HR 52 IHCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To amend the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998 to provide debt relief to developing countries that take action to protect tropical forests and coral reefs and associated coastal marine ecosystems, to reauthorize such Act through fiscal year 2011, and for other purposes.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

January 6, 2009CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Mr. KIRK (for himself and Mr. HASTINGS of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign AffairsCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To amend the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998 to provide debt relief to developing countries that take action to protect tropical forests and coral reefs and associated coastal marine ecosystems, to reauthorize such Act through fiscal year 2011, and for other purposes.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘Tropical Forest and Coral Conservation Act’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

(a) Findings- Subsection (a) of section 802 of the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 2431) is amended--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) in paragraphs (1), (6), and (7), by striking ‘tropical forests’ each place it appears and inserting ‘tropical forests and coral reefs and associated coastal marine ecosystems’;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through (7) as paragraphs (4) through (8), respectively;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) Coral reefs and associated coastal marine ecosystems provide a wide range of benefits to mankind by--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) harboring more species per unit area than any other marine habitat, providing the basis for developing pharmaceutical products and fostering a growing marine tourism sector;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) providing a major source of food and jobs for hundreds of millions of coastal residents; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(C) serving as natural storm barriers, thus protecting vulnerable shorelines and communities from storm waves and erosion.’; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) in paragraph (4) (as redesignated)--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) by inserting ‘and coral reef and associated coastal marine ecosystems’ after ‘forest resources’; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) by inserting ‘and coral reef and associated coastal marine ecosystem exploitation’ after ‘tropical deforestation’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Purposes- Subsection (b) of such section is amended--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) in paragraphs (1), (3), and (4), by striking ‘tropical forests’ each place it appears and inserting ‘tropical forests and coral reefs and associated coastal marine ecosystems’; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) in paragraph (2)--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) by striking ‘tropical forests’ the first and third place it appears and inserting ‘tropical forests and coral reefs and associated coastal marine ecosystems’;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) by striking ‘tropical forests’ the second place it appears and inserting ‘areas’; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) by inserting at the end before the semicolon the following: ‘and unsustainable coral reef and associated coastal marine ecosystem exploitation’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

Section 803 of the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 2431a) is amended--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘Committee on International Relations’ and inserting ‘Committee on Foreign Affairs’;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) by striking paragraphs (4), (7), (8), and (9);CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) in paragraph (5)--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) in the heading, by striking ‘TROPICAL FOREST’ and inserting ‘TROPICAL FOREST OR CORAL REEF OR ASSOCIATED COASTAL MARINE ECOSYSTEM’;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘tropical forest’ and inserting ‘tropical forest or coral reef or associated coastal marine ecosystem’; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) in subparagraph (B)--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(i) by striking ‘tropical forest’ and inserting ‘tropical forest or coral reef or associated coastal marine ecosystem’; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(ii) by striking ‘tropical forests’ and inserting ‘tropical forests or coral reefs or associated coastal marine ecosystems’;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) by redesignating paragraphs (5) and (6) as paragraphs (9) and (10), respectively; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(5) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(4) CONSERVATION AGREEMENT- The term ‘Conservation Agreement’ or ‘Agreement’ means a Conservation Agreement provided for in section 809.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(5) CONSERVATION FACILITY- The term ‘Conservation Facility’ or ‘Facility’ means the Conservation Facility established in the Department of the Treasury by section 804.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(6) CONSERVATION FUND- The term ‘Conservation Fund’ or ‘Fund’ means a Conservation Fund provided for in section 810.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(7) CORAL- The term ‘coral’ means species of the phylum Cnidaria, including--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) all species of the orders Antipatharia (black corals), Scleractinia (stony corals), Alcyonacea (soft corals), Gorgonacea (horny corals), Stolonifera (organpipe corals and others), and Coenothecalia (blue coral), of the class Anthozoa; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) all species of the order Hydrocorallina (fire corals and hydrocorals) of the class Hydrozoa.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(8) CORAL REEF- The term ‘coral reef’ means any reef or shoal composed primarily of corals.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FACILITY.

Section 804 of the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1988 (22 U.S.C. 2431b) is amended by striking ‘Tropical Forest Facility’ and inserting ‘Conservation Facility’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 5. ELIGIBILITY FOR BENEFITS.

Section 805(a) of the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 2431c(a)) is amended by striking ‘tropical forest’ and inserting ‘tropical forest or coral reef or associated coastal marine ecosystem’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 6. REDUCTION OF DEBT OWED TO THE UNITED STATES AS A RESULT OF CONCESSIONAL LOANS UNDER THE FOREIGN ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1961.

(a) Additional Terms and Conditions- Subsection (c)(2) of section 806 of the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 2431d) is amended by striking ‘Tropical Forest Fund’ and inserting ‘Conservation Fund’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Authorization of Appropriations- Subsection (d)(6) of such section is amended by striking ‘fiscal year 2007’ and inserting ‘each of the fiscal years 2007 through 2011’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Use of Funds To Conduct Program Audits, Evaluations, Monitoring, and Administration- Subsection (e) of such section is amended to read as follows:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(e) Use of Funds To Conduct Program Audits, Evaluations, Monitoring, and Administration- Of the amounts made available to carry out this part for a fiscal year, up to $300,000 is authorized to be made available to carry out audits, evaluations, monitoring, and administration of programs under this part, including personnel costs associated with such audits, evaluations, monitoring, and administration.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 7. REDUCTION OF DEBT OWED TO THE UNITED STATES AS A RESULT OF CREDITS EXTENDED UNDER TITLE I OF THE AGRICULTURAL TRADE DEVELOPMENT AND ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1954.

Section 807(c)(2) of the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 2431e(c)(2)) is amended by striking ‘Tropical Forest Fund’ and inserting ‘Conservation Fund’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 8. UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATION ON OVERSIGHT BODIES FOR GRANTS FROM DEBT-FOR-NATURE SWAPS AND DEBT-BUYBACKS.

Section 808(a)(5) of the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 2431f(a)(5)) is amended by adding at the end the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(C) UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATION ON THE ADMINISTERING BODY- One or more individuals appointed by the United States Government may serve in an official capacity on the administering body that oversees the implementation of grants arising from this debt-for-nature swap or debt buy-back regardless of whether the United States is a party to any agreement between the eligible purchaser and the government of the beneficiary country.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 9. CONSERVATION AGREEMENT.

(a) Authority- Subsection (a) of section 809 of the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 2431g) is amended--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) by striking ‘(a) Authority- ’ and all that follows through ‘The Secretary of State’ and inserting ‘(a) Authority- The Secretary of State’;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) by striking ‘Tropical Forest Agreement’ and inserting ‘Conservation Agreement’; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) by striking paragraph (2).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Administering Body- Subsection (c)(2)(A) of such section is amended--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) in clause (i), by inserting at the end before the semicolon the following: ‘to serve in an official capacity’; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) in clause (iii)(III), by inserting ‘or marine’ after ‘forestry’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Eligible Activities- Subsection (d) of such section is amended--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking ‘the tropical forests’ and inserting ‘tropical forests or coral reefs or associated coastal marine ecosystems’;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘and water’ after ‘land’;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘tropical forest’; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘living in or near a tropical forest in a manner consistent with protecting such tropical forest’ and inserting ‘dependent on a tropical forest or coral reef or associated coastal marine ecosystem in a manner consistent with protecting and conserving such resources’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(d) Grant Recipients- Subsection (e)(1) of such section is amended--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘marine,’ after ‘forestry,’; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘in exceptional circumstances, the government of the beneficiary country’ and inserting ‘in limited circumstances, the government of the beneficiary country when needed to improve governance and enhance management of tropical forests or coral reefs or associated coastal marine ecosystems, without replacing existing levels of financial efforts by the government of the beneficiary country and with priority given to projects that complement grants made under subparagraphs (A) and (B)’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(e) Review of Larger Grants- Subsection (f) of such section is amended to read as follows:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(f) Review of Larger Grants- Any grant of more than $250,000 from a Fund shall be approved by the Government of the United States and the government of the beneficiary country.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(f) Conforming Amendment- The heading of such section is amended by striking ‘tropical forest’ and inserting ‘conservation’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 10. CONSERVATION FUND.

(a) Establishment- Subsection (a) of section 810 of the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 2431h) is amended--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) by striking ‘Tropical Forest Agreement’ and inserting ‘Conservation Agreement’; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) by striking ‘Tropical Forest Fund’ and inserting ‘Conservation Fund’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Technical and Conforming Amendments- Such section is amended--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) in subsection (b), by striking ‘terms as conditions’ and inserting ‘terms and conditions’; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) in the heading, by striking ‘tropical forest’ and inserting ‘conservation’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 11. BOARD.

Section 811 of the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 2431i) is hereby repealed.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 12. ANNUAL REPORTS TO THE CONGRESS.

Section 813 of the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 2431k) is amended--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) by striking ‘(a) In General- ’;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) by striking ‘December 31’ and inserting ‘April 15’;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) by striking ‘fiscal year’ each place it appears and inserting ‘calendar year’; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) by striking subsection (b).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 13. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

(a) Part Heading- The heading of part V of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is amended by striking ‘tropical forests’ and inserting ‘tropical forests or coral reefs or associated coastal marine ecosystems’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Short Title-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) AMENDMENT- Section 801 of the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 2151 note) is amended by striking ‘Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998’ and inserting ‘Tropical Forest and Coral Conservation Act of 2009’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) REFERENCES- Any reference in a law, regulation, document, or other record of the United States to the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998 shall be deemed to be a reference to the Tropical Forest and Coral Conservation Act of 2009.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Redesignation- Part V of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2431 et seq.) is amended by redesignating sections 812 and 813 as sections 811 and 812, respectively.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(d) Other Amendments- Section 703(a)(5) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2430b(a)(5)) is amended--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘or, as appropriate in exceptional circumstances,’ and inserting ‘or’; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘or an arrangement under the structural adjustment facility or enhanced structural adjustment facility, or in exceptional circumstances, a Fund monitored program or its equivalent,’ and inserting ‘an arrangement under the structural adjustment facility or enhanced structural adjustment facility, a Fund monitored program, or is implementing sound macroeconomic policies,’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink