Investment in Freedom and Democracy in Poland Act of 1989

Summary

Support for East European Democracy (SEED) Act of 1989 - Expresses the sense of the Congress that the United States should implement, beginning in FY 1990, a program of support for East European democracy to provide assistance to Eastern European countries which have taken substantive steps toward institutionalizing political democracy and economic pluralism. Title I: Structural Adjustment - Directs the U.S. Government, to the extent that Poland and Hungary continue to evolve toward pluralism and democracy and to develop and implement economic reforms, to: (1) mobilize international financial institutions to provide resources to help Poland and Hungary; (2) seek to coordinate within the Group of 7 by January 1990 a reserve made available to Poland through the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to facilitate monetary reforms; (3) support the Government of Poland in attacking hyperinflation and other economic and social problems and relieve urgent balance of payments requirements in Poland; and (4) urge all creditor governments to adopt a generous and early debt rescheduling program for Poland and expedite consultations between Poland and such governments to facilitate such rescheduling. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to direct the U.S. executive director of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development to: (1) urge approval of a certain amount of financing in the next three years for Poland; and (2) urge expeditious approval and disbursement by the Bank of a structural adjustment loan to Poland to facilitate major economic reforms scheduled for early 1990. Declares that the U.S. Government, to the extent that the IMF review of the Polish economy projects a probable balance of payments shortage for the fourth quarter of 1989, should work closely with the European Community and international financial institutions to determine the extent of emergency assistance required by Poland and consider extending a bridge loan to relieve urgent balance of payments requirements. Authorizes the President to furnish assistance for Polish economic stabilization programs. Declares that the President should call an urgent meeting of the industrialized democracies to respond to Poland's request to support its economic stabilization program. Makes available funds to carry out such program. Directs the United States, to the extent that Poland and Hungary continue to evolve toward pluralism and democracy and to develop and implement economic reforms, to: (1) make available agricultural assistance to Poland to alleviate food shortages and to facilitate the transition to a free market economy; and (2) encourage parallel efforts by the European Community and other agricultural surplus nations. Authorizes the provision of agricultural assistance to Poland. Requires the President to encourage innovative approaches to debt reduction of East European countries which have taken substantive steps toward political democracy and economic pluralism. Grants the President the authority to undertake the discounted sale to private purchasers of U.S. Government debt obligations of such countries. Permits such sale only if it will facilitate a debt-for-equity or debt-for-development swap. Title II: Private Sector Development - Authorizes the President to designate two private, nonprofit organizations as the Polish-American Enterprise Fund and the Hungarian-American Enterprise Fund to promote development of the Polish and Hungarian private sectors. Authorizes appropriations for the Funds for FY 1990 through 1992. Requires at least 80 percent of monies made available to the Funds under this and other Acts to be used for interest-bearing loans repayable to the Funds and for other investments. Permits grants to be made to the Funds only if the Funds are in compliance with this title. Sets forth provisions with respect to the administration of the Funds and auditing, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements. Prohibits the Funds and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) from financing any venture that: (1) benefits the Polish or Hungarian military or security forces or the military of the Soviet Union or any Warsaw Pact member state; (2) has more than 20 percent of ownership or interest, or was established, by the Polish or Hungarian Governments or Communist parties; (3) has a board of directors more than 20 percent of which is composed of high officials of the Polish or Hungarian Governments or Communist parties; or (4) is required to accede to the rules of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance. Earmarks Fund monies for the economic foundation of NSZZ Solidarnosc and the Confederacy of Independent Poland, provided they meet Fund criteria. Requires the Secretary of Labor to provide technical assistance to Poland and Hungary for the implementation of labor market reform and to facilitate adjustment during the period of economic transition and reform. Outlines administrative authorities and types of assistance authorized. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Agency for International Development (AID) to implement a technical training program for Poland and Hungary to enable such countries to develop market economies. Permits AID to use the Polish-American and Hungarian-American Enterprise Funds and other appropriate Federal and private agencies and programs to carry out such training. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992. Prohibits funding for the Farmer-to-Farmer program to be made available under the Food Security Act of 1985 or a similar provision of law. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992 to carry out Peace Corps programs in Poland and Hungary. Permits the use of local currencies generated by the sale of agricultural commodities made available to Poland to: (1) complement certain assistance made available under this Act; and (2) support the activities of a joint commission established under the American Aid to Poland Act of 1988. States that the use of such currencies should emphasize agricultural development in Poland. Permits AID to use a specified amount of funds made available under this Act for administrative expenses. Title III: Trade and Investment - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to remove Poland from the list of countries ineligible for designations as beneficiary developing countries with respect to U.S. trade practices. Requires OPIC to support projects in Poland and Hungary to enhance the nongovernmental sector and reduce state involvement in the economy. Authorizes the Export-Import Bank to extend financial services to Poland and Hungary. Urges the President to seek bilateral investment treaties with Poland and Hungary to establish a more stable legal framework for U.S. investment in such countries. Title IV: Educational, Cultural, and Scientific Activities - Declares that the United States should: (1) expand its participation in and encourage educational and cultural exchange activities in Poland and Hungary; and (2) take action to establish binational Fulbright commissions with Poland and Hungary. Encourages the establishment of "sister institution" programs between American and Polish, and American and Hungarian, organizations. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992 to implement the 1987 U.S.-Polish science and technology agreement and the 1989 U.S.-Hungarian science and technology agreement. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should consider the establishment of reciprocal cultural centers in Poland and the United States and Hungary and the United States. Earmarks a specified amount of funds made available to the U.S. Information Agency for exchange activities in such countries. Title V: Other Assistance - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992 for the support of democratic institutions and activities in Poland and Hungary. Authorizes the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to: (1) undertake environmental protection activities in Poland and Hungary; and (2) use a certain amount of funds under environmental statutes for such activities. Requires the Administrator to cooperate with Polish officials and experts on appropriate environmental projects, including: (1) the establishment of an air quality monitoring network in the Krakow metropolitan area; and (2) the improvement of water quality and the availability of drinking water in such area. Directs the Administrator to work with U.S. and Hungarian officials and private parties to establish and support a center in Budapest, Hungary, for facilitating cooperative environmental activities between governmental experts and U.S. and Eastern and Western European organizations. Requires the Secretary of Energy to give high priority to assisting Poland and Hungary in improving energy efficiency. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Bush Administration should work with the Hungarian Government to achieve environmentally safe alternative investments in energy efficiency, particularly with regard to projects along the Danube River. Authorizes additional appropriations under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 for FY 1990 through 1992 to be available only for the provision of medical supplies and hospital equipment to Poland and for the training of Polish medical personnel.' Prohibits any of the assistance provided to Poland under this title from being used to: (1) perform or promote abortions; or (2) support the defense or security forces of any Warsaw Pact country. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should encourage national monetary and food contributions for assistance to Poland and Romanian refugees in Hungary. Declares that the President should draw upon all available authorities, use resources of the National Guard and Department of Defense, request additional authorities, as necessary, and encourage maximum participation by recognized private voluntary organizations to transport nonfinancial contributions to Poland. Title VI: "Take-off" Telecommunications Grant to Poland - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1990 to support the modernization of Poland's telephone and telecommunication infrastructure by means of competitively-bid contracts to U.S. corporations. Requires the President, in providing such support, to ensure the protection of militarily-significant telecommunications technology. Title VII: Policy Coordination and "SEED" Information System - Requires the President to designate a Coordinator of SEED Program Action within the Department of State. Declares that oversight of all programs under this Act and programs to assist Poland should be exercised by an interagency group. Commends the President for agreeing to send a high level team of experts to assess the transition taking place in Poland. Requires the interagency group to consult with such team of experts and make available findings to the Congress and the public. Directs the President to establish a SEED information center system to serve as a clearinghouse for information relating to business needs and opportunities in, and voluntary assistance to, Eastern Europe. Requires such system to encourage economically sound proposals to the Polish-American and Hungarian-American Enterprise Funds and other finance sources for the development of private enterprise in Eastern Europe. Provides that such sysem shall be based in Washington, D.C., and, until expanded, in Budapest and Warsaw. Amends the Tax Reform Act of 1986 to exempt certain Polish bonds from rules relating to below-market loans. Title VIII: Program Action and Reporting - Requires the President to report to the Congress on the SEED program and on democracy and free enterprise in Poland and Hungary. Makes funding under this Act unavailable to Hungary or Poland, respectively, if martial law or a state of emergency is declared for reasons other than a natural disaster or foreign invasion in either country or if a member of the Polish Senate or Sejm or the Hungarian National Assembly is arrested or removed from office through extraconstitutional processes. Requires the President to terminate assistance under this Act to Poland or Hungary unless he certifies to the Speaker of the House and the President pro tempore of the Senate that all arms transfers and security assistance provided by such countries to Cuba or Nicaragua have ceased. Title IX: General Provisions - Congratulates the Hungarian people on the declaration of the democratic Hungarian Republic and expresses the Senate's desire to enhance the friendly relations between the Hungarian and American peoples and Governments. Authorizes the AID Administrator to establish and administer a program to enable Polish and Hungarian students to study business and economics in the United States. Makes available economic support fund and development assistance for grants to States to carry out such program. Authorizes additional appropriations for FY 1990 through 1992. Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the U.S. embassies in Budapest and Warsaw, the U.S. Trade Center in Warsaw, and the U.S. mission in Krakow should be assigned additional economic and commercial officers; and (2) such officers shall help the private sector in Poland and Hungary do business with nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Expresses the sense of the Congress that the U.S. ambassador of the OECD should enter into discussions with other member nations to establish a working group on providing assistance to Eastern European economies. Declares that the working group should: (1) provide technical assistance to Eastern European nations that the President determines have taken substantive steps toward instituting political democracy and economic pluralism and to members of the private sector of such nations attempting to make the transition to a free market economy; and (2) monitor economic changes in Eastern Europe. States that the U.S. ambassador should also enter into discussions with other member nations about the possibility of admitting Poland and Hungary to the OECD as observers for a one-year period. Requires the U.S. mission to the OECD to report to the Speaker of the House, the President pro tempore of the Senate, and the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe on the progress of such discussions and the activities of the working group. Authorizes the administrator of title I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, during FY 1990, to use excess foreign currencies for: (1) purposes for which economic assistance is provided under such Act; and (2) any institution providing education to a significant number of U.S. nationals. Prohibits such currencies from being used in Communist countries listed under such Act. Directs the Secretaries of Commerce and Energy to establish a task force to analyze, and report to the Congress on, the current supply and demand situation of coal in the Soviet Union. Permits funds provided through the Hungarian-American and Polish-American Enterprise Funds to be used for the establishment of employee stock ownership plans. Requires the Secretary of State to report to the Congress on the confidence building measures that Poland and Hungary could undertake to facilitate the negotiation of agreements that would encourage greater private sector investments in such countries. Prohibits the U.S. Government from assisting any Chinese missile program until the President certifies to the Congress that China is not supplying ballistic missiles or missile technology to Iran, Iraq, Syria, or Libya, and has provided reasonable assurances that no future sales of missiles or missile technology to such countries are planned. Title X: Temporary Extension of Expiring Tax Provisions - Subtitle A: Temporary Extension of Expiring Tax Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide extensions for: (1) employer-provided educational assistance programs; (2) employer-provided group legal services plans; (3) the targeted jobs tax credit, with modifications; (4) the qualified small issue bond exemption; (5) the deduction for health insurance costs of self-employed individuals; (6) the energy investment credit for solar, geothermal, and ocean thermal property; (7) qualified mortgage bonds; (8) the low-income housing credit, with modifications; (9) the credit for increasing research activities; and (10) the waiver of early withdrawal tax penalty for distributions from employee stock ownership plans. Provides a tax exclusion for otherwise taxable employer-provided educational assistance that qualifies as a working condition fringe benefit. Provides for the allocation of research and experimental expenditures with respect to sources of income inside and outside of the United States. Amends the Railroad Retirement Solvency Act of 1983 to extend the deadline for transfers of certain revenue increases to the Railroad Retirement Account. Subtitle B: Acceleration of Deposit Requirements - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to change the time of deposit of social security taxes and withheld income taxes.

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4 official files

• Reported to Senate (text)

  Reported to Senate · EN

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• Introduced in Senate (text)

  Introduced in Senate · EN

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• Introduced in Senate

  summary · EN · 6 September 1989

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• Indefinitely postponed in Senate

  summary · EN · 15 January 1989

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