HRES1056 U.S. House: Calling for the annulment of the…
119th Congress
H.Res.1056
Calling for the annulment of the Monroe Doctrine and the development of a "New Good Neighbor" policy in order to foster improved relations and deeper, more effective cooperation between the United States and its Latin American and Caribbean neighbors.
Ms. Velázquez (for herself, Mrs. Ramirez, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Tlaib, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Ms. Clarke of New York, Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, Ms. Norton, Mr. Casar, Mrs. Grijalva, Mr. García of Illinois, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Garcia of Texas, Ms. Jayapal, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Mr. Pocan, Ms. Omar, and Ms. Simon) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on Financial Services, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
RESOLUTION
Calling for the annulment of the Monroe Doctrine and the development of a “New Good Neighbor” policy in order to foster improved relations and deeper, more effective cooperation between the United States and its Latin American and Caribbean neighbors.
(1) in order to send a strong signal to the region that the United States Government wishes to turn the page on a long era of political and military interference in the region, the Department of State should formally confirm that the Monroe Doctrine is no longer a part of United States policy toward Latin American and the Caribbean;
(2) in place of the Monroe Doctrine, the Federal Government should develop a “New Good Neighbor” policy, designed to foster improved relations and deepen more effective cooperation with all the countries of the Western Hemisphere, with measures that include—
(A) developing, jointly with the Department of the Treasury, the United States Trade Representative, the Department of State, and the United States Agency for International Development, a new approach to promoting development based on a respect for the integrity of sovereign economic development plans of the region’s governments, support for equitable and sustainable economic transitions through technology transfers and new forms of climate and development financing that prioritize grantmaking and concessional lending;
(B) terminating all unilateral economic sanctions imposed through Executive orders, and working with Congress to terminate all unilateral sanctions, such as the Cuba embargo, mandated by law;
(C) working with Congress to amend the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (Public Law 95–223) and the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) to ensure robust congressional oversight over the imposition of unilateral sanctions through Executive orders, as per the original intent of the authors of those pieces of legislation;
(D) working with Congress to develop legislation that triggers an automatic review of bilateral assistance to a government whenever there is an extraconstitutional transfer of power, until the United States and a majority of regional governments determine that the new leadership is legitimate under that country’s constitution;
(E) establishing a policy of respect and recognition of decisions made by sovereign countries across the region with regard to matters such as membership in international organizations and institutions, support for specific regional groupings and intergovernmental organizations, and decisions regarding diplomatic recognition;
(F) proceeding with the prompt declassification of all United States Government archives that relate to past coups d’état, dictatorships, and periods in the history of Latin American and Caribbean countries that are characterized by a high rate of human rights crimes perpetrated by security forces and paramilitary organizations that received United States support;
(G) working with Latin American and Caribbean governments on a far-reaching reform of the Organization of American States to—
(i) ensure accountability surrounding any potentially unethical or criminal activities in which the Secretary General or other senior officials have been involved;
(ii) ensure full transparency surrounding the financial and personnel decisions taken by the Secretary General;
(iii) establish an ombudsman’s office that is fully independent from the Secretary General;
(iv) ensure that the electoral observation division of the Department of Electoral Cooperation and Observation of the Organization of American States is independent from the Office of the Secretary General and is appointed by a majority of Organization of American States members; and
(v) ensure that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and its rapporteurs are financially independent from the Secretary General’s Office;
(H) working with Congress to secure major, recurrent contributions to the Amazon Fund;
(I) supporting democratic reforms to the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, and other international financial institutions to ensure that the developing countries of the region are able to play an equitable role in shaping the lending and grantmaking policies of those institutions;
(J) supporting regular issuances of International Monetary Fund Special Drawing Rights to help avert balance of payments difficulties and to promote greater fiscal space for regional governments, thereby allowing them to expand investments in health care, education, economic development, and in climate adaptation and mitigation programs;
(K) advocating for the International Monetary Fund and other relevant institutions to undertake a shift away from fiscal consolidation, loan conditionality, and other regressive policies, and instead embrace an agenda focused on—
(i) robust and sustained economic growth;
(ii) expanded access to health care and education to all;
(iii) achieving universal social protection;
(iv) supporting progressive tax reforms that benefit low-income communities, workers, women, and historically marginalized communities; and
(v) actively supporting the advancement of workers’ rights, decent work, and sustainability; and
(L) supporting the creation of a Loss and Damage Trust, under the auspices of the United Nations, to support climate action in developing countries, and working with Congress to secure major, recurrent contributions to this fund;
(3) the United States should work with regional bodies, such as the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, the Caribbean Community, the Union of South American Nations, the Southern Common Market, and other regional groups, to increase cooperation around the major challenges of the present time, including the response to climate change, inequality, arms trafficking, tax evasion, illicit financial flows (particularly those derived from drug trafficking), the protection of workers’ rights, and promoting the rights of Indigenous peoples and Afro-descendent communities; and
(4) the United States should, in every instance, respect international law and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries in the Western Hemisphere and throughout the world, and should respect international human rights law, which prohibits extrajudicial killings, including in international waters.
