(b) DEPOSITS.-Local currencies deposited in an Americas Fund shall not be considered assistance for purposes of any provision of law limiting assistance to a country.

(c) INVESTMENT.-Deposits made in an Americas Fund shall be invested until disbursed. Any return on such investment may be retained by the Americas Fund, without deposit in the Treasury of the United States and without further appropriation by the Congress.

(d) DISBURSEMENTS. -Funds in an Americas Fund shall be disbursed only pursuant to an Americas Framework Agreement. SEC. 708.1234 AMERICAS FRAMEWORK AGREEMENTS.

(a) AUTHORITY.-The Secretary of State is authorized, in consultation with other appropriate Government officials, to enter into an Americas Framework Agreement with any eligible country concerning the operation and use of the Americas Fund for that country. In the negotiation of such Agreements, the Secretary shall consult with the Enterprise for the Americas Board in accordance with section 709.

(b) CONTENTS OF AGREEMENTS.-An Americas Framework Agreement with an eligible country shall

(1) require that country to establish an Americas Fund;

(2) require that country to make interest payments under section 706(b)(1) into an Americas Fund;

(3) require that country to make prompt disbursements from the Americas Fund to the administering body described in subsection (c);

(4) when appropriate, seek to maintain the value of the local currency resources of the Americas Fund in terms of United States dollars;

(5) specify, in accordance with subsection (d), the purposes for which amounts in an Americas Fund may be used; and

(6) contain reasonable provisions for the enforcement of the terms of the agreement.

(c) ADMINISTERING BODY. —

(1) IN GENERAL.-Funds disbursed from the Americas Fund in each beneficiary country shall be administered by a body constituted under the laws of that country.

(2) COMPOSITION.-The administering body shall consist of— (A) one or more individuals appointed by the United States Government,

(B) one or more individuals appointed by the government of the beneficiary country, and

(C) individuals who represent a broad range of

(i) environmental nongovernmental organizations of the beneficiary country,

(ii) child survival and child development nongovernmental organizations of the beneficiary country,

(iii) local community development nongovernmental organizations of the beneficiary country, and

(iv) scientific or academic organizations or institutions of the beneficiary country.

1234 22 U.S.C. 2430g.

A majority of the members of the administering body shall be individuals described in subparagraph (C).

(3) RESPONSIBILITIES.-The administering body

(A) shall receive proposals for grant assistance from eligible grant recipients (as determined under subsection (e)) and make grants to eligible grant recipients in accordance with the priorities agreed upon in the Americas Framework Agreement, consistent with subsection (d);

(B) shall be responsible for the management of the program and oversight of grant activities funded from resources of the Americas Fund;

(C) shall be subject, on an annual basis, to an audit of financial statements conducted in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards by an independent auditor;

(D) shall be required to grant to representatives of the United States Government Accountability Office 1235 such access to books and records associated with operations of the Americas Fund as the Comptroller General of the United States may request;

(E) shall present an annual program for review each year by the Enterprise for the Americas Board; and

(F) shall submit a report each year on the activities that it undertook during the previous year to the Chair of the Enterprise for the Americas Board and to the government of the beneficiary country.

(d) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.-Grants from an Americas Fund shall be used for

(1) activities that link the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources with local community development; and (2) child survival and other child development activities. (e) GRANT RECIPIENTS.-Grants made from an Americas Fund shall be made to

(1) nongovernmental environmental, conservation, child survival and child development, development, and indigenous peoples organizations of the beneficiary country;

(2) other appropriate local or regional entities; and

(3) in exceptional circumstances, the government of the beneficiary country.

(f) REVIEW OF LARGER GRANTS.-Any grant of more than $100,000 from an Americas Fund shall be subject to veto by the Government of the United States or the government of the beneficiary country.

(g) ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.—In the event that a country ceases to meet the eligibility requirements set forth in section 703(a), as determined by the President pursuant to section 703(b), then grants from the Americas Fund for that country may only be made to nongovernmental organizations until such time as the President deter

1235 Sec. 8 of the GAO Human Capital Reform Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-271; 118 Stat. 814) redesignated the "General Accounting Office" as the "Government Accountability Office" and provided that "Any reference to the General Accounting Office in any law, rule, regulations, certificate, directive, instruction, or other official paper in force on the date of enactment of this Act shall be considered to refer and apply to the Government Accountability Office.".

mines that such country meets the eligibility requirements set forth in section 703(a).

SEC. 709.1236 ENTERPRISE FOR THE AMERICAS BOARD.

For purposes of this part, the Enterprise for the Americas Board shall

(1) advise the Secretary of State on the negotiations of Americas Framework Agreements;

(2) ensure, in consultation with

(A) the government of the beneficiary country,

(B) nongovernmental organizations of the beneficiary country,

(C) nongovernmental organizations of the region (if appropriate),

(D) environmental, scientific, child survival and child development, and academic leaders of the beneficiary country, and

(E) environmental, scientific, child survival and child development, and academic leaders of the region (as appropriate),

that a suitable administering body is identified for each Americas Fund; and

(3) review the programs, operations, and fiscal audits of each administering body.

SEC. 710.1237 ANNUAL REPORTS TO THE CONGRESS.

The annual reports submitted pursuant to section 614 of the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 (7 U.S.Č. 1738mm) shall include a description of each Americas Framework Agreement and a description of any grants that have been extended by administering bodies pursuant to an Americas Framework Agreement.

1236 22 U.S.C. 2430h. 1237 22 U.S.C. 2430i.

PART V-DEBT REDUCTION FOR DEVELOPING
COUNTRIES WITH TROPICAL FORESTS 1238, 1239

SEC. 801.1240 SHORT TITLE.

This part may be cited as the "Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998".

1238 Sec. 1 of Public Law 105-214 (112 Stat. 885) added part V. An earlier part V, relating to Indochina Postwar Reconstruction, was repealed by sec. 413 of the International Security Assistance and Arms Export Control Act of 1976 (Public Law 94-329; 90 Stat. 761). For complete text of regulations governing determinations, authorizations, etc., and remaining funds under part V, see page 828. An earlier part VI, relating to assistance to the Middle East, had been added by the FA Act of 1974, and was repealed by sec. 12(b)(4) of the International Security Assistance Act of 1978 (Public Law 95-384; 92 Stat. 737).

See also Executive Order 13345 of July 8, 2004 (69 F.R. 41901), in which the President assigned foreign affairs functions, requirements under the Enterprise for the Americas Initiative, and the Tropical Forest Conservation Act, under parts IV and V, to members of his cabinet, in Legislation on Foreign Relations Through 2004, vol. I-B.

1239 Sec. 576 of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2005 (division D of Public Law 108-447; 118 Stat. 2809), provided the following:

"ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMS

"SEC. 576. (a) FUNDING.-Of the funds appropriated under the heading 'Development Assistance', not less than $165,500,000 shall be made available for programs and activities which directly protect biodiversity, including forests, in developing countries, of which not less than $8,000,000 should be made available to implement a regional strategy for biodiversity conservation in the countries comprising the Amazon basin of South America, including to improve the capacity of indigenous communities and local law enforcement agencies to protect the biodiversity of indigenous reserves, which amount shall be in addition to the amounts requested for biodiversity activities in these countries in fiscal year 2005: Provided, That of the funds appropriated by this Act, not less than $180,000,000 shall be made available to support clean energy and other climate change policies and programs in developing countries, of which $100,000,000 should be made available to directly promote and deploy energy conservation, energy efficiency, and renewable and clean energy technologies, and of which the balance should be made available to directly: (1) measure, monitor, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions; (2) increase carbon sequestration activities; and (3) enhance climate change mitigation and adaptation programs. (b) CLIMATE CHANGE REPORT.-Not later than 45 days after the date on which the President's fiscal year 2006 budget request is submitted to Congress, the President shall submit a report to the Committees on Appropriations describing in detail the following

“(1) all Federal agency obligations and expenditures, domestic and international, for climate change programs and activities in fiscal year 2005, including an accounting of expenditures by agency with each agency identifying climate change activities and associated costs by line item as presented in the President's Budget Appendix; and

"(2) all fiscal year 2004 obligations and estimated expenditures, fiscal year 2005 estimated expenditures and estimated obligations, and fiscal year 2006 requested funds by the United States Agency for International Development, by country and central program, for each of the following: (i) to promote the transfer and deployment of a wide range of United States clean energy and energy efficiency technologies; (ii) to assist in the measurement, monitoring, reporting, verification, and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions; (iii) to promote carbon capture and sequestration measures; (iv) to help meet such countries' responsibilities under the Framework Convention on Climate Change; and (v) to develop assessments of the vulnerability to impacts of climate change and mitigation and adaptation response strategies. (c) EXTRACTION OF NATURAL RESOURCES.—

"(1) The Secretary of the Treasury shall inform the managements of the international financial institutions and the public that it is the policy of the United States that any assistance by such institutions (including but not limited to any loan, credit, grant, or guarantee) for the extraction and export of oil, gas, coal, timber, or other natural resource should not be provided unless the government of the country has in place or is taking the necessary steps to establish functioning systems for: (i) accurately accounting for revenues and expenditures in connection with the extraction and export of the type of natural resource to be extracted or exported; (ii) the independent auditing of such accounts and the widespread public dissemination of the audits; and (iii) verifying government receipts against company payments including widespread dissemination of such payment information in a manner that does not create competitive disadvantage or disclose proprietary information.

"(2) Not later than 180 days after the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall submit a report to the Committees on Appropriations describing, for each international financial institution, the amount and type of assistance provided, by country, for the extraction and export of oil, gas, coal, timber, or other national resource since September 30, 2004.".

Title II of the Kenneth M. Ludden Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2002 (Public Law 107-115; 115 Stat. 2133), provided the following:

Continued

SEC. 802.1241 FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

(a) FINDINGS.-The Congress finds the following:

(1) It is the established policy of the United States to support and seek protection of tropical forests around the world.

(2) Tropical forests provide a wide range of benefits to humankind by

(A) harboring a major share of the Earth's biological and terrestrial resources, which are the basis for developing pharmaceutical products and revitalizing agricultural

crops;

"DEBT RESTRUCTURING

"For the cost, as defined in section 502 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, of modifying loans and loan guarantees, as the President may determine, for which funds have been appropriated or otherwise made available for programs within the International Affairs Budget Function 150, including the cost of selling, reducing, or canceling amounts owed to the United States as a result of concessional loans made to eligible countries, pursuant to parts IV and V of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, and of modifying concessional credit agreements with least developed countries, as authorized under section 411 of the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954, as amended, and concessional loans, guarantees and credit agreements, as authorized under section 572 of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1989 (Public Law 100-461), and of canceling amounts owed, as a result of loans or guarantees made pursuant to the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945, by countries that are eligible for debt reduction pursuant to title V of H.R. 3425 as enacted into law by section 1000(a)(5) of Public Law 106-113, $229,000,000, to remain available until expended: Provided, That not less than $5,000,000 of the funds appropriated under this heading shall be made available to carry out the provisions of part V of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, and up to $20,000,000 of unobligated balances of funds available under this heading from prior year appropriations acts should be made available to carry out such provisions: Provided further, That funds appropriated or otherwise made available under this heading in this Act may be used by the Secretary of the Treasury to pay to the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HỈPC) Trust Fund administered by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development amounts for the benefit of countries that are eligible for debt reduction pursuant to title V of H.R. 3425 as enacted into law by section 1000(a)(5) of Public Law 106-113: Provided further, That amounts paid to the HIPC Trust Fund may be used only to fund debt reduction under the enhanced HIPC initiative by

"(1) the Inter-American Development Bank;

“(2) the African Development Fund;

“(3) the African Development Bank; and

"(4) the Central American Bank for Economic Integration:

"Provided further, That funds may not be paid to the HIPC Trust Fund for the benefit of any country if the Secretary of State has credible evidence that the government of such country is engaged in a consistent pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights or in military or civil conflict that undermines its ability to develop and implement measures to alleviate poverty and to devote adequate human and financial resources to that end: Provided further, That on the basis of final appropriations, the Secretary of the Treasury shall consult with the Committees on Appropriations concerning which countries and international financial institutions are expected to benefit from a United States contribution to the HIPC Trust Fund during the fiscal year: Provided further, That the Secretary of the Treasury shall inform the Committees on Appropriations not less than 15 days in advance of the signature of an agreement by the United States to make payments to the HIPC Trust Fund of amounts for such countries and institutions: Provided further, That the Secretary of the Treasury may disburse funds designated for debt reduction through the HIPC Trust Fund only for the benefit of countries that

"(a) have committed, for a period of 24 months, not to accept new market-rate loans from the international financial institution receiving debt repayment as a result of such disbursement, other than loans made by such institution to export-oriented commercial projects that generate foreign exchange which are generally referred to as 'enclave' loans; and

"(b) have documented and demonstrated their commitment to redirect their budgetary resources from international debt repayments to programs to alleviate poverty and promote economic growth that are additional to or expand upon those previously available for such purposes:

"Provided further, That any limitation of subsection (e) of section 411 of the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 shall not apply to funds appropriated under this heading: Provided further, That none of the funds made available under this heading in this or any other appropriations Acts shall be made available for Sudan or Burma unless the Secretary of the Treasury determines and notifies the Committees on Appropriations that a democratically elected government has taken office.".

1240 22 U.S.C. 2151 note.

1241 22 U.S.C. 2431.