II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1593 

To authorize the establishment of a Social Investment and Economic Development for the Americas Fund to reduce poverty, expand the middle 

class, and foster increased economic opportunity in that region, to promote engagement on the use of renewable fuel sources and on climate 

change in the Americas, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 6, 2009 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. MARTINEZ, and Mr. DODD) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To authorize the establishment of a Social Investment and 

Economic Development for the Americas Fund to reduce 

poverty, expand the middle class, and foster increased 

economic opportunity in that region, to promote engagement on the use of renewable fuel sources and on climate 

change in the Americas, 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. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Social Investment and Economic Development for the 

4 Americas Act of 2010’’. 

5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

6 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

Sec. 3. Findings. 

Sec. 4. Statement of policy. 

Sec. 5. Establishing a social investment and economic development fund for the 

Americas. 

Sec. 6. Promoting engagement on use of renewable energy sources and climate 

change in the Americas. 

7 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT10 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com11 mittees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Relations 

12 of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

13 of the House of Representatives. 

14 (2) THE AMERICAS.—The term ‘‘Americas’’ 

15 means all the countries of North America, Central 

16 America, South America, and the Caribbean. 

17 (3) THE REGION.—The term ‘‘Region’’ means 

18 all the countries of Central America, South America, 

19 the Caribbean, and Mexico. 

20 (4) RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES.—The term 

21 ‘‘renewable energy sources’’ refers to biofuels, wind 

22 power, solar energy, hydropower, nuclear power, and 


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1 other alternate sources of energy not derived from 

2 fossil fuels. 

3 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds that— 

5 (1) it is in the national interest and national se6 curity interest of the United States to help foster 

7 greater economic security and stability in the Amer8 icas; 

9 (2) the Americas are a distinct geographical re10 gion with political and cultural identities that are 

11 linked in important ways; 

12 (3) many of the social, economic, and security 

13 issues in the Americas transcend national borders, 

14 and addressing these issues requires a coordinated, 

15 long-term approach; 

16 (4) over the last few decades, there has been 

17 notable progress on democracy and economic sta18 bility in the Region, and it is now largely made up 

19 of democracies with shared democratic values; 

20 (5) for progress in the Region to be sustained, 

21 governments will need to continue to develop effec22 tive and transparent civilian institutions, and main23 tain a system of checks and balances among those 

24 institutions; 


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1 (6) the United States is committed to pro2 moting democracy, human rights, and social and 

3 economic development throughout the Americas, 

4 while respecting the heritage, culture, and sov5 ereignty of all nations; 

6 (7) poverty and inequality remain persistent 

7 problems in the Americas, spawning street crime, 

8 criminal cartels, and undermining the authority of 

9 government institutions; 

10 (8) the poverty rate in the Region is nearly 40 

11 percent, with little significant improvement since the 

12 1980s, and the countries in the Region, on average, 

13 have the most unequal distribution of wealth in the 

14 world; 

15 (9) greater citizen engagement and closer con16 nections between the institutions of civil society and 

17 local and national governments are critical to polit18 ical stability and economic growth in the Americas; 

19 (10) development assistance to promote micro, 

20 small, and medium enterprise growth, improve the 

21 investment climate, and create a competitive work22 force in the countries of the Region can help foster 

23 economic security and stability; 


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1 (11) an expanding middle class in the Region 

2 will result in increased demand for exports from the 

3 United States; 

4 (12) the Americas are rich in natural resources, 

5 including biomass, petroleum, and natural gas, and 

6 there are significant opportunities for the production 

7 of renewable forms of energy, including hydro8 electric, solar, geothermal, and wind power; 

9 (13) sustained economic growth in the Americas 

10 will require greater cooperation between govern11 ments on the conservation of existing energy sup12 plies, and the development of renewable sources of 

13 energy; 

14 (14) the sustainable management of forests and 

15 the reduction of deforestation in the Americas must 

16 play a major role in mitigating global climate 

17 change; 

18 (15) pursuing an integrated energy strategy is 

19 in the economic and security interests of the United 

20 States and of all countries in the Americas; 

21 (16) promoting energy independence, and 

22 partnering with the countries of the Americas on al23 ternative energy research and development will en24 hance the energy security of the United States; 


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1 (17) in partnering with the countries of the Re2 gion, the United States can play a positive role in 

3 addressing the challenges of poverty and inequality, 

4 and achieving greater energy security; 

5 (18) an increased United States commitment to 

6 economic and social development in the Region can 

7 benefit workers and businesses in the United States; 

8 and 

9 (19) as President Obama said to the leaders of 

10 the region at the Fifth Summit of the Americas, the 

11 United States is ‘‘committed to combating inequality 

12 and creating prosperity from the bottom up . . . 

13 This is by no means charity. Together, we can cre14 ate a broader foundation for prosperity that builds 

15 new markets and powers new growth for all peoples 

16 in the hemisphere.’’ 

17 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

18 It is the policy of the United States— 

19 (1) to minimize the negative economic impact 

20 on the countries in the Region of the global reces21 sion, and to seek a broad-based regional recovery; 

22 (2) to promote democracy and the rule of law 

23 in the Region; 

24 (3) to promote and strengthen human rights in 

25 the Region by— 


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1 (A) participating in the Inter-American 

2 Commission on Human Rights and in the Inter3 American Court of Human Rights; 

4 (B) concluding negotiations on the draft 

5 Inter-American Convention against Racism and 

6 All Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance; 

7 and 

8 (C) supporting the full rights of indigenous 

9 peoples and Afro-descendents in the Americas, 

10 including the right to participate in the political 

11 and economic life of a nation; 

12 (4) to improve living conditions for all citizens 

13 in the Americas by— 

14 (A) protecting all people in the Americas, 

15 especially women, children, and adolescents, 

16 from all forms of trafficking in persons and sex17 ual and economic exploitation; 

18 (B) coordinating national strategies within 

19 the Americas to eradicate forced labor before 

20 2010, and the worst forms of child labor by 

21 2020; and 

22 (C) supporting programs that create op23 portunities for work in the formal sector, and 

24 programs providing workers with the technical 


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1 skills needed to meet the demands of labor mar2 kets; 

3 (5) to improve public health in the countries of 

4 the Americas by— 

5 (A) implementing the World Health Orga6 nization’s International Health Regulations to 

7 prevent pandemics and reduce the likelihood of 

8 public health emergencies; and 

9 (B) implementing the Joint United Na10 tions Program on HIV/AIDS; 

11 (6) to improve public education in the Americas 

12 by— 

13 (A) supporting programs which seek to in14 crease enrollments in secondary and vocational15 technical education; 

16 (B) reaffirming the commitment of the 

17 United States to the 2008 Declaration of 

18 Medellı ́n: Youth and Democratic Values; and 

19 (C) supporting the Inter-American Social 

20 Protection Network; 

21 (7) to improve the capacity of government insti22 tutions by— 

23 (A) supporting the Inter-American Net24 work on Decentralization, Local Government 

25 and Citizen Participation (RIAD); and 


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1 (B) supporting the Inter-American Con2 vention against Corruption, adopted at Caracas, 

3 Venezuela, March 29, 1996, in the fight against 

4 all forms of corruption, fraudulent practices 

5 and unethical behaviors. 

6 SEC. 5. ESTABLISHING A SOCIAL INVESTMENT AND ECO7 NOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND FOR THE AMER8 ICAS. 

9 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE.—Part I of the 

10 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) 

11 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘CHAPTER 13—SOCIAL INVESTMENT AND 

13 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOR THE 

14 AMERICAS 

15 ‘‘SEC. 499G. DEFINITIONS. 

16 ‘‘In this chapter: 

17 ‘‘(1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT18 TEES.—The term ‘appropriate congressional com19 mittees’ means the Committee on Foreign Relations 

20 of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

21 of the House of Representatives. 

22 ‘‘(2) THE AMERICAS.—The term ‘Americas’ 

23 means all the countries of North America, Central 

24 America, South America, and the Caribbean. 


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1 ‘‘(3) THE REGION.—The term ‘Region’ means 

2 all the countries of Central America, South America, 

3 the Caribbean, and Mexico. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 499H. AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE. 

5 ‘‘(a) ASSISTANCE.—The President, acting through 

6 the Administrator of the United States Agency for Inter7 national Development, and working with governments and 

8 civil society in the Americas, shall provide increased and 

9 sustained assistance to build civilian institutions that will 

10 help reduce poverty, expand the middle class, and foster 

11 increased economic opportunity by— 

12 ‘‘(1) promoting education; 

13 ‘‘(2) improving health and disease prevention; 

14 ‘‘(3) increasing access to income generating ac15 tivities; 

16 ‘‘(4) reducing crime, particularly violent crime, 

17 including— 

18 ‘‘(A) murder; 

19 ‘‘(B) kidnapping; 

20 ‘‘(C) gang violence, including youth gangs; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(D) violence against women; 

23 ‘‘(5) generating rural development; 

24 ‘‘(6) reducing poverty and inequality in both 

25 urban and rural areas; 


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1 ‘‘(7) strengthening the rule of law, governance, 

2 and democracy through the establishment of— 

3 ‘‘(A) independent judiciaries; 

4 ‘‘(B) efficient processes to adjudicate 

5 claims; and 

6 ‘‘(C) effective law enforcement institutions; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(8) eliminating the exclusion of marginalized 

9 populations, including— 

10 ‘‘(A) indigenous groups; 

11 ‘‘(B) people of African descent; 

12 ‘‘(C) women; 

13 ‘‘(D) the impoverished; and 

14 ‘‘(E) people with disabilities. 

15 ‘‘(b) CONTRIBUTION REQUIREMENT.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para17 graph (2), in order to receive assistance from the 

18 United States under this chapter, a recipient coun19 try shall contribute at least 10 percent of the total 

20 value of the funds the United States provides for 

21 projects in the recipient country. 

22 ‘‘(2) WAIVER.— 

23 ‘‘(A) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of State 

24 may waive paragraph (1) if it is determined 


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1 that it is important to the national security in2 terests of the United States to do so. 

3 ‘‘(B) REPORT.—Whenever the waiver au4 thority under subparagraph (A) is exercised, 

5 the Secretary of State shall submit a report to 

6 the appropriate congressional committees detail7 ing the justification for the waiver and the pur8 poses for which the funds will be spent. 

9 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS.—The Ad10 ministrator of the United States Agency for Inter11 national Development may require additional con12 tributions from the recipient country. 

13 ‘‘(c) INELIGIBILITY TO RECEIVE ASSISTANCE.—The 

14 President may not provide assistance under this section 

15 to the government of a country that is ineligible to receive 

16 assistance under section 620, this part, or chapter 4 of 

17 part II. 

18 ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The 

19 President may impose additional terms and conditions on 

20 countries receiving assistance under this section. 

21 ‘‘(e) COORDINATION WITH OTHER FEDERAL AGEN22 CIES.—The Administrator of the United States Agency for 

23 International Development shall coordinate with the heads 

24 of other Federal departments and agencies as necessary 

25 to carry out this section. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 499I. EVALUATION. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the United 

3 States Agency for International Development shall ensure 

4 that projects carried out under this chapter are subject 

5 to rigorous, independent impact evaluations at the initial 

6 design stage and the conclusion of the projects to deter7 mine if the projects are helping— 

8 ‘‘(1) to reduce poverty in the Americas; and 

9 ‘‘(2) to foster social and economic development 

10 in the countries of the Americas. 

11 ‘‘(b) COORDINATED EVALUATIONS.—If possible, the 

12 evaluations shall be conducted in coordination with evalua13 tions of similar projects that other donors fund in order 

14 to expand the evidence base used for making decisions. 

15 ‘‘(c) USE OF EVALUATIONS.—The Administrator of 

16 the United States Agency for International Development 

17 shall use information from the evaluations conducted 

18 under subsection (a) to inform future project decisions. 

19 ‘‘SEC. 499J. REPORT. 

20 ‘‘Not later than 1 year after the date of the enact21 ment of the Social Investment and Economic Development 

22 for the Americas Act of 2010, and annually thereafter, 

23 the President shall submit to Congress a report on the 

24 specific programs, projects, and activities carried out 

25 under this chapter during the preceding year, including 


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1 an evaluation of the results of the programs, projects, and 

2 activities. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 499K. BUDGET. 

4 ‘‘The report required under section 499J may be sub5 mitted with the budget justification materials submitted 

6 to Congress and the budget submitted by the President 

7 under section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code. 

8 ‘‘SEC. 499L. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to amounts other10 wise authorized to be appropriated for assistance to the 

11 Region, there are authorized to be appropriated to carry 

12 out this chapter— 

13 ‘‘(1) $175,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; 

14 ‘‘(2) $225,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

15 ‘‘(3) $275,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; 

16 ‘‘(4) $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2013; and 

17 ‘‘(5) $325,000,000 for fiscal year 2014. 

18 ‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITIES.—Amounts appro19 priated pursuant to subsection (a) shall remain available 

20 until expended. 

21 ‘‘(c) FUNDING LIMITATION.—Not more than 7 per22 cent of the amounts appropriated pursuant to subsection 

23 (a) for a fiscal year may be used for administrative ex24 penses to carry out programs authorized in subsection (a). 


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1 ‘‘(d) MICROFINANCE GROWTH FUND FOR THE

2 AMERICAS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Micro4 finance Growth Fund for the Americas is to provide 

5 the countries in the Region with— 

6 ‘‘(A) stable, medium-term and long-term 

7 sources of finance to microfinance institutions; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(B) investment vehicles. 

10 ‘‘(2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

11 Congress that United States contributions to the 

12 Microfinance Growth Fund for the Americas should 

13 be matched on a dollar-for-dollar basis with con14 tributions from the public, private, or non-profit sec15 tors. 

16 ‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

17 There is authorized to be appropriated $50,000,000 

18 in each of the fiscal years 2010 through 2014 for 

19 debt and equity financing for the Microfinance 

20 Growth Fund for the Americas. 

21 ‘‘(e) CAPACITY BUILDING RELATED TO TRADE PRO22 MOTION AGREEMENTS.—There is authorized to be appro23 priated to the United States Agency for International De24 velopment $15,000,000 in each of the fiscal years 2010 

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1 ing activities relating to the implementation of trade pro2 motion agreements. 

3 ‘‘(f) ELIGIBLE AGREEMENTS.—The agreements 

4 under subsection (e) may include agreements between the 

5 United States and other countries that are— 

6 ‘‘(1) ratified agreements; 

7 ‘‘(2) pending agreements; or 

8 ‘‘(3) potential agreements. 

9 ‘‘(g) PROPOSED PUBLIC-PRIVATE FUND FOR SOCIAL

10 AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE AMERICAS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, in 

12 consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and 

13 the Administrator of the United States Agency for 

14 International Development, shall immediately estab15 lish and convene an advisory group, consisting of 

16 persons with a relevant professional background in 

17 the Americas from the public, private, and nonprofit 

18 sectors, to consider the feasibility of establishing a 

19 new public-private Fund for Social and Economic 

20 Development in the Americas (referred to in this 

21 section as ‘‘the Fund’’). 

22 ‘‘(2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

23 Congress that— 

24 ‘‘(A) the Fund should be governed by a 

25 board composed of members drawn from the 


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1 public, private, and nonprofit sectors in the 

2 United States and the Region; 

3 ‘‘(B) building on initiatives already under4 way in the Region, the Fund should make 

5 grants for the purpose of advancing long-term 

6 social and economic development in the Amer7 icas; 

8 ‘‘(C) governments, development organiza9 tions, and private foundations throughout the 

10 world should contribute to the Fund, and the 

11 contribution of the United States Government 

to the Fund should be no greater than 1 12 ⁄3 of the 

13 total annual budget of the Fund; and 

14 ‘‘(D) each country choosing to participate 

15 in the Fund should be required to contribute at 

16 least 10 percent of the annual total of grants 

17 received by such country, to ensure the active 

18 involvement of the country in the operation of 

19 the Fund and the grant-making process. 

20 ‘‘(3) REPORT.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

22 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

23 advisory group established under paragraph (1) 

24 shall submit to the Secretary of State and the 

25 appropriate congressional committees a report 


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1 containing conclusions about the feasibility of a 

2 Fund and its recommendations for organizing, 

3 financing, and operating the Fund. 

4 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS OF THE REPORT.—The 

5 report submitted under subparagraph (A) shall 

6 include a determination of the advantages and 

7 disadvantages of establishing and operating the 

8 Fund within an existing institution, such as— 

9 ‘‘(i) the Inter-American Foundation; 

10 ‘‘(ii) the World Bank; or 

11 ‘‘(iii) the Inter-American Development 

12 Bank. 

13 ‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

14 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

15 as may be necessary for fiscal year 2010 for the 

16 purpose of carrying out this subsection.’’. 

17 SEC. 6. PROMOTING ENGAGEMENT ON USE OF RENEWABLE 

18 ENERGY SOURCES AND CLIMATE CHANGE IN 

19 THE AMERICAS. 

20 (a) PROMOTING USE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY

21 SOURCES IN THE AMERICAS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, in 

23 consultation with the Secretary of Energy, shall con24 duct a joint study, working in cooperation with in25 terested countries in the Americas, to determine the 


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1 best strategy for increasing the use of renewable en2 ergy sources in the Americas. 

3 (2) SIMILAR STUDIES.—To the extent possible, 

4 the study should draw upon similar studies or initia5 tives recently completed or underway. 

6 (3) ISSUES TO ADDRESS.—The issues to be con7 sidered in the study, with respect to the partici8 pating countries, shall include— 

9 (A) an analysis of energy policy frame10 work, including— 

11 (i) the current energy policy of those 

12 countries, particularly the impact of the 

13 policy on the use of renewable energy 

14 sources; and 

15 (ii) the status and impact of any ex16 isting renewable energy programs of the 

17 country; 

18 (B) an assessment of demand, including— 

19 (i) the quantitative and qualitative 

20 current and projected demand for energy 

21 by— 

22 (I) families; 

23 (II) villages; 

24 (III) industries; 


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1 (IV) public transportation infra2 structure; and 

3 (V) other energy consumers; 

4 (ii) the future demand for heat, elec5 tricity, and transportation; 

6 (iii) the demand for high-quality 

7 transportation fuel; 

8 (iv) the local market prices for various 

9 energy sources; and 

10 (v) the employment, income genera11 tion, and rural development opportunities 

12 that may be provided by the renewable en13 ergy industry; 

14 (C) an assessment of resources, includ15 ing— 

16 (i) an assessment of the present and 

17 future renewable energy resources that are 

18 available in each geographic region of par19 ticipating countries; 

20 (ii) a plan for increasing the avail21 ability of existing renewable energy re22 sources in the country; and 

23 (iii) a plan for developing new, sus24 tainable biomass resources in the country, 

25 including— 


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1 (I) wood; 

2 (II) manure; 

3 (III) agricultural residues; 

4 (IV) sewage; and 

5 (V) organic waste; 

6 (D) an analysis of available technologies 

7 based on the assessments described in subpara8 graphs (B) and (C), including— 

9 (i) an analysis of available tech10 nologies and systems for using renewable 

11 energy sources in the country; 

12 (ii) an analysis of the economic viabil13 ity of renewable energy technologies in the 

14 country; and 

15 (iii) a comparison of the technologies 

16 and systems in the country relating to re17 newable energy sources with the tech18 nologies and systems for conventional en19 ergy supplies to determine— 

20 (I) the impact of renewable en21 ergy sources on economic develop22 ment; and 

23 (II) if renewable energy tech24 nology is cost-effective, low-mainte25 nance, and socially acceptable; 


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1 (E) an environmental assessment, includ2 ing— 

3 (i) the probable environmental impact 

4 of— 

5 (I) increased biomass harvesting 

6 and production; and 

7 (II) increased biofuels produc8 tion, including the direct and indirect 

9 land use effects of deforestation, and 

10 the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions 

11 resulting from increased biofuels pro12 duction; and 

13 (ii) the availability of financing for re14 newable energy sources from global carbon 

15 credit trading mechanisms; 

16 (F) a social impact assessment of— 

17 (i) the potential impact of biofuels de18 velopment on the security of property and 

19 land rights; and 

20 (ii) the dependence of current popu21 lations on land suited for biofuels develop22 ment; and 

23 (G) a food security assessment of— 


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1 (i) the potential impact of biofuels 

2 production on food stocks and prices in 

3 participating countries; and 

4 (ii) the potential impact of increased 

5 biofuels production on nutrition and hun6 ger. 

7 (4) POLICY OPTIONS TO PROMOTE RENEWABLE

8 ENERGY PRODUCTION AND USE.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The study conducted 

10 under this subsection shall identify and evaluate 

11 policy options to promote renewable energy pro12 duction and use in the participating countries, 

13 after taking into account— 

14 (i) the existing energy policies of par15 ticipating countries; 

16 (ii) the regulatory capacity of existing 

17 public sector institutions at national and 

18 local levels; and 

19 (iii) the technologies currently avail20 able to participating countries. 

21 (B) COORDINATION.—In conducting the 

22 evaluation under subparagraph (A), partici23 pating countries should encourage involvement 

24 of local, national, and international public, civil 

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1 sponsibility or expertise in renewable energy 

2 production and use. 

3 (5) JOINT STUDY REPORT.—Not less than 1 

4 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

5 Secretary of State, in consultation with the Sec6 retary of Energy, shall submit a report to the appro7 priate congressional committees on the results of the 

8 joint study conducted under this subsection. 

9 (6) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

10 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

11 as may be necessary for fiscal year 2010 for the 

12 purpose of carrying out this subsection. 

13 (b) PROVIDING ASSISTANCE TO ENCOURAGE THE

14 DEVELOPMENT OF RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES IN

15 THE AMERICAS.— 

16 (1) POLICY.—It is policy of the United States 

17 Government, through its membership in the Inter18 American Development Bank and the World Bank, 

19 to provide assistance to encourage the development 

20 of renewable sources of energy. 

21 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In 

22 addition to the amounts otherwise authorized to be 

23 appropriated for such purposes, there is authorized 

24 to be appropriated $15,000,000 for each of the fiscal 

25 years 2010 through 2014 to the United States 


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1 Agency for International Development, for programs 

2 and activities in the Americas that seek to reduce 

3 global warming by promoting the use of— 

4 (A) renewable energy technologies; 

5 (B) energy efficient end-use technologies; 

6 (C) carbon sequestration; and 

7 (D) carbon accounting. 

8 (c) CARBON CREDIT TRADING MECHANISMS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall 

10 work with interested governments in the Region to 

11 study and propose mechanisms to facilitate regional 

12 and hemispheric carbon trading, including mecha13 nisms consistent with the United Nations Frame14 work Convention on Climate Change and with other 

15 existing trade and financial agreements— 

16 (A) to establish credits for reducing emis17 sions from tropical deforestation; 

18 (B) to identify innovative mechanisms to 

19 manage credits at the national level; 

20 (C) to use greenhouse gas-reducing agri21 cultural practices; 

22 (D) to jointly fund greenhouse gas seques23 tration studies and experiments in various geo24 logical formations; and 


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1 (E) to jointly fund climate mitigation stud2 ies, with particular emphasis on vulnerable 

3 areas in the Region. 

4 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

5 There is authorized to be appropriated $20,000,000 

6 to the Secretary of State for each of the fiscal years 

7 2010 through 2014 to carry out this subsection. 

8 (d) CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION.— 

9 (1) GLOBAL WARMING.—There is authorized to 

10 be appropriated $20,000,000 to the United States 

11 Agency for International Development for each of 

12 the fiscal years 2010 through 2014 to support ac13 tivities in the Region involving— 

14 (A) adaptation to changes in the environ15 ment brought about by global warming; and 

16 (B) reduction in the negative impact of 

17 such changes. 

18 (2) FOREST MANAGEMENT AND DEFOREST19 ATION REDUCTION.—There is authorized to be ap20 propriated $20,000,000 to the United States Agency 

21 for International Development for each of the fiscal 

22 years 2010 through 2014 to support activities in the 

23 Region promoting— 

24 (A) the sustainable management of forests; 

25 and 


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•S 1593 IS

1 (B) the reduction of deforestation in the 

2 Region. 

3 (e) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con4 gress that— 

5 (1) the establishment of an Energy and Climate 

6 Partnership of the Americas would make a major 

7 contribution towards— 

8 (A) economic growth; 

9 (B) energy security; and 

10 (C) environmental protection in the Amer11 icas; and 

12 (2) the Secretary of State and the Secretary of 

13 Energy should take a lead role in organizing, sus14 taining, and providing technical assistance to the 

15 partnership. 

16 (f) REPORT.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not less than 1 year after 

18 the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually 

19 thereafter, the Secretary of State, in consultation 

20 with the Secretary of Energy, shall submit a report 

21 to Congress on the activities carried out to imple22 ment this section. 

23 (2) CONTENTS OF THE REPORT.—The reports 

24 submitted under paragraph (1) shall include— 


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•S 1593 IS

1 (A) the criteria used to determine which 

2 programs and activities receive funds; 

3 (B) the manner in which the programs and 

4 activities meet the criteria; 

5 (C) the extent of local involvement in the 

6 programs and activities; 

7 (D) the amount of funds provided; 

8 (E) the results achieved; and 

9 (F) information regarding progress in the 

10 development of renewable energy sources in the 

11 Americas. 

Æ 


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