,,ii #aagth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #cjij ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,october #bg1 #bjba,mr4 ,menendez 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,risch1 ,mr4 ,kaine1 ,mr4 ,inhofe1 ,mr4 ,markey1 and ,mr4 ,rubio7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations ,a ,,bill ,to address the participation of ,taiwan in the ,inter-,american ,development ,bank4 #a4 ,findings ,congress makes the following findings3 7#a7 ,the ,inter-,american ,development ,bank 7referred to in this ,act as the ,,idb7 was established in #aiei and-- 7,a7 is the premier multilateral development bank in the ,western ,hemisphere2 7,b7 is the largest source of development financing for ,latin ,america and the ,caribbean2 and 7,c7 issued more than #adj1jjj1jjj1jjj in loans and grants between #bjaa and #bjba4 7#b7 ,the ,,idb-- 7,a7 has #dh member states1 of which #bf are borrowing members in the ,latin ,america and the ,caribbean region2 and 7,b7 constitutes a critical forum for fostering collective action and meeting shared regional challenges1 including ,,covid-#ai recovery and response4 7#c7 ,japan1 the ,republic of ,korea1 and the ,people's ,republic of ,china are among the #bb non-borrowing1 non-,western ,hemisphere members of the ,,idb4 7#d7 ,taiwan-- 7,a7 has been an observer at the ,,idb since #aiia2 7,b7 has contributed to a specialized financial intermediary development fund at ,,idb ,lab since #bjjf2 7,c7 has been a non-regional member country of the ,central ,american ,bank for ,economic ,integration since #aiib2 7,d7 is a member of the ,asian ,development ,bank1 the ,world ,trade ,organization1 the ,asia-,pacific ,economic ,cooperation1 and the ,international ,chamber of ,commerce2 and 7,e7 is a participant of the ,organisation for ,economic ,co-operation and ,development's ,competition ,committee1 its ,steel ,committee1 and its ,fisheries ,committee4 7#e7 ,taiwan's economy is the #gth largest in ,asia and the #bjth largest in the world by purchasing power parity4 7#f7 ,taiwan has been a model contributor of foreign aid in ,latin ,america and the ,caribbean1 allocating between #cj percent and #ej percent of its foreign aid budget to ,latin ,america and the ,caribbean4 7#g7 ,since #bjaj1 ,taiwan's ,international ,cooperation and ,development ,fund has funded #ie projects in ,central ,america1 #fd projects in the ,caribbean1 and #ba projects in ,south ,america4 7#h7 ,taiwan has been a firm supporter of ,haiti as it confronts multiple simultaneous crises-- 7,a7 by providing more than #ade1jjj1jjj in financing to modernize ,haiti's electrical grid2 7,b7 by delivering #bhj1jjj masks at the height of the ,,covid-#ai pandemic2 and 7,c7 by pledging #ejj1jjj in disaster relief immediately after the ,august #ad1 #bjba1 earthquake in ,haiti4 7#i7 ,according to data from the ,pan ,american ,development ,foundation1 communities receiving assistance from ,taiwan display increased-- 7,a7 food security2 7,b7 income generation2 and 7,c7 capacity to recover from natural disasters4 7#aj7 ,taiwan has placed special emphasis on fostering development in ,central ,america and in the ,caribbean1 including by signing the ,agreement on the ,republic of ,china 7,taiwan7--,central ,america ,economic ,development ,fund in #aiih4 7#aa7 ,through its non-regional partner status at the ,central ,american ,bank for ,economic ,integration1 ,taiwan has provided #bff1gjj1jjj in financial assistance to help ,central ,american countries respond to the ,,covid-#ai pandemic4 ,on ,april #bb1 #bjba1 the ,central ,american ,bank for ,economic ,integration announced the opening of its ,representative ,office in ,taiwan1 deepening investment ties between ,taiwan and ,central ,america4 7#ab7 ,taiwan maintains diplomatic relations with #i countries in ,latin ,america and the ,caribbean and #h representative offices in #g other countries in the region4 7#ac7 ,since #bjaf1 the ,government of the ,people's ,republic of ,china has engaged in aggressive economic diplomacy to compel the withdrawal of diplomatic recognition for ,taiwan1 most notably in ,panama1 the ,dominican ,republic1 and ,el ,salvador1 all of which have terminated longstanding and productive diplomatic relationships with ,taiwan and granted diplomatic recognition to the ,people's ,republic of ,china4 7#ad7 ,the ,government of the ,people's ,republic of ,china-- 7,a7 announced a #a1ajj1jjj1jjj construction project in ,panama on the day that ,panama switched its recognition from ,taiwan to the ,people's ,republic of ,china2 and 7,b7 similarly offered assistance packages to the ,dominican ,republic and ,el ,salvador in #bjah in exchange for these countries ceasing their diplomatic recognition of ,taiwan4 7#ae7 ,taiwan's international engagement has faced increased resistance from the ,government of the ,people's ,republic of ,china1 which has used its influence to deny ,taiwan's invitations to multilateral fora4 ,for example1 ,taiwan was not invited to the #bjaf ,assembly of the ,international ,civil ,aviation ,organization 7,,icao71 despite participating as a guest at ,,icao's #bjac summit4 ,taiwan's requests to participate in the ,general ,assembly of the ,international ,criminal ,police ,organization 7commonly known as ,,interpol7 were also rejected4 7#af7 ,taiwan's inclusion in multilateral organizations1 such as the ,,idb1 advances peace and stability in the world and in the ,western ,hemisphere specifically4 7#ag7 ,congress has demonstrated a longstanding policy of supporting ,taiwan's participation in international bodies that address shared transnational challenges by-- 7,a7 authorizing the ,secretary of ,state1 in ,public ,law #ajf-acg1 ,public ,law #ajg-aj1 and ,public ,law #ajh-bce1 to initiate a ,united ,states plan for supporting ,taiwan's participation as an observer in the activities of the ,world ,health ,organization2 7,b7 directing the ,secretary of ,state1 in ,public ,law #aac-ag1 to report on a strategy to obtain observer status for ,taiwan at the ,international ,civil ,aviation ,organization ,assembly2 and 7,c7 directing the ,secretary of ,state1 in ,public ,law #aad-aci1 to develop a strategy to obtain observer status for ,taiwan at the ,,interpol ,assembly4 7#ah7 ,despite these efforts1 ,taiwan has not received an invitation to attend as an observer any of the events of the international organizations referred to in paragraph 7#ag7 since #bjaf4 #b4 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress that-- 7#a7 the ,united ,states fully supports ,taiwan's participation in1 and contribution to1 international organizations and underscores the importance of the relationship between ,taiwan and the ,united ,states2 7#b7 diversifying the ,inter-,american ,development ,bank's donor base and increasing ally engagement in the ,western ,hemisphere reinforces ,united ,states national interests2 7#c7 ,taiwan's significant contribution to the development and economies of ,latin ,america and the ,caribbean demonstrate that ,taiwan's membership in the ,,idb as a non-borrowing member would benefit the ,,idb and the entire ,latin ,american and ,caribbean region2 and 7#d7 non-borrowing membership in the ,,idb would allow ,taiwan to substantially leverage and channel the immense resources ,taiwan already provides to ,latin ,america and the ,caribbean to reach a larger number of beneficiaries4 #c4 ,plan for the participation of ,taiwan in the ,inter-,american ,development ,bank ,the ,secretary of ,state1 in coordination with the ,secretary of the ,treasury1 is authorized-- 7#a7 to initiate a ,united ,states plan to endorse non-borrowing ,,idb membership for ,taiwan2 and 7#b7 to instruct the ,united ,states ,governor of the ,,idb to work with the ,,idb ,board of ,governors to admit ,taiwan as a non-borrowing member of the ,,idb4 #d4 ,report concerning member state status for ,taiwan at the ,inter-,american ,development ,bank ,not later than #ij days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 and not later than ,april #a of each year thereafter1 the ,secretary of ,state1 in coordination with the ,secretary of the ,treasury1 shall submit an unclassified report to the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations of the ,senate and the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives that-- 7#a7 describes the ,united ,states plan to endorse and obtain non-borrowing membership status for ,taiwan at the ,,idb2 7#b7 includes an account of the efforts that the ,secretary of ,state and the ,secretary of the ,treasury have made to encourage ,,idb member states to promote ,taiwan's bid to obtain non-borrowing membership at the ,,idb2 and 7#c7 identifies the steps that the ,secretary of ,state and the ,secretary of the ,treasury will take to endorse and obtain non-borrowing membership status for ,taiwan at the ,,idb in the following year4