I 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5708 
To oppose loans at international financial institutions for the Government 
of Nicaragua unless the Government of Nicaragua is taking effective 
steps to hold free, fair, and transparent elections, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 11, 2016 
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN
(for herself, Mr. SIRES, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, Mr. 
CA´RDENAS, Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina, Mr. NORCROSS, Mr. 
CURBELO of Florida, Mr. CUELLAR, Mr. YOHO, and Mr. BRENDAN F. 
BOYLE of Pennsylvania) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee 
on Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 
the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To oppose loans at international financial institutions for 
the Government of Nicaragua unless the Government 
of Nicaragua is taking effective steps to hold free, fair, 
and transparent elections, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Nicaraguan Invest-
ment Conditionality Act (NICA) of 2016’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) In 2006, Nicaragua, under President 
Enrique Bolan˜os, entered into a $175,000,000, 5- 
year compact with the Millennium Challenge Cor-
poration (MCC). 
(2) After the 2008 municipal elections, the 
MCC stated that there was a pattern of decline in 
political rights and civil liberties in Nicaragua. 
(3) In 2009, the MCC terminated the compact 
and reduced the amount of MCC funds available to 
Nicaragua by $61,500,000, which led to the compact 
ending in 2011. 
(4) According to Nicaraguan law, the National 
Assembly is the only institution allowed to change 
the constitution but in 2009, Daniel Ortega cir-
cumvented the legislature and went to the Supreme 
Court, which he controls, to rule in his favor that 
Presidential term limits were inapplicable. 
(5) The House Committee on Foreign Affairs 
convened a congressional hearing on December 1, 
2011, entitled ‘‘Democracy Held Hostage in Nica-
ragua: Part 1’’ where former United States Ambas-
sador to Nicaragua Robert Callahan testified, 
‘‘First, that Daniel Ortega’s candidacy was illegal, 
illegitimate, and unconstitutional; second, that the 
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period leading to the elections and the elections 
themselves were marred by serious fraud; third, that 
Daniel Ortega and his Sandinista party have system-
atically undermined the country’s fragile govern-
mental institutions’’. 
(6) From fiscal year 2012 until present, the 
Department of State found that Nicaragua did not 
meet international standards of fiscal transparency. 
(7) On January 25, 2012, a press statement 
from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said: ‘‘As 
noted by international observers and Nicaraguan 
civil society groups, Nicaragua’s recent elections 
were not conducted in a transparent and impartial 
manner, and the entire electoral process was marred 
by significant irregularities. The elections marked a 
setback to democracy in Nicaragua and undermined 
the ability of Nicaraguans to hold their government 
accountable.’’. 
(8) According to the Department of State’s 
2015 Fiscal Transparency Report: ‘‘The government 
does not publicly account for the expenditure of sig-
nificant off-budget assistance from Venezuela and 
this assistance is not subject to audit or legislative 
oversight. Allocations to and earnings from state- 
owned enterprises are included in the budget, but 
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most state-owned enterprises are not audited. The 
supreme audit institution also does not audit the 
government’s full financial statements. Nicaragua’s 
fiscal transparency would be improved by including 
all off-budget revenue and expenditure in the budg-
et, auditing state-owned enterprises, and conducting 
a full audit of the government’s annual financial 
statements and making audit reports publicly avail-
able within a reasonable period of time.’’. 
(9) According to the Department of State’s 
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 
2015: ‘‘In 2011 the Supreme Electoral Council 
(CSE) announced the re-election of President Daniel 
Ortega Saavedra of the Sandinista National Libera-
tion Front (FSLN) in elections that international 
and domestic observers characterized as seriously 
flawed. International and domestic organizations 
raised concerns regarding the constitutional legit-
imacy of Ortega’s re-election. The 2011 elections 
also provided the ruling party with a supermajority 
in the National Assembly, allowing for changes in 
the constitution, including extending the reach of ex-
ecutive branch power and the elimination of restric-
tions on re-election for executive branch officials and 
mayors. Observers noted serious flaws during the 
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2012 municipal elections and March 2014 regional 
elections.’’. 
(10) According to the Department of State’s 
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 
2015 in Nicaragua: ‘‘The principal human rights 
abuses were restrictions on citizens’ right to vote; 
obstacles to freedom of speech and press, including 
government intimidation and harassment of journal-
ists and independent media, as well as increased re-
striction of access to public information, including 
national statistics from public offices; and increased 
government harassment and intimidation of non-
governmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society 
organizations.’’. 
(11) The same 2015 report stated: ‘‘Additional 
significant human rights abuses included consider-
ably biased policies to promote single-party domi-
nance; arbitrary police arrest and detention of sus-
pects, including abuse during detention; harsh and 
life-threatening prison conditions with arbitrary and 
lengthy pretrial detention; discrimination against 
ethnic minorities and indigenous persons and com-
munities.’’. 
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(12) In February 2016, the Ortega regime de-
tained and expelled Freedom House’s Latin America 
Director, Dr. Carlos Ponce, from Nicaragua. 
(13) On May 10, 2016, the Supreme Electoral 
Council announced and published the electoral cal-
endar which aims to govern the electoral process. 
(14) After receiving the electoral calendar for 
the 2016 Presidential elections, the Nicaraguan po-
litical opposition raised concerns and pointed to a 
number of anomalies such as: the electoral calendar 
failed to contemplate national and international ob-
servations, failed to agree to publicly publish the 
precincts results of each Junta Receptora de Voto 
(JRV), and failed to purge the electoral registration 
rolls in a transparent and open manner. 
(15) Nicaragua’s constitution mandates terms 
of 5 years for municipal authorities, which would in-
dicate that the next municipal elections must occur 
in 2017. 
(16) On June 3, 2016, the Nicaraguan Su-
preme Court—which is controlled by Ortega—in-
structed the Supreme Electoral Council not to swear 
in Nicaraguan opposition members to the depart-
mental and regional electoral councils. 
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(17) On June 5, 2016, regarding international 
observers for the 2016 Presidential elections, Daniel 
Ortega stated: ‘‘Here, the observation ends. Go ob-
serve other countries . . . There will be no observa-
tion, neither from the European Union, nor the OAS 
. . .’’. 
(18) On June 7, 2016, the Department of 
State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and 
Labor posted on social media: ‘‘Disappointed govern-
ment of Nicaragua said it will deny electoral observ-
ers requested by Nicaraguan citizens, church, and 
private sector . . . We continue to encourage the 
government of Nicaragua to allow electoral observers 
as requested by Nicaraguans.’’. 
(19) On June 8, 2016, the Supreme Electoral 
Council—which is controlled by Ortega—announced 
a ruling, which changed the leadership structure of 
the opposition party and in practice allegedly barred 
all existing opposition candidates from running for 
office. 
(20) On June 14, 2016, Daniel Ortega expelled 
three United States Government officials (two offi-
cials from U.S. Customs and Border Protection and 
one professor from the National Defense University) 
from Nicaragua. 
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(21) On June 22, 2016, a Global Fellow from 
the Woodrow Wilson Center chose to leave Nica-
ragua because of fear. According to a media report, 
the fellow stated ‘‘Police were following me. I did 
not understand the reason why they were following 
me, but it was clear to me what they were doing 
. . . Of course (I felt fear), I was surprised espe-
cially because the research I am doing is completely 
academic, not journalistic, and that made me wonder 
why they would be so interested in something like 
that.’’. 
(22) On June 29, 2016, the Department of 
State issued a Nicaragua Travel Alert which stated: 
‘‘The Department of State alerts U.S. citizens about 
increased government scrutiny of foreigners’ activi-
ties, new requirements for volunteer groups, and the 
potential for demonstrations during the upcoming 
election season in Nicaragua . . . Nicaraguan au-
thorities have denied entry to, detained, questioned, 
or expelled foreigners, including U.S. government of-
ficials, academics, NGO workers, and journalists, for 
discussions, written reports or articles, photographs, 
and/or videos related to these topics. Authorities 
may monitor and question private U.S. citizens con-
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cerning their activities, including contact with Nica-
raguan citizens.’’. 
(23) On June 30, 2016, the Human Rights 
Foundation issued a press release stating: ‘‘. . . 
Daniel Ortega has used all sorts of trickery to push 
for constitutional reforms and illegal court rulings in 
order to extend his time in power indefinitely . . . 
If the opposition is not allowed to meaningfully com-
pete, the upcoming elections in Nicaragua cannot be 
considered free and fair and the Inter-American 
Democratic Charter should be applied to the Sandi-
nista regime.’’. The release continued, stating that 
‘‘The principle of alternation of power is enshrined 
in the Inter-American Democratic Charter (IADC) 
as an essential element of democracy. Even though 
Ortega pushed through a constitutional amendment 
allowing for indefinite re-election, he did so by cir-
cumventing the separation of powers illegally. An 
uncontested re-election of Ortega would clearly vio-
late the IADC, which was signed by Nicaragua in 
2001. If that is the case, Secretary General Almagro 
should activate the IADC and, if necessary, call for 
the suspension of Nicaragua from the OAS.’’. 
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 
It is the policy of the United States to support— 
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(1) the rule of law and an independent judiciary 
and electoral council in Nicaragua; 
(2) independent pro-democracy organizations in 
Nicaragua; and 
(3) free, fair, and transparent elections under 
international and domestic observers in Nicaragua in 
2016 and 2017. 
SEC. 4. INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall instruct the 
United States Executive Director at each international fi-
nancial institution to use the voice, vote, and influence of 
the United States to oppose any loan or other utilization 
of the funds of the respective institution for the benefit 
of the Government of Nicaragua, other than to address 
basic human needs or to promote democracy, unless the 
Secretary of State certifies and reports to the appropriate 
congressional committees that the Government of Nica-
ragua is taking effective steps to— 
(1) hold free, fair, and transparent elections 
overseen by credible domestic and international elec-
toral observers; 
(2) promote democracy, as well as an inde-
pendent judiciary system and electoral council; 
(3) strengthen the rule of law; and 
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(4) respect the right to freedom of association 
and expression. 
(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means— 
(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 
Committee on Appropriations, and the Com-
mittee on Financial Services of the House of 
Representatives; 
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations, 
the Committee on Appropriations, and the 
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
Affairs of the Senate. 
(2) 
INTERNATIONAL
FINANCIAL
INSTITU-
TION.—The term ‘‘international financial institu-
tion’’ means the International Monetary Fund, 
International Bank for Reconstruction and Develop-
ment, European Bank for Reconstruction and Devel-
opment, International Development Association, 
International Finance Corporation, Multilateral In-
vestment Guarantee Agency, African Development 
Bank, African Development Fund, Asian Develop-
ment Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, 
Bank for Economic Cooperation and Development in 
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