"Congressional Action on OPIC & Liberia"

On December 16, 2014, President Obama signed the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, which contains provisions...that increase federal oversight over the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and require OPIC to report to Congress within 90 days on its plan to implement recommendations from a report about our case in Liberia. The legislation also directs OPIC to staff its vacant Office of Accountability...In January 2014, Accountability Counsel assisted hundreds of Liberian farmers, charcoal producers and workers in filing a complaint to OPIC about its role in a failed biomass project that cause serious labor and human rights abuses and environmental devastation.  In response to our complaint, OPIC’s Office of Accountability (OA) conducted an independent investigation and, in September 2014, released a report about the agency’s role in the project.  The report...revealed numerous institutional failures and accountability gaps at OPIC and made important recommendations to prevent future harm and improve OPIC’s ability to track the impacts of its projects.