I 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6549 

To provide support for international initiatives to provide debt relief to 

developing countries with unsustainable levels of debt, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 1, 2022 

Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To provide support for international initiatives to provide 

debt relief to developing countries with unsustainable 

levels of debt, 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. SUPPORT FOR INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVES 

4 TO PROVIDE DEBT RELIEF TO DEVELOPING 

5 COUNTRIES WITH UNSUSTAINABLE LEVELS 

6 OF DEBT. 

7 (a) DEBT RELIEF.—The Secretary of the Treasury, 

8 in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall— 

9 (1) engage with international financial institu10 tions and official and commercial creditors to adVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:33 Feb 04, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6549.IH H6549

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1 vance support for prompt and effective implementa2 tion and improvement of the Common Framework 

3 for Debt Treatments beyond the Debt Service Sus4 pension Initiative (in this section referred to as the 

5 ‘‘Common Framework’’), and any successor frame6 work or similar coordinated international debt treat7 ment process through the establishment and publica8 tion of clear and accountable— 

9 (A) debt treatment benchmarks designed 

10 to achieve debt sustainability for each partici11 pating debtor; 

12 (B) standards for equitable burden sharing 

13 among all creditors with material claims on 

14 each participating debtor, without regard for 

15 their official, private, or hybrid status; 

16 (C) robust debt disclosure, including but 

17 not limited to inter-creditor data sharing and a 

18 broad presumption in favor of public disclosure 

19 of material terms and conditions of claims on 

20 participating debtors; 

21 (D) expanded eligibility criteria to include 

22 all countries with unsustainable levels of sov23 ereign debt; 

24 (E) standards for comprehensive creditor 

25 participation consistent with robust application 


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1 of the policies of the International Monetary 

2 Funds relating to lending into arrears; and 

3 (F) consistent enforcement and improve4 ment of the policies of multilateral institutions 

5 relating to asset-based and revenue-based bor6 rowing by participating debtors, and coordi7 nated standards on restructuring collateralized 

8 debt; 

9 (2) engage with international financial institu10 tions and official and commercial creditors to ad11 vance support for a comprehensive and effective debt 

12 payment standstill for each participating debtor 

13 from the time of its application for, and until the 

14 completion of its negotiations under, the Common 

15 Framework, or any successor framework or similar 

16 coordinated international debt treatment process: 

17 provided, however, that any such standstill should 

18 incentivize prompt and comprehensive debt restruc19 turing agreement and provide temporary cash flow 

20 relief for the debtor, without exacerbating its vulner21 ability to debt distress; and 

22 (3) instruct the United States Executive Direc23 tor at the International Monetary Fund and the 

24 United States Executive Director at the World Bank 

25 to use the voice and vote of the United States to adVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:33 Feb 04, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6549.IH H6549

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1 vance the efforts described in paragraphs (1) and 

2 (2), including by urging international financial insti3 tutions to participate in debt relief, without under4 mining their ability to continue to provide new and 

5 additional flows of aid and assistance. 

6 (b) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 120 

7 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annu8 ally thereafter until the end of the COVID–19 pandemic, 

9 as determined by the World Health Organization, the Sec10 retary of the Treasury, in coordination with the Secretary 

11 of State, shall submit to the Committees on Banking, 

12 Housing, and Urban Affairs and Foreign Relations of the 

13 Senate and the Committees on Financial Services and 

14 Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives a report 

15 that describes— 

16 (1) actions that have been taken, in coordina17 tion with international financial institutions, by offi18 cial creditors, including the government of, and 

19 state-owned enterprises in, the People’s Republic of 

20 China, and relevant commercial creditor groups to 

21 advance debt relief for countries with unsustainable 

22 debt that have sought relief under the Common 

23 Framework, any successor framework or mechanism, 

24 or under any other coordinated international ar25 rangement for sovereign debt restructuring; 


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1 (2) any implementation challenges that hinder 

2 the ability of the Common Framework to provide 

3 timely debt restructuring for any country with 

4 unsustainable debt that seeks debt relief or debt 

5 payment relief, including any refusal of any creditors 

6 to participate in equitable burden sharing, including 

7 but not limited to failure to share (or publish, as ap8 propriate) all material information needed to assess 

9 debt sustainability and inter-creditor equity; 

10 (3) recommendations on how to address chal11 lenges identified in paragraph (2); 

12 (4) any United States policy concerns with re13 spect to providing debt relief to specific countries; 

14 and 

15 (5) the transparency and accountability meas16 ures established or proposed to ensure that resources 

17 freed up by the debt relief described in paragraph 

18 (1) are used for activities that respond to the health, 

19 economic, and social effects of the COVID–19 pan20 demic, climate change resiliency, or help ensure eq21 uitable recoveries and growth. 

Æ 


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