22 U.S.C. § 2274: Economic assistance…

Summary

The President should start talks with Central American countries to set up a Central American Development Organization to help plan and improve the region’s political, economic, and social development. The group would include the United States, other donor countries, and Central American nations that agree to respect human rights, build democracy, and promote fair economic growth. It should have public and private representatives (including labor, farming, and business), meet regularly, and be supported by a small professional staff. The Organization must make recommendations on development goals (including stronger democracy and protection of human rights), on resource and aid needs, and on economic policy reforms, and it must be able to monitor and evaluate how countries follow those recommendations. The United States should, as much as possible, follow the Organization’s recommendations when giving bilateral economic aid. No more than 75 percent of U.S. assistance in any fiscal year may be paid out until that year’s recommendations are final and shared with donor countries, but that holdback only applies to recommendations finalized and shared before the fourth quarter. The U.S. representative should urge other donors to follow the Organization’s advice. The U.S. official who runs the main aid program will represent the United States under the Secretary of State’s direction and must prepare a detailed plan while keeping the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee informed. If the President plans to sign an agreement to create and join the Organization, he must send the agreement text to those two committees at least 60 days before signing so they can review and consult.

Title 22, §2274

Foreign Relations and Intercourse, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Congressional findings

The Congress finds that participation by Central American countries in an effective forum for dialog on, and the continuous review and advancement of, Central America’s political, economic, and social development would foster cooperation between the United States and Central American countries.

(b)Sense of Congress; Central American Development Organization; establishment, etc.

It is the sense of the Congress that—

(1)the President should enter into negotiations with the countries of Central America to establish a Central American Development Organization (hereafter in this section referred to as the “Organization”) to help provide a continuous and coherent approach to the development of the Central American region; and

(2)the establishment of the Organization should be based upon the following principles:

(A)Participation in the Organization should be open to the United States, other donors, and those Central American countries that commit themselves to, among other things, respecting internationally recognized human rights, building democracy, and encouraging equitable economic growth through policy reforms.

(B)The Organization should be structured to include representatives from both the public and private sectors, including representatives from the labor, agriculture, and business communities.

(C)The Organization should meet periodically to carry out the functions described in subparagraphs (D) and (E) of this paragraph and should be supported by a limited professional secretariat.

(D)The Organization should make recommendations affecting Central American countries on such matters as—

(i)political, economic, and social development objectives, including the strengthening of democratic pluralism and the safeguarding of internationally recognized human rights;

(ii)mobilization of resources and external assistance needs; and

(iii)reform of economic policies and structures.

(E)The Organization should have the capacity for monitoring country performance on recommendations issued in accordance with subparagraph (D) of this paragraph and for evaluating progress toward meeting such country objectives.

(F)To the maximum extent practicable, the United States should follow the recommendations of the Organization in disbursing bilateral economic assistance for any Central American country. No more than 75 percent of such United States assistance in any fiscal year should be disbursed until the recommendations of the Organization for that fiscal year have been made final and communicated to the donor countries. The limitation on disbursements contained in the preceding sentence should apply only to recommendations made final and communicated to donor countries prior to the fourth quarter of such fiscal year. The United States representative to the Organization should urge other donor countries to similarly implement the recommendations of the Organization.

(G)The administrator of the agency primarily responsible for administering subchapter I of this chapter, or his designee, should represent the United States Government in the Organization and should carry out his functions in that capacity under the continuous supervision and general direction of the Secretary of State.

(c)Participation of President in Organization

Subject to subsection (d)(2), the President is authorized to participate in the Organization.

(d)Preparation and transmission of proposal for implementation of provisions

(1)The administrator of the agency primarily responsible for administering subchapter I of this chapter, under the supervision and direction of the Secretary of State, shall prepare a detailed proposal to carry out this section and shall keep the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate fully and currently informed concerning the development of this proposal.

(2)The President shall transmit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a copy of the text of any agreement, which he proposes to sign, that would provide for the establishment of and United States participation in the Organization no less than sixty days prior to his signature. During that sixty-day period there shall be full and formal consultations with and review by those committees in accordance with procedures applicable to reprogramming notifications pursuant to section 2394–1 of this title.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Another section 464 of Pub. L. 87–195 is classified to section 2284 of this title.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

References to Subchapter I Deemed To Include Certain Parts of Subchapter IIReferences to subchapter I of this chapter are deemed to include parts IV (§ 2346 et seq.), VI (§ 2348 et seq.), and VIII (§ 2349aa et seq.) of subchapter II of this chapter, and references to subchapter II are deemed to exclude such parts. See section 202(b) of Pub. L. 92–226, set out as a note under section 2346 of this title, and section 2348c and 2349aa–5 of this title.

Executive Documents

Delegation of Functions For delegation of functions of President under this section, see Ex. Ord. No. 12163, Sept. 29, 1979, 44 F.R. 56673, as amended, set out as a note under section 2381 of this title.

§2274 Economic Assistance Coordination