IIB 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2185 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 15, 2007 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

AN ACT 

To amend the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998 

to provide debt relief to developing countries that take 

action to protect tropical forests and coral reefs and 

associated coastal marine ecosystems, to reauthorize such 

Act through fiscal year 2010, 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. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

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

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

6 2431) is amended— 

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

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

9 ‘‘tropical forests and coral reefs and associated 

10 coastal marine ecosystems’’; 

11 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through 

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

13 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol14 lowing: 

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

16 ecosystems provide a wide range of benefits to man17 kind by— 

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

19 than any other marine habitat, providing the 

20 basis for developing pharmaceutical products 

21 and fostering a growing marine tourism sector;

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

23 jobs for hundreds of millions of coastal resi24 dents; and 


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

2 thus protecting vulnerable shorelines and com3 munities from storm waves and erosion.’’; and 

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

5 (A) by inserting ‘‘and coral reef and asso6 ciated coastal marine ecosystems’’ after ‘‘forest 

7 resources’’; and 

8 (B) by inserting ‘‘and coral reef and asso9 ciated coastal marine ecosystem exploitation’’ 

10 after ‘‘tropical deforestation’’. 

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

12 amended— 

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

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

15 ‘‘tropical forests and coral reefs and associated 

16 coastal marine ecosystems’’; and 

17 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

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

19 and third place it appears and inserting ‘‘trop20 ical forests and coral reefs and associated coast21 al marine ecosystems’’; 

22 (B) by striking ‘‘tropical forests’’ the sec23 ond place it appears and inserting ‘‘areas’’; and 

24 (C) by inserting at the end before the 

25 semicolon the following: ‘‘and unsustainable 


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1 coral reef and associated coastal marine eco2 system exploitation’’. 

3 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

4 Section 803 of the Tropical Forest Conservation Act 

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

6 (1) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘Com7 mittee on International Relations’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘Committee on Foreign Affairs’’; 

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

10 (9); 

11 (3) in paragraph (5)— 

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

13 FOREST’’ and inserting ‘‘TROPICAL FOREST OR

14 CORAL REEF OR ASSOCIATED COASTAL MARINE

15 ECOSYSTEM’’; 

16 (B) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

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

18 ‘‘tropical forest or coral reef or associated 

19 coastal marine ecosystem’’; and 

20 (C) in subparagraph (B)— 

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

22 inserting ‘‘tropical forest or coral reef or 

23 associated coastal marine ecosystem’’; and 


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

2 inserting ‘‘tropical forests or coral reefs or 

3 associated coastal marine ecosystems’’; 

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

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

6 (5) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol7 lowing: 

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

9 ‘Conservation Agreement’ or ‘Agreement’ means a 

10 Conservation Agreement provided for in section 809. 

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

12 ‘Conservation Facility’ or ‘Facility’ means the Con13 servation Facility established in the Department of 

14 the Treasury by section 804. 

15 ‘‘(6) CONSERVATION FUND.—The term ‘Con16 servation Fund’ or ‘Fund’ means a Conservation 

17 Fund provided for in section 810. 

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

19 of the phylum Cnidaria, including— 

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

21 (black corals), Scleractinia (stony corals), 

22 Alcyonacea (soft corals), Gorgonacea (horny 

23 corals), Stolonifera (organpipe corals and oth24 ers), and Coenothecalia (blue coral), of the class 

25 Anthozoa; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) all species of the order 

2 Hydrocorallina (fire corals and hydrocorals) of 

3 the class Hydrozoa. 

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

5 means any reef or shoal composed primarily of cor6 als.’’. 

7 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FACILITY. 

8 Section 804 of the Tropical Forest Conservation Act 

9 of 1988 (22 U.S.C. 2431b) is amended by striking ‘‘Trop10 ical Forest Facility’’ and inserting ‘‘Conservation Facil11 ity’’. 

12 SEC. 4. ELIGIBILITY FOR BENEFITS. 

13 Section 805(a) of the Tropical Forest Conservation 

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

15 ‘‘tropical forest’’ and inserting ‘‘tropical forest or coral 

16 reef or associated coastal marine ecosystem’’. 

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

18 STATES AS A RESULT OF CONCESSIONAL 

19 LOANS UNDER THE FOREIGN ASSISTANCE 

20 ACT OF 1961. 

21 (a) ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Sub22 section (c)(2) of section 806 of the Tropical Forest Con23 servation Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 2431d) is amended by 

24 striking ‘‘Tropical Forest Fund’’ and inserting ‘‘Conserva25 tion Fund’’. 


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1 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Sub2 section (d)(6) of such section is amended by striking ‘‘fis3 cal year 2007’’ and inserting ‘‘each of the fiscal years 

4 2007 through 2010’’. 

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

6 EVALUATIONS, MONITORING, AND ADMINISTRATION.— 

7 Subsection (e) of such section is amended to read as fol8 lows: 

9 ‘‘(e) USE OF FUNDS TO CONDUCT PROGRAM AU10 DITS, EVALUATIONS, MONITORING, AND ADMINISTRA11 TION.—Of the amounts made available to carry out this 

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

13 made available to carry out audits, evaluations, moni14 toring, and administration of programs under this part, 

15 including personnel costs associated with such audits, 

16 evaluations, monitoring, and administration.’’. 

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

18 STATES AS A RESULT OF CREDITS EXTENDED 

19 UNDER TITLE I OF THE AGRICULTURAL 

20 TRADE DEVELOPMENT AND ASSISTANCE ACT 

21 OF 1954. 

22 Section 807(c)(2) of the Tropical Forest Conserva23 tion Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 2431e(c)(2)) is amended by 

24 striking ‘‘Tropical Forest Fund’’ and inserting ‘‘Conserva25 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 ‘‘trop15 ical forests or coral reefs or associated coastal ma16 rine ecosystems’’; 

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 tropical forest or coral reef or associ25 ated coastal marine ecosystem in a manner conVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:49 Oct 17, 2007 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2185.RFS H2185

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1 sistent with protecting and conserving such re2 sources’’. 

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 ‘‘TROPICAL FOR21 ESTS OR CORAL REEFS OR ASSOCIATED COASTAL

22 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 ‘‘Tropical For3 est and 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 Trop8 ical Forest 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 Tropical Forest and 

16 Coral Conservation 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 the 

22 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2430b(a)(5)) 

23 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 an ar5 rangement under the structural adjustment facility 

6 or enhanced structural adjustment facility, or in ex7 ceptional circumstances, a Fund monitored program 

8 or its equivalent,’’ and inserting ‘‘an arrangement 

9 under the structural adjustment facility or enhanced 

10 structural adjustment facility, a Fund monitored 

11 program, or is implementing sound macroeconomic 

12 policies,’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives October 9, 

2007. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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