II

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1758

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, and Mr. MURKOWSKI) introduced the following bill; which was

read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

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.

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:
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1 ‘‘PART V—DEBT REDUCTION FOR DEVELOPING

2 COUNTRIES WITH TROPICAL FORESTS

3 ‘‘SEC. 801. SHORT TITLE.

4 ‘‘This part may be cited as the ‘Tropical Forest Con5 servation Act of 1998’.

6 ‘‘SEC. 802. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

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

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

9 States to support and seek protection of tropical for10 ests around the world.

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

12 benefits to humankind by—

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

14 Earth’s biological and terrestrial resources,

15 which are the basis for developing pharma16 ceutical products and revitalizing agricultural

17 crops;

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

19 in reducing greenhouse gases in the atmos20 phere, thus moderating potential global climate

21 change; and

22 ‘‘(C) regulating hydrological cycles on

23 which far-flung agricultural and coastal re24 sources depend.

25 ‘‘(3) International negotiations and assistance

26 programs to conserve forest resources have pro-
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1 liferated over the past decade, but the rapid rate of

2 tropical deforestation continues unabated.

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

4 investment and capital for development have allo5 cated a significant amount of their forests to logging

6 concessions.

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

8 populations of developing countries have, over time,

9 resulted in clearing of vast areas of forest for con10 version to agriculture, which is often unsustainable

11 in the poor soils underlying tropical forests.

12 ‘‘(6) Debt reduction can reduce economic pres13 sures on developing countries and result in increased

14 protection for tropical forests.

15 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this part are—

16 ‘‘(1) to recognize the values received by United

17 States citizens from protection of tropical forests;

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

19 forests (and to give priority to protecting tropical

20 forests with the highest levels of biodiversity and

21 under the most severe threat) by providing for the

22 alleviation of debt in countries where tropical forests

23 are located, thus allowing the use of additional re24 sources to protect these critical resources and reduce

25 economic pressures that have led to deforestation;
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1 ‘‘(3) to ensure that resources freed from debt in

2 such countries are targeted to protection of tropical

3 forests and their associated values; and

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

5 the protection of tropical forests.

6 ‘‘SEC. 803. DEFINITIONS.

7 ‘‘As used in this part:

8 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTERING BODY.—The term ‘admin9 istering body’ means the entity provided for in sec10 tion 809(c).

11 ‘‘(2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT12 TEES.—The term ‘appropriate congressional com13 mittees’ means—

14 ‘‘(A) the Committee on International Rela15 tions and the Committee on Appropriations of

16 the House of Representatives; and

17 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations

18 and the Committee on Appropriations of the

19 Senate.

20 ‘‘(3) BENEFICIARY COUNTRY.—The term ‘bene21 ficiary country’ means an eligible country with re22 spect to which the authority of section 806(a)(1),

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

24 808(a) is exercised.
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1 ‘‘(4) BOARD.—The term ‘Board’ means the

2 board referred to in section 811.

3 ‘‘(5) DEVELOPING COUNTRY WITH A TROPICAL

4 FOREST.—The term ‘developing country with a trop5 ical forest’ means—

6 ‘‘(A)(i) a country that has a per capita in7 come of $725 or less in 1994 United States dol8 lars (commonly referred to as ‘low-income coun9 try’), as determined and adjusted on an annual

10 basis by the International Bank for Reconstruc11 tion and Development in its World Development

12 Report; or

13 ‘‘(ii) a country that has a per capita in14 come of more than $725 but less than $8,956

15 in 1994 United States dollars (commonly re16 ferred to as ‘middle-income country’), as deter17 mined and adjusted on an annual basis by the

18 International Bank for Reconstruction and De19 velopment in its World Development Report;

20 and

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

22 tropical forest that is globally outstanding in

23 terms of its biological diversity or represents

24 one of the larger intact blocks of tropical for25 ests left, on a continental or global scale.
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1 ‘‘(6) ELIGIBLE COUNTRY.—The term ‘eligible

2 country’ means a country designated by the Presi3 dent in accordance with section 805.

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

5 term ‘Tropical Forest Agreement’ or ‘Agreement’

6 means a Tropical Forest Agreement provided for in

7 section 809.

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

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

10 Tropical Forest Facility established in the Depart11 ment of the Treasury by section 804.

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

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

14 Forest Fund provided for in section 810.

15 ‘‘SEC. 804. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FACILITY.

16 ‘‘There is established in the Department of the

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

18 Facility’ for the purpose of providing for the administra19 tion of debt reduction in accordance with this part.

20 ‘‘SEC. 805. ELIGIBILITY FOR BENEFITS.

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

22 the Facility under this part, a country shall be a develop23 ing country with a tropical forest—

24 ‘‘(1) whose government meets the requirements

25 applicable to Latin American or Caribbean countries
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1 under paragraphs (1) through (5) and (7) of section

2 703(a) of this Act; and

3 ‘‘(2) that has put in place major investment re4 forms, as evidenced by the conclusion of a bilateral

5 investment treaty with the United States, implemen6 tation of an investment sector loan with the Inter7 American Development Bank, World Bank-sup8 ported investment reforms, or other measures, as

9 appropriate.

10 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATIONS.—

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

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

13 is eligible to receive benefits under this part.

14 ‘‘(2) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—The

15 President shall notify the appropriate congressional

16 committees of his intention to designate a country as

17 an eligible country at least 15 days in advance of

18 any formal determination.

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

20 STATES AS A RESULT OF CONCESSIONAL

21 LOANS UNDER THE FOREIGN ASSISTANCE

22 ACT OF 1961.

23 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO REDUCE DEBT.—

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

25 the amount owed to the United States (or any agen-
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1 cy of the United States) that is outstanding as of

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

3 made to an eligible country by the United States

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

5 Act, or predecessor foreign economic assistance leg6 islation.

7 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

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

9 Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990) for the reduc10 tion of any debt pursuant to this section, there are

11 authorized to be appropriated to the President—

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

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

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

15 ‘‘(3) CERTAIN PROHIBITIONS INAPPLICABLE.—

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A reduction of debt

17 pursuant to this section shall not be considered

18 assistance for purposes of any provision of law

19 limiting assistance to a country.

20 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—The

21 authority of this section may be exercised not22 withstanding section 620(r) of this Act or sec23 tion 321 of the International Development and

24 Food Assistance Act of 1975.

25 ‘‘(b) IMPLEMENTATION OF DEBT REDUCTION.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any debt reduction pursu2 ant to subsection (a) shall be accomplished at the di3 rection of the Facility by the exchange of a new obli4 gation for obligations of the type referred to in sub5 section (a) outstanding as of the date specified in

6 subsection (a)(1).

7 ‘‘(2) EXCHANGE OF OBLIGATIONS.—

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Facility shall no9 tify the agency primarily responsible for admin10 istering part I of this Act of an agreement en11 tered into under paragraph (1) with an eligible

12 country to exchange a new obligation for out13 standing obligations.

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

15 direction of the Facility, the old obligations that

16 are the subject of the agreement shall be can17 celed and a new debt obligation for the country

18 shall be established relating to the agreement,

19 and the agency primarily responsible for admin20 istering part I of this Act shall make an adjust21 ment in its accounts to reflect the debt reduc22 tion.

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

24 following additional terms and conditions shall apply to

25 the reduction of debt under subsection (a)(1) in the same
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1 manner as such terms and conditions apply to the reduc2 tion of debt under section 704(a)(1) of this Act:

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

4 principal under section 705 of this Act.

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

6 obligations under section 706 of this Act.

7 ‘‘SEC. 807. REDUCTION OF DEBT OWED TO THE UNITED

8 STATES AS A RESULT OF CREDITS EXTENDED

9 UNDER TITLE I OF THE AGRICULTURAL

10 TRADE DEVELOPMENT AND ASSISTANCE ACT

11 OF 1954.

12 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO REDUCE DEBT.—

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

14 provision of law, the President may reduce the

15 amount owed to the United States (or any agency of

16 the United States) that is outstanding as of January

17 1, 1998, as a result of any credits extended under

18 title I of the Agricultural Trade Development and

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

20 a country eligible for benefits from the Facility.

21 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

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

23 Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990) for the reduc24 tion of any debt pursuant to this section, there are

25 authorized to be appropriated to the President—
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1 ‘‘(A) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 1999;

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

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

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

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any debt reduction pursu6 ant to subsection (a) shall be accomplished at the di7 rection of the Facility by the exchange of a new obli8 gation for obligations of the type referred to in sub9 section (a) outstanding as of the date specified in

10 subsection (a)(1).

11 ‘‘(2) EXCHANGE OF OBLIGATIONS.—

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Facility shall no13 tify the Commodity Credit Corporation of an

14 agreement entered into under paragraph (1)

15 with an eligible country to exchange a new obli16 gation for outstanding obligations.

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

18 direction of the Facility, the old obligations that

19 are the subject of the agreement shall be can20 celed and a new debt obligation shall be estab21 lished for the country relating to the agreement,

22 and the Commodity Credit Corporation shall

23 make an adjustment in its accounts to reflect

24 the debt reduction.
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1 ‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The

2 following additional terms and conditions shall apply to

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

4 manner as such terms and conditions apply to the reduc5 tion of debt under section 604(a)(1) of the Agricultural

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

7 1738c):

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

9 principal under section 605 of such Act.

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

11 obligations under section 606 of such Act.

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

13 SWAPS AND DEBT BUYBACKS.

14 ‘‘(a) LOANS AND CREDITS ELIGIBLE FOR SALE, RE15 DUCTION, OR CANCELLATION.—

16 ‘‘(1) DEBT-FOR-NATURE SWAPS.—

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

18 other provision of law, the President may, in

19 accordance with this section, sell to any eligible

20 purchaser described in subparagraph (B) any

21 concessional loans described in section

22 806(a)(1) or any credits described in section

23 807(a)(1), or on receipt of payment from an eli24 gible purchaser described in subparagraph (B),

25 reduce or cancel such loans (or credits) or por-
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1 tion thereof, only for the purpose of facilitating

2 a debt-for-nature swap to support eligible activi3 ties described in section 809(d).

4 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE PURCHASER DESCRIBED.—

5 A loan or credit may be sold, reduced, or can6 celed under subparagraph (A) only to a pur7 chaser who presents plans satisfactory to the

8 President for using the loan or credit for the

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

10 support eligible activities described in section

11 809(d).

12 ‘‘(C) CONSULTATION REQUIREMENT.—Be13 fore the sale under subparagraph (A) to any eli14 gible purchaser described in subparagraph (B),

15 or any reduction or cancellation under such

16 subparagraph (A), of any loan or credit made

17 to an eligible country, the President shall con18 sult with the country concerning the amount of

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

20 and their uses for debt-for-nature swaps to sup21 port eligible activities described in section

22 809(d).

23 ‘‘(D) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA24 TIONS.—For the cost (as defined in section

25 502(5) of the Federal Credit Reform Act of
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1 1990) for the reduction of any debt pursuant to

2 subparagraph (A), amounts authorized to ap3 propriated under sections 806(a)(2) and

4 807(a)(2) shall be made available for such re5 duction of debt pursuant to subparagraph (A).

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

7 other provision of law, the President may, in accord8 ance with this section, sell to any eligible country

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

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

11 receipt of payment from an eligible country, reduce

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

13 only for the purpose of facilitating a debt buyback

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

15 if the eligible country uses an additional amount of

16 the local currency of the eligible country, equal to

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

18 debt by such eligible country, or the difference be19 tween the price paid for such debt and the face value

20 of such debt, to support eligible activities described

21 in section 809(d).

22 ‘‘(3) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Notwithstand23 ing any other provision of law, the President shall,

24 in accordance with this section, establish the terms
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1 and conditions under which loans and credits may be

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

3 ‘‘(4) ADMINISTRATION.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Facility shall no5 tify the administrator of the agency primarily

6 responsible for administering part I of this Act

7 or the Commodity Credit Corporation, as the

8 case may be, of eligible purchasers described in

9 paragraph (1)(B) that the President has deter10 mined to be eligible under paragraph (1), and

11 shall direct such agency or Corporation, as the

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

13 cancellation of a loan pursuant to such para14 graph.

15 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—Such

16 agency or Corporation, as the case may be,

17 shall make an adjustment in its accounts to re18 flect the sale, reduction, or cancellation.

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

20 the sale, reduction, or cancellation of any loan sold, re21 duced, or canceled pursuant to this section shall be depos22 ited in the United States Government account or accounts

23 established for the repayment of such loan.

24 ‘‘SEC. 809. TROPICAL FOREST AGREEMENT.

25 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State is

2 authorized, in consultation with other appropriate

3 officials of the Federal Government, to enter into a

4 Tropical Forest Agreement with any eligible country

5 concerning the operation and use of the Fund for

6 that country.

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

8 such an Agreement, the Secretary shall consult with

9 the Board in accordance with section 811.

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

11 contained in section 708(b) of this Act (relating to con12 tents of an agreement) shall apply to a Agreement in the

13 same manner as such requirements apply to an Americas

14 Framework Agreement.

15 ‘‘(c) ADMINISTERING BODY.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts disbursed from

17 the Fund in each beneficiary country shall be admin18 istered by a body constituted under the laws of that

19 country.

20 ‘‘(2) COMPOSITION.—

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The administering

22 body shall consist of—

23 ‘‘(i) one or more individuals appointed

24 by the United States Government;
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1 ‘‘(ii) one or more individuals ap2 pointed by the government of the bene3 ficiary country; and

4 ‘‘(iii) individuals who represent a

5 broad range of—

6 ‘‘(I) environmental nongovern7 mental organizations of, or active in,

8 the beneficiary country;

9 ‘‘(II) local community develop10 ment nongovernmental organizations

11 of the beneficiary country; and

12 ‘‘(III) scientific or academic or13 ganizations or institutions of the ben14 eficiary country.

15 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—A ma16 jority of the members of the administering body

17 shall be individuals described in subparagraph

18 (A)(iii).

19 ‘‘(3) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The requirements

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

21 to responsibilities of the administering body) shall

22 apply to an administering body described in para23 graph (1) in the same manner as such requirements

24 apply to an administering body described in section

25 708(c)(1) of this Act.
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1 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—Amounts deposited in a

2 Fund shall be used to provide grants to preserve, main3 tain, and restore the tropical forests in the beneficiary

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

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

6 maintenance of parks, protected areas, and reserves.

7 ‘‘(2) Development and implementation of sci8 entifically sound systems of natural resource man9 agement, including land and ecosystem management

10 practices.

11 ‘‘(3) Training programs to strengthen conserva12 tion institutions and increase scientific, technical,

13 and managerial capacities of individuals and organi14 zations involved in conservation efforts.

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

16 of diverse animal and plant species.

17 ‘‘(5) Mitigation of greenhouse gases in the at18 mosphere.

19 ‘‘(6) Development and support of the livelihoods

20 of individuals living in or near a tropical forest, in21 cluding the cultures of such individuals, in a manner

22 consistent with protecting such tropical forest.

23 ‘‘(e) GRANT RECIPIENTS.—

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

25 shall be made to—
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1 ‘‘(A) nongovernmental environmental, con2 servation, and indigenous peoples organizations

3 of, or active in, the beneficiary country;

4 ‘‘(B) other appropriate local or regional

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

6 and

7 ‘‘(C) in exceptional circumstances, the gov8 ernment of the beneficiary country.

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

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

11 that are run by nongovernmental organizations and

12 other private entities and that involve local commu13 nities in their planning and execution.

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

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

16 by the Government of the United States or the govern17 ment of the beneficiary country.

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

19 country ceases to meet the eligibility requirements set

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

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

22 for that country may only be made to nongovernmental

23 organizations until such time as the President determines

24 that such country meets the eligibility requirements set

25 forth in section 805(a).
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1 ‘‘SEC. 810. TROPICAL FOREST FUND.

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

3 that enters into a Tropical Forest Agreement under sec4 tion 809 shall be required to establish a Tropical Forest

5 Fund to receive payments of interest on new obligations

6 undertaken by the beneficiary country under this part.

7 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO OPERATION OF

8 FUND.—The following terms and conditions shall apply

9 to the Fund in the same manner as such terms as condi10 tions apply to an Enterprise for the Americas Fund under

11 section 707 of this Act:

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

13 subsection (b) of such section.

14 ‘‘(2) The provision relating to investments

15 under subsection (c) of such section.

16 ‘‘(3) The provision relating to disbursements

17 under subsection (d) of such section.

18 ‘‘SEC. 811. BOARD.

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

20 Enterprise for the Americas Board established under sec21 tion 610(a) of the Agricultural Trade Development and

22 Assistance Act of 1954 (7 U.S.C. 1738i(a)) shall, in addi23 tion to carrying out the responsibilities of the Board under

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

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

26 part.
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1 ‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL MEMBERSHIP.—

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

3 Americas Board shall be composed of an additional

4 four members appointed by the President as follows:

5 ‘‘(A) Two representatives from the United

6 States Government, including a representative

7 of the International Forestry Division of the

8 United States Forest Service.

9 ‘‘(B) Two representatives from private

10 nongovernmental environmental, scientific, and

11 academic organizations with experience and ex12 pertise in preservation, maintenance, and res13 toration of tropical forests.

14 ‘‘(2) CHAIRPERSON.—Notwithstanding section

15 610(b)(2) of the Agricultural Trade Development

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

17 the Enterprise for the Americas Board shall be

18 headed by a chairperson who shall be appointed by

19 the President from among the representatives ap20 pointed under section 610(b)(1)(A) of such Act or

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

22 ‘‘(c) DUTIES.—The duties described in this sub23 section are as follows:

24 ‘‘(1) Advise the Secretary of State on the nego25 tiations of Tropical Forest Agreements.
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1 ‘‘(2) Ensure, in consultation with—

2 ‘‘(A) the government of the beneficiary

3 country,

4 ‘‘(B) nongovernmental organizations of the

5 beneficiary country,

6 ‘‘(C) nongovernmental organizations of the

7 region (if appropriate),

8 ‘‘(D) environmental, scientific, and aca9 demic leaders of the beneficiary country, and

10 ‘‘(E) environmental, scientific, and aca11 demic leaders of the region (as appropriate),

12 that a suitable administering body is identified for

13 each Fund.

14 ‘‘(3) Review the programs, operations, and fis15 cal audits of each administering body.

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

17 ‘‘The President shall consult with the appropriate

18 congressional committees on a periodic basis to review the

19 operation of the Facility under this part and the eligibility

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

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

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

23 each fiscal year, the President shall prepare and transmit

24 to the Congress an annual report concerning the operation
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1 of the Facility for the prior fiscal year. Such report shall

2 include—

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

4 by the Facility during the previous fiscal year;

5 ‘‘(2) a description of any Agreement entered

6 into under this part;

7 ‘‘(3) a report on any Funds that have been es8 tablished under this part and on the operations of

9 such Funds; and

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

11 provided by administering bodies pursuant to Agree12 ments under this part.

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

14 Not later than December 15 of each fiscal year, each mem15 ber of the Board shall be entitled to receive a copy of the

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

17 Board may prepare and submit supplemental views to the

18 President on the implementation of this part by December

19 31 for inclusion in the annual report when it is transmit20 ted to Congress pursuant to this section.’’.

Æ