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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3509 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 3509
To provide for debt reduction for developing countries for purposes of
developing resilience, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 16, 2025
Mr. Welch (for himself and Mr. Kim) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for debt reduction for developing countries for purposes of
developing resilience, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Global Climate Resilience Act of
2025''.
SEC. 2. DEBT REDUCTION FOR COUNTRIES VULNERABLE TO EFFECTS OF EXTREME
WEATHER EVENTS AND SLOW-ONSET DISASTERS.
The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``PART VI--DEBT REDUCTION FOR COUNTRIES VULNERABLE TO EFFECTS OF
CLIMATE CHANGE
``SEC. 901. DEBT REDUCTION FOR COUNTRIES VULNERABLE TO EFFECTS OF
EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS AND SLOW-ONSET DISASTERS.
``(a) Purposes.--The purposes of this section are--
``(1) to support the ability of countries to adapt to
effects of extreme weather events and slow-onset climate
disasters; and
``(2) to ensure that resources freed from debt in such
countries are targeted to developing resilience to the effects
of climate change.
``(b) Eligibility for Benefits.--
``(1) In general.--A country is eligible for benefits under
this section if the President determines that--
``(A) the country is--
``(i) a low income, lower-middle income, or
upper-middle income country, as determined by
the World Bank; or
``(ii) a small island developing state, as
determined by the United Nations;
``(B) the government of the country is
democratically elected;
``(C) the government of the country (including its
military or other security forces) does not engage in a
consistent pattern of gross violations of
internationally recognized human rights; and
``(D) the government of the country has developed a
plan to use the benefits made available under this
section to conduct--
``(i) resilience activities;
``(ii) preventative disaster risk reduction
planning, including nature-based solutions; or
``(iii) activities to recover from extreme
weather events or slow-onset climate disasters.
``(2) Congressional notification.--Not less than 15 days
before formally determining under paragraph (1) that a country
is eligible for benefits under this section, the President
shall notify the appropriate congressional committees of the
intention of the President to determine that the country is
eligible for such benefits.
``(3) Preferences.--In providing benefits under this
section, preference shall be given to countries with plans
described in paragraph (1)(D) that--
``(A) involve local communities and Indigenous
peoples in the planning and execution of activities
described in that paragraph; and
``(B) aim to reduce gender, income, and social
inequalities through such activities.
``(c) Reduction of Debt Owed to United States as Result of Certain
Loans.--
``(1) Authority to reduce debt.--
``(A) Authority.--The President may reduce the
amount owed to the United States (or any agency of the
United States) as a result of loans made to an eligible
country by the United States under part I of this Act,
chapter 4 of part II of this Act, or predecessor
foreign economic assistance legislation.
``(B) Authorization of appropriations.--There are
authorized to be appropriated to the President such
sums as may be necessary to carry out this subsection.
``(C) Certain prohibitions inapplicable.--
``(i) In general.--A reduction of debt
pursuant to this subsection shall not be
considered assistance for purposes of any
provision of law limiting assistance to a
country.
``(ii) Nonapplicability of certain
restrictions.--The authority of this subsection
may be exercised notwithstanding section 620(r)
of this Act or section 321 of the International
Development and Food Assistance Act of 1975
(Public Law 94-161; 22 U.S.C. 2220a note).
``(2) Implementation of debt reduction.--
``(A) In general.--Any debt reduction pursuant to
paragraph (1) shall be accomplished at the direction of
the President by the exchange of a new obligation for
obligations of the type referred to in that paragraph.
``(B) Exchange of obligations.--
``(i) Notification.--The President shall
notify the agency primarily responsible for
administering part I of this Act (22 U.S.C.
2151 et seq.) of an agreement entered into
under subparagraph (A) with a country to
exchange a new obligation for outstanding
obligations.
``(ii) Cancellation and issuance of new
debt.--At the direction of the President, the
old obligations that are the subject of the
agreement entered into under subparagraph (A)
shall be canceled and a new debt obligation for
the country shall be established relating to
the agreement, and the agency primarily
responsible for administering part I of this
Act shall make an adjustment in its accounts to
reflect the debt reduction.
``(d) Authority To Engage in Debt-for-Resilience Swaps and Debt
Buybacks.--
``(1) Loans eligible for sale, reduction, or
cancellation.--
``(A) Debt-for-resilience swaps.--
``(i) Sale, reduction, and cancellation.--
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
President may, in accordance with this
subsection, sell to any eligible purchaser
described in subparagraph (B) loans described
in subsection (c)(1)(A), or on receipt of
payment from such a purchaser, reduce or cancel
such loans or portion thereof, only for the
purpose of facilitating debt-for-resilience
swaps.
``(ii) Purchase of privately owned debt.--
``(I) In general.--The President
may, in accordance with this
subsection, purchase privately owned
debt of an eligible country, if that
debt is purchased for not more than 65
percent of the face value of the debt,
for the purpose of facilitating debt-
for-resilience swaps.
``(II) Use of proceeds.--
Notwithstanding section 3302 of title
31, United States Code, the proceeds of
any purchase under subclause (I)--
``(aa) shall be credited as
offsetting collections to the
account that finances the
activities under this section;
``(bb) shall be available
for expenditure only to pay the
costs of activities under this
section; and
``(cc) shall remain
available until expended.
``(B) Eligible purchaser described.--A loan may be
sold, reduced, or canceled under subparagraph (A) only
to a purchaser that presents plans satisfactory to the
President for using the loan for the purpose of
engaging in debt-for-resilience swaps.
``(C) Consultation requirement.--Before the sale
under subparagraph (A)(i) to any eligible purchaser
described in subparagraph (B), or any reduction or
cancellation under subparagraph (A)(i), of any loan
made to an eligible country, and before the purchase of
privately owned debt under subparagraph (A)(ii), the
President shall consult with the country concerning the
amount of loans to be sold, reduced, or canceled, or
debt to be purchased, as the case may be, and their
uses for debt-for-resilience swaps.
``(D) Authorization of appropriations.--There are
authorized to be appropriated to the President such
sums as may be necessary to carry out this subsection.
``(2) Debt buybacks.--Notwithstanding any other provision
of law, the President may, in accordance with this subsection,
sell to any eligible country any loans described in subsection
(c)(1)(A) or on receipt of payment from an eligible country,
reduce or cancel such loans or portion thereof, only for the
purpose of facilitating a debt buyback by an eligible country
of its own qualified debt in order to support resilience
activities.
``(3) Terms and conditions.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, the President shall, in accordance with this
subsection, establish the terms and conditions under which
loans may be sold, reduced, or canceled pursuant to this
subsection.
``(4) Deposit of proceeds.--The proceeds from the sale,
reduction, or cancellation of any loan sold, reduced, or
canceled pursuant to this subsection shall be deposited in the
United States Government account or accounts established for
the repayment of the loan.
``(e) Consultations With Congress.--The President shall consult
with the appropriate congressional committees on a periodic basis to
review the operation of this section and the eligibility of countries
for benefits under this section.
``(f) Annual Reports to Congress.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than April 15 of each year,
the President shall prepare and submit to Congress an annual
report concerning the operation of this section during the
preceding calendar year.
``(2) Elements.--Each report required by paragraph (1)
shall include--
``(A) a description of the activities undertaken
under this section during the preceding calendar year;
and
``(B) a description of any agreement entered into
under this section.
``(g) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
`appropriate congressional committees' means--
``(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the
Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and
``(B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the
Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives.
``(2) Debt-for-resilience swap.--The term `debt-for-
resilience swap' means the reduction of amounts owed to the
United States (or any agency of the United States) by an
eligible country in exchange for the commitment of that country
to conduct resilience activities.
``(3) Eligible country.--The term `eligible country' means
a country determined under subsection (b) to be eligible for
benefits under this section.
``(4) Extreme weather event.--The term `extreme weather
event' means an occurrence of unusually severe weather or
climate conditions that can cause devastating impacts on
communities and agricultural and natural ecosystems.
``(5) Resilience activities.--The term `resilience
activities' means activities undertaken to make changes to
processes, practices, or structures that moderate potential
damage from hazardous events, trends, or disturbances
associated with extreme weather events and slow-onset climate
disasters.
``(6) Slow-onset climate disaster.--The term `slow-onset
climate disaster' means an event that evolves gradually from
incremental changes occurring over many years or from an
increased frequency or intensity of recurring events, such as
sea-level rise, loss of biodiversity, desertification,
increasing temperatures, or ocean acidification.''.
SEC. 3. SUPPORT BY INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FOR REDUCING
DEBT LOAD OF COUNTRIES WITH HIGH VULNERABILITY TO EXTREME
WEATHER EVENTS AND SLOW-ONSET CLIMATE DISASTERS.
(a) In General.--The United States Executive Directors at the
international financial institutions shall use the voice and vote of
the United States in those institutions to support eligible countries
with high vulnerability to extreme weather events and slow-onset
climate disasters by advocating for policies that reduce or restructure
the debt load of those countries, such as by facilitating--
(1) debt forgiveness agreements;
(2) debt buybacks;
(3) debt-for-resilience and debt-for-nature swaps; and
(4) other similar programs.
(b) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Eligible country.--The term ``eligible country''
means--
(A) a low income, lower-middle income, or upper-
middle income country, as determined by the World Bank;
or
(B) a small island developing state, as determined
by the United Nations.
(2) International financial institution.--The term
``international financial institution'' means each of the
following:
(A) The International Monetary Fund.
(B) The International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development.
(C) The International Development Association.
(D) The International Finance Corporation.
(E) The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency.
(F) The African Development Fund.
(G) The African Development Bank.
(H) The Asian Development Fund.
(I) The Asian Development Bank.
(J) The European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development.
(K) The Inter-American Development Bank (in this
section referred to as ``IDB'').
(L) IDB Invest.
(M) The North American Development Bank.
(3) Other terms.--The terms ``extreme weather event'' and
``slow-onset climate disaster'' have the meanings given those
terms in section 901 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as
added by section 2.
SEC. 4. ADVOCACY FOR INTERNATIONAL CLIMATE INSURANCE PROGRAM AT WORLD
BANK.
(a) In General.--The representatives of the United States to the
World Bank shall use the voice and vote of the United States to
advocate for the establishment of a parametric international climate
insurance program that provides immediate financial assistance, in the
form of insurance payments, to eligible countries to meet recovery
needs following natural disasters.
(b) Elements.--The structure and requirements of the program
described in subsection (a) shall be determined by the World Bank, but
may include--
(1) payments to--
(A) small producers and vulnerable sectors affected
by natural disasters; and
(B) the governments of member countries affected by
natural disasters for--
(i) program restoration;
(ii) disaster cleanup;
(iii) climate adaptation;
(iv) ecosystem restoration and nature-based
solutions; and
(v) other recovery efforts;
(2) eligibility criteria that are comparable to the
eligibility criteria for debt reduction under section 901(b) of
the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as added by section 2;
(3) consideration of the aggregate risk of natural
disasters across eligible countries to reduce premiums; and
(4) support for existing international climate-related
insurance programs such as the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk
Insurance Facility.
(c) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Eligible country.--The term ``eligible country''
means--
(A) a low income, lower-middle income, or upper-
middle income country, as determined by the World Bank;
or
(B) a small island developing state, as determined
by the United Nations.
(2) Natural disaster.--The term ``natural disaster'' means
any hurricane, tornado, storm, flood, high water, wind-driven
water, tidal wave, tsunami, earthquake, volcanic eruption,
landslide, mudslide, snowstorm, drought, fire, or other
catastrophe that causes, or may cause, substantial damage or
injury to civilian property or persons, ecosystems, or services
of ecosystems.
(3) World bank.--The term ``World Bank'' means the
following, collectively:
(A) The International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development.
(B) The International Development Association.
(C) The International Finance Corporation.
(D) The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
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