Union Calendar No. 192

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1993

[Report No. 106–325]

A BILL

To reauthorize the Overseas Private Investment

Corporation and the Trade and DevelopmentAgency, and for other purposes.

SEPTEMBER 17, 1999

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee

of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
IB

Union Calendar No. 192

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1993

[Report No. 106–325]

To reauthorize the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and the Trade

and Development Agency, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 27, 1999

Mr. MANZULLO (for himself, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. GEJDENSON,

Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. BENTSEN, Mr. BEREUTER, Mr. BERMAN, Mrs.

BIGGERT, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. BRADY of Texas, Mr. CALLAHAN, Mrs. CLAYTON, Mr. COOKSEY, Mr. COSTELLO, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr.

DELAHUNT, Mr. DELAY, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, Mr. ENGLISH, Mr. EWING,

Mr. FATTAH, Mr. FROST, Mr. GALLEGLY, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr.

HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. HOEFFEL, Mr. HOUGHTON, Ms. JACKSON-LEE

of Texas, Ms. KILPATRICK, Mr. KNOLLENBERG, Mr. KOLBE, Mr.

LAHOOD, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. LEACH, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Mr.

MATSUI, Mrs. MEEK of Florida, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. ORTIZ, Mr.

PACKARD, Mr. PORTER, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. ROTHMAN, Mr. RUSH, Mr.

SAWYER, Mr. SHERMAN, and Mr. BERRY) introduced the following bill;

which was referred to the Committee on International Relations

SEPTEMBER 17, 1999

Additional sponsors: Mr. CLEMENT, Mr. CLYBURN, Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon,

Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. DAVIS of Florida, Mr. DREIER, Ms. LOFGREN, Mrs.

LOWEY, Mr. PHELPS, Mr. SNYDER, Mr. LAFALCE, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr.

BOEHLERT, Mr. RADANOVICH, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Mr. HILLIARD, and Mr.

KLINK

SEPTEMBER 17, 1999

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House

on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
2

•HR 1993 RH

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

A BILL

To reauthorize the Overseas Private Investment Corporation

and the Trade and Development Agency, and for other

purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Export Enhancement

5 Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress makes the following findings:

8 (1) Since it began operations in 1971, the Over9 seas Private Investment Corporation (in this Act re10 ferred to as ‘‘OPIC’’) has sold investment services

11 and mobilized private sector resources to assist de12 veloping countries and emerging democracies in the

13 transition from nonmarket to market economies.

14 (2) In an era of declining Federal budgetary re15 sources, OPIC has consistently demonstrated an

16 ability to operate on a self-sustaining basis to sup17 port United States companies and promote economic

18 reform in emerging economies in Africa, the newly
3

•HR 1993 RH

1 independent states of the former Soviet Union,

2 Latin America, and the Caribbean.

3 (3) OPIC has played an important role in rein4 forcing United States foreign policy goals and in

5 strengthening the United States economy by cre6 ating jobs and promoting exports.

7 (4) Over the past 28 years, projects supported

8 by OPIC have generated over $58,000,000,000 in

9 United States exports, mobilized $121,000,000,000

10 of United States private sector investment, and cre11 ated more than 237,000 United States jobs.

12 (5) OPIC has been run on a sound financial

13 basis with reserves totaling approximately

14 $3,300,000,000 and with an estimated net budget

15 contribution to the international affairs account of

16 some $204,000,000 in fiscal year 2000.

17 (6) OPIC has maintained a claims recovery rate

18 of 95 percent, settling 254 insurance claims for

19 $541,000,000 and recovering all but $29,000,000

20 since 1971.

21 (7) OPIC programs have served to rectify mar22 ket failures, including limited market information in

23 developing countries and underdeveloped capital

24 markets, by insuring United States firms against

25 economic and market uncertainties.
4

•HR 1993 RH

1 (8) The Trade and Development Agency (in

2 this Act referred to as ‘‘TDA’’) promotes United

3 States business involvement in infrastructure

4 projects in developing and middle income countries.

5 (9) TDA has generated $12,300,000,000 in ex6 ports since its inception, with every $1 in spending

7 for TDA projects leading to the sale of $32 in

8 United States goods and services overseas.

9 (10) The United States and Foreign Commer10 cial Service (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Commer11 cial Service’’) plays an important role in helping

12 United States businesses identify export opportuni13 ties and develop reliable sources of information on

14 commercial prospects in foreign countries.

15 (11) The Congress has, on several occasions,

16 encouraged the Commercial Service to focus its re17 sources and efforts in countries or regions in Europe

18 and Asia to promote greater United States export

19 activity in those markets.

20 (12) The Congress supports the expansion of

21 the Rural Export Initiative by the International

22 Trade Administration (in this Act referred to as the

23 ‘‘ITA’’) of the Department of Commerce, particu24 larly those elements related to the use of information

25 technology and electronic commerce techniques.
5

•HR 1993 RH

1 (13) The Congress is encouraged by the success of

2 the Market Access and Compliance Unit of the ITA

3 and supports the Unit’s efforts to develop mobile

4 teams to resolve market access problems and ensure

5 compliance by United States trading partners with

6 trade agreements and commitments.

7 (14) The Congress acknowledges the demands

8 upon the Market Access and Compliance Unit of the

9 ITA and recommends that priority be given to fund10 ing for this unit to ensure that adequate resources are

11 available for it to fully implement its mission.

12 SEC. 3. POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS.

13 The Congress makes the following declarations:

14 (1) OPIC should set its fees at levels sufficient

15 to cover all operating costs, repay any subsidy ap16 propriations, and set aside adequate reserves against

17 future losses.

18 (2) OPIC should maintain a conservative ratio

19 of reserves to contingent liabilities and limit its obli20 gations in any one country in its worldwide finance

21 or insurance portfolio.

22 (3) Projects supported by OPIC should not dis23 place commercial finance or insurance offerings and

24 should encourage private sector financing and insur25 ance participation.
6

•HR 1993 RH

1 (4) Independent auditors should report annually

2 to the Congress on the level of OPIC’s reserves in

3 relation to its liabilities and provide an analysis of

4 the trends in the levels of reserves and liabilities and

5 the composition of its insurance and finance port6 folios, including OPIC’s investment funds.

7 (5) OPIC should double the dollar value of its

8 support for small businesses over the next four

9 years.

10 (6) In administering the programs and activi11 ties of the ITA, the Secretary of Commerce should

12 give particular emphasis to obtaining market access

13 for United States firms and to securing full compli14 ance with bilateral and multilateral trade agree15 ments.

16 (7) The ITA should facilitate the entrance of

17 United States businesses into the countries of sub18 Saharan Africa and Latin America.

19 (8) The Commercial Service, within the ITA,

20 should consider expanding its presence in urban

21 areas and in urban enterprise areas.

22 SEC. 4. OPIC ISSUING AUTHORITY.

23 Section 235(a)(2) of the Foreign Assistance Act of

24 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2195(a)(3)) is amended by striking

25 ‘‘1999’’ and inserting ‘‘2003’’.
7

•HR 1993 RH

1 SEC. 5. TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT AGENCY.

2 (a) PURPOSE.—Section 661(a) of the Foreign Assist3 ance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2421(a)) is amended by in4 serting before the period at the end of the second sentence

5 the following: ‘‘, with special emphasis on economic sectors

6 with significant United States export potential, such as

7 energy, transportation, telecommunications, and environ8 ment’’.

9 (b) CONTRIBUTIONS OF COSTS.—Section 661(b) of

10 the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2421(b))

11 is amended by adding at the end the following:

12 ‘‘(5) CONTRIBUTIONS TO COSTS.—The Trade

13 and Development Agency shall, to the maximum ex14 tent practicable, require corporations and other enti15 ties to—

16 ‘‘(A) share the costs of feasibility studies

17 and other project planning services funded

18 under this section; and

19 ‘‘(B) reimburse the Trade and Develop20 ment Agency those funds provided under this

21 section, if the corporation or entity concerned

22 succeeds in implementing the project for which

23 the funds were provided.’’. succeeds in project

24 implementation.’’.

25 (c) FUNDING.—Section 661(f) of the Foreign Assist26 ance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2421(f)) is amended—
8

•HR 1993 RH

1 (1) in paragraph (1)(A) by striking

2 ‘‘$77,000,000’’ and all that follows through ‘‘1996’’

3 and inserting ‘‘$48,000,000 for fiscal year 2000 and

4 such sums as may be necessary for each fiscal year

5 thereafter’’; and

6 (2) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘in fiscal

7 years’’ and all that follows through ‘‘provides’’ and

8 inserting ‘‘in carrying out its program, provide, as

9 appropriate, funds’’.

10 SEC. 6. PROGRAMS OF THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE ADMIN11 ISTRATION.

12 (a) FUNDING.—There are authorized to be appro13 priated to the ITA—

14 (1) for fiscal year 2000, $24,000,000 for its

15 Market Access and Compliance program,

16 $68,000,000 for its Trade Development program,

17 and $202,000,000 for the Commercial Service pro18 gram; and

19 (2) for each fiscal year thereafter, such sums as

20 may be necessary for the programs referred to in

21 paragraph (1).

22 (b) APPOINTMENTS.—Subject to the availability of

23 appropriations, the Secretary of Commerce, acting

24 through the Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Direc25 tor General of the United States and Foreign Commercial
9

•HR 1993 RH

1 Service, shall take steps to ensure that Commercial Serv2 ice employees are stationed in no fewer than 10 sub-Saha3 ran African countries and 1 full-time Commercial Service

4 employee is stationed in the Baltic states, and that the

5 Commercial Service has full-time employees in each coun6 try in South and Central America and an adequate num7 ber of employees in the Caribbean to ensure that United

8 States businesses are made aware of existing market op9 portunities for goods and services.

10 (c) INITIATIVE FOR SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA AND

11 LATIN AMERICA.—The Assistant Secretary of Commerce

12 and Director General of the United States and Foreign

13 Commercial Service Secretary of Commerce, acting through

14 the Under Secretary of Commerce for the International

15 Trade Administration, shall make a special effort to—

16 (1) identify those goods and services of United

17 States companies which are not being exported to

18 Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa but which

19 are being exported to countries in those regions by

20 competitor nations;

21 (2) identify trade barriers and noncompetitive

22 actions, including violations of intellectual property

23 rights, that are preventing or hindering the oper24 ation of United States companies in sub-Saharan

25 Africa and Latin America;
10

•HR 1993 RH

1 (3) publish on an annual basis the information

2 obtained under paragraphs (1) and (2);

3 (4) bring such information to the attention of

4 authorities in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin Amer5 ica with the goal of securing greater market access

6 for United States exporters of goods and services;

7 and

8 (5) report to the Speaker of the House of Rep9 resentatives and the President of the Senate the re10 sults of the efforts to increase the sales of United

11 States goods and services in sub-Saharan Africa and

12 Latin America.

13 (d) REPORTING ON VIOLATIONS OF TRADE AGREE14 MENTS.—The ITA should—

15 (1) identify countries and entities, as prac16 ticable, that violate commitments under trade agree17 ments with the United States and the impact of these

18 violations on specific sectors of the United States

19 economy;

20 (2) identify steps taken by the ITA on behalf of

21 United States companies affected by these violations;

22 and

23 (3) publicize, on an annual basis, the informa24 tion gathered under paragraphs (1) and (2).
11

•HR 1993 RH

1 ø(d)¿ (e) GLOBAL DIVERSITY AND URBAN EXPORT

2 INITIATIVE FOR THE ITA.—The ITA shall undertake an

3 initiative entitled the ‘‘Global Diversity and Urban Export

4 Initiative’’ to increase exports from minority-owned busi5 nesses, focusing on businesses in under-served areas, in6 cluding inner-city urban areas and urban enterprise zones.

7 The initiative should use electronic commerce technology

8 and products as another means of helping urban-based

9 and minority-owned businesses export overseas.

10 (f) STANDARDS ATTACHES.—Subject to the avail11 ability of appropriations, the International Trade Admin12 istration shall take the necessary steps to increase the num13 ber of standards attaches in the European Union and in

14 developing countries.

15 (g) EXPANSION OF PROGRAMS TO ASSIST SMALL

16 BUSINESSES.—The International Trade Administration

17 shall expand its efforts to assist small businesses in export18 ing their products and services abroad by using electronic

19 commerce technology and other electronic means—

20 (1) to communicate with significantly larger

21 numbers of small businesses about the assistance of22 fered by the ITA to small businesses in exporting

23 their products and services abroad; and

24 (2) to provide such assistance.
12

•HR 1993 RH

1 ø(e)¿ (h) AUTHORIZATION FOR ADVERTISING.—The

2 ITA is authorized to advertise in newspapers, business

3 journals, and other relevant publications and related

4 media to inform businesses about the services offered by

5 the ITA.

6 SEC. 7. BOARD OF DIRECTORS.

7 Section 233(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961

8 (22 U.S.C. 2193(b)) is amended—

9 (1) by striking the second and third sentences;

10 (2) in the fourth sentence by striking ‘‘(other

11 than the President of the Corporation, appointed

12 pursuant to subsection (c) who shall serve as a Di13 rector, ex officio)’’;

14 (3) in the second undesignated paragraph—

15 (A) by inserting ‘‘the President of the Cor16 poration, the Administrator of the Agency for

17 International Development, the United States

18 Trade Representative, and’’ after ‘‘including’’;

19 and

20 (B) by adding at the end the following:

21 ‘‘The United States Trade Representative may

22 designate a Deputy United States Trade Rep23 resentative to serve on the Board in place of the

24 United States Trade Representative.’’; and
13

•HR 1993 RH

1 (4) by inserting after the second undesignated

2 paragraph the following:

3 ‘‘There shall be a Chairman and a Vice Chairman

4 of the Board, both of whom shall be designated by the

5 President of the United States from among the Directors

6 of the Board other than those appointed under the second

7 sentence of the first paragraph of this subsection.’’.

8 SEC. 8. STRATEGIC EXPORT PLAN.

9 Section 2312(c) of the Export Enhancement Act of

10 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4727(c)) is amended—

11 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

12 (5);

13 (2) by striking the period at the end of para14 graph (6) and inserting a semicolon; and

15 (3) by adding at the end the following:

16 ‘‘(7) ensure that all export promotion activities

17 of the Agency for International Development are

18 fully coordinated and consistent with those of other

19 agencies;

20 ‘‘(8) identify means for providing more coordi21 nated and comprehensive export promotion services

22 to, and on behalf of, small and medium-sized busi23 nesses; and

24 ‘‘(9) establish a set of priorities to promote

25 United States exports to, and free market reforms
14

•HR 1993 RH

1 in, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and

2 other emerging markets, that are designed to stimu3 late job growth both in the United States and those

4 regions and emerging markets.’’.

5 SEC. 9. IMPLEMENTATION OF PRIMARY OBJECTIVES.

6 The Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee

7 shall—

8 (1) report on the actions taken or efforts cur9 rently underway to eliminate the areas of overlap

10 and duplication identified among Federal export pro11 motion activities;

12 (2) coordinate efforts to sponsor or promote

13 any trade show or trade fair;

14 (3) work with all relevant State and national

15 organizations, including the National Governors’ As16 sociation, that have established trade promotion of17 fices;

18 (4) report on actions taken or efforts currently

19 underway to promote better coordination between

20 State, Federal, and private sector export promotion

21 activities, including co-location, cost sharing between

22 Federal, State, and private sector export promotion

23 programs, and sharing of market research data; and

24 (5) by not later than September 30, 1999,

25 March 30, 2000, and annually thereafter, include the
15

•HR 1993 RH

1 matters addressed in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and

2 (4) in the annual report required to be submitted

3 under section 2312(f) of the Export Enhancement

4 Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4727(f)).

5 SEC. 10. TIMING OF TPCC REPORTS.

6 Section 2312(f) of the Export Enhancement Act of

7 1988 (15 U.S.C. 4727(f)) is amended by striking ‘‘Sep8 tember 30, 1995, and annually thereafter,’’ and inserting

9 ‘‘March 30 of each year,’’.