WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and author of “Rethinking the Battlefield,” applauded the passage of bipartisan legislation to promote sustainable growth in developing economies through U.S. business investment. Led by Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), the Better Utilization of Investments Leading to Development Act of 2018 (BUILD Act) now heads to the president’s desk to be signed into law.

The BUILD Act establishes a consolidated development bank, which was one of the proposals in Murphy’s “Rethinking the Battlefield,” a blueprint of a number of specific recommendations to rebuild U.S. power through foreign policy tools and protect U.S. national security. The BUILD Act establishes a single, full-service, self-sustaining international development finance entity to reform and streamline the tools of multiple development agencies and significantly grow our lending capacity. Specifically, it newly establishes the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (IDFC), which will assume the activities of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), USAID’s Development Credit Authority, USAID’s Enterprise Funds, and USAID’s Office of Private Capital and Microenterprise. The new development finance corporation will leverage the U.S. private sector’s expertise and investment capital to generate economic growth in the developing world that will support American interests and national security. 

“I put forward my comprehensive ‘Rethinking the Battlefield’ proposal to increase investment in and deployment of economic and diplomatic tools to boost economic development abroad and protect our U.S. national security. I’ve been working with Democrats and Republicans in Congress to enact these proposals, and I’m grateful for the leadership of Senators Coons and Cooker on this bill and proud that the BUILD Act will be signed into law. The BUILD Act will transform how we deploy international aid, expand U.S. business opportunities abroad, and help people in developing countries,” said Murphy.

The IDFC will operate in low and lower middle-income countries and will have the authority to issue direct loans, including local currency loans; issue guaranties, including local currency guaranties; provide political risk insurance; fund first losses; participate in equity investments; provide technical assistance; make limited grants to unlock larger investments; and attract private sector talent. Congress will maintain oversight of the IDFC by reviewing the agency’s public reports on its development impact and through independent audits and the establishment of an inspector general in the corporation. 

Murphy’s “Rethinking the Battlefield,” a comprehensive proposal containing specific recommendations to dramatically increase the United States’ non-military footprint abroad by nearly doubling the U.S. foreign affairs budget – including the State Department and USAID – with an emphasis on funding for international development, additional foreign service officers, anti-corruption efforts, countering propaganda, crisis response, and humanitarian relief. 

In addition to Coons, Corker, and Murphy, the BUILD Act is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), and Tim Kaine (D-Va.).

 

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