Sec. 3. Sovereign lending program for eligible Latin American and Caribbean partner countries
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Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, shall establish a sovereign lending program for eligible Latin American and Caribbean partner countries— to support their short-term energy needs; and to fund projects that help them transition to renewable energy. To be eligible to receive a loan under the program, an eligible Latin American or Caribbean partner country shall submit to the Secretary of the Treasury an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require.
A loan provided under the program— shall be— a zero-interest loan, not to exceed 30 years in duration; or a low-interest concessional loan, not to exceed 50 years in duration; shall not contain any requirements that an eligible Latin American or Caribbean partner country engage in austerity measures or policies that increase poverty and inequality, diminish the quality of life, and threaten the immediate access of goods and services; and shall be subject to such other terms and conditions as the Secretary of Treasury, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, determines to be appropriate.
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 5 years, the Secretary of Treasury, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report on progress in the implementation of the program. The report shall— include a description of how the program strengthens United States national security and economic interests in Latin America and the Caribbean; include an assessment of— the status and effectiveness of current efforts by regional governments, multilateral development banks, and the private sector to promote energy independence and security in Latin America and the Caribbean and to transition to renewable energy practices; major challenges hindering such efforts; and how the United States can strengthen the effectiveness of such efforts; identify how activities by the United States Agency for International Development and the United States International Development Finance Corporation can effectively be leveraged to strengthen and promote energy independence and security in Latin America and the Caribbean; assess diplomatic initiatives taken to secure specific national commitments by governments of eligible Latin American and Caribbean partner countries to undertake efforts to create favorable conditions for energy security and independence in the region, address corruption and rule of law concerns, modernize digital and physical infrastructure, improve ease of doing business, and finance and incentivize energy security initiatives; and detail coordination of efforts with relevant multilateral development banks to advance energy security and independence of eligible Latin American and Caribbean partner countries.
The Secretary of Treasury— shall ensure that a full audit of the program is performed on an annual basis; and shall submit the results of the audit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate. There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the Treasury $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2028 to carry out the program. In this section, the term eligible Latin American or Caribbean partner country means— a country that— is a beneficiary country for purposes of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act ( 19 U.S.C. 2701 et seq. ); is a member state of the Caribbean Community (commonly referred to as CARICOM ); or is a country in the Western Hemisphere that is a party to a free trade agreement or preference program with the United States; or any other country in the Western Hemisphere, as determined to be appropriate by the Secretary of State.
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Sec. 3
Sovereign lending program for eligible Latin American and Caribbean partner countries
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