II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4997 

To authorize the tenth general capital increase for the Inter-American Development Bank and to strengthen recovery efforts in Latin America and 

the Caribbean related to the COVID–19 pandemic, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 10, 2020 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself and Mr. RUBIO) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To authorize the tenth general capital increase for the InterAmerican Development Bank and to strengthen recovery 

efforts in Latin America and the Caribbean related to 

the COVID–19 pandemic, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Inter-American Devel5 opment Bank General Capital Increase Act of 2020’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 


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1 (1) The region of Latin America and the Carib2 bean is the most severely impacted by SARS–CoV– 

3 2, the virus that causes the coronavirus disease 2019 

4 (commonly referred to as ‘‘COVID–19’’), rep5 resenting 11,527,596 confirmed cases or 23.08 per6 cent of worldwide cases since February 2020, ac7 cording to the Inter-American Development Bank. 

8 (2) Decline in economic activity as a result of 

9 the COVID–19 pandemic will precipitate a 9.9 per10 cent fall in gross domestic product per capita 

11 throughout Latin America and the Caribbean by the 

12 end of 2020, entirely reversing steady advancements 

13 in regional gross domestic product per capita since 

14 2010, according to the Economic Commission for 

15 Latin America and the Caribbean. 

16 (3) The Economic Commission for Latin Amer17 ica and the Caribbean predicts that, throughout 

18 Latin America and the Caribbean, the COVID–19 

19 pandemic will— 

20 (A) push an additional 45,400,000 people 

21 into poverty, increasing the total number of 

22 people living in poverty from 185,500,000 to 

23 230,900,000, or approximately 37.3 percent of 

24 the Latin American and Caribbean population, 

25 by the end of 2020; and 


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1 (B) cause the total number of individuals 

2 living in extreme poverty to increase by 

3 28,500,000 from 67,700,000 to 96,200,000, or 

4 approximately 15.5 percent of the Latin Amer5 ican and Caribbean population, by the end of 

6 2020. 

7 (4) The Inter-American Development Bank es8 timated in May 2020 that 17,000,000 formal jobs 

9 would be lost as a result of the pandemic, increasing 

10 the share of jobs in informal sectors of the region’s 

11 economies to 62 percent. September 2020 findings 

12 from the International Labour Organization noted 

13 that 34,000,000 workers across 9 countries in the 

14 region lost their jobs in the first half of 2020. 

15 (5) The pandemic also has complicated the hu16 manitarian and development challenges countries 

17 across Latin America and the Caribbean face as 

18 hosts to more than 4,300,000 Venezuelan refugees 

19 and migrants, prompting the Inter-American Devel20 opment Bank to launch a migration initiative that 

21 aims to provide $85,000,000 in grants and leverage 

22 investments of $1,100,000,000 in social protection, 

23 health, education, and employment. 

24 (6) The pandemic has severely disrupted edu25 cation systems across Latin America and the CaribVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:24 Dec 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4997.IS S4997

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1 bean because of a lack of equipment and pedagogical 

2 tools required for effective remote schooling. Accord3 ing to data compiled by the United Nations Edu4 cational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and 

5 the Inter-American Development Bank, less than 30 

6 percent of low-income families impacted by decisions 

7 to halt in-person classes have access to a computer 

8 and only around 60 percent of secondary school 

9 teachers have the skills needed for virtual instruc10 tion. 

11 (7) Countries across Latin America and the 

12 Caribbean continue to face enduring economic chal13 lenges, including persistent inequality, high levels of 

14 tax evasion and avoidance, and elevated debt levels. 

15 (8) The stability, sustainable development, and 

16 inclusive growth of economies in Latin America and 

17 the Caribbean is in the national interest of the 

18 United States, as the region accounts for 21.7 per19 cent of United States trade in goods in 2019, ac20 cording to the Economic Commission for Latin 

21 America and the Caribbean. 

22 (9) The Inter-American Development Bank is 

23 the world’s oldest and largest regional development 

24 bank, and has worked continuously since 1959 to 


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1 foster economic, social, and institutional develop2 ment in Latin America and the Caribbean. 

3 (10) The Inter-American Development Bank is 

4 uniquely positioned to advance post-pandemic recov5 ery efforts and to mitigate the social and economic 

6 impacts of the pandemic. As early as March 2020, 

7 the Inter-American Development Bank announced 

8 the allotment of up to $12,000,000,000 toward im9 mediate public health responses, efforts to revitalize 

10 social safety nets for vulnerable populations, and 

11 strategic economic productivity and employment ini12 tiatives. 

13 (11) With the support of 23 out of the 28 

14 shareholding countries in the Western Hemisphere, 

15 the Governors of the Inter-American Development 

16 Bank duly elected a new President of the Bank on 

17 September 12, 2020, to serve a 5-year term. 

18 (12) The 48 borrowing and non-borrowing 

19 member countries of the Inter-American Develop20 ment Bank last agreed to a ninth general capital in21 crease as part of the Bank’s annual meeting on 

22 March 20–22, 2010. 

23 (13) Under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and 

24 Economic Security Act (Public Law 116–136; 134 

25 Stat. 281) (commonly referred to as the ‘‘CARES 


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1 Act’’), enacted on March 27, 2020, Congress ap2 proved capital stock increases for the International 

3 Finance Corporation and the African Development 

4 Bank to strengthen the ‘‘ability of foreign countries 

5 to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus 

6 and to the adverse economic impacts of 

7 coronavirus’’. 

8 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

9 It is the sense of Congress that— 

10 (1) the spread of SARS–CoV–2 has had a sig11 nificant impact on economic, social, and humani12 tarian conditions throughout Latin America and the 

13 Caribbean; 

14 (2) the Inter-American Development Bank is 

15 the preeminent multilateral development bank dedi16 cated to regional economic and social development 

17 and the betterment of lives across Latin America 

18 and the Caribbean; 

19 (3) the Bank has played an integral role in sup20 porting member countries with the coordination and 

21 implementation of policies to mitigate the effects of 

22 the COVID–19 pandemic, the Venezuelan refugee 

23 and migration crisis, and other crises in the Western 

24 Hemisphere; 


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1 (4) a capital increase for the Bank would great2 ly increase its capacity to provide financing, institu3 tional knowledge, and technical support to foster re4 covery and inclusion initiatives between regional gov5 ernments, private sector entities, and international 

6 organizations; 

7 (5) the election on September 12, 2020, of a 

8 new president of the Inter-American Development 

9 Bank— 

10 (A) demonstrated hope for the leadership 

11 of the United States by regional partners facing 

12 increased geopolitical competition and the sig13 nificant impact of the COVID–19 pandemic; 

14 and 

15 (B) presents an opportunity for the United 

16 States to further strengthen its commitment to 

17 helping build a financially stronger and more 

18 transparent Bank in order to support the coun19 tries of the Americas during such historic cri20 ses; and 

21 (6) the United States, as a founding member of 

22 the Bank, should support a capital stock increase to 

23 ensure the Bank is prepared to offer additional sup24 port to member countries severely impacted by the 

25 COVID–19 pandemic and other crises. 


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1 SEC. 4. TENTH GENERAL CAPITAL INCREASE. 

2 (a) SUPPORT FOR A GENERAL CAPITAL INCREASE.— 

3 The President shall take steps to support a tenth general 

4 capital increase for the Inter-American Development 

5 Bank. 

6 (b) DIPLOMATIC ENGAGEMENT.—The President 

7 shall advance diplomatic engagement to build support 

8 among member countries of the Inter-American Develop9 ment Bank for a tenth general capital increase for the 

10 Bank in order to strengthen the capacity of the Bank— 

11 (1) to support Latin American and Caribbean 

12 countries in their efforts to address the COVID–19 

13 pandemic and the related economic impact; and 

14 (2) to advance inclusive economic and social de15 velopment in the Americas. 

16 (c) PROGRESS REPORT.—Not later than 45 days 

17 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President 

18 shall submit to the Foreign Relations Committee of the 

19 Senate and the Committee on Financial Services of the 

20 House of Representatives a report detailing efforts to 

21 carry out subsections (a) and (b). 

22 (d) TENTH CAPITAL INCREASE.—The Inter-Amer23 ican Development Bank Act (22 U.S.C. 283 et seq.) is 

24 amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 42. TENTH CAPITAL INCREASE. 

2 ‘‘(a) VOTE AUTHORIZED.—The United States Gov3 ernor of the Bank is authorized to vote in favor of a reso4 lution to increase the capital stock of the Bank by 

5 $80,000,000,000 over a period not to exceed 5 years. 

6 ‘‘(b) SUBSCRIPTION AUTHORIZED.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The United States Gov8 ernor of the Bank may subscribe on behalf of the 

9 United States to 1,990,714 additional shares of the 

10 capital stock of the Bank. 

11 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—Any subscription by the 

12 United States to the capital stock of the Bank shall 

13 be effective only to such extent and in such amounts 

14 as are provided in advance in appropriations Acts. 

15 ‘‘(c) LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORIZATION OF APPRO16 PRIATIONS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to pay for the in18 crease in the United States subscription to the Bank 

19 under subsection (b), there is authorized to be ap20 propriated $24,014,857,191 for payment by the Sec21 retary of the Treasury. 

22 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—Of the amount 

23 authorized to be appropriated under paragraph 

24 (1)— 

25 ‘‘(A) $600,371,430 shall be for paid in 

26 shares of the Bank; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) $23,414,485,761 shall be for callable 

2 shares of the Bank.’’. 

3 SEC. 5. SUPPORT FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY 

4 INITIATIVES OF INTER-AMERICAN DEVELOP5 MENT BANK. 

6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find7 ings: 

8 (1) The Inter-American Development Bank has 

9 served as an executing agency for the Global Envi10 ronment Facility, a grant-making and financing fa11 cility supported by 182 countries to address global 

12 environmental issues and sustainable development. 

13 (2) The Inter-American Development Bank has 

14 never had its own environmental grant-making and 

15 financing facility despite the fact that the Americas 

16 are home to the world’s largest tropical rain forest 

17 and include countries significantly affected by nat18 ural disasters annually. 

19 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con20 gress that the Inter-American Development Bank 

21 should— 

22 (1) establish its own environmental grant-mak23 ing and financing facility in order to implement and 

24 expand environmental policies, metrics, and stand25 ards, to strengthen resilience and disaster preparedVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:24 Dec 16, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4997.IS S4997

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1 ness, and to improve sustainability and conservation; 

2 and 

3 (2) continue to strengthen environmental safe4 guards as an element of economic development in 

5 the Western Hemisphere. 

6 (c) DIPLOMATIC ENGAGEMENT.—The President shall 

7 advance diplomatic engagement to build support among 

8 member countries of the Bank for the creation of an envi9 ronmental fund and financing facility as part of the tenth 

10 general capital increase for the Bank. 

Æ 


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