§2431e Reduction of Debt Owed to United States as Result of Credits Extended Under Title I of Food for Peace Act

Summary

The President may reduce amounts a country owes the United States that were still unpaid on January 14, 2019, when the debt came from Title I Food for Peace credits and the country is eligible for help from the Facility. To pay the cost of these reductions, Congress authorized up to $25,000,000 for fiscal year 1999, $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2000, and $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2001. That authority only works if those appropriations are made in advance. ("Cost" is used as the law defines it.) The Facility must carry out the debt reduction by swapping a new debt obligation for the old outstanding ones. The Facility must tell the Commodity Credit Corporation about any swap. The old debts are canceled, a new debt is created, and the Corporation must update its accounts. The same rules that govern repayment of principal and interest under the Food for Peace Act (sections 605 and 606) apply to these new debts. Repayments of principal may be made in the country’s local currency and placed in the country’s Conservation Fund the same way interest payments are handled.