Senators Coons, Cornyn introduce bill to strengthen investment capacity of Development Finance Corporation

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) introduced the Enhancing American Competitiveness Act today to strengthen the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) so that the DFC can promote U.S. interests and better compete with Chinese influence in the developing world. This legislation will bolster the DFC’s investment capacity so that it can use less resources to leverage higher investments and cooperate with like-minded partners on critical infrastructure and complex projects. It would also expand country eligibility to allow the DFC to operate in more countries in order to promote stability and offer an alternative to China in areas of geostrategic importance.  

“The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation’s ability to operate in more countries and provide better financing alternatives to China will improve our strategic posture around the world and promote stability in fragile states,” said Senator Coons. “The DFC plays a critical role in allowing the United States to help other nations meet their own challenges around the world, and we must give it the tools it needs to counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative. This legislation revises the BUILD Act to ensure the DFC can fulfill its mandate and advance U.S. national security interests.”

“The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation’s investments into the developing world are critical to maintaining our strategic competitiveness and effectively responding to the growing influence of China,” said Senator Cornyn. “This legislation strengthens the DFC by broadening their ability to operate in conflict-affected areas so we can foster stability and continue providing a reliable alternative to Chinese investment.”

In particular, this bill:

• Modifies DFC eligibility requirements to include fragile and conflict-affected states to better account for investment thresholds and allow the DFC to operate in more countries to promote stability.
• Allows the DFC to fully leverage the equity authority granted in the BUILD Act.
• Increases the DFC’s maximum contingent liability to allow for increased investment opportunities.
• Mandates a reporting requirement on how the DFC contributes to national security and how the DFC can be more competitive.

A one-pager is available here.

Bill text is available here.

Senator Coons is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee. He introduced the BUILD Act in 2018 alongside then-Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) to promote sustainable growth in developing economies through U.S. business investment. Senator Coons also recently led a hearing with DFC CEO Scott Nathan to discuss how to strengthen and improve the DFC.