I
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4091
To provide debt relief and reconstruction aid to Mozambique and the other
countries severely damaged by the recent flooding in southern Africa.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 23, 2000
Ms. WATERS (for herself, Mr. MEEKS of New York, Ms. LEE, Mr. RANGEL,
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of
Texas, Mr. WYNN, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr.
JACKSON of Illinois, Ms. MCKINNEY, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Mr. HILL-
IARD, Ms. CARSON, and Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on International Rela-
tions, and in addition to the Committee on Banking and Financial Serv-
ices, 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 provide debt relief and reconstruction aid to Mozambique
and the other countries severely damaged by the recent
flooding in southern 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.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Limpopo River Debt
Relief and Reconstruction Act of 2000’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Beginning on February 9, 2000, the south-
ern African countries of Botswana, Lesotho, Mada-
gascar, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Zam-
bia, and Zimbabwe began to experience severe flood-
ing caused by days of heavy rain and cyclones, and
the Republic of Mozambique bore the brunt of these
torrential rains and experienced the worst flooding
in 50 years.
(2) Flooding along the Limpopo River in Mo-
zambique is particularly severe.
(3) The extent of the death and destruction
caused by these floods is still unknown.
(4) Because of the floods, there are hundreds of
thousands of homeless people living in camps in
these countries. These displaced people are in des-
perate need of food, clean water, medicine, blankets
and tents.
(5) Many of these countries’ roads and bridges
have been completely washed out, and their infra-
structure has been severely damaged.
(6) These countries need long-term economic
and technical assistance for the repair and recon-
struction of roads and bridges, schools and hospitals,
energy infrastructure, telecommunications facilities
and other essential infrastructure.
(7) The governments of these countries cannot
adequately address the immediate needs of displaced
people or invest in long-term development while con-
tinuing to make debt payments to foreign govern-
ments.
(8) Debt cancellation and reconstruction assist-
ance are essential to allow these countries to provide
for the needs of their people, repair their damaged
infrastructure and rebuild their economies.
TITLE I—DEBT RELIEF
SEC. 101. BILATERAL DEBT FORGIVENESS.
(a) CANCELLATION OF DEBT.—Subject to amounts
provided in advance in appropriations Acts, the President
shall cancel all amounts owed to the United States (or
any agency of the United States) by eligible countries (as
defined in section 301) as a result of concessional and
nonconcessional loans made, guarantees or insurance
issued, or credits extended under any provision of law.
(b) SPECIAL PROVISIONS.—
(1) CANCELLATION OF DEBT NOT CONSIDERED
TO BE ASSISTANCE.—Except as the President may
otherwise determine for reasons of national security,
a cancellation of debt under subsection (a) shall not
Paris Club of Official Creditors to cancel all debt owed
to the nation by the government of any eligible country.
SEC. 103. DEBT FORGIVENESS BY INTERNATIONAL FINAN-
CIAL INSTITUTIONS.
The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the
United States Executive Directors at the International
Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Inter-
national Monetary Fund, the African Development Bank,
and the African Development Fund to use the voice, vote,
and influence of the United States to urge their respective
institutions to cancel all debt owed to the institution by
the government of any eligible country.
TITLE II—RECONSTRUCTION AID
SEC. 201. BILATERAL AID.
Chapter 9 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act
of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2292 et seq.) is amended by adding
at the end the following:
‘‘SEC. 495L. SOUTHERN AFRICA RELIEF AND RE-
CONSTRUCTION ASSISTANCE.—
‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE.—The Presi-
dent is authorized to provide assistance for relief, recon-
struction, and related recovery activities in southern Afri-
ca as a result of the severe flooding that began on Feb-
ruary 9, 2000, in the southern African nations of Bot-
swana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mozambique, South Africa,
Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Assistance under this
subsection shall be provided on a grant basis.
‘‘(b) POLICIES
AND
AUTHORITIES
TO
BE
AP-
PLIED.—Assistance under subsection (a) shall be fur-
nished in accordance with the policies and general authori-
ties contained in section 491.
‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In ad-
dition to amounts otherwise available for carrying out sub-
section (a), there are authorized to be appropriated to
carry out this section such sums as may be necessary for
each of the fiscal years 2001 and 2002.’’.
SEC. 202. AID BY PARIS CLUB MEMBERS.
The Congress urges the President to use the influ-
ence of the United States within the Paris Club of Official
Creditors to urge each country that is a member of the
Paris Club of Official Creditors to provide grants to the
government of each eligible country for the repair and re-
construction of the infrastructure of the country that has
been damaged or destroyed by the flooding in southern
Africa that began on February 9, 2000.
SEC. 203. AID BY INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITU-
TIONS.
The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the
United States Executive Directors at the International
Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Inter-
national Monetary Fund, the African Development Bank,
and the African Development Fund to use the voice, vote,
and influence of the United States to urge their respective
institutions to provide grants to the government of each
eligible country for the repair and reconstruction of the
infrastructure of the country that has been damaged or
destroyed by the flooding in southern Africa that began
on February 9, 2000.
TITLE III—ELIGIBLE COUNTRIES
SEC. 301. DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE COUNTRY.
In this Act, the term ‘‘eligible country’’ means Bot-
swana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mozambique, South Africa,
Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Æ