III 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 472 

Reaffirming the partnership between the United States and the Dominican 

Republic and advancing opportunities to deepen diplomatic, economic, 

and security cooperation between the two nations. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 7, 2021 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. CARDIN, and Mr. CASSIDY) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 

Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Reaffirming the partnership between the United States and 

the Dominican Republic and advancing opportunities to 

deepen diplomatic, economic, and security cooperation 

between the two nations. 

Whereas the United States and the Dominican Republic 

share extensive economic, security, and cultural ties and 

a mutual commitment to the promotion of internationally 

recognized human rights, democratic values, and the rule 

of law; 

Whereas the bilateral relationship between the United States 

and the Dominican Republic has contributed to the economic prosperity and national security of both countries, 

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•SRES 472 IS 

ica-United States Free Trade Agreement and the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative; 

Whereas under the leadership of President Luis Abinader, 

who took office on August 16, 2020, the Government of 

the Dominican Republic has taken steps to effectively address the COVID–19 pandemic, fully vaccinating over 60 

percent of its adult population, one of the highest vaccination rates in Latin America and the Caribbean, and 

acquiring sufficient surplus vaccines to provide donations 

to other countries in the region; 

Whereas in response to the COVID–19 pandemic, the Government of the Dominican Republic has committed to 

working with the United States, other Group of 7 countries, the International Monetary Fund, and the InterAmerican Development Bank to advance global and regional post-pandemic economic recovery efforts; 

Whereas in 2020, United States foreign direct investment in 

the Dominican Republic totaled $274,500,000, and remittances from the United States accounted for approximately 78 percent of the over $8,000,000,000 in remittances sent to the Dominican Republic, according to data 

from the Congressional Research Service and World 

Bank, respectively; 

Whereas, on September 30, 2021, President Abinader signed 

presidential decree 612–21, creating a ministerial task 

force to advance nearshoring initiatives and strengthen 

the Dominican Republic’s participation in international 

supply chains and role as an industrial, manufacturing, 

and logistical hub, including by expanding the country’s 

network of free trade zones; 


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•SRES 472 IS 

Whereas the United States and the Dominican Republic 

would benefit from a coordinated plan of action to bolster 

economic relations, realign supply chains, and expand ties 

between the private sectors in both countries; 

Whereas the Government of the United States has engaged 

with the Dominican Republic and other regional partners 

to address the United States serious concerns over the 

security, human rights, and data privacy risks associated 

with investments by the People’s Republic of China in 

telecommunication networks and other critical infrastructure; 

Whereas the Government of the Dominican Republic has 

committed to strengthening security cooperation with the 

United States to address the threats posed by 

transnational criminal organizations and human trafficking, drug trafficking, and money laundering networks; 

Whereas a humanitarian crisis, rampant crime, gang violence, 

and instability in neighboring Haiti, a situation exacerbated by the July 7, 2021, assassination of President 

Jovenel Moise, has deepened the suffering of the Haitian 

people, increased risks to the Dominican Republic posed 

by organized criminal groups along its borders, and 

strained the economic capacity of the Government of the 

Dominican Republic to address the humanitarian needs 

of Haitian migrants; 

Whereas President Abinader has taken significant steps to 

make the Government of the Dominican Republic more 

accountable and effective, including by addressing corruption and impunity, appointing an independent Public 

Prosecutor, requiring additional transparency in public 

procurement, and proposing legislation to modernize 

asset forfeiture laws; 


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•SRES 472 IS 

Whereas, on October 20, 2021, the Governments of the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, and Panama signed a joint 

declaration expressing concern about irregular migration 

flows, climate change, post-COVID–19 economic recovery, the deteriorating human rights situation in Nicaragua, and the humanitarian crisis in Haiti, and called 

for stronger cooperation on these issues from the United 

States, regional partners, and the international community; 

Whereas the Government of the Dominican Republic, as host 

of the Latin America and Caribbean Climate Week 2021, 

has called for greater regional coordination to address the 

effects of climate change, including more extreme weather events, biodiversity loss, environmental displacement, 

and adverse health effects, which Small Island Developing States in the Caribbean are disproportionately vulnerable to; 

Whereas the Government of the Dominican Republic has 

called for the peaceful restoration of democracy and rule 

of law in Venezuela and is hosting approximately 114,000 

Venezuelan refugees; and 

Whereas approximately 2,000,000 people of Dominican origin 

currently reside in the United States, and over 2,000,000 

United States tourists visit the Dominican Republic annually, accounting for the largest number of foreign tourists to the country and bolstering its economically critical 

tourism sector: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) reaffirms its commitment to strengthening 

3 the historic partnership between the United States 

4 and the Dominican Republic based on shared demoVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:25 Dec 08, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR472.IS SR472

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1 cratic values and efforts to advance economic pros2 perity and national security; 

3 (2) encourages continued actions by the Gov4 ernment of the Dominican Republic to assume a re5 gional leadership role in promoting human rights, 

6 democratic values, and humanitarian assistance; 

7 (3) calls for further steps to strengthen co8 operation between the Governments of the United 

9 States and the Dominican Republic on issues of 

10 shared strategic interest, including— 

11 (A) by assisting the Dominican Republic in 

12 its post-COVID–19 economic recovery, includ13 ing through support for United States and glob14 al initiatives that help developing countries re15 cover financial sustainability and attain equi16 table access to international financial markets; 

17 (B) by developing and implementing 

18 nearshoring initiatives in the Caribbean Basin 

19 to realign international supply chains and 

20 strengthen the Dominican Republic’s standing 

21 as a significant industrial, manufacturing, and 

22 logistical hub, including through cooperation on 

23 infrastructure development such as ports, power 

24 grids, and at free trade zones; 


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1 (C) facilitating the expansion of economic 

2 and commercial ties, including by prioritizing 

3 bilateral development project financing and the 

4 formation of a United States-Dominican Repub5 lic Business Council; 

6 (D) by supporting and developing collabo7 rative efforts to mitigate and adapt to the ef8 fects of climate change, including promoting de9 velopment and strengthening the U.S.-Carib10 bean Resilience Partnership and similar initia11 tives; 

12 (E) by improving security cooperation be13 tween the two countries, including in addressing 

14 narcotics and human trafficking, dismantling 

15 money laundering networks, and strengthening 

16 professional law enforcement and criminal jus17 tice institutions; and 

18 (F) by increasing cooperation with the Do19 minican Republic and other international part20 ners to promote stability in Haiti, address Hai21 ti’s humanitarian crisis, and facilitate political 

22 solutions supported by the Haitian people; 

23 (4) urges the Government of the Dominican Re24 public to continue taking steps to address the inher25 ent human rights, security, and data privacy risks 


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1 posed by reliance on technology from the People’s 

2 Republic of China, including Huawei components, in 

3 telecommunication networks; 

4 (5) commends efforts by President Abinader to 

5 strengthen the political independence of the Attorney 

6 General’s Office and institutionalize anti-corruption 

7 reforms; and 

8 (6) calls on the Department of State and the 

9 United States Agency for International Development 

10 to continue to support the efforts of the Government 

11 of the Dominican Republic to respond to the human12 itarian needs of Haitian migrants in the Dominican 

13 Republic. 

Æ 


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