,i #aadth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #egjh ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,july #aa1 #bjaf,ms4 ,ros-,lehtinen 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,sires1 ,mr4 ,diaz-,balart1 ,mr4 ,crdenas1 ,mr4 ,duncan of ,south ,carolina1 ,mr4 ,norcross1 ,mr4 ,curbelo of ,florida1 ,mr4 ,cuellar1 ,mr4 ,yoho1 and ,mr4 ,brendan ,f4 ,boyle of ,pennsylvania7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs1 and in addition to the ,committee on ,financial ,services1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 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 free1 fair1 and transparent elections1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,nicaraguan ,investment ,conditionality ,act 7,,nica7 of #bjaf4 #b4 ,findings ,congress makes the following findings3 7#a7 ,in #bjjf1 ,nicaragua1 under ,president ,enrique ,bolaos1 entered into a #age1jjj1jjj1 #e-year compact with the ,millennium ,challenge ,corporation 7,,mcc74 7#b7 ,after the #bjjh municipal elections1 the ,,mcc stated that there was a pattern of decline in political rights and civil liberties in ,nicaragua4 7#c7 ,in #bjji1 the ,,mcc terminated the compact and reduced the amount of ,,mcc funds available to ,nicaragua by #fa1ejj1jjj1 which led to the compact ending in #bjaa4 7#d7 ,according to ,nicaraguan law1 the ,national ,assembly is the only institution allowed to change the constitution but in #bjji1 ,daniel ,ortega circumvented the legislature and went to the ,supreme ,court1 which he controls1 to rule in his favor that ,presidential term limits were inapplicable4 7#e7 ,the ,house ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs convened a congressional hearing on ,december #a1 #bjaa1 entitled ,democracy ,held ,hostage in ,nicaragua3 ,part #a where former ,united ,states ,ambassador to ,nicaragua ,robert ,callahan testified1 ,first1 that ,daniel ,ortega's candidacy was illegal1 illegitimate1 and unconstitutional2 second1 that the period leading to the elections and the elections themselves were marred by serious fraud2 third1 that ,daniel ,ortega and his ,sandinista party have systematically undermined the country's fragile governmental institutions4 7#f7 ,from fiscal year #bjab until present1 the ,department of ,state found that ,nicaragua did not meet international standards of fiscal transparency4 7#g7 ,on ,january #be1 #bjab1 a press statement from ,secretary of ,state ,hillary ,clinton said3 ,as noted by international observers and ,nicaraguan civil society groups1 ,nicaragua's recent elections were not conducted in a transparent and impartial manner1 and the entire electoral process was marred by significant irregularities4 ,the elections marked a setback to democracy in ,nicaragua and undermined the ability of ,nicaraguans to hold their government accountable44 7#h7 ,according to the ,department of ,state's #bjae ,fiscal ,transparency ,report3 ,the government does not publicly account for the expenditure of significant off-budget assistance from ,venezuela and this assistance is not subject to audit or legislative oversight4 ,allocations to and earnings from state-owned enterprises are included in the budget1 but most state-owned enterprises are not audited4 ,the supreme audit institution also does not audit the government's full financial statements4 ,nicaragua's fiscal transparency would be improved by including all off-budget revenue and expenditure in the budget1 auditing state-owned enterprises1 and conducting a full audit of the government's annual financial statements and making audit reports publicly available within a reasonable period of time44 7#i7 ,according to the ,department of ,state's ,country ,reports on ,human ,rights ,practices for #bjae3 ,in #bjaa the ,supreme ,electoral ,council 7,,cse7 announced the re-election of ,president ,daniel ,ortega ,saavedra of the ,sandinista ,national ,liberation ,front 7,,fsln7 in elections that international and domestic observers characterized as seriously flawed4 ,international and domestic organizations raised concerns regarding the constitutional legitimacy of ,ortega's re-election4 ,the #bjaa elections also provided the ruling party with a supermajority in the ,national ,assembly1 allowing for changes in the constitution1 including extending the reach of executive branch power and the elimination of restrictions on re-election for executive branch officials and mayors4 ,observers noted serious flaws during the #bjab municipal elections and ,march #bjad regional elections44 7#aj7 ,according to the ,department of ,state's ,country ,reports on ,human ,rights ,practices for #bjae in ,nicaragua3 ,the principal human rights abuses were restrictions on citizens' right to vote2 obstacles to freedom of speech and press1 including government intimidation and harassment of journalists and independent media1 as well as increased restriction of access to public information1 including national statistics from public offices2 and increased government harassment and intimidation of nongovernmental organizations 7,n,g,os7 and civil society organizations44 7#aa7 ,the same #bjae report stated3 ,additional significant human rights abuses included considerably biased policies to promote single-party dominance2 arbitrary police arrest and detention of suspects1 including abuse during detention2 harsh and life-threatening prison conditions with arbitrary and lengthy pretrial detention2 discrimination against ethnic minorities and indigenous persons and communities44 7#ab7 ,in ,february #bjaf1 the ,ortega regime detained and expelled ,freedom ,house's ,latin ,america ,director1 ,dr4 ,carlos ,ponce1 from ,nicaragua4 7#ac7 ,on ,may #aj1 #bjaf1 the ,supreme ,electoral ,council announced and published the electoral calendar which aims to govern the electoral process4 7#ad7 ,after receiving the electoral calendar for the #bjaf ,presidential elections1 the ,nicaraguan political opposition raised concerns and pointed to a number of anomalies such as3 the electoral calendar failed to contemplate national and international observations1 failed to agree to publicly publish the precincts results of each ,junta ,receptora de ,voto 7,,jrv71 and failed to purge the electoral registration rolls in a transparent and open manner4 7#ae7 ,nicaragua's constitution mandates terms of #e years for municipal authorities1 which would indicate that the next municipal elections must occur in #bjag4 7#af7 ,on ,june #c1 #bjaf1 the ,nicaraguan ,supreme ,court--which is controlled by ,ortega--instructed the ,supreme ,electoral ,council not to swear in ,nicaraguan opposition members to the departmental and regional electoral councils4 7#ag7 ,on ,june #e1 #bjaf1 regarding international observers for the #bjaf ,presidential elections1 ,daniel ,ortega stated3 ,here1 the observation ends4 ,go observe other countries ''' ,there will be no observation1 neither from the ,european ,union1 nor the ,,oas '''4 7#ah7 ,on ,june #g1 #bjaf1 the ,department of ,state's ,bureau of ,democracy1 ,human ,rights and ,labor posted on social media3 ,disappointed government of ,nicaragua said it will deny electoral observers requested by ,nicaraguan citizens1 church1 and private sector ''' ,we continue to encourage the government of ,nicaragua to allow electoral observers as requested by ,nicaraguans44 7#ai7 ,on ,june #h1 #bjaf1 the ,supreme ,electoral ,council--which is controlled by ,ortega--announced a ruling1 which changed the leadership structure of the opposition party and in practice allegedly barred all existing opposition candidates from running for office4 7#bj7 ,on ,june #ad1 #bjaf1 ,daniel ,ortega expelled three ,united ,states ,government officials 7two officials from ,u4,s4 ,customs and ,border ,protection and one professor from the ,national ,defense ,university7 from ,nicaragua4 7#ba7 ,on ,june #bb1 #bjaf1 a ,global ,fellow from the ,woodrow ,wilson ,center chose to leave ,nicaragua because of fear4 ,according to a media report1 the fellow stated ,police were following me4 ,i did not understand the reason why they were following me1 but it was clear to me what they were doing ''' ,of course 7,i felt fear71 ,i was surprised especially because the research ,i am doing is completely academic1 not journalistic1 and that made me wonder why they would be so interested in something like that44 7#bb7 ,on ,june #bi1 #bjaf1 the ,department of ,state issued a ,nicaragua ,travel ,alert which stated3 ,the ,department of ,state alerts ,u4,s4 citizens about increased government scrutiny of foreigners' activities1 new requirements for volunteer groups1 and the potential for demonstrations during the upcoming election season in ,nicaragua ''' ,nicaraguan authorities have denied entry to1 detained1 questioned1 or expelled foreigners1 including ,u4,s4 government officials1 academics1 ,,ngo workers1 and journalists1 for discussions1 written reports or articles1 photographs1 and_/or videos related to these topics4 ,authorities may monitor and question private ,u4,s4 citizens concerning their activities1 including contact with ,nicaraguan citizens44 7#bc7 ,on ,june #cj1 #bjaf1 the ,human ,rights ,foundation issued a press release stating3 ''' ,daniel ,ortega has used all sorts of trickery to push for constitutional reforms and illegal court rulings in order to extend his time in power indefinitely ''' ,if the opposition is not allowed to meaningfully compete1 the upcoming elections in ,nicaragua cannot be considered free and fair and the ,inter-,american ,democratic ,charter should be applied to the ,sandinista regime44 ,the release continued1 stating that ,the principle of alternation of power is enshrined in the ,inter-,american ,democratic ,charter 7,,iadc7 as an essential element of democracy4 ,even though ,ortega pushed through a constitutional amendment allowing for indefinite re-election1 he did so by circumventing the separation of powers illegally4 ,an uncontested re-election of ,ortega would clearly violate the ,,iadc1 which was signed by ,nicaragua in #bjja4 ,if that is the case1 ,secretary ,general ,almagro should activate the ,,iadc and1 if necessary1 call for the suspension of ,nicaragua from the ,,oas44 #c4 ,statement of policy ,it is the policy of the ,united ,states to support-- 7#a7 the rule of law and an independent judiciary and electoral council in ,nicaragua2 7#b7 independent pro-democracy organizations in ,nicaragua2 and 7#c7 free1 fair1 and transparent elections under international and domestic observers in ,nicaragua in #bjaf and #bjag4 #d4 ,international financial institutions 7a7 ,in general ,the ,president shall instruct the ,united ,states ,executive ,director at each international financial institution to use the voice1 vote1 and influence of the ,united ,states to oppose any loan or other utilization of the funds of the respective institution for the benefit of the ,government of ,nicaragua1 other than to address basic human needs or to promote democracy1 unless the ,secretary of ,state certifies and reports to the appropriate congressional committees that the ,government of ,nicaragua is taking effective steps to-- 7#a7 hold free1 fair1 and transparent elections overseen by credible domestic and international electoral observers2 7#b7 promote democracy1 as well as an independent judiciary system and electoral council2 7#c7 strengthen the rule of law2 and 7#d7 respect the right to freedom of association and expression4 7b7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,appropriate congressional committees ,the term appropriate congressional committees means-- 7,a7 the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs1 the ,committee on ,appropriations1 and the ,committee on ,financial ,services of the ,house of ,representatives2 7,b7 the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations1 the ,committee on ,appropriations1 and the ,committee on ,banking1 ,housing1 and ,urban ,affairs of the ,senate4 7#b7 ,international financial institution ,the term international financial institution means the ,international ,monetary ,fund1 ,international ,bank for ,reconstruction and ,development1 ,european ,bank for ,reconstruction and ,development1 ,international ,development ,association1 ,international ,finance ,corporation1 ,multilateral ,investment ,guarantee ,agency1 ,african ,development ,bank1 ,african ,development ,fund1 ,asian ,development ,bank1 ,inter-,american ,development ,bank1 ,bank for ,economic ,cooperation and ,development in the ,middle ,east and ,north ,africa1 and ,inter-,american ,investment ,corporation4 7c7 ,termination ,this section shall terminate on the day after the date on which the ,secretary of ,state certifies and reports to the appropriate congressional committees that the requirements of subsection 7a7 are met4 #e4 ,organization of ,american ,states 7a7 ,findings ,congress finds that1 according to the ,organization of ,american ,states 7,,oas7 report on the ,nicaraguan #bjaa ,presidential elections1 ,nicaragua3 ,final ,report1 ,general ,elections1 ,,oas 7#bjaa71 the ,,oas made the following recommendations to the ,government of ,nicaragua3 7#a7 ,prepare alternative procedures for updating the electoral roll when a registered voter dies44 7#b7 ,publish the electoral roll so that new additions1 changes of address and exclusions can be checked44 7#c7 ,reform the mechanism for accreditation of poll watchers using a formula that ensures that the political parties will have greater autonomy to accredit their respective poll watchers44 7#d7 ,institute regulations to ensure that party poll watchers are involved in all areas of the electoral structure1 including the departmental1 regional and municipal electoral councils and polling stations4 ,rules should be crafted to spell out their authorities and functions and the means by which they can exercise their authority and perform their functions44 7#e7 ,redesign the ,,cse administrative structure at the central and field levels1 while standardizing technical and operational procedures1 including the design of control mechanisms from the time registration to the delivery of the document to the citizens2 the process of issuing identity cards should be timed to the calendar and1 to avoid congestion within the process1 be evenly spaced44 7b7 ,electoral ,observation ,mission ,the ,president shall direct the ,united ,states ,permanent ,representative to the ,organization of ,american ,states 7,,oas7 to use the voice1 vote1 and influence of the ,united ,states at the ,,oas to strongly advocate for an ,electoral ,observation ,mission to be sent to ,nicaragua in #bjaf and #bjag4 #f4 ,statement of policy ,the ,department of ,state and the ,united ,states ,agency for ,international ,development should prioritize foreign assistance to the people of ,nicaragua to assist civil society in democracy and governance programs1 including human rights documentation4