I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 643
To urge reforms of the Enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) 
Initiative, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 6, 2003
Ms. WATERS (for herself, Mr. LEACH, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, and Ms. 
LEE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To urge reforms of the Enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor 
Countries (HIPC) Initiative, 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 ‘‘Debt Cancellation for 
the New Millennium Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
(1) The Enhanced HIPC Initiative was devel-
oped by the countries of the G–7 during the G–7
Summit meeting in Cologne, Germany, June 18–20, 
1999. 
(2) The purpose of the Enhanced HIPC Initia-
tive is to provide debt relief to the world’s poorest 
countries and enable these countries to invest the 
savings from debt relief in HIV/AIDS treatment and 
prevention, health care, education, and poverty re-
duction programs. 
(3) The Enhanced HIPC Initiative requires 
heavily indebted poor countries (HIPCs) to develop 
and implement plans known as Poverty Reduction 
Strategy Papers (PRSPs) with the participation of 
civil society for the purpose of reducing poverty. 
(4) The Enhanced HIPC Initiative does not 
provide full cancellation of the debts of HIPCs. 
(5) The International Monetary Fund (IMF) 
and the International Bank for Reconstruction and 
Development (World Bank) have sufficient resources 
to provide full cancellation of the debts that HIPCs 
owe to these institutions. 
(6) The Enhanced HIPC Initiative requires 
HIPCs to implement structural adjustment pro-
grams approved by the IMF, which impose economic 
austerity upon these countries and are strongly op-
posed by civil society in many of the countries in 
which the programs have been implemented. 
(7) The process of developing and implementing 
PRSPs has required considerable time and effort on 
the part of officials and citizens in many HIPCs, 
and, as a result, these countries have been unable to 
begin to receive debt relief as quickly as had been 
planned. 
(8) The Enhanced HIPC Initiative requires 
HIPCs to continue to make service payments on 
their debts while they are developing and imple-
menting PRSPs, as well as while they are imple-
menting the IMF’s structural adjustment programs. 
(9) Many HIPCs have experienced revenue 
losses as a result of reductions in prices for export 
commodities. These revenue losses have reduced sig-
nificantly the benefits of debt relief. 
(10) Bangladesh, Haiti, and Nigeria were ex-
cluded from the Enhanced HIPC Initiative, although 
they are impoverished countries with significant debt 
burdens. 
(11) The complete cancellation of the debts of 
impoverished countries will remove a major impedi-
ment to poverty reduction and economic growth, en-
able these countries to invest their resources in HIV/
AIDS treatment and prevention, health care, edu-
cation, and poverty reduction, and give these coun-
tries a fresh start in the new millennium. 
SEC. 3. REFORMS OF THE ENHANCED HIPC INITIATIVE. 
Title XVI of the International Financial Institutions 
Act (22 U.S.C. 262p–262p–7) is amended by adding at 
the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 1625. REFORMS OF THE ENHANCED HIPC INITIATIVE. 
‘‘Congress urges the President to commence imme-
diately efforts, within the Paris Club of Official Creditors, 
as well as the International Bank for Reconstruction and 
Development (World Bank), the International Monetary 
Fund (IMF), and other appropriate multilateral develop-
ment institutions to accomplish the following modifica-
tions in the Enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries 
(HIPC) Initiative: 
‘‘(1) FULL DEBT CANCELLATION.—The amount 
of debt relief provided by the IMF and the World 
Bank under the Enhanced HIPC Initiative for the 
benefit of a HIPC shall be sufficient to completely 
cancel 100 percent of the debts owed by the HIPC 
to these institutions. Debt cancellation shall be pro-
vided by the IMF and the World Bank using their 
own resources.
‘‘(2) PROHIBITION
ON
STRUCTURAL
ADJUST-
MENT
PROGRAMS.—The provision of debt relief 
under the Enhanced HIPC Initiative shall not be 
conditioned on any country adopting or imple-
menting any structural adjustment or stabilization 
program of the Poverty Reduction and Growth Fa-
cility of the IMF or any other structural adjustment 
or stabilization program operated solely or jointly by 
the IMF or the World Bank. 
‘‘(3) IMMEDIATE SUSPENSION OF DEBT SERV-
ICE
PAYMENTS
FOR
COUNTRIES
DEVELOPING 
PRSPs.—All HIPCs that are working in good faith 
to develop and implement their Poverty Reduction 
Strategy Papers (PRSPs) pursuant to the Enhanced 
HIPC Initiative shall not be required to make serv-
ice payments on their debts. The PRSPs shall be de-
veloped and implemented with the participation of 
civil society in order to ensure that the savings from 
debt relief will be invested in HIV/AIDS treatment 
and prevention, health care, education, and poverty 
reduction programs. 
‘‘(4) COUNTRY ELIGIBILITY.—The eligibility re-
quirements of the Enhanced HIPC Initiative shall be 
revised to make Bangladesh, Haiti, and Nigeria eli-
gible.’’.