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[Page S4579]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
IDB PRESIDENCY
Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I rise to speak about the campaign
currently underway to select the next president of the Inter-American
Development Bank in September of this year.
The IDB has served as the preeminent development bank in the Americas
since 1959. For more than six decades, it has brought together the
United States, Canada, and our partners from Latin America and the
Caribbean to advance an agenda for development and inclusive economic
growth in our hemisphere. The United States has proudly been a leading
voice to strengthen the IDB's critical mission in the Americas, and
donors from the European Union to Japan and South Korea, have provided
enduring support to the institution.
In September, the IDB will hold elections to select its next
president. Last month, the United States announced it would nominate
Mauricio Claver Carone, the current National Security Council senior
director for the Western Hemisphere, as our candidate to be the next
president of the IDB. Since Mr. Claver Carone's nomination was
announced, more than 15 governments in the region have offered their
support for his candidacy. These governments represent a wide range of
ideological perspectives, levels of economic development, and different
historic relationships with the IDB. In recent weeks, the Secretary
General of the Organization of American States, our hemisphere's other
premier multilateral institution, offered words of support for Mr.
Claver Carone's candidacy.
I have known Mr. Claver Carone for over two decades. During this
time, Mr. Claver Carone has demonstrated a commitment to inclusive
economic development in Latin America and the Caribbean, and he has
been an outspoken advocate for democracy and human rights in our
hemisphere. In his more recent roles at the National Security Council,
the International Monetary Fund, and the Treasury Department, he has
worked with governments across the region and across the ideological
spectrum to advance United States' partnerships in the Americas. He has
also worked to address the political, economic, and humanitarian crisis
in Venezuela, and counter the agendas of governments that seek to
counter U.S. interests in the region, from Cuba's authoritarian regime
to Putin's Russia to China's Government. Of equal importance, he has
shown the ability to work in a bipartisan manner with Democrats and
Republicans in the United States, including in the U.S. Congress.
While I have been and remain an ardent critic of many aspects of the
Trump administration's foreign policy towards Latin America and the
Caribbean and I have not always agreed with every policy decision that
Mr. Claver Carone has made during his service to our government, I
recognize his consistent commitment to advancing U.S. national
security, our foreign policy interests, and an agenda of shared
priorities with our partners in the hemisphere.
For these reasons, I support Mr. Claver Carone's candidacy and would
welcome the opportunity to continue working with him as the next
president of the Inter-American Development Bank.
I recognize that selection of the next IDB president is taking place
2 months before the United States holds general elections and that some
have concerns about the implications of this timing. Given that the
United States is the IDB's largest shareholder, the next IDB president
must commit to working in a bipartisan manner with the next U.S.
President and their administration, regardless of party. This is an
essential task for the success of the IDB. As the senior Democrat in
the Foreign Relations Committee, I would look forward to working with
Mr. Claver Carone to ensure that this happens.
As COVID-19 continues to spread across the Americas and severe
economic impacts follow, the IDB will play an absolutely essential role
in the recovery of countries across the region. This makes the
selection of the IDB's next president of the utmost importance. The IDB
needs leadership that can achieve consensus across the Western
hemisphere and set the stage for a decade-long recovery effort. The
task is formidable, but I remain confident that the United States can
and will play an integral part in supporting the IDB's efforts and our
partners in the region.
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