Africa bill debt language - full version

[Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org>]

I. FINDINGS

The IMF, the World Bank and other international lending institutions and
aid agencies have forced African nations to adhere to "structural
adjustment programs" which have imposed enormous preventable suffering on
African people. These programs orient economies toward export production,
placing downward pressure on wages, encouraging unsustainable resource
exploitation and undermining food security. They slash government
spending, including in the crucial areas of education, healthcare and
environmental protection; and they particularly harm women, who are most
severely hurt by the elimination of the social safety net and the model's
discrimination against small and domestically oriented farmers. The
programs impose a deregulatory and trade liberalization agenda that
removes crucial government protections for society and leaves local
business vulnerable to foreign multinationals; and they encourage wage
cuts, including in the minimum wage, and government and private sector
downsizing. Structural adjustment programs force recessionary policies
that most seriously victimize the poor; and they tend to exacerbate income
and wealth inequalities.

II. STATEMENT OF POLICY

A. 4. Change "relief" to "cancellation."

B. I the U.S. Congress calls for:

Full cancellation of African foreign debt and enactment of a cap on future
debt payments so that no African country shall pay an amount exceeding 5
percent of its annual export earnings toward the servicing of foreign
loans.

Encouraging African countries to adhere to their United Nations 20/20
Initiative commitment to support investment in human development, by
directing at least 20 percent of savings from debt cancellation basic
social services, with appropriate input from civil society in developing
basic service plans, as called for in the 20/20 Initiative.

III. DEBT RELIEF

A. Cancellation of Bilateral Debt Owed By African Countries to the United
States.

1. The United States will cancel all amounts owed to the United States by
African countries as a result of concessional or nonconcessional loans,
credits, guarantees or other debts. 

(Alternative of 90 percent cancellation for accounting benefits.)

2. The Secretary of State will encourage all countries benefiting from
U.S. bilateral debt cancellation to allocate 20 percent of savings to
basic services, as they have committed to do under the UN 20/20
Initiative, with appropriate input from civil society in developing basic
service plans, as called for in the 20/20 Initiative.

B. Advocacy of Cancellation of All Debt Owed By African Countries to
Foreign Governments.

1. The Secretary of State shall notify in writing foreign governments that
are creditors to African countries (or whose agencies are creditors) that
it is the policy of the United States to achieve total debt cancellation
for African countries, and shall urge in writing foreign governments to
follow the U.S. example of canceling bilateral debt with African nations. 

2. The Secretary shall report to relevant Congressional committees on the
response by foreign governments, and shall include in the report the
Secretary's written notification.

C. Advocacy of Cancellation of All Debt Owed By African Countries to the
International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

1. The Secretary of Treasury shall instruct the United States
representatives to the IMF and the World Bank to advocate full debt
cancellation for African countries, without any linkage to structural
adjustment programs. The representatives shall advocate that the IMF and
World Bank encourage countries benefiting from debt cancellation allocate
20 percent of savings to basic services, as they have committed to do
under the UN 20/20 Initiative, with appropriate input from civil society
in developing basic service plans. The Secretary of Treasury shall further
instruct the United States representatives to the IMF and the World Bank
to advocate and that the IMF and World Bank not be party to, and that no
future loan from the IMF or World Bank be used to finance in whole or part
the implementation of, any agreement which requires any African government
to pay an amount exceeding 5 percent of its annual export earnings toward
the servicing of foreign loans.

2. The U.S. representatives to the IMF and the World Bank shall advocate
these policies by all appropriate means, including by letter to the
country representative members governing bodies of the IMF and World Bank.
The U.S. representatives to the IMF and the World Bank shall request
formal votes on these proposals.

3. The Secretary shall report to relevant Congressional committees on the
response by foreign governments, and the result of the votes, and shall
include in the report the letter advocating debt cancellation and a cap on
future debt payments.

D. Placeholder: A mechanism to encourage cancellation of debt held by
private sector creditors.