II

Calendar No. 420

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1758

[Report No. 105–219]

To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to facilitate protection of

tropical forests through debt reduction with developing countries with

tropical forests.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 13, 1998

Mr. LUGAR (for himself, Mr. BIDEN, Mr. CHAFEE, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. ABRAHAM, Mr. AKAKA, Mr. ALLARD, Mr. CRAIG, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. DEWINE,

Mr. GLENN, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. JEFFORDS, Mr. JOHNSON,

Mr. KERREY, Mr. KERRY, Mr. KEMPTHORNE, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. MOYNIHAN, Mr. MURKOWSKI, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mr. HATCH, Mr. DASCHLE,

Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. FAIRCLOTH, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mr. HAGEL, Mr. DORGAN, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. HELMS, and Mr. DODD) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign

Relations

JUNE 22, 1998

Reported by Mr. HELMS, with amendments

[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic]

A BILL

To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to facilitate

protection of tropical forests through debt reduction with

developing countries with tropical forests.
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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. DEBT REDUCTION FOR DEVELOPING COUN4 TRIES WITH TROPICAL FORESTS.

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

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

7 ‘‘PART V—DEBT REDUCTION FOR DEVELOPING

8 COUNTRIES WITH TROPICAL FORESTS

9 ‘‘SEC. 801. SHORT TITLE.

10 ‘‘This part may be cited as the ‘Tropical Forest Con11 servation Act of 1998’.

12 ‘‘SEC. 802. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

13 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following:

14 ‘‘(1) It is the established policy of the United

15 States to support and seek protection of tropical for16 ests around the world.

17 ‘‘(2) Tropical forests provide a wide range of

18 benefits to humankind by—

19 ‘‘(A) harboring a major share of the

20 Earth’s biological and terrestrial resources,

21 which are the basis for developing pharma22 ceutical products and revitalizing agricultural

23 crops;

24 ‘‘(B) playing a critical role as carbon sinks

25 in reducing greenhouse gases in the atmos-
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1 phere, thus moderating potential global climate

2 change; and

3 ‘‘(C) regulating hydrological cycles on

4 which far-flung agricultural and coastal re5 sources depend.

6 ‘‘(3) International negotiations and assistance

7 programs to conserve forest resources have pro8 liferated over the past decade, but the rapid rate of

9 tropical deforestation continues unabated.

10 ‘‘(4) Developing countries with urgent needs for

11 investment and capital for development have allo12 cated a significant amount of their forests to logging

13 concessions.

14 ‘‘(5) Poverty and economic pressures on the

15 populations of developing countries have, over time,

16 resulted in clearing of vast areas of forest for con17 version to agriculture, which is often unsustainable

18 in the poor soils underlying tropical forests.

19 ‘‘(6) Debt reduction can reduce economic pres20 sures on developing countries and result in increased

21 protection for tropical forests.

22 ‘‘(7) Finding economic benefits to local commu23 nities from sustainable uses of tropical forests is criti24 cal to the protection of tropical forests.

25 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this part are—
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1 ‘‘(1) to recognize the values received by United

2 States citizens from protection of tropical forests;

3 ‘‘(2) to facilitate greater protection of tropical

4 forests (and to give priority to protecting tropical

5 forests with the highest levels of biodiversity and

6 under the most severe threat) by providing for the

7 alleviation of debt in countries where tropical forests

8 are located, thus allowing the use of additional re9 sources to protect these critical resources and reduce

10 economic pressures that have led to deforestation;

11 ‘‘(3) to ensure that resources freed from debt in

12 such countries are targeted to protection of tropical

13 forests and their associated values; and

14 ‘‘(4) to rechannel existing resources to facilitate

15 the protection of tropical forests.

16 ‘‘SEC. 803. DEFINITIONS.

17 ‘‘As used in this part:

18 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTERING BODY.—The term ‘admin19 istering body’ means the entity provided for in sec20 tion 809(c).

21 ‘‘(2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT22 TEES.—The term ‘appropriate congressional com23 mittees’ means—
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1 ‘‘(A) the Committee on International Rela2 tions and the Committee on Appropriations of

3 the House of Representatives; and

4 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations

5 and the Committee on Appropriations of the

6 Senate.

7 ‘‘(3) BENEFICIARY COUNTRY.—The term ‘bene8 ficiary country’ means an eligible country with re9 spect to which the authority of section 806(a)(1),

10 section 807(a)(1), or paragraph (1) or (2) of section

11 808(a) is exercised.

12 ‘‘(4) BOARD.—The term ‘Board’ means the

13 board referred to in section 811.

14 ‘‘(5) DEVELOPING COUNTRY WITH A TROPICAL

15 FOREST.—The term ‘developing country with a trop16 ical forest’ means—

17 ‘‘(A)(i) a country that has a per capita in18 come of $725 or less in 1994 United States dol19 lars (commonly referred to as ‘low-income coun20 try’), as determined and adjusted on an annual

21 basis by the International Bank for Reconstruc22 tion and Development in its World Development

23 Report; or

24 ‘‘(ii) a country that has a per capita in25 come of more than $725 but less than $8,956
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1 in 1994 United States dollars (commonly re2 ferred to as ‘middle-income country’), as deter3 mined and adjusted on an annual basis by the

4 International Bank for Reconstruction and De5 velopment in its World Development Report;

6 and

7 ‘‘(B) a country that contains at least one

8 tropical forest that is globally outstanding in

9 terms of its biological diversity or represents

10 one of the larger intact blocks of tropical for11 ests left, on a continental or global scale.

12 ‘‘(6) ELIGIBLE COUNTRY.—The term ‘eligible

13 country’ means a country designated by the Presi14 dent in accordance with section 805.

15 ‘‘(7) TROPICAL FOREST AGREEMENT.—The

16 term ‘Tropical Forest Agreement’ or ‘Agreement’

17 means a Tropical Forest Agreement provided for in

18 section 809.

19 ‘‘(8) TROPICAL FOREST FACILITY.—The term

20 ‘Tropical Forest Facility’ or ‘Facility’ means the

21 Tropical Forest Facility established in the Depart22 ment of the Treasury by section 804.

23 ‘‘(9) TROPICAL FOREST FUND.—The term

24 ‘Tropical Forest Fund’ or ‘Fund’ means a Tropical

25 Forest Fund provided for in section 810.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 804. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FACILITY.

2 ‘‘There is established in the Department of the

3 Treasury an entity to be known as the ‘Tropical Forest

4 Facility’ for the purpose of providing for the administra5 tion of debt reduction in accordance with this part.

6 ‘‘SEC. 805. ELIGIBILITY FOR BENEFITS.

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible for benefits from

8 the Facility under this part, a country shall be a develop9 ing country with a tropical forest—

10 ‘‘(1) whose government meets the requirements

11 applicable to Latin American or Caribbean countries

12 under paragraphs (1) through (5) and (7) of section

13 703(a) of this Act; and

14 ‘‘(2) that has put in place major investment re15 forms, as evidenced by the conclusion of a bilateral

16 investment treaty with the United States, implemen17 tation of an investment sector loan with the Inter18 American Development Bank, World Bank-sup19 ported investment reforms, or other measures, as

20 appropriate.

21 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATIONS.—

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Consistent with subsection

23 (a), the President shall determine whether a country

24 is eligible to receive benefits under this part.

25 ‘‘(2) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—The

26 President shall notify the appropriate congressional
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1 committees of his intention to designate a country as

2 an eligible country at least 15 days in advance of

3 any formal determination.

4 ‘‘SEC. 806. REDUCTION OF DEBT OWED TO THE UNITED

5 STATES AS A RESULT OF CONCESSIONAL

6 LOANS UNDER THE FOREIGN ASSISTANCE

7 ACT OF 1961.

8 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO REDUCE DEBT.—

9 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—The President may reduce

10 the amount owed to the United States (or any agen11 cy of the United States) that is outstanding as of

12 January 1, 1998, as a result of concessional loans

13 made to an eligible country by the United States

14 under part I of this Act, chapter 4 of part II of this

15 Act, or predecessor foreign economic assistance leg16 islation.

17 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

18 For the cost (as defined in section 502(5) of the

19 Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990) for the reduc20 tion of any debt pursuant to this section, there are

21 authorized to be appropriated to the President—

22 ‘‘(A) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 1999;

23 ‘‘(B) $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2000; and

24 ‘‘(C) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2001.

25 ‘‘(3) CERTAIN PROHIBITIONS INAPPLICABLE.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A reduction of debt

2 pursuant to this section shall not be considered

3 assistance for purposes of any provision of law

4 limiting assistance to a country.

5 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—The

6 authority of this section may be exercised not7 withstanding section 620(r) of this Act or sec8 tion 321 of the International Development and

9 Food Assistance Act of 1975.

10 ‘‘(b) IMPLEMENTATION OF DEBT REDUCTION.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any debt reduction pursu12 ant to subsection (a) shall be accomplished at the di13 rection of the Facility by the exchange of a new obli14 gation for obligations of the type referred to in sub15 section (a) outstanding as of the date specified in

16 subsection (a)(1).

17 ‘‘(2) EXCHANGE OF OBLIGATIONS.—

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Facility shall no19 tify the agency primarily responsible for admin20 istering part I of this Act of an agreement en21 tered into under paragraph (1) with an eligible

22 country to exchange a new obligation for out23 standing obligations.

24 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—At the

25 direction of the Facility, the old obligations that
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1 are the subject of the agreement shall be can2 celed and a new debt obligation for the country

3 shall be established relating to the agreement,

4 and the agency primarily responsible for admin5 istering part I of this Act shall make an adjust6 ment in its accounts to reflect the debt reduc7 tion.

8 ‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The

9 following additional terms and conditions shall apply to

10 the reduction of debt under subsection (a)(1) in the same

11 manner as such terms and conditions apply to the reduc12 tion of debt under section 704(a)(1) of this Act:

13 ‘‘(1) The provisions relating to repayment of

14 principal under section 705 of this Act.

15 ‘‘(2) The provisions relating to interest on new

16 obligations under section 706 of this Act.

17 ‘‘SEC. 807. 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 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO REDUCE DEBT.—

23 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—Notwithstanding any other

24 provision of law, the President may reduce the

25 amount owed to the United States (or any agency of
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1 the United States) that is outstanding as of January

2 1, 1998, as a result of any credits extended under

3 title I of the Agricultural Trade Development and

4 Assistance Act of 1954 (7 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to

5 a country eligible for benefits from the Facility.

6 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

7 For the cost (as defined in section 502(5) of the

8 Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990) for the reduc9 tion of any debt pursuant to this section, there are

10 authorized to be appropriated to the President—

11 ‘‘(A) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 1999;

12 ‘‘(B) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2000; and

13 ‘‘(C) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2001.

14 ‘‘(b) IMPLEMENTATION OF DEBT REDUCTION.—

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any debt reduction pursu16 ant to subsection (a) shall be accomplished at the di17 rection of the Facility by the exchange of a new obli18 gation for obligations of the type referred to in sub19 section (a) outstanding as of the date specified in

20 subsection (a)(1).

21 ‘‘(2) EXCHANGE OF OBLIGATIONS.—

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Facility shall no23 tify the Commodity Credit Corporation of an

24 agreement entered into under paragraph (1)
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1 with an eligible country to exchange a new obli2 gation for outstanding obligations.

3 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—At the

4 direction of the Facility, the old obligations that

5 are the subject of the agreement shall be can6 celed and a new debt obligation shall be estab7 lished for the country relating to the agreement,

8 and the Commodity Credit Corporation shall

9 make an adjustment in its accounts to reflect

10 the debt reduction.

11 ‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The

12 following additional terms and conditions shall apply to

13 the reduction of debt under subsection (a)(1) in the same

14 manner as such terms and conditions apply to the reduc15 tion of debt under section 604(a)(1) of the Agricultural

16 Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 (7 U.S.C.

17 1738c):

18 ‘‘(1) The provisions relating to repayment of

19 principal under section 605 of such Act.

20 ‘‘(2) The provisions relating to interest on new

21 obligations under section 606 of such Act.

22 ‘‘SEC. 808. AUTHORITY TO ENGAGE IN DEBT-FOR-NATURE

23 SWAPS AND DEBT BUYBACKS.

24 ‘‘(a) LOANS AND CREDITS ELIGIBLE FOR SALE, RE25 DUCTION, OR CANCELLATION.—
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1 ‘‘(1) DEBT-FOR-NATURE SWAPS.—

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any

3 other provision of law, the President may, in

4 accordance with this section, sell to any eligible

5 purchaser described in subparagraph (B) any

6 concessional loans described in section

7 806(a)(1) or any credits described in section

8 807(a)(1), or on receipt of payment from an eli9 gible purchaser described in subparagraph (B),

10 reduce or cancel such loans (or credits) or por11 tion thereof, only for the purpose of facilitating

12 a debt-for-nature swap to support eligible activi13 ties described in section 809(d).

14 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE PURCHASER DESCRIBED.—

15 A loan or credit may be sold, reduced, or can16 celed under subparagraph (A) only to a pur17 chaser who presents plans satisfactory to the

18 President for using the loan or credit for the

19 purpose of engaging in debt-for-nature swaps to

20 support eligible activities described in section

21 809(d).

22 ‘‘(C) CONSULTATION REQUIREMENT.—Be23 fore the sale under subparagraph (A) to any eli24 gible purchaser described in subparagraph (B),

25 or any reduction or cancellation under such
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1 subparagraph (A), of any loan or credit made

2 to an eligible country, the President shall con3 sult with the country concerning the amount of

4 loans or credits to be sold, reduced, or canceled

5 and their uses for debt-for-nature swaps to sup6 port eligible activities described in section

7 809(d).

8 ‘‘(D) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA9 TIONS.—For the cost (as defined in section

10 502(5) of the Federal Credit Reform Act of

11 1990) for the reduction of any debt pursuant to

12 subparagraph (A), amounts authorized to ap13 propriated under sections 806(a)(2) and

14 807(a)(2) shall be made available for such re15 duction of debt pursuant to subparagraph (A).

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

17 other provision of law, the President may, in accord18 ance with this section, sell to any eligible country

19 any concessional loans described in section 806(a)(1)

20 or any credits described in section 807(a)(1), or on

21 receipt of payment from an eligible country, reduce

22 or cancel such loans (or credits) or portion thereof,

23 only for the purpose of facilitating a debt buyback

24 by an eligible country of its own qualified debt, only

25 if the eligible country uses an additional amount of
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1 the local currency of the eligible country, equal to

2 not less than 40 percent of the price paid for such

3 debt by such eligible country, or the difference be4 tween the price paid for such debt and the face value

5 of such debt, to support eligible activities described

6 in section 809(d).

7 ‘‘(3) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Notwithstand8 ing any other provision of law, the President shall,

9 in accordance with this section, establish the terms

10 and conditions under which loans and credits may be

11 sold, reduced, or canceled pursuant to this section.

12 ‘‘(4) ADMINISTRATION.—

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Facility shall no14 tify the administrator of the agency primarily

15 responsible for administering part I of this Act

16 or the Commodity Credit Corporation, as the

17 case may be, of eligible purchasers described in

18 paragraph (1)(B) that the President has deter19 mined to be eligible under paragraph (1), and

20 shall direct such agency or Corporation, as the

21 case may be, to carry out the sale, reduction, or

22 cancellation of a loan pursuant to such para23 graph.

24 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—Such

25 agency or Corporation, as the case may be,
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1 shall make an adjustment in its accounts to re2 flect the sale, reduction, or cancellation.

3 ‘‘(b) DEPOSIT OF PROCEEDS.—The proceeds from

4 the sale, reduction, or cancellation of any loan sold, re5 duced, or canceled pursuant to this section shall be depos6 ited in the United States Government account or accounts

7 established for the repayment of such loan.

8 ‘‘SEC. 809. TROPICAL FOREST AGREEMENT.

9 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State is

11 authorized, in consultation with other appropriate

12 officials of the Federal Government, to enter into a

13 Tropical Forest Agreement with any eligible country

14 concerning the operation and use of the Fund for

15 that country.

16 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—In the negotiation of

17 such an Agreement, the Secretary shall consult with

18 the Board in accordance with section 811.

19 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS OF AGREEMENT.—The requirements

20 contained in section 708(b) of this Act (relating to con21 tents of an agreement) shall apply to a Agreement an

22 Agreement in the same manner as such requirements apply

23 to an Americas Framework Agreement.

24 ‘‘(c) ADMINISTERING BODY.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts disbursed from

2 the Fund in each beneficiary country shall be admin3 istered by a body constituted under the laws of that

4 country.

5 ‘‘(2) COMPOSITION.—

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The administering

7 body shall consist of—

8 ‘‘(i) one or more individuals appointed

9 by the United States Government;

10 ‘‘(ii) one or more individuals ap11 pointed by the government of the bene12 ficiary country; and

13 ‘‘(iii) individuals who represent a

14 broad range of—

15 ‘‘(I) environmental nongovern16 mental organizations of, or active in,

17 the beneficiary country;

18 ‘‘(II) local community develop19 ment nongovernmental organizations

20 of the beneficiary country; and

21 ‘‘(III) scientific or academic or22 ganizations or institutions of the ben23 eficiary country.
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1 ‘‘(III) scientific, academic, or

2 agroforestry organizations of the bene3 ficiary country.

4 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—A ma5 jority of the members of the administering body

6 shall be individuals described in subparagraph

7 (A)(iii).

8 ‘‘(3) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The requirements

9 contained in section 708(c)(3) of this Act (relating

10 to responsibilities of the administering body) shall

11 apply to an administering body described in para12 graph (1) in the same manner as such requirements

13 apply to an administering body described in section

14 708(c)(1) of this Act.

15 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—Amounts deposited in a

16 Fund shall be used to provide grants to preserve, main17 tain, and restore the tropical forests in the beneficiary

18 country, including one or more of the following activities:

19 ‘‘(1) Establishment, restoration, protection, and

20 maintenance of parks, protected areas, and reserves.

21 ‘‘(2) Development and implementation of sci22 entifically sound systems of natural resource man23 agement, including land and ecosystem management

24 practices.
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1 ‘‘(3) Training programs to strengthen conserva2 tion institutions and increase scientific, technical,

3 and managerial capacities of individuals and organi4 zations involved in conservation efforts.

5 ‘‘(4) Restoration, protection, or sustainable use

6 of diverse animal and plant species.

7 ‘‘(5) Research and identification of medicinal

8 uses of tropical forest plant life to treat human dis9 eases and illnesses and health related concerns.

10 ‘‘(5) (6) Mitigation of greenhouse gases in the

11 atmosphere.

12 ‘‘(6) (7) Development and support of the liveli13 hoods of individuals living in or near a tropical for14 est, including the cultures of such individuals, in a

15 manner consistent with protecting such tropical for16 est.

17 ‘‘(e) GRANT RECIPIENTS.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Grants made from a Fund

19 shall be made to—

20 ‘‘(A) nongovernmental environmental, con21 servation, and indigenous peoples organizations

22 of, or active in, the beneficiary country;

23 ‘‘(B) other appropriate local or regional

24 entities of, or active in, the beneficiary country;

25 and or
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1 ‘‘(C) in exceptional circumstances, the gov2 ernment of the beneficiary country.

3 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—In providing grants under

4 paragraph (1), priority shall be given to projects

5 that are run by nongovernmental organizations and

6 other private entities and that involve local commu7 nities in their planning and execution.

8 ‘‘(f) REVIEW OF LARGER GRANTS.—Any grant of

9 more than $100,000 from a Fund shall be subject to veto

10 by the Government of the United States or the govern11 ment of the beneficiary country.

12 ‘‘(g) ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.—In the event that a

13 country ceases to meet the eligibility requirements set

14 forth in section 805(a), as determined by the President

15 pursuant to section 805(b), then grants from the Fund

16 for that country may only be made to nongovernmental

17 organizations until such time as the President determines

18 that such country meets the eligibility requirements set

19 forth in section 805(a).

20 ‘‘SEC. 810. TROPICAL FOREST FUND.

21 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Each beneficiary country

22 that enters into a Tropical Forest Agreement under sec23 tion 809 shall be required to establish a Tropical Forest

24 Fund to receive payments of interest on new obligations

25 undertaken by the beneficiary country under this part.
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1 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO OPERATION OF

2 FUND.—The following terms and conditions shall apply

3 to the Fund in the same manner as such terms as condi4 tions apply to an Enterprise for the Americas Fund under

5 section 707 of this Act:

6 ‘‘(1) The provision relating to deposits under

7 subsection (b) of such section.

8 ‘‘(2) The provision relating to investments

9 under subsection (c) of such section.

10 ‘‘(3) The provision relating to disbursements

11 under subsection (d) of such section.

12 ‘‘SEC. 811. BOARD.

13 ‘‘(a) ENTERPRISE FOR THE AMERICAS BOARD.—The

14 Enterprise for the Americas Board established under sec15 tion 610(a) of the Agricultural Trade Development and

16 Assistance Act of 1954 (7 U.S.C. 1738i(a)) shall, in addi17 tion to carrying out the responsibilities of the Board under

18 section 610(c) of such Act, carry out the duties described

19 in subsection (c) of this section for the purposes of this

20 part.

21 ‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL MEMBERSHIP.—

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Enterprise for the

23 Americas Board shall be composed of an additional

24 four members appointed by the President as follows:
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1 ‘‘(A) Two representatives from the United

2 States Government, including a representative

3 of the International Forestry Division of the

4 United States Forest Service.

5 ‘‘(B) Two representatives from private

6 nongovernmental environmental, scientific, and

7 scientific, agricultural, or academic organiza8 tions with experience and expertise in preserva9 tion, maintenance, sustainable uses, and restora10 tion of tropical forests.

11 ‘‘(2) CHAIRPERSON.—Notwithstanding section

12 610(b)(2) of the Agricultural Trade Development

13 and Assistance Act of 1954 (7 U.S.C. 1738i(b)(2)),

14 the Enterprise for the Americas Board shall be

15 headed by a chairperson who shall be appointed by

16 the President from among the representatives ap17 pointed under section 610(b)(1)(A) of such Act or

18 paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection.

19 ‘‘(c) DUTIES.—The duties described in this sub20 section are as follows:

21 ‘‘(1) Advise the Secretary of State on the nego22 tiations of Tropical Forest Agreements.

23 ‘‘(2) Ensure, in consultation with—

24 ‘‘(A) the government of the beneficiary

25 country,
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1 ‘‘(B) nongovernmental organizations of the

2 beneficiary country,

3 ‘‘(C) nongovernmental organizations of the

4 region (if appropriate),

5 ‘‘(D) environmental, scientific, and aca6 demic leaders of the beneficiary country, and

7 ‘‘(E) environmental, scientific, and aca8 demic leaders of the region (as appropriate),

9 that a suitable administering body is identified for

10 each Fund.

11 ‘‘(3) Review the programs, operations, and fis12 cal audits of each administering body.

13 ‘‘SEC. 812. CONSULTATIONS WITH THE CONGRESS.

14 ‘‘The President shall consult with the appropriate

15 congressional committees on a periodic basis to review the

16 operation of the Facility under this part and the eligibility

17 of countries for benefits from the Facility under this part.

18 ‘‘SEC. 813. ANNUAL REPORTS TO THE CONGRESS.

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than December 31 of

20 each fiscal year, the President shall prepare and transmit

21 to the Congress an annual report concerning the operation

22 of the Facility for the prior fiscal year. Such report shall

23 include—

24 ‘‘(1) a description of the activities undertaken

25 by the Facility during the previous fiscal year;
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1 ‘‘(2) a description of any Agreement entered

2 into under this part;

3 ‘‘(3) a report on any Funds that have been es4 tablished under this part and on the operations of

5 such Funds; and

6 ‘‘(4) a description of any grants that have been

7 provided by administering bodies pursuant to Agree8 ments under this part.

9 ‘‘(b) SUPPLEMENTAL VIEWS IN ANNUAL REPORT.—

10 Not later than December 15 of each fiscal year, each mem11 ber of the Board shall be entitled to receive a copy of the

12 report required under subsection (a). Each member of the

13 Board may prepare and submit supplemental views to the

14 President on the implementation of this part by December

15 31 for inclusion in the annual report when it is transmit16 ted to Congress pursuant to this section.’’.

Calendar No. 420

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1758

[Report No. 105–219]

A BILL

To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to

tropical forests.debt reduction with developing countries withfacilitate protection of tropical forests through

JUNE 22, 1998

Reported with amendments