I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2185 

To amend the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998 to provide debt 

relief to developing countries that take action to protect forests and 

coral reefs and associated coastal marine ecosystems, to reauthorize such 

Act through fiscal year 2010, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 7, 2007 

Mr. KIRK (for himself, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. EHLERS, Mr. 

CARNAHAN, Mr. HINCHEY, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. 

ROYCE, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. 

MEEK of Florida, Mr. SOUDER, Ms. MCCOLLUM of Minnesota, Mr. 

FORTENBERRY, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. ACKERMAN, and Mr. 

FARR) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998 

to provide debt relief to developing countries that take 

action to protect forests and coral reefs and associated 

coastal marine ecosystems, to reauthorize such Act 

through fiscal year 2010, and for other purposes. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Subsection (a) of section 802 of the 

3 Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 

4 2431) is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraphs (1), (6), and (7), by striking 

6 ‘‘tropical forests’’ each place it appears and inserting 

7 ‘‘forests and coral reefs and associated coastal ma8 rine ecosystems’’; 

9 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through 

10 (7) as paragraphs (4) through (8), respectively; 

11 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(3) Coral reefs and associated coastal marine 

14 ecosystems provide a wide range of benefits to man15 kind by— 

16 ‘‘(A) harboring more species per unit area 

17 than any other marine habitat, providing the 

18 basis for developing pharmaceutical products 

19 and fostering a growing marine tourism sector;

20 ‘‘(B) providing a major source of food and 

21 jobs for hundreds of millions of coastal resi22 dents; and 

23 ‘‘(C) serving as natural storm barriers, 

24 thus protecting vulnerable shorelines and com25 munities from storm waves and erosion.’’; and 

26 (4) in paragraph (4) (as redesignated)— 


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1 (A) by inserting ‘‘and coral reef and asso2 ciated coastal marine ecosystems’’ after ‘‘forest 

3 resources’’; and 

4 (B) by inserting ‘‘and coral reef and asso5 ciated coastal marine ecosystem exploitation’’ 

6 after ‘‘tropical deforestation’’. 

7 (b) PURPOSES.—Subsection (b) of such section is 

8 amended— 

9 (1) in paragraphs (1), (3), and (4), by striking 

10 ‘‘tropical forests’’ each place it appears and inserting 

11 ‘‘forests and coral reefs and associated coastal ma12 rine ecosystems’’; and 

13 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘tropical forests’’ the first 

15 and third place it appears and inserting ‘‘for16 ests and coral reefs and associated coastal ma17 rine ecosystems’’; 

18 (B) by striking ‘‘tropical forests’’ the sec19 ond place it appears and inserting ‘‘areas’’; and 

20 (C) by inserting at the end before the 

21 semicolon the following: ‘‘and unsustainable 

22 coral reef and associated coastal marine eco23 system exploitation’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 Section 803 of the Tropical Forest Conservation Act 

3 of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 2431a) is amended— 

4 (1) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘Com5 mittee on International Relations’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘Committee on Foreign Affairs’’; 

7 (2) by striking paragraphs (4), (7), (8), and 

8 (9); 

9 (3) in paragraph (5)— 

10 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘TROPICAL

11 FOREST’’ and inserting ‘‘FOREST OR CORAL

12 REEF OR ASSOCIATED COASTAL MARINE ECO13 SYSTEM’’; 

14 (B) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

15 (A), by striking ‘‘tropical forest’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘forest or coral reef or associated coastal ma17 rine ecosystem’’; and 

18 (C) in subparagraph (B)— 

19 (i) by striking ‘‘tropical forest’’ and 

20 inserting ‘‘forest or coral reef or associated 

21 coastal marine ecosystem’’; and 

22 (ii) by striking ‘‘tropical forests’’ and 

23 inserting ‘‘forests or coral reefs or associ24 ated coastal marine ecosystems’’; 

25 (4) by redesignating paragraphs (5) and (6) as 

26 paragraphs (9) and (10), respectively; and 


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1 (5) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(4) CONSERVATION AGREEMENT.—The term 

4 ‘Conservation Agreement’ or ‘Agreement’ means a 

5 Conservation Agreement provided for in section 809. 

6 ‘‘(5) CONSERVATION FACILITY.—The term 

7 ‘Conservation Facility’ or ‘Facility’ means the Con8 servation Facility established in the Department of 

9 the Treasury by section 804. 

10 ‘‘(6) CONSERVATION FUND.—The term ‘Con11 servation Fund’ or ‘Fund’ means a Conservation 

12 Fund provided for in section 810. 

13 ‘‘(7) CORAL.—The term ‘coral’ means species 

14 of the phylum Cnidaria, including— 

15 ‘‘(A) all species of the orders Antipatharia 

16 (black corals), Scleractinia (stony corals), 

17 Alcyonacea (soft corals), Gorgonacea (horny 

18 corals), Stolonifera (organpipe corals and oth19 ers), and Coenothecalia (blue coral), of the class 

20 Anthozoa; and 

21 ‘‘(B) all species of the order 

22 Hydrocorallina (fire corals and hydrocorals) of 

23 the class Hydrozoa. 


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1 ‘‘(8) CORAL REEF.—The term ‘coral reef’ 

2 means any reef or shoal composed primarily of cor3 als.’’. 

4 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FACILITY. 

5 Section 804 of the Tropical Forest Conservation Act 

6 of 1988 (22 U.S.C. 2431b) is amended by striking ‘‘Trop7 ical Forest Facility’’ and inserting ‘‘Conservation Facil8 ity’’. 

9 SEC. 4. ELIGIBILITY FOR BENEFITS. 

10 Section 805(a) of the Tropical Forest Conservation 

11 Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 2431c(a)) is amended by striking 

12 ‘‘tropical forest’’ and inserting ‘‘forest or coral reef or as13 sociated coastal marine ecosystem’’. 

14 SEC. 5. REDUCTION OF DEBT OWED TO THE UNITED 

15 STATES AS A RESULT OF CONCESSIONAL 

16 LOANS UNDER THE FOREIGN ASSISTANCE 

17 ACT OF 1961. 

18 (a) ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Sub19 section (c)(2) of section 806 of the Tropical Forest Con20 servation Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 2431d) is amended by 

21 striking ‘‘Tropical Forest Fund’’ and inserting ‘‘Conserva22 tion Fund’’. 

23 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Sub24 section (d)(6) of such section is amended by striking ‘‘fisVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:02 May 08, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2185.IH H2185

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1 cal year 2007’’ and inserting ‘‘each of the fiscal years 

2 2007 through 2010’’. 

3 (c) USE OF FUNDS TO CONDUCT PROGRAM AUDITS, 

4 EVALUATIONS, MONITORING, AND ADMINISTRATION.— 

5 Subsection (e) of such section is amended to read as fol6 lows: 

7 ‘‘(e) USE OF FUNDS TO CONDUCT PROGRAM AU8 DITS, EVALUATIONS, MONITORING, AND ADMINISTRA9 TION.—Of the amounts made available to carry out this 

10 part for a fiscal year, up to $300,000 is authorized to be 

11 made available to carry out audits, evaluations, moni12 toring, and administration of programs under this part, 

13 including personnel costs associated with such audits, 

14 evaluations, monitoring, and administration.’’ 

15 SEC. 6. REDUCTION OF DEBT OWED TO THE UNITED 

16 STATES AS A RESULT OF CREDITS EXTENDED 

17 UNDER TITLE I OF THE AGRICULTURAL 

18 TRADE DEVELOPMENT AND ASSISTANCE ACT 

19 OF 1954. 

20 Section 807(c)(2) of the Tropical Forest Conserva21 tion Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 2431e(c)(2)) is amended by 

22 striking ‘‘Tropical Forest Fund’’ and inserting ‘‘Conserva23 tion Fund’’. 


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1 SEC. 7. UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATION 

2 ON OVERSIGHT BODIES FOR GRANTS FROM 

3 DEBT-FOR-NATURE SWAPS AND DEBT4 BUYBACKS. 

5 Section 808(a)(5) of the Tropical Forest Conserva6 tion Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 2431f(a)(5)) is amended by 

7 adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(C) UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT REP9 RESENTATION ON THE ADMINISTERING

10 BODY.—One or more individuals appointed by 

11 the United States Government may serve in an 

12 official capacity on the administering body that 

13 oversees the implementation of grants arising 

14 from this debt-for-nature swap or debt buy-back 

15 regardless of whether the United States is a 

16 party to any agreement between the eligible 

17 purchaser and the government of the bene18 ficiary country.’’. 

19 SEC. 8. CONSERVATION AGREEMENT. 

20 (a) AUTHORITY.—Subsection (a) of section 809 of 

21 the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 

22 2431g) is amended— 

23 (1) by striking ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—’’ and all 

24 that follows through ‘‘The Secretary of State’’ and 

25 inserting ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of 

26 State’’; 


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1 (2) by striking ‘‘Tropical Forest Agreement’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘Conservation Agreement’’; and 

3 (3) by striking paragraph (2). 

4 (b) ADMINISTERING BODY.—Subsection (c)(2)(A) of 

5 such section is amended— 

6 (1) in clause (i), by inserting at the end before 

7 the semicolon the following: ‘‘to serve in an official 

8 capacity’’; and 

9 (2) in clause (iii)(III), by inserting ‘‘or marine’’ 

10 after ‘‘forestry’’. 

11 (c) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—Subsection (d) of such 

12 section is amended— 

13 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

14 striking ‘‘the tropical forests’’ and inserting ‘‘forests 

15 or coral reefs or associated coastal marine eco16 systems’’; 

17 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘and water’’ 

18 after ‘‘land’’; 

19 (3) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘tropical for20 est’’; and 

21 (4) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘living in or 

22 near a tropical forest in a manner consistent with 

23 protecting such tropical forest’’ and inserting ‘‘de24 pendent on a forest or coral reef or associated coastVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:02 May 08, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2185.IH H2185

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1 al marine ecosystem in a manner consistent with 

2 protecting and conserving such resources’’. 

3 (d) GRANT RECIPIENTS.—Subsection (e)(1)(A) of 

4 such section is amended by inserting ‘‘marine,’’ after ‘‘for5 estry,’’. 

6 (e) REVIEW OF LARGER GRANTS.—Subsection (f) of 

7 such section is amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(f) REVIEW OF LARGER GRANTS.—Any grant of 

9 more than $250,000 from a Fund shall be approved by 

10 the Government of the United States and the government 

11 of the beneficiary country.’’. 

12 (f) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The heading of 

13 such section is amended by striking ‘‘TROPICAL FOR14 EST’’ and inserting ‘‘CONSERVATION’’. 

15 SEC. 9. CONSERVATION FUND. 

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Subsection (a) of section 810 

17 of the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998 (22 

18 U.S.C. 2431h) is amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘Tropical Forest Agreement’’ 

20 and inserting ‘‘Conservation Agreement’’; and 

21 (2) by striking ‘‘Tropical Forest Fund’’ and in22 serting ‘‘Conservation Fund’’. 

23 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

24 Such section is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘terms as con2 ditions’’ and inserting ‘‘terms and conditions’’; and 

3 (2) in the heading, by striking ‘‘TROPICAL

4 FOREST’’ and inserting ‘‘CONSERVATION’’. 

5 SEC. 10. BOARD. 

6 Section 811 of the Tropical Forest Conservation Act 

7 of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 2431i) is hereby repealed. 

8 SEC. 11. ANNUAL REPORTS TO THE CONGRESS. 

9 Section 813 of the Tropical Forest Conservation Act 

10 of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 2431k) is amended— 

11 (1) by striking ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’; 

12 (2) by striking ‘‘December 31’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘April 15’’; 

14 (3) by striking ‘‘fiscal year’’ each place it ap15 pears and inserting ‘‘calendar year’’; and 

16 (4) by striking subsection (b). 

17 SEC. 12. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

18 (a) PART HEADING.—The heading of part V of the 

19 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is amended by striking 

20 ‘‘TROPICAL FORESTS’’ and inserting ‘‘FORESTS 

21 OR CORAL REEFS OR ASSOCIATED COAST22 AL MARINE ECOSYSTEMS’’. 

23 (b) SHORT TITLE.— 

24 (1) AMENDMENT.—Section 801 of the Tropical 

25 Forest Conservation Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 2151 


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1 note) is amended by striking ‘‘Tropical Forest Con2 servation Act of 1998’’ and inserting ‘‘Forest and 

3 Coral Conservation Act of 2007’’. 

4 (2) REFERENCES.—Any reference in a law, reg5 ulation, document, or other record of the United 

6 States to the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 

7 1998 shall be deemed to be a reference to the Forest 

8 and Coral Conservation Act of 2007. 

9 (3) AVAILABILITY OF UNOBLIGATED OR UNEX10 PENDED FUNDS.—Amounts appropriated to carry 

11 out the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998 

12 (as in effect on the day before the date of the enact13 ment of this Act) that are unobligated or unex14 pended as of the date of the enactment of this Act 

15 may be used to carry out the Forest and Coral Con16 servation Act of 2007. 

17 (c) REDESIGNATION.—Part V of the Foreign Assist18 ance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2431 et seq.) is amended 

19 by redesignating sections 812 and 813 as sections 811 and 

20 812, respectively. 

21 (d) OTHER AMENDMENTS.— Section 703(a)(5) of 

22 the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 

23 2430b(a)(5)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), 

2 by striking ‘‘or, as appropriate in exceptional cir3 cumstances,’’ and inserting ‘‘or’’; and 

4 (2) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘or in ex5 ceptional circumstances, a Fund monitored program 

6 or its equivalent,’’ and inserting ‘‘or a Fund mon7 itored program, or is implementing sound macro8 economic policies,’’. 

Æ 


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