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Suspend the Rules and Pass the Bill, H. R. 1918, With an Amendment (The amendment strikes all after the enacting clause and inserts a new text)

115

TH

CONGRESS 1

ST

S

ESSION

H. R. 1918

To oppose loans at international financial institutions for the Government of Nicaragua unless the Government of Nicaragua is taking effective steps to hold free, fair, and transparent elections, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

A

PRIL

5, 2017 Ms. R

OS

-L

EHTINEN

(for herself, Mr. S

IRES

, Mr. D

UNCAN

of South Carolina, Ms. W

ASSERMAN

S

CHULTZ

, Mr. Y

OHO

, Mr. C

A

´

RDENAS

, Mr. D

IAZ

- B

ALART

, Mr. N

ORCROSS

, Mr. C

URBELO

of Florida, Mr. D

EUTCH

, Mr. B

ILIRAKIS

, Mr. C

UELLAR

, Mr. S

MITH

of New Jersey, Ms. W

ILSON

of Florida, Mr. P

OE

of Texas, Mr. H

ASTINGS

, Mr. D

E

S

ANTIS

, Mr. B

RENDAN

F. B

OYLE

of Pennsylvania, Mr. M

C

C

AUL

, Ms. K

ELLY

of Illi-nois, Mr. W

EBER

of Texas, Mr. D

ONOVAN

, Mr. C

HABOT

, Mr. T

HOMAS

J. R

OONEY

of Florida, and Mr. F

RANCIS

R

OONEY

of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Af-fairs, and in addition to the Committee on Financial Services, for a pe-riod to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for con-sideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-mittee concerned

A BILL

To oppose loans at international financial institutions for the Government of Nicaragua unless the Government of Nicaragua is taking effective steps to hold free, fair, and transparent elections, and for other purposes.

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2

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 ‘‘Nicaraguan Invest-

4

ment Conditionality Act (NICA) of 2017’’.

5

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

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Congress makes the following findings:

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(1) The House Committee on Foreign Affairs

8

convened a congressional hearing on December 1,

9

2011, entitled ‘‘Democracy Held Hostage in Nica-

10

ragua: Part 1’’ where former United States Ambas-

11

sador to Nicaragua Robert Callahan testified,

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‘‘First, that Daniel Ortega’s candidacy was illegal,

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illegitimate, and unconstitutional; second, that the

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period leading to the elections and the elections

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themselves were marred by serious fraud; third, that

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Daniel Ortega and his Sandinista party have system-

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atically undermined the country’s fragile govern-

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mental institutions.’’.

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(2) According to the Organization of American

20

States (OAS) report on the Nicaraguan 2011 Presi-

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dential elections, the OAS recommended that the

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Government of Nicaragua take a number of steps to

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improve its electoral systems, including accrediting

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poll watchers to ensure political parties and civil so-

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3 ciety are represented to observe elections, and rede-

1

signing the structure of the Nicaraguan electoral

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council to allow proper registration of the electorate.

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(3) On January 25, 2012, a press statement

4

from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said: ‘‘As

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noted by international observers and Nicaraguan

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civil society groups, Nicaragua’s recent elections

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were not conducted in a transparent and impartial

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manner, and the entire electoral process was marred

9

by significant irregularities. The elections marked a

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setback to democracy in Nicaragua and undermined

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the ability of Nicaraguans to hold their government

12

accountable.’’.

13

(4) According to the Department of State’s

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2015 Fiscal Transparency Report: ‘‘Nicaragua’s fis-

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cal transparency would be improved by including all

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off-budget revenue and expenditure in the budget,

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auditing state-owned enterprises, and conducting a

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full audit of the government’s annual financial state-

19

ments and making audit reports publicly available

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within a reasonable period of time.’’.

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(5) According to the Department of State’s

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Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for

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2015: ‘‘In 2011 the Supreme Electoral Council

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(CSE) announced the re-election of President Daniel

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