[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6549 Introduced in House (IH)]
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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.
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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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SUPPORT FOR INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVES TO PROVIDE DEBT RELIEF
TO DEVELOPING COUNTRIES WITH UNSUSTAINABLE LEVELS OF
DEBT.
(a) Debt Relief.--The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation
with the Secretary of State, shall--
(1) engage with international financial institutions and
official and commercial creditors to advance support for prompt
and effective implementation and improvement of the Common
Framework for Debt Treatments beyond the Debt Service
Suspension Initiative (in this section referred to as the
``Common Framework''), and any successor framework or similar
coordinated international debt treatment process through the
establishment and publication of clear and accountable--
(A) debt treatment benchmarks designed to achieve
debt sustainability for each participating debtor;
(B) standards for equitable burden sharing among
all creditors with material claims on each
participating debtor, without regard for their
official, private, or hybrid status;
(C) robust debt disclosure, including but not
limited to inter-creditor data sharing and a broad
presumption in favor of public disclosure of material
terms and conditions of claims on participating
debtors;
(D) expanded eligibility criteria to include all
countries with unsustainable levels of sovereign debt;
(E) standards for comprehensive creditor
participation consistent with robust application of the
policies of the International Monetary Funds relating
to lending into arrears; and
(F) consistent enforcement and improvement of the
policies of multilateral institutions relating to
asset-based and revenue-based borrowing by
participating debtors, and coordinated standards on
restructuring collateralized debt;
(2) engage with international financial institutions and
official and commercial creditors to advance support for a
comprehensive and effective debt payment standstill for each
participating debtor from the time of its application for, and
until the completion of its negotiations under, the Common
Framework, or any successor framework or similar coordinated
international debt treatment process: provided, however, that
any such standstill should incentivize prompt and comprehensive
debt restructuring agreement and provide temporary cash flow
relief for the debtor, without exacerbating its vulnerability
to debt distress; and
(3) instruct the United States Executive Director at the
International Monetary Fund and the United States Executive
Director at the World Bank to use the voice and vote of the
United States to advance the efforts described in paragraphs
(1) and (2), including by urging international financial
institutions to participate in debt relief, without undermining
their ability to continue to provide new and additional flows
of aid and assistance.
(b) Reporting Requirement.--Not later than 120 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter until the end of
the COVID-19 pandemic, as determined by the World Health Organization,
the Secretary of the Treasury, in coordination with the Secretary of
State, shall submit to the Committees on Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs and Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committees on
Financial Services and Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives
a report that describes--
(1) actions that have been taken, in coordination with
international financial institutions, by official creditors,
including the government of, and state-owned enterprises in,
the People's Republic of China, and relevant commercial
creditor groups to advance debt relief for countries with
unsustainable debt that have sought relief under the Common
Framework, any successor framework or mechanism, or under any
other coordinated international arrangement for sovereign debt
restructuring;
(2) any implementation challenges that hinder the ability
of the Common Framework to provide timely debt restructuring
for any country with unsustainable debt that seeks debt relief
or debt payment relief, including any refusal of any creditors
to participate in equitable burden sharing, including but not
limited to failure to share (or publish, as appropriate) all
material information needed to assess debt sustainability and
inter-creditor equity;
(3) recommendations on how to address challenges identified
in paragraph (2);
(4) any United States policy concerns with respect to
providing debt relief to specific countries; and
(5) the transparency and accountability measures
established or proposed to ensure that resources freed up by
the debt relief described in paragraph (1) are used for
activities that respond to the health, economic, and social
effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change resiliency, or
help ensure equitable recoveries and growth.
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