II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5617 

To provide for debt reduction for developing countries for purposes of climate 

adaptation, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 19 (legislative day, DECEMBER 16), 2024 

Mr. WELCH introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To provide for debt reduction for developing countries for 

purposes of climate adaptation, 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 ‘‘Global Climate Resil5 ience Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF DEBT REDUCTION UNDER TROP7 ICAL FOREST AND CORAL REEF CONSERVA8 TION ACT OF 1998. 

9 (a) EXPANSION OF ELIGIBILITY.— 


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1 (1) DEFINITION OF COVERED COUNTRY.—Para2 graph (5) of section 803 of the Tropical Forest and 

3 Coral Reef Conservation Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 

4 2431a) is amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(5) COVERED COUNTRY.—The term ‘covered 

6 country’ means— 

7 ‘‘(A) a low income, lower-middle income, or 

8 upper-middle income country, as determined by 

9 the World Bank; or 

10 ‘‘(B) a small island developing state, as de11 termined by the United Nations.’’. 

12 (2) ELIGIBILITY FOR BENEFITS.—Section 

13 805(a) of the Tropical Forest and Coral Reef Con14 servation Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 2431c(a)) is 

15 amended by striking ‘‘developing country’’ and in16 serting ‘‘covered country’’. 

17 (b) CONSERVATION AGREEMENTS.— 

18 (1) PRIORITIZATION OF PROJECTS AND ACTIVI19 TIES.—Section 809(e)(2) of the Tropical Forest and 

20 Coral Reef Conservation Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 

21 2431g(e)(2)) is amended by inserting ‘‘and to activi22 ties that are also aimed at reducing gender, income, 

23 and social inequalities’’ after ‘‘planning and execu24 tion’’. 


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1 (2) ADMINISTERING BODY.—Section 

2 809(c)(2)(A)(iii) of the Tropical Forest and Coral 

3 Reef Conservation Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 

4 2431g(c)(2)(A)(iii)) is amended— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘a broad range of’’; 

6 (B) in subparagraph (I), by inserting ‘‘a 

7 broad range of’’ after ‘‘(I)’’; 

8 (C) in subparagraph (II)— 

9 (i) by inserting ‘‘a broad range of’’ 

10 after ‘‘(II)’’; and 

11 (ii) by striking ‘‘; and’’ and inserting 

12 a semicolon; 

13 (D) in subparagraph (III)— 

14 (i) by inserting ‘‘a broad range of’’ 

15 after ‘‘(III)’’; and 

16 (ii) by striking the period at the end 

17 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

18 (E) by adding at the end the following new 

19 subparagraph: 

20 ‘‘(aa) the beneficiary com21 munity or communities.’’. 

22 (3) REVIEW OF LARGER GRANTS.—Section 

23 809(f) of the Tropical Forest and Coral Reef Con24 servation Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 2431g(f)) is 


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1 amended by striking ‘‘$250,000’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘$1,000,000’’. 

3 (c) FUNDING FOR REDUCTION OF DEBT.— 

4 (1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

5 Section 806(d) of the Tropical Forest and Coral 

6 Reef Conservation Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 

7 2431d(d)) is amended by striking ‘‘authorized to be 

8 appropriated to the President the following:’’ and all 

9 that follows through the period at the end of para10 graph (13) and inserting ‘‘authorized to be appro11 priated such sums as may be necessary.’’. 

12 (2) USE OF FUNDS TO CONDUCT PROGRAM AU13 DITS, EVALUATIONS, MONITORING, AND ADMINIS14 TRATION.—Section 806(e) of the Tropical Forest 

15 and Coral Reef Conservation Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 

16 2431d(e)) is amended by striking ‘‘Of the amounts’’ 

17 and all that follows through ‘‘$300,000 is authorized 

18 to be made available’’ and inserting ‘‘One and one19 half (1.5) percent of the amounts made available to 

20 carry out this part for a fiscal year is authorized to 

21 be made available’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. DEBT REDUCTION FOR COUNTRIES VULNERABLE 

2 TO EFFECTS OF EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS 

3 AND SLOW-ONSET DISASTERS. 

4 The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 

5 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘PART VI—DEBT REDUCTION FOR COUNTRIES 

7 VULNERABLE TO EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE 

8 ‘‘SEC. 901. DEBT REDUCTION FOR COUNTRIES VULNER9 ABLE TO EFFECTS OF EXTREME WEATHER 

10 EVENTS AND SLOW-ONSET DISASTERS. 

11 ‘‘(a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are— 

12 ‘‘(1) to support the ability of countries to adapt 

13 to effects of extreme weather events and slow-onset 

14 climate disasters; and 

15 ‘‘(2) to ensure that resources freed from debt in 

16 such countries are targeted to developing resilience 

17 to the effects of climate change. 

18 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY FOR BENEFITS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A country is eligible for 

20 benefits under this section if the President deter21 mines that— 

22 ‘‘(A) the country is— 

23 ‘‘(i) a low income, lower-middle in24 come, or upper-middle income country, as 

25 determined by the World Bank; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) a small island developing state, 

2 as determined by the United Nations; 

3 ‘‘(B) the government of the country is 

4 democratically elected; 

5 ‘‘(C) the government of the country (in6 cluding its military or other security forces) 

7 does not engage in a consistent pattern of gross 

8 violations of internationally recognized human 

9 rights; and 

10 ‘‘(D) the government of the country has 

11 developed a plan to use the benefits made avail12 able under this section to conduct— 

13 ‘‘(i) climate adaptation activities; or 

14 ‘‘(ii) activities to recover from extreme 

15 weather events or slow-onset climate disas16 ters. 

17 ‘‘(2) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—Not less 

18 than 15 days before formally determining under 

19 paragraph (1) that a country is eligible for benefits 

20 under this section, the President shall notify the ap21 propriate congressional committees of intention of 

22 the President to determine that the country is eligi23 ble for such benefits. 

24 ‘‘(3) PREFERENCES.—In providing benefits 

25 under this section, preference shall be given to counVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Jan 26, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5617.IS S5617

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1 tries with plans described in paragraph (1)(D) 

2 that— 

3 ‘‘(A) involve local communities in the plan4 ning and execution of activities described in 

5 that paragraph; and 

6 ‘‘(B) aim to reduce gender, income, and 

7 social inequalities through such activities. 

8 ‘‘(c) REDUCTION OF DEBT OWED TO UNITED

9 STATES AS RESULT OF CERTAIN LOANS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY TO REDUCE DEBT.— 

11 ‘‘(A) AUTHORITY.—The President may re12 duce the amount owed to the United States (or 

13 any agency of the United States) as a result of 

14 loans made to an eligible country by the United 

15 States under part I of this Act, chapter 4 of 

16 part II of this Act, or predecessor foreign eco17 nomic assistance legislation. 

18 ‘‘(B) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA19 TIONS.—There are authorized to be appro20 priated to the President such sums as may be 

21 necessary to carry out this subsection. 

22 ‘‘(C) CERTAIN PROHIBITIONS INAPPLI23 CABLE.— 

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A reduction of 

25 debt pursuant to this subsection shall not 


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1 be considered assistance for purposes of 

2 any provision of law limiting assistance to 

3 a country. 

4 ‘‘(ii) NONAPPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN

5 RESTRICTIONS.—The authority of this sub6 section may be exercised notwithstanding 

7 section 620(r) of this Act or section 321 of 

8 the International Development and Food 

9 Assistance Act of 1975 (Public Law 94– 

10 161; 22 U.S.C. 2220a note). 

11 ‘‘(2) IMPLEMENTATION OF DEBT REDUCTION.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any debt reduction 

13 pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be accom14 plished at the direction of the President by the 

15 exchange of a new obligation for obligations of 

16 the type referred to in that paragraph. 

17 ‘‘(B) EXCHANGE OF OBLIGATIONS.— 

18 ‘‘(i) NOTIFICATION.—The President 

19 shall notify the agency primarily respon20 sible for administering part I of this Act 

21 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) of an agreement 

22 entered into under subparagraph (A) with 

23 a country to exchange a new obligation for 

24 outstanding obligations. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) CANCELLATION AND ISSUANCE

2 OF NEW DEBT.—At the direction of the 

3 President, the old obligations that are the 

4 subject of the agreement entered into 

5 under subparagraph (A) shall be canceled 

6 and a new debt obligation for the country 

7 shall be established relating to the agree8 ment, and the agency primarily responsible 

9 for administering part I of this Act shall 

10 make an adjustment in its accounts to re11 flect the debt reduction. 

12 ‘‘(d) AUTHORITY TO ENGAGE IN DEBT-FOR-CLI13 MATE ADAPTATION SWAPS AND DEBT BUYBACKS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) LOANS ELIGIBLE FOR SALE, REDUCTION, 

15 OR CANCELLATION.— 

16 ‘‘(A) DEBT-FOR-CLIMATE ADAPTATION

17 SWAPS.— 

18 ‘‘(i) SALE, REDUCTION, AND CAN19 CELLATION.—Notwithstanding any other 

20 provision of law, the President may, in ac21 cordance with this subsection, sell to any 

22 eligible purchaser described in subpara23 graph (B) loans described in subsection 

24 (c)(1)(A), or on receipt of payment from 

25 such a purchaser, reduce or cancel such 


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1 loans or portion thereof, only for the pur2 pose of facilitating debt-for-climate adapta3 tion swaps. 

4 ‘‘(ii) PURCHASE OF PRIVATELY

5 OWNED DEBT.— 

6 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The Presi7 dent may, in accordance with this 

8 subsection, purchase privately owned 

9 debt of an eligible country, if that 

10 debt is purchased for not more than 

11 65 percent of the face value of the 

12 debt, for the purpose of facilitating 

13 debt-for-climate adaptation swaps. 

14 ‘‘(II) USE OF PROCEEDS.—Not15 withstanding section 3302 of title 31, 

16 United States Code, the proceeds of 

17 any purchase under subclause (I)— 

18 ‘‘(aa) shall be credited as 

19 offsetting collections to the ac20 count that finances the activities 

21 under this section; 

22 ‘‘(bb) shall be available for 

23 expenditure only to pay the costs 

24 of activities under this section; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(cc) shall remain available 

2 until expended. 

3 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE PURCHASER DESCRIBED.— 

4 A loan may be sold, reduced, or canceled under 

5 subparagraph (A) only to a purchaser that pre6 sents plans satisfactory to the President for 

7 using the loan for the purpose of engaging in 

8 debt-for-climate adaptation swaps. 

9 ‘‘(C) CONSULTATION REQUIREMENT.—Be10 fore the sale under subparagraph (A)(i) to any 

11 eligible purchaser described in subparagraph 

12 (B), or any reduction or cancellation under sub13 paragraph (A)(i), of any loan made to an eligi14 ble country, and before the purchase of pri15 vately owned debt under subparagraph (A)(ii), 

16 the President shall consult with the country 

17 concerning the amount of loans to be sold, re18 duced, or canceled, or debt to be purchased, as 

19 the case may be, and their uses for debt-for-cli20 mate adaptation swaps. 

21 ‘‘(D) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA22 TIONS.—There are authorized to be appro23 priated to the President such sums as may be 

24 necessary to carry out this subsection. 


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1 ‘‘(2) DEBT BUYBACKS.—Notwithstanding any 

2 other provision of law, the President may, in accord3 ance with this subsection, sell to any eligible country 

4 any loans described in subsection (c)(1)(A) or on re5 ceipt of payment from an eligible country, reduce or 

6 cancel such loans or portion thereof, only for the 

7 purpose of facilitating a debt buyback by an eligible 

8 country of its own qualified debt in order to support 

9 climate adaptation activities. 

10 ‘‘(3) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Notwith11 standing any other provision of law, the President 

12 shall, in accordance with this subsection, establish 

13 the terms and conditions under which loans may be 

14 sold, reduced, or canceled pursuant to this sub15 section. 

16 ‘‘(4) DEPOSIT OF PROCEEDS.—The proceeds 

17 from the sale, reduction, or cancellation of any loan 

18 sold, reduced, or canceled pursuant to this sub19 section shall be deposited in the United States Gov20 ernment account or accounts established for the re21 payment of the loan. 

22 ‘‘(e) CONSULTATIONS WITH CONGRESS.—The Presi23 dent shall consult with the appropriate congressional com24 mittees on a periodic basis to review the operation of this 


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1 section and the eligibility of countries for benefits under 

2 this section. 

3 ‘‘(f) ANNUAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than April 15 of 

5 each year, the President shall prepare and submit to 

6 Congress an annual report concerning the operation 

7 of this section during the preceding calendar year. 

8 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS.—Each report required by 

9 paragraph (1) shall include— 

10 ‘‘(A) a description of the activities under11 taken under this section during the preceding 

12 calendar year; and 

13 ‘‘(B) a description of any agreement en14 tered into under this section. 

15 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

16 ‘‘(1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT17 TEES.—The term ‘appropriate congressional com18 mittees’ means— 

19 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

20 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

21 Senate; and 

22 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

23 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

24 House of Representatives. 


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1 ‘‘(2) CLIMATE ADAPTATION ACTIVITIES.—The 

2 term ‘climate adaptation activities’ means activities 

3 undertaken to make changes to processes, practices, 

4 or structures that moderate potential damage from 

5 hazardous events, trends, or disturbances associated 

6 with extreme weather events and slow-onset climate 

7 disasters. 

8 ‘‘(3) DEBT-FOR-CLIMATE ADAPTATION SWAP.— 

9 The term ‘debt-for-climate adaptation swap’ means 

10 the reduction of amounts owed to the United States 

11 (or any agency of the United States) by an eligible 

12 country in exchange for the commitment of that 

13 country to conduct climate adaptation activities. 

14 ‘‘(4) ELIGIBLE COUNTRY.—The term ‘eligible 

15 country’ means a country determined under sub16 section (b) to be eligible for benefits under this sec17 tion. 

18 ‘‘(5) EXTREME WEATHER EVENT.—The term 

19 ‘extreme weather event’ means an occurrence of un20 usually severe weather or climate conditions that can 

21 cause devastating impacts on communities and agri22 cultural and natural ecosystems. 

23 ‘‘(6) SLOW-ONSET CLIMATE DISASTER.—The 

24 term ‘slow-onset climate disaster’ means an event 

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1 curring over many years or from an increased fre2 quency or intensity of recurring events, such as sea3 level rise, loss of biodiversity, desertification, increas4 ing temperatures, or ocean acidification.’’. 

5 SEC. 4. SUPPORT BY INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITU6 TIONS FOR REDUCING DEBT LOAD OF COUN7 TRIES WITH HIGH VULNERABILITY TO EX8 TREME WEATHER EVENTS AND SLOW-ONSET 

9 CLIMATE DISASTERS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The United States Executive Di11 rectors at the international financial institutions shall use 

12 the voice and vote of the United States in those institu13 tions to support countries with high vulnerability to ex14 treme weather events and slow-onset climate disasters by 

15 advocating for policies that reduce or restructure the debt 

16 load of those countries, such as by facilitating— 

17 (1) debt forgiveness agreements; 

18 (2) debt buybacks; 

19 (3) debt-for-climate and debt-for-nature swaps; 

20 and 

21 (4) other similar programs. 

22 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

23 (1) INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITU24 TION.—The term ‘‘international financial institu25 tion’’ means each of the following: 


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1 (A) The International Monetary Fund. 

2 (B) The International Bank for Recon3 struction and Development. 

4 (C) The International Development Asso5 ciation. 

6 (D) The International Finance Corpora7 tion. 

8 (E) The Multilateral Investment Guar9 antee Agency. 

10 (F) The African Development Fund. 

11 (G) The African Development Bank. 

12 (H) The Asian Development Fund. 

13 (I) The Asian Development Bank. 

14 (J) The European Bank for Reconstruc15 tion and Development. 

16 (K) The Inter-American Development 

17 Bank (in this section referred to as ‘‘IDB’’). 

18 (L) IDB Invest. 

19 (M) The North American Development 

20 Bank. 

21 (2) OTHER TERMS.—The terms ‘‘extreme 

22 weather event’’ and ‘‘slow-onset climate disaster’’ 

23 has the meanings given those terms in section 901 


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1 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as added by 

2 section 3. 

Æ 


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