Representative María Elvira Salazar’s IDB Capital Increase Act has been signed into law as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2026. The legislation allows the Secretary of the Treasury to purchase 25,000 new shares in IDB Invest, which is the private-sector branch of the Inter-American Development Bank. This move is intended to expand financing for development projects in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The law aims to create more opportunities for American businesses and increase U.S. influence within the region’s primary development institution. It also seeks to support economic growth and stability throughout the Western Hemisphere.
“America benefits from a strong and economically secure Western Hemisphere,” said Rep. Salazar. “This investment expands opportunities for U.S. businesses while supporting development and prosperity across Latin America and the Caribbean. When our neighbors grow stronger, so do we.”
The United States remains the largest shareholder in the Inter-American Development Bank, which funds major infrastructure and private-sector initiatives across the Americas. The capital increase is expected to enhance IDB Invest’s capacity to promote private-sector development and advance U.S. economic interests in the region.
With this enactment, Representative Salazar has now authored or helped pass twelve bills into law. Her legislative record includes measures such as strengthening U.S. diplomacy in the Western Hemisphere, protecting children from online threats, destroying fentanyl precursor chemicals, honoring diplomats who saved Jews during World War II, conserving migratory birds’ habitats, recovering fraudulent government loans, repurposing retired Navy ships as artificial reefs, funding mental health programs, expanding small business contracting opportunities, sanctioning Nicaragua’s Ortega regime, and providing pandemic economic relief for Floridians.