Ukraine.
  (d) Multilateral Financial Support for Refugees.--The Secretary of 
the Treasury shall direct the United States Executive Director at each 
international financial institution (as defined in section 1701(c)(2) 
of the International Financial Institutions Act) to use the voice and 
vote of the United States to seek to provide economic support for 
refugees from Ukraine, including refugees of African descent, and for 
countries receiving refugees from Ukraine.

SEC. 3. REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.

  Not later than December 31 of each year, the President shall--
          (1) submit to the Committees on Financial Services, on 
        Appropriations, and on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
        Representatives and the Committees on Foreign Relations and on 
        Appropriations of the Senate, a report on the activities 
        undertaken under this Act; and
          (2) make public a copy of the report.

SEC. 4. WAIVER AND TERMINATION.

  (a) Waiver.--The President may waive the provisions of this Act if 
the President determines that a waiver is in the national interest of 
the United States and reports to the Congress an explanation of the 
reasons therefor.
  (b) Termination.--The preceding provisions of this Act shall have no 
force or effect on or after the date that is 7 years after the date of 
the enactment of this Act.

                          PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

    On March 15, 2022, Representative Garcia (IL) introduced 
H.R. 7081, the ``Ukraine Comprehensive Debt Repayment Relief 
Act of 2022,'' which, as amended and passed by the Committee, 
would direct the Department of Treasury to use the voice, vote, 
and influence of the U.S. at the international financial 
institutions to advocate for: the immediate suspension all debt 
service payments owed to these institutions by Ukraine, the 
provision of concessional financial assistance for Ukraine, and 
to seek to provide economic support for refugees from Ukraine, 
including refugees of African descent, and for countries 
receiving refugees from Ukraine. The bill also directs the 
Secretary of Treasury, in coordination with the Secretary of 
State, to commence immediate efforts with official bilateral 
creditors and commercial creditor groups to pursue similar 
comprehensive debt payment relief for Ukraine. The bill 
requires the President to submit an annual public report to 
Congress on the activities undertaken under the Act. The 
President has the authority to waive the provisions of this Act 
if the President determines such a waiver is in the national 
interest of the United States and reports to Congress an 
explanation of the reasons therefor. The bill sunsets on the 
date that is 7 years after the date of the enactment of this 
Act.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    Ukraine currently owes $21.7 billion to multilateral 
institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and 
the World Bank, $6.5 billion to other bilateral creditors, and 
another $3.5 billion to external commercial creditors.\1\ These 
debt obligations inhibit the ability of the Ukrainian 
government to reallocate resources towards defending against 
the Russian invasion and providing much-needed humanitarian 
assistance to its internally displaced citizens. Ukraine 
currently owes $21.7 billion to multilateral institutions, such 
as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, 
$6.5 billion to other bilateral creditors, and another $3.5 
billion to external commercial creditors.2 This bill directs 
the Treasury to advocate for the immediate suspension of all 
debt service payments to the IMF, World Bank, and other 
relevant multilateral development banks and similar 
comprehensive debt payment relief for Ukraine from bilateral 
creditors and commercial creditor groups. This legislation 
would seek to eliminate $4.6 billion in Ukrainian debt service 
payments in 2022 alone.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\See Annex II, Table 2. ``Ukraine. Decomposition of Public Debt 
and Debt Service by Creditor, 2020-22'' from Staff Report for the First 
Review Under the Stand-By Arrangement, Requests for Extension and 
Rephasing of Access of the Arrangement, Waivers of Nonobservance of a 
Performance Criterion, Financing Assurances Review, and Monetary Policy 
Consultation: Ukraine, International Monetary Fund (Nov. 2021).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title

           This section establishes the short title of 
        the bill as the ``Ukraine Comprehensive Debt Payment 
        Relief Act of 2022.''

Section 2. Suspension of multilateral debt payments of Ukraine

           This section directs the Secretary of 
        Treasury to instruct the U.S. Executive Director at 
        each international financial institution to use the 
        voice, vote, and influence of the United States to 
        advocate that the respective institution immediately 
        suspend all debt service payments owed to the 
        institution by Ukraine.
           This section also directs the Secretary of 
        Treasury, working in coordination with the Secretary of 
        State, to commence immediate efforts with governments 
        and commercial creditor groups, through the Paris Club 
        of Official Creditors and other bilateral and 
        multilateral frameworks, both formal and informal, to 
        pursue comprehensive debt payment relief for Ukraine.
           Under this section, the Secretary of the 
        Treasury shall direct the United States Executive 
        Director at each international financial institution to 
        use the voice and vote of the United States to support, 
        to the maximum extent practicable, the provision of 
        concessional financial assistance for Ukraine and to 
        seek to provide economic support for refugees from 
        Ukraine, including refugees of African descent, and for 
        countries receiving refugees from Ukraine.

Section 3. Report to the Congress

           This section directs the President to submit 
        an annual public report to the U.S. House Committees on 
        Financial Services, on Appropriations and on Foreign 
        Affairs and to the U.S. Senate Committees on Foreign 
        Relations and on Appropriations on the activities 
        undertaken under this Act.

Section 4. Waiver and termination

           This section authorizes the President to 
        waive the provisions of this Act if the President 
        determines such a waiver is in the national interest of 
        the United States and reports to Congress an 
        explanation of the reasons therefor.
           This section also terminates the provisions 
        under this Act seven years after enactment.

                                HEARINGS

    For the purposes of section 3(c)(6) of House rule XIII, the 
Committee on Financial Services' Full Committee held a hearing 
on April 6, 2022, to consider H.R. 7081 entitled, ``The Annual 
Testimony of the Secretary of the Treasury on the State of the 
International Financial System.''

                        COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

    The Committee on Financial Services met in open session on 
March 17, 2022, and ordered H.R. 7081 to be reported favorably 
to the House with an amendment in the nature of a substitute by 
a voice vote, a quorum being present.

                  COMMITTEE VOTES AND ROLL CALL VOTES

    In compliance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that the 
following roll call votes occurred during the Committee's 
consideration of H.R. 7081: An amendment in the nature of a 
substitute, no. 4, offered by Mr. Garcia was AGREED TO by voice 
vote.

	
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  STATEMENT OF OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII and clause 
2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, 
the Committee's oversight findings and recommendations are 
reflected in the descriptive portions of this report.

             STATEMENT OF PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

    Pursuant to clause (3)(c) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the goals of H.R. 7081 are to direct 
the Department of Treasury to use the voice, vote, and 
influence of the U.S. at the international financial 
institutions to advocate for: the immediate suspension all debt 
service payments owed to these institutions by Ukraine, the 
provision of concessional financial assistance for Ukraine, and 
to seek to provide economic support for refugees from Ukraine, 
including refugees of African descent, and for countries 
receiving refugees from Ukraine.

               NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY AND CBO COST ESTIMATE

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives and section 308(a) of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, and pursuant to clause 
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives and section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act 
of 1974, the Committee has received the following estimate for 
H.R. 7081 from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office:


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    H.R. 7081 would require the Department of the Treasury to 
advocate for debt relief, concessional financial assistance, 
and humanitarian assistance for Ukraine at international 
financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund 
and World Bank. It also would require Treasury to provide the 
Congress with a report about its actions.
    The United States has already provided significant amounts 
of assistance to Ukraine. Although it is possible that the 
department or other federal agencies would provide bilateral 
debt relief, concessional financing, or additional humanitarian 
assistance under the bill, CBO has no basis for estimating such 
additional amounts.
    On the basis of information about the costs of similar 
requirements and reports, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 
7081 would cost less than $500,000 over the 2022-2026 period. 
Such spending would be subject to the availability of 
appropriated funds.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Sunita D'Monte. 
The estimate was reviewed by Leo Lex, Deputy Director of Budget 
Analysis.

                        COMMITTEE COST ESTIMATE

    Clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison of the 
costs that would be incurred in carrying out H.R. 7081. After 
careful review, including discussions with the Congressional 
Budget Office, the Committee estimates that H.R. 7081 would 
have an insignificant impact on spending.

                       UNFUNDED MANDATE STATEMENT

    Pursuant to Section 423 of the Congressional Budget and 
Impoundment Control Act (as amended by Section 101(a)(2) of the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act, Pub. L. 104-4), the Committee 
adopts as its own the estimate of federal mandates regarding 
H.R. 7081, as amended prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office.

                           ADVISORY COMMITTEE

    No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) 
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this 
legislation.

              APPLICATION OF LAW TO THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

    Pursuant to section 102(b)(3) of the Congressional 
Accountability Act, Pub. L. 104-1, H.R. 7081, as amended, does 
not apply to terms and conditions of employment or to access to 
public services or accommodations within the legislative 
branch.

                           EARMARK STATEMENT

    In accordance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, H.R. 7081 does not contain any 
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff 
benefits as described in clauses 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule 
XXI.

                    DUPLICATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee states that no 
provision of H.R. 7081 establishes or reauthorizes a program of 
the Federal Government known to be duplicative of another 
federal program, a program that was included in any report from 
the Government Accountability Office to Congress pursuant to 
section 21 of Public Law 111-139, or a program related to a 
program identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal 
Domestic Assistance.

                                  [all]