108TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 254

AN ACT

To authorize the President of the United States to

agree to certain amendments to the Agreementbetween the Government of the United States ofAmerica and the Government of the UnitedMexican States concerning the establishment of aBorder Environment Cooperation Commissionand a North American Development Bank, andfor other purposes.

108TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 254

AN ACT

To authorize the President of the United States to agree

to certain amendments to the Agreement between the

Government of the United States of America and the

Government of the United Mexican States concerning

the establishment of a Border Environment Cooperation

Commission and a North American Development Bank,

and for other purposes.
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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. AUTHORITY TO AGREE TO CERTAIN AMEND4 MENTS TO THE BORDER ENVIRONMENT CO5 OPERATION AGREEMENT.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part 2 of subtitle D of title V of

7 Public Law 103–182 (22 U.S.C. 290m—290m–3) is

8 amended by adding at the end the following:

9 ‘‘SEC. 545. AUTHORITY TO AGREE TO CERTAIN AMEND10 MENTS TO THE BORDER ENVIRONMENT CO11 OPERATION AGREEMENT.

12 ‘‘The President may agree to amendments to the Co13 operation Agreement that—

14 ‘‘(1) enable the Bank to make grants and non15 market rate loans out of its paid-in capital resources

16 with the approval of its Board; and

17 ‘‘(2) amend the definition of ‘border region’ to

18 include the area in the United States that is within

19 100 kilometers of the international boundary be20 tween the United States and Mexico, and the area

21 in Mexico that is within 300 kilometers of the inter22 national boundary between the United States and

23 Mexico.’’.
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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 1(b) of such

2 public law is amended in the table of contents by inserting

3 after the item relating to section 544 the following:

‘‘Sec. 545. Authority to agree to certain amendments to the Border Environment Cooperation Agreement.’’.

4 SEC. 2. ANNUAL REPORT.

5 The Secretary of the Treasury shall submit annually

6 to the Committee on Financial Services of the House of

7 Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations

8 of the Senate a written report on the North American De9 velopment Bank, which addresses the following issues:

10 (1) The number and description of the projects

11 that the North American Development Bank has ap12 proved. The description shall include the level of

13 market-rate loans, non-market-rate loans, and

14 grants used in an approved project, and a descrip15 tion of whether an approved project is located within

16 100 kilometers of the international boundary be17 tween the United States and Mexico or within 300

18 kilometers of the international boundary between the

19 United States and Mexico.

20 (2) The number and description of the ap21 proved projects in which money has been dispersed.

22 (3) The number and description of the projects

23 which have been certified by the Border Environ24 ment Cooperation Commission, but yet not financed
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1 by the North American Development Bank, and the

2 reasons that the projects have not yet been financed.

3 (4) The total of the paid-in capital, callable cap4 ital, and retained earnings of the North American

5 Development Bank, and the uses of such amounts.

6 (5) A description of any efforts and discussions

7 between the United States and Mexican governments

8 to expand the type of projects which the North

9 American Development Bank finances beyond envi10 ronmental projects.

11 (6) A description of any efforts and discussions

12 between the United States and Mexican governments

13 to improve the effectiveness of the North American

14 Development Bank.

15 (7) The number and description of projects au16 thorized under the Water Conservation Investment

17 Fund of the North American Development Bank.

18 SEC. 3. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS RELATING TO UNITED

19 STATES SUPPORT FOR NADBANK PROJECTS

20 WHICH FINANCE WATER CONSERVATION FOR

21 TEXAS IRRIGATORS AND AGRICULTURAL

22 PRODUCERS IN THE LOWER RIO GRANDE

23 RIVER VALLEY.

24 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
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1 (1) Texas irrigators and agricultural producers

2 are suffering enormous hardships in the lower Rio

3 Grande River valley because of Mexico’s failure to

4 abide by the 1944 Water Treaty entered into by the

5 United States and Mexico;

6 (2) over the last 10 years, Mexico has accumu7 lated a 1,500,000-acre fee water debt to the United

8 States which has resulted in a very minimal and in9 adequate irrigation water supply in Texas;

10 (3) recent studies by Texas A&M University

11 show that water savings of 30 percent or more can

12 be achieved by improvements in irrigation system in13 frastructure such as canal lining and metering;

14 (4) on August 20, 2002, the Board of the

15 North American Development Bank agreed to the

16 creation in the Bank of a Water Conservation In17 vestment Fund, as required by Minute 308 to the

18 1944 Water Treaty, which was an agreement signed

19 by the United States and Mexico on June 28, 2002;

20 and

21 (5) the Water Conservation Investment Fund of

22 the North American Development Bank stated that

23 up to $80,000,000 would be available for grant fi24 nancing of water conservation projects, which grant
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1 funds would be divided equally between the United

2 States and Mexico.

3 (b) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of

4 the Congress that—

5 (1) water conservation projects are eligible for

6 funding from the North American Development

7 Bank under the Agreement Between the Govern8 ment of the United States of America and the Gov9 ernment of the United Mexican States Concerning

10 the Establishment of a Border Environment Co11 operation Commission and a North American Devel12 opment Bank; and

13 (2) the Board of the North American Develop14 ment Bank should support qualified water conserva15 tion projects which can assist Texas irrigators and

16 agricultural producers in the lower Rio Grande River

17 Valley.

18 SEC. 4. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS RELATING TO UNITED

19 STATES SUPPORT FOR NADBANK PROJECTS

20 WHICH FINANCE WATER CONSERVATION IN

21 THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AREA.

22 It is the sense of the Congress that the Board of the

23 North American Development Bank should support—

24 (1) the development of qualified water conserva25 tion projects in southern California and other eligi-
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1 ble areas in the 4 United States border States, in2 cluding the conjunctive use and storage of surface

3 and ground water, delivery system conservation, the

4 re-regulation of reservoirs, improved irrigation prac5 tices, wastewater reclamation, regional water man6 agement modeling, operational and optimization

7 studies to improve water conservation, and cross8 border water exchanges consistent with treaties; and

9 (2) new water supply research and projects

10 along the Mexico border in southern California and

11 other eligible areas in the 4 United States border

12 States to desalinate ocean seawater and brackish

13 surface and groundwater, and dispose of or manage

14 the brines resulting from desalination.

15 SEC. 5. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS RELATING TO UNITED

16 STATES SUPPORT FOR NADBANK PROJECTS

17 FOR WHICH FINANCE WATER CONSERVATION

18 FOR IRRIGATORS AND AGRICULTURAL PRO19 DUCERS IN THE SOUTHWEST UNITED

20 STATES.

21 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds as follows:

22 (1) Irrigators and agricultural producers are

23 suffering enormous hardships in the southwest

24 United States. The border States of California, Ari25 zona, New Mexico, and Texas are suffering from one
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1 of the worst droughts in history. In Arizona, this is

2 the second driest period in recorded history and the

3 worst since 1904.

4 (2) In spite of decades of water conservation in

5 the southwest United States, irrigated agriculture

6 uses more than 60 percent of surface and ground

7 water.

8 (3) The most inadequate water supplies in the

9 United States are in the Southwest, including the

10 lower Colorado River basin and the Great Plains

11 River basins south of the Platte River. In these

12 areas, 70 percent of the water taken from the

13 stream is not returned.

14 (4) The amount of water being pumped out of

15 groundwater sources in many areas is greater than

16 the amount being replenished, thus depleting the

17 groundwater supply.

18 (5) On August 20, 2002, the Board of the

19 North American Development Bank agreed to the

20 creation in the bank of a Water Conservation Invest21 ment Fund.

22 (6) The Water Conservation Investment Fund

23 of the North American Development Bank stated

24 that up to $80,000,000 would be available for grant

25 financing of water conservation projects, which grant
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1 funds would be divided equally between the United

2 States and Mexico.

3 (b) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of

4 the Congress that—

5 (1) water conservation projects are eligible for

6 funding from the North American Development

7 Bank under the Agreement Between the Govern8 ment of the United States of America and the Gov9 ernment of the United Mexican States Concerning

10 the Establishment of a Border Environment Co11 operation Commission and a North American Devel12 opment Bank;

13 (2) the Board of the North American Develop14 ment Bank should support qualified water conserva15 tion projects that can assist irrigators and agricul16 tural producers; and

17 (3) the Board of the North American Develop18 ment Bank should take into consideration the needs

19 of all of the border states before approving funding

20 for water projects, and strive to fund water con21 servation projects in each of the border states.

22 SEC. 6. ADDITIONAL SENSES OF THE CONGRESS.

23 (a) It is the sense of the Congress that the Board

24 of the North American Development Bank should support

25 the financing of projects, on both sides of the international
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1 boundary between the United States and Mexico, which

2 address coastal issues and the problem of pollution in both

3 countries having an environmental impact along the Pa4 cific Ocean and Gulf of Mexico shores of the United States

5 and Mexico.

6 (b) It is the sense of the Congress that the Board

7 of the North American Development Bank should support

8 the financing of projects, on both sides of the international

9 boundary between the United States and Mexico, which

10 address air pollution.

Passed the House of Representatives February 26,

2003.

Attest:

Clerk.