I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2232
To provide bilateral and multilateral debt relief to countries in sub-Saharan
Africa.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 15, 1999
Ms. WATERS (for herself, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Ms. LEE, and Ms.
SCHAKOWSKY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on International Relations, and in addition to the Committee
on Banking and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To provide bilateral and multilateral debt relief to countries
in sub-Saharan Africa.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Debt Relief and Development in Africa Act of 1999’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Actions to provide bilateral debt relief and procedures for new loans,
credits, and guarantees.
Sec. 3. Assistance for development of natural resources in sub-Saharan African
poor countries.
Sec. 4. Export-Import Bank assistance not available to companies that develop
natural resources in sub-Saharan African poor countries unless
contracts to do so are publicly available.
Sec. 5. Ensuring burdensharing by other creditor countries.
Sec. 6. Actions to improve the provision of multilateral debt relief and proce-
dures for new lending.
SEC. 2. ACTIONS TO PROVIDE BILATERAL DEBT RELIEF
AND PROCEDURES FOR NEW LOANS, CRED-
ITS, AND GUARANTEES.
The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘PART VI—CANCELLATION AND REDUCTION OF
DEBT OWED TO THE UNITED STATES BY SUB-
SAHARAN AFRICAN POOR COUNTRIES AND
PROCEDURES FOR NEW LOANS, CREDITS,
AND GUARANTEES TO DEVELOPING COUN-
TRIES
‘‘SEC. 901. CANCELLATION AND REDUCTION OF DEBT.
‘‘(a) CANCELLATION OF DEBT.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to amounts pro-
vided in advance in an appropriations Act, the Presi-
dent shall, prior to September 30, 2001, cancel all
amounts owed to the United States (or any agency
of the United States) by heavily indebted poor coun-
tries described in section 902 as a result of
concessional loans made or credits extended prior to
January 1, 1996, under any of the provisions of law
described in paragraph (2).
‘‘(2) PROVISIONS OF LAW.—The provisions of
law described in this paragraph are the following:
‘‘(A) Part I of this Act, chapter 4 of part
II of this Act, or predecessor foreign economic
assistance legislation.
‘‘(B) Title I of the Agricultural Trade De-
velopment and Assistance Act of 1954 (7
U.S.C. 1701 et seq.).
‘‘(b) REDUCTION OF DEBT.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to amounts pro-
vided in advance in an appropriations Act, the Presi-
dent shall, prior to September 30, 2001, reduce, by
not less than 95 percent, amounts owed to the
United States (or any agency of the United States)
by each heavily indebted poor country described in
section 902 as a result of nonconcessional loans
made, guarantees issued, or credits extended prior to
January 1, 1996, under any of the provisions of law
described in paragraph (2).
‘‘(2) PROVISIONS OF LAW.—The provisions of
law described in this paragraph are the following:
‘‘(A) Sections 221 and 222 of this Act.
‘‘(B) The Arms Export Control Act (22
U.S.C. 2751 et seq.).
‘‘(C) Section 5(f) of the Commodity Credit
Corporation Charter Act.
‘‘(D)(i) Section 201 of the Agricultural
Trade Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 5621).
‘‘(ii) Section 202 of such Act (7 U.S.C.
5622).
‘‘(E) The Export-Import Bank Act of
1945 (12 U.S.C. 635 et seq.).
‘‘SEC. 902. ELIGIBLE COUNTRIES.
‘‘(a) HEAVILY INDEBTED POOR COUNTRIES.—Ex-
cept as provided in subsection (b) and subject to the fulfill-
ment of the additional requirement in subsection (c), a
country shall be considered to be a heavily indebted poor
country and eligible for cancellation or reduction of debt
under section 901 if the country is a country in sub-Saha-
ran Africa and the country—
‘‘(1) is eligible to borrow from the International
Development Association;
‘‘(2) is not eligible to borrow from the Inter-
national Bank for Reconstruction and Development;
and
‘‘(3) has outstanding public and publicly guar-
anteed debt, the net present value of which on De-
cember 31, 1996, was at least 100 percent of the av-
erage annual value of the exports of the country for
the period 1994 through 1996.
‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS.—A country shall not be eligible
for cancellation or reduction of debt under section 901 if
the government of the country—
‘‘(1) supports or condones the practice of slav-
ery or there is documented evidence of the existence
of slavery in the country and the government is not
making a concerted effort to eradicate the practice;
or
‘‘(2) (including its military or other security
forces) engages in a consistent pattern of gross vio-
lations of internationally recognized human rights.
‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—A country which
is otherwise eligible to receive cancellation or reduction of
debt under section 901 may receive such cancellation or
reduction, as the case may be, only if the government of
the country has established, through transparent and
participatory processes, including participation of civil
society—
‘‘(1) a human development fund (hereinafter re-
ferred to as the ‘Human Development Fund’)—
‘‘(A) the resources of which shall be dedi-
cated to reducing the number of persons living
in poverty, expanding access of the poorest
members of society to basic social services, in-
cluding education, health, clean water and sani-
tation, and preventing the degradation of the
environment; and
‘‘(B) into which shall be deposited all sav-
ings generated by debt reduction received under
the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC)
Initiative of the International Bank for Recon-
struction and Development and the Inter-
national Monetary Fund and other debt reduc-
tion programs;
‘‘(2) arrangements to ensure that all expendi-
tures from the Human Development Fund during a
year will be used to increase annual expenditures for
human development by the government above the
greater of—
‘‘(A) the total amount of annual expendi-
tures for human development by the govern-
ment for the preceding year; or
‘‘(B) the average total amount of such ex-
penditures for the 3 years immediately pre-
ceding the year in which such fund is estab-
lished; and
‘‘(3) arrangements for monitoring the oper-
ations and financial transactions and accounts of the
Human Development Fund by an oversight body
which includes representatives of civil society.
‘‘SEC. 903. PRIORITY.
‘‘In canceling or reducing debt under section 901, the
President—
‘‘(1) shall give priority to—
‘‘(A) heavily indebted poor countries that
have demonstrated a sustained commitment to
poverty alleviation or have recently suffered a
major natural disaster; or
‘‘(B) the poorest heavily indebted poor
countries, as determined by the countries’ per
capita income, the United Nations’ Human De-
velopment Index, or another relevant measure
of poverty; and
‘‘(2) shall give the highest priority to those
countries that meet the requirements of both sub-
paragraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1).
‘‘SEC. 904. SPECIAL PROVISIONS.
‘‘(a) CANCELLATION OR REDUCTION OF DEBT NOT
CONSIDERED TO BE ASSISTANCE.—Except as the Presi-
dent may otherwise determine for reasons of national se-
curity, a cancellation or reduction of debt under section
901 shall not be considered to be assistance for purposes
of any provision of law limiting assistance to a country.
‘‘(b) INAPPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN PROHIBITIONS
RELATING
TO
CANCELLATION
OR
REDUCTION
OF
DEBT.—The authority to provide for cancellation or re-
duction of debt under section 901 may be exercised not-
withstanding section 620(r) of this Act.
‘‘SEC. 905. ANNUAL REPORTS TO THE CONGRESS.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than December 31 of
each year, the President shall prepare and transmit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report, which shall
be made available to the public, concerning the cancella-
tion and reduction of debt under section 901, and deter-
minations made under section 904(a) for the prior fiscal
year. The report shall also include a list of the countries
that have received debt cancellation or reduction under
section 901 and a list of the countries that have been de-
nied debt cancellation or reduction under section 902 and
the reasons therefor.
‘‘(b) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘appro-
priate congressional committees’ means—
‘‘(1) the Committee on Banking and Financial
Services and the Committee on International Rela-
tions of the House of Representatives; and
‘‘(2) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate.
‘‘SEC. 906. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.
‘‘It is the sense of the Congress that the amounts
that would otherwise be provided by the United States for
development aid or other debt relief should not be reduced
on account of any appropriations made pursuant to sec-
tion 907.
‘‘SEC. 907. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
‘‘For the cost (as defined in section 502(5) of the
Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990) of the cancellation
or reduction of any debt under section 901 of this Act,
there are authorized to be appropriated to the President
such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years
2000 and 2001.
‘‘SEC. 908. PROCEDURES FOR NEW LOANS, CREDITS, AND
GUARANTEES.
‘‘The President shall, to the extent appropriate, en-
sure that all decisions by the Government of the United
States (or any agency of the United States) to make new
loans, extend new credits or issue new guarantees to the
governments (or any agency of the governments) of, or
private parties in, any developing country shall be subject
to transparent and participatory processes, including giv-
ing due notice to the public in advance of such decisions
of the proposed purposes, terms, and conditions of such
loans, credits, and guarantees.’’.
SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE FOR DEVELOPMENT OF NATURAL RE-
SOURCES IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN POOR
COUNTRIES.
The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151
et seq.), as amended by this Act, is further amended by
adding at the end the following:
‘‘PART VII—ASSISTANCE FOR DEVELOPMENT OF
NATURAL RESOURCES IN SUB-SAHARAN AF-
RICAN POOR COUNTRIES
‘‘SEC. 921. AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE.
‘‘The Administrator of the United States Agency for
International Development, in consultation with the Sec-
retary of the Treasury, the Administrator of the Environ-
mental Protection Agency, and the Secretary of Labor,
shall establish and carry out a program to provide assist-
ance, including technical assistance, to countries described
in section 902 of this Act (except subsection (a)(3) of such
section) for the purpose of—
‘‘(1) establishing plans in such countries,
through transparent and participatory processes, in-
cluding the participation of civil society, for the de-
velopment of the countries’ natural resources in a
manner that will benefit the population of the coun-
try; and
‘‘(2) in negotiating or renegotiating equitable
contracts with foreign or multinational corporations
for the development of natural resources.
‘‘SEC. 922. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Plans described in section 921
should include the following:
‘‘(1) The natural resources that are being devel-
oped or will be developed in the country.
‘‘(2) The profits and other benefits that the
government estimates will accrue to the companies
involved in the development of such natural re-
sources.
‘‘(3) The corporate tax revenues, land use fees,
resource extraction fees, export tariffs, and other
revenues that the government estimates will be
raised as a result of the development and extraction
of such natural resources.
‘‘(4) The plans of the government for the use
of the revenues so raised.
‘‘(5) The plans of the government to conserve
such natural resources and protect the environment
of the country.
‘‘(6) The plans of the government to protect
public health and safety and the rights of workers.
‘‘(7) The plans of the government to provide for
the training and education of the local population
and to ensure that the companies involved in the de-
velopment of such natural resources provide mem-
bers of the local population opportunities for employ-
ment and advancement.
‘‘(8) Any other plans of the government to en-
sure a fair return to the country and its people for
the development of such natural resources.
‘‘(b) TRANSPARENCY.—The Administrator shall en-
courage each government to make available to the public
all contracts between the government (including any enter-
prise owned or controlled by the government) and a for-
eign or multinational corporation for the development of
natural resources of the country.
‘‘SEC. 923. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec-
retary of the Treasury such sums as may be necessary
for each of the fiscal years 2000 through 2006 to carry
out this part.’’.
SEC. 4. EXPORT-IMPORT BANK ASSISTANCE NOT AVAIL-
ABLE TO COMPANIES THAT DEVELOP NAT-
URAL RESOURCES IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN
POOR COUNTRIES UNLESS CONTRACTS TO
DO SO ARE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE.
Section 2(b) of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945
(12 U.S.C. 635(b)) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
‘‘(12) The Bank shall not insure, guarantee, extend
credit, or participate in an extension of credit to any pri-
vate entity that is involved in developing natural resources
in any country described in section 902(a) of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 (except subsection (a)(3) of such
section), unless the entity has made a copy of each con-
tract in effect between the entity and the government of
any such country (including any enterprise owned or con-
trolled by any such government) available to the public.’’.
SEC. 5. ENSURING BURDENSHARING BY OTHER CREDITOR
COUNTRIES.
In order to accelerate bilateral debt relief and pro-
mote economic and human development and poverty allevi-
ation in heavily indebted sub-Saharan African poor coun-
tries, the Congress urges the President, immediately after
the date of the enactment of this Act, to establish diplo-
matic efforts with countries that are members of the Paris
Club of Official Creditors, and, if necessary, with other
creditors, to accomplish the following by September 30,
2001:
(1) The cancellation of all amounts owed to
each such member country by heavily indebted poor
countries described in section 902 of the Foreign As-
sistance Act of 1961 (as added by section 2) as a
result of concessional loans made or credits extended
prior to January 1, 1996, by each such country.
(2) The reduction, by not less than 95 percent,
of amounts owed to each such country by heavily in-
debted poor countries described in section 902 of the
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (as added by section
2) as a result of nonconcessional loans made, guar-
antees issued, or credits extended prior to January
1, 1996, by each such country.
(3) The establishment of procedures by the
Club to ensure greater transparency in the decision-
making process, including publication of each deci-
sion and its rationale, on all applications to the Club
for debt reduction by heavily indebted poor countries
described in section 902 of the Foreign Assistance
Act of 1961 (as added by section 2).
SEC. 6. ACTIONS TO IMPROVE THE PROVISION OF MULTI-
LATERAL DEBT RELIEF AND PROCEDURES
FOR NEW LENDING.
(a) MODIFICATIONS TO THE HIPC INITIATIVE.—
Title XVI of the International Financial Institutions Act
(22 U.S.C. 262p–262p–5) is amended by adding at the
end the following:
‘‘SEC. 1623. IMPROVEMENT OF THE HEAVILY INDEBTED
POOR COUNTRIES INITIATIVE; ENSURING EQ-
UITABLE BURDEN SHARING.
‘‘(a) IMPROVEMENT OF THE HIPC INITIATIVE.—In
order to accelerate multilateral debt relief and promote
economic and human development and poverty alleviation
in heavily indebted poor countries in sub-Saharan Africa,
the Congress urges the President to commence imme-
diately diplomatic efforts, within the Paris Club of Official
Creditors, as well as the International Bank for Recon-
struction and Development (World Bank), the Inter-
national Monetary Fund (IMF), the African Development
Bank, and other appropriate multilateral development in-
stitutions to accomplish the following modifications in the
Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative with
respect to countries in sub-Saharan Africa:
‘‘(1) PROHIBITION
ON
STRUCTURAL
ADJUST-
MENT PROGRAMS.—The provision of debt reduction
under the HIPC Initiative shall not be conditioned
on any country adopting or implementing any struc-
tural adjustment program, but may be conditioned
on good governance, transparency, or the elimination
of economic corruption.
‘‘(2) REVISION OF COUNTRY ELIGIBILITY RE-
QUIREMENT.—A country shall be regarded as having
an unsustainable debt burden for purposes of quali-
fying for debt reduction (or for further debt reduc-
tion) under the HIPC Initiative if the net present
value of the outstanding public and publicly guaran-
teed debt of the country at the end of 1996 was at
least 100 percent of the average annual value of the
exports of the country for the period 1994 through
1996.
‘‘(3) REQUIREMENT FOR A HUMAN DEVELOP-
MENT FUND.—Debt reduction under the HIPC Ini-
tiative shall not be provided for the benefit of a
country unless the government of the country has
established, through transparent and participatory
processes, including the participation of civil
society—
‘‘(A) a plan of action for human develop-
ment (in this section referred to as the ‘Action
Plan’) which includes policies, programs, and
projects designed to reduce the number of per-
sons living in poverty, expand access of the
poorest members of society to basic social serv-
ices, including health, education, clean water,
and sanitation, and prevent the degradation of
the environment;
‘‘(B) a human development fund (in this
section referred to as the ‘Human Development
Fund’)—
‘‘(i) the resources of which are dedi-
cated to achieving the purposes of the Ac-
tion Plan; and
‘‘(ii) into which are required to be de-
posited all savings generated by debt re-
duction provided for the benefit of the
country under the Heavily Indebted Poor
Countries (HIPC) Initiative and under
other debt reduction programs;
‘‘(C) arrangements to ensure that all ex-
penditures from the Human Development Fund
during a year will be used to increase annual
expenditures for human development by the
government above the greater of—
‘‘(i) the total amount of annual ex-
penditures for human development by the
government for the preceding year; or
‘‘(ii) the average total amount of such
expenditures for the 3 years immediately
preceding the year in which such fund is
established; and
‘‘(D) arrangements for monitoring the op-
erations, financial transactions, and accounts of
the Human Development Fund by an oversight
body which includes representatives of civil soci-
ety.
‘‘(4) REQUIREMENT
FOR
A
NATURAL
RE-
SOURCES DEVELOPMENT PLAN.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Debt reduction under
the HIPC Initiative shall not be provided for
the benefit of a country unless the government
of the country has established through trans-
parent and participatory processes (including
the participation of civil society) a plan (in this
section referred to as the ‘Natural Resources
Development Plan’), covering at least a 5-year
period, for the development of the country’s
natural resources in a manner that will benefit
the population of the country. The plan shall
specify at least the following:
‘‘(i) The natural resources that are
being developed or will be developed in the
country.
‘‘(ii) The profits and other benefits
that the government estimates will accrue
to the companies involved in the develop-
ment of such natural resources.
‘‘(iii) The corporate tax revenues, land
use fees, resource extraction fees, export
tariffs, and other revenues that the govern-
ment estimates will be raised as a result of
the development and extraction of such
natural resources.
‘‘(iv) The plans of the government for
the use of the revenues so raised.
‘‘(v) The plans of the government to
conserve such natural resources and pro-
tect the environment of the country.
‘‘(vi) The plans of the government to
protect public health and safety and the
rights of workers.
‘‘(vii) The plans of the government to
provide for the training and education of
the local population and to ensure that the
companies involved in the development of
such natural resources provide members of
the local population opportunities for em-
ployment and advancement.
‘‘(viii) Any other plans of the govern-
ment to ensure a fair return to the country
and its people for the development of such
natural resources.
‘‘(B) TRANSPARENCY.—All contracts be-
tween the government (including any enterprise
owned or controlled by the government) and a
foreign or multinational corporation for the de-
velopment of natural resources of the country
shall be made available to the public.
‘‘(C) ASSISTANCE.—The World Bank, the
African Development Bank, the IMF, or other
appropriate multilateral development institu-
tions shall, under the HIPC Initiative, provide
assistance to countries in developing their Nat-
ural Resources Development Plans and in nego-
tiating or renegotiating equitable contracts with
foreign or multinational corporations for the de-
velopment of natural resources.
‘‘(5) TIMING OF PROVISION OF DEBT REDUC-
TION.—As soon as a country has complied with the
requirements described in paragraphs (2), (3), and
(4), the country shall be considered eligible for im-
mediate debt reduction under the HIPC Initiative.
‘‘(6) AMOUNT
OF
DEBT
REDUCTION.—The
amount of the debt reduction provided under the
HIPC Initiative for the benefit of a country with an
unsustainable debt burden shall be sufficient to
reduce—
‘‘(A) the net present value of the out-
standing public and publicly guaranteed debt of
the country to less than 100 percent of the
value of the annual exports of the country; and
‘‘(B) the amount of annual payments due
on such public and publicly guaranteed debt to
not more than 5 percent of the amount of an-
nual current revenue received by the govern-
ment of the country from internal sources.
‘‘(7) TRANSPARENCY
AND
PARTICIPATION
IN
HIPC
DECISION
MAKING.—All decisions under the
HIPC Initiative concerning the amount, terms and
conditions, and timing of debt relief for a country,
and the processes by which such decisions are made,
shall be subject to procedures which are—
‘‘(A) transparent, including publication of
the content of the decisions and of all relevant
analytical, legal, and policy documents, includ-
ing Debt Sustainability Analyses, Policy Frame-
work Papers, debt relief agreements, and na-
tional development programs and budgets; and
‘‘(B) participatory, including the participa-
tion of civil society.
‘‘(8) EVALUATION
OF
DEBT
RELIEF
ELIGI-
BILITY
BY
THE
AFRICAN
DEVELOPMENT
BANK.—
The African Development Bank shall be responsible
for—
‘‘(A) determining the eligibility of sub-Sa-
haran African countries to receive debt reduc-
tion under the HIPC Initiative;
‘‘(B) evaluating proposals of the govern-
ments of such countries for Human Develop-
ment Funds, Natural Resources Development
Plans, and for meeting all other requirements
imposed as a condition of receiving such debt
reduction; and
‘‘(C) evaluating the compliance of such
countries with all requirements imposed as a
condition of receiving such debt reduction.
‘‘(9) MONITORING PANELS.—
‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The African De-
velopment Bank shall establish a Monitoring
Panel for each country that is eligible to receive
debt reduction under the HIPC Initiative.
‘‘(B) DUTIES.—The Monitoring Panel for
a country—
‘‘(i) shall review all proposed condi-
tions for the receipt of such debt reduction,
including proposals for a Natural Re-
sources Development Plan and the estab-
lishment of a Human Development Fund;
‘‘(ii) shall issue a report when the Af-
rican Development Bank and the country
reach an agreement on the conditions for
debt relief, and thereafter at least every 6
months, which shall be made available to
the public;
‘‘(iii) shall meet at least once per
month to evaluate and report on the
progress of the country’s debt relief pro-
gram;
‘‘(iv) shall review all actions by the
country’s government, the African Develop-
ment Bank, and other creditor govern-
ments 
and 
institutions 
affecting 
the
progress of the country’s debt relief pro-
gram; and
‘‘(v) shall review the implementation
of the country’s Natural Resources Devel-
opment Plan and the use of the funds de-
posited in the Human Development Fund.
‘‘(C) COMPOSITION.—
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—The Monitoring
Panel for a country—
‘‘(I) shall include individuals who
represent the government of the coun-
try, individuals who represent civil so-
ciety in the country, representatives of
creditor governments and multilateral
institutions, and representatives of
civil society in creditor countries; and
‘‘(II) may include a representa-
tive of UNICEF and a representative
of the United Nations.
For purposes of this clause, the term ‘civil
society’ includes individuals representing
labor unions, environmental organizations,
human rights organizations, religious orga-
nizations, farmers’ organizations, women’s
organizations, indigenous people’s organi-
zations, students’ organizations, opposition
political parties, and other community or-
ganizations.
‘‘(ii) REPRESENTATIVES
FROM
THE
COUNTRY INVOLVED.—At least half of the
members of the Monitoring Panel for a
country shall be citizens of the country.
‘‘(D) TRAVEL
AND
ADMINISTRATIVE
EX-
PENSES.—The African Development Bank shall
provide all funds necessary for travel and ad-
ministrative expenses for each Monitoring Panel
to fulfill its functions.
‘‘(10) SPECIAL PROVISIONS.—
‘‘(A) In providing debt reduction under the
HIPC Initiative, priority shall be given to the
poorest countries, as determined by the coun-
tries’ per capita income, the United Nations’
Human Development Index, or another relevant
measure of poverty.
‘‘(B) Debt reduction under the HIPC Ini-
tiative for the benefit of a country that has
demonstrated a sustained commitment to pov-
erty alleviation or has recently suffered a major
natural disaster shall be provided in a greater
amount or more quickly than would otherwise
be the case under the HIPC Initiative.
‘‘(11) HIPC REVIEW.—The Secretary of the
Treasury shall make every effort (including instruct-
ing the United States Executive Directors at the
IMF, the World Bank, and the African Development
Bank) to ensure that a comprehensive external as-
sessment of the HIPC Initiative shall take place by
December 31, 2001, shall incorporate the views of
debtor governments and civil society, shall be made
public, and shall include—
‘‘(A) an analysis of the contribution of the
HIPC Initiative to the poverty reduction and
social development goals for the 21st century
established by the Development Assistance
Committee of the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development; and
‘‘(B) recommendations to the IMF, the
World Bank, the African Development Bank,
and the governments of the United States and
other creditor countries that may be necessary
to strengthen the contribution of the HIPC Ini-
tiative to the poverty reduction and social goals
referred to in subparagraph (A).
‘‘(12) TERMINATION
OF
THE
HIPC
INITIA-
TIVE.—The HIPC Initiative shall not terminate
until all the debt reduction contemplated by this sec-
tion has been carried out.
‘‘(b) PROMOTION
OF EQUITABLE BURDEN SHAR-
ING.—In order to promote equitable burden-sharing by bi-
lateral, multilateral, and private creditors under the HIPC
initiative, the Congress urges the President to commence
immediately diplomatic efforts to ensure that such credi-
tors draw upon their own resources to finance debt reduc-
tion under the HIPC Initiative to the extent possible with-
out diverting funds from other high priority poverty allevi-
ation programs.
‘‘(c) CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HIPC TRUST FUND.—
For payment to the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries
Trust Fund of the International Bank for Reconstruction
and Development, there are authorized to be appropriated
to the President such sums as may be necessary for fiscal
years 2000, 2001, and 2002, except that if, with respect
to fiscal year 2001 or 2002, the President has not deter-
mined that, during the then preceding fiscal year, satisfac-
tory progress was made in accomplishing the improve-
ments in the HIPC initiative described in subsections (a)
and (b), then no sums are authorized to be appropriated
for such purpose for the fiscal year.
‘‘(d) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that the amounts that would otherwise be provided
by the United States for development aid or other debt
relief should not be reduced on account of any appropria-
tions pursuant to subsection (c).
‘‘(e) REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.—Not later than
December 31 of each year, the President shall submit to
the Committees on Banking and Financial Services and
on International Relations of the House of Representa-
tives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Sen-
ate a report, which shall be made available to the public,
on the activities undertaken under this section, and on the
progress made in accomplishing the purposes of this sec-
tion, for the prior fiscal year. The report shall include a
list of the countries that have received debt relief under
the HIPC Initiative, a list of the countries whose request
for such debt relief has been denied and the reasons there-
for, and a list of the countries whose requests for such
debt relief are under consideration.
‘‘SEC. 1624. IMPROVEMENT OF PROCEDURES FOR NEW
LENDING.
‘‘The President, acting through the Secretary of the
Treasury, shall work with the member countries of the
international financial institutions (as defined in section
1701(c)(2)) to ensure transparency and public participa-
tion in decisions to make new loans, and the terms and
conditions of such loans, to developing countries,
including—
‘‘(1) disclosure of Policy Framework Papers,
Public Expenditure Reviews, Country Assistance
Strategies, International Monetary Fund Letters of
Intent, appraisal documents, and other reports rel-
evant to proposed lending operations;
‘‘(2) participation of civil society in the design
of national development programs and in decisions
to borrow from such institutions in support of such
programs; and
‘‘(3) provision of detailed information to the
Board of Directors of such an institution and to the
public, prior to the approval of a lending operation
for a developing country, as to the nature and extent
of civil society participation in the design of, and ap-
proval process for, such operation.’’.
(b) FUNDING OF DEBT REDUCTION UNDER THE
HIPC INITIATIVE.—Section 5 of the Bretton Woods
Agreements Act (22 U.S.C. 286c) is amended by adding
at the end the following: ‘‘No director appointed to rep-
resent the United States at the Fund shall vote for any
proposal to sell or otherwise convert or liquidate gold, un-
less there are in effect such laws and procedures as may
be necessary to ensure that all of the proceeds obtained
from any such sale, conversion, or liquidation are depos-
ited in the HIPC Trust Fund administered by the Inter-
national Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and
that such funds are used only for the provision of debt
reduction under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries
(HIPC) Initiative.’’.
Æ