Combating Global Poverty Through Energy Development Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 758 To support financing of affordable and reliable energy projects by international financial institutions, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 16, 2021 Mr. BARRASSO (for himself, Ms. LUMMIS, Mrs. HYDE-SMITH, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. HOEVEN, Mr. HAGERTY, Mr. CORNYN, and Mr. INHOFE) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations A BILL To support financing of affordable and reliable energy projects by international financial institutions, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Combating Global Pov- 4 erty Through Energy Development Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:15 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S758.IS S758 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 758 IS SEC. 2. OPPOSITION TO RESTRICTIONS BY INTERNATIONAL 1 FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS ON FINANCING OF 2 CERTAIN ENERGY PROJECTS. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall instruct the 4 United States Executive Director of each covered inter- 5 national financial institution to use the voice, vote, and 6 influence of the United States— 7 (1) to oppose any rule, regulation, policy, or 8 guideline that would restrict, prohibit, or have the 9 effect of restricting or prohibiting, the financing of 10 coal, oil, natural gas, or civil nuclear energy projects; 11 and 12 (2) to rescind each rule, regulation, policy, or 13 guideline that, as of the date of the enactment of 14 this Act, restricts or prohibits such financing. 15 (b) REVERSAL OF POLICIES AT INTERNATIONAL 16 BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT.—The 17 Secretary shall instruct the United States Executive Di- 18 rector of the International Bank for Reconstruction and 19 Development to immediately and vigorously pursue policy 20 changes at the Bank, through formal initiatives and 21 through bilateral discussions, that will result in the rever- 22 sal of the Bank’s— 23 (1) restrictions on financing coal power genera- 24 tion; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:15 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S758.IS S758 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 758 IS (2) prohibitions on financing upstream oil and 1 gas exploration and production; and 2 (3) prohibition on financing of civil nuclear en- 3 ergy projects. 4 (c) LIMITATION ON FUNDS FOR INTERNATIONAL 5 BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT.—Not 6 more than 50 percent of amounts made available for the 7 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development 8 for fiscal year 2021 or any fiscal year thereafter may be 9 obligated or expended until the Secretary certifies to the 10 appropriate congressional committees that the Bank— 11 (1) has rescinded any rule, regulation, policy, or 12 guideline that restricts or prohibits, or would have 13 the effect of restricting or prohibiting, the financing 14 of any coal, oil, natural gas, or civil nuclear energy 15 project; and 16 (2) has in effect a policy promoting the financ- 17 ing of coal, oil, natural gas, and civil nuclear energy 18 projects. 19 (d) PROMOTION OF FINANCING OF ENERGY 20 PROJECTS.—The Secretary, in collaboration with the Sec- 21 retary of State, the Secretary of Energy, the President 22 of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the Chief 23 Executive Officer of the United States International De- 24 velopment Finance Corporation, and the heads of other 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:15 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S758.IS S758 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 758 IS appropriate Federal agencies, shall identify steps the 1 United States can take to promote international financing 2 of energy projects, including coal, oil, and natural gas 3 projects, in order to help developing countries access af- 4 fordable and reliable power. 5 (e) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 days 6 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually 7 thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate 8 congressional committees a report that includes the fol- 9 lowing: 10 (1) A list of all of the rules, regulations, poli- 11 cies, or guidelines of each covered international fi- 12 nancial institution that would restrict, prohibit, or 13 have the effect of restricting or prohibiting, the fi- 14 nancing of coal, oil, natural gas, or civil nuclear en- 15 ergy projects. 16 (2) A detailed description of the efforts of the 17 United States Executive Director of each such insti- 18 tution to eliminate those rules, regulations, policies, 19 or guidelines. 20 (3) A description of the steps identified under 21 subsection (d) and progress made in implementing 22 those steps. 23 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:15 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S758.IS S758 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 758 IS (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 1 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 2 mittees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Relations 3 of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs 4 of the House of Representatives. 5 (2) COVERED INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL IN- 6 STITUTION.—The term ‘‘covered international finan- 7 cial institution’’ means any of the following: 8 (A) The International Bank for Recon- 9 struction and Development. 10 (B) The International Development Asso- 11 ciation. 12 (C) The International Finance Corpora- 13 tion. 14 (D) The International Monetary Fund. 15 (E) The Inter-American Development 16 Bank. 17 (F) The Inter-American Investment Cor- 18 poration. 19 (G) The North American Development 20 Bank. 21 (H) The European Bank for Reconstruc- 22 tion and Development. 23 (I) The African Development Bank. 24 (J) The African Development Fund. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:15 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S758.IS S758 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 758 IS (K) The Asian Development Bank. 1 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 2 the Secretary of the Treasury. 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:15 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S758.IS S758 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS