[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4073 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4073

  To amend the Microenterprise for Self-Reliance Act of 2000 and the 
 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to increase assistance for the poorest 
    people in developing countries under microenterprise assistance 
           programs under those Acts, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 20, 2002

   Mr. Smith of New Jersey introduced the following bill; which was 
          referred to the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Microenterprise for Self-Reliance Act of 2000 and the 
 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to increase assistance for the poorest 
    people in developing countries under microenterprise assistance 
           programs under those Acts, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. AMENDMENTS TO THE MICROENTERPRISE FOR SELF-RELIANCE ACT OF 
              2000.

    (a) Purposes.--Section 103 of the Microenterprise for Self-Reliance 
Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-309) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(6) to encourage the United States Agency for 
        International Development to develop, assess, and implement 
        effective outreach methods and tools to ensure that at least 50 
        percent of all microenterprise assistance authorized under this 
        title, and the amendments made by this title, are used to 
        assist the poorest of the poor.''.
    (b) Definitions.--Section 104 of such Act is amended by adding at 
the end the following:
            ``(5) Poorest of the poor.--The terms `poorest of the poor' 
        and `poorest people in developing countries' means those 
        persons living in the bottom 50 percent below the poverty line 
        as established by the national government of the country or 
        those persons whose average daily living expenses are equal to, 
        or less than, the equivalent of $1 per day.''.
    (c) USAID as Global Leader and Coordinator of Bilateral and 
Multilateral Microenterprise Assistance Activities.--Section 109 of the 
Microenterprise for Self-Reliance Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-309) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Role of Peace Corps in Promoting the Use of Microenterprise 
Opportunities.--The Administrator of the United States Agency for 
International Development, in conjunction with the Director of the 
Peace Corps, shall take the following actions to increase the 
involvement of the Peace Corps in microenterprise initiatives:
            ``(1) Ensure that the training of all Peace Corps 
        volunteers after the effective date of this subsection 
        includes, where appropriate, basic instruction in how to 
        promote, implement, and utilize microenterprise initiatives and 
        the use of poverty assessment tools.
            ``(2) Establish a specialized training program for Peace 
        Corps volunteers under which the volunteers are able to acquire 
        specialized knowledge and skills about microenterprise, with an 
        emphasis on how to train indigenous persons to successfully 
        develop, organize, implement, and manage a microenterprise 
        program.
            ``(3) Establish, as a goal of the Peace Corps, that at 
        least 50 percent of all Peace Corps volunteers trained during 
        calendar year 2004 and each subsequent calendar year will 
        receive basic instruction in how to promote, implement, and 
        utilize microenterprise initiatives and use of poverty 
        assessment tools.''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE MICROENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT GRANT ASSISTANCE 
              PROGRAM UNDER THE FOREIGN ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1961.

    (a) Authorization.--Section 131(b)(3) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 
2152a(b)(3)) is amended in the first sentence by inserting at the end 
before the period the following: ``or whose average daily living 
expenses are equal to, or less than, $1 per day''.
    (b) Monitoring System.--Section 131(c) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 
2152a(c)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) adopts the widespread use of proven and effective 
        poverty assessment tools to successfully identify the poorest 
        of the poor and ensure that they receive needed microenterprise 
        credits, loans, and assistance, including the use of--
                    ``(A) the Participatory Wealth Ranking (`PWR');
                    ``(B) the CASHPOR House Index (`CHI');
                    ``(C) other poverty assessment tools developed by 
                USAID and determined to be appropriate by the 
                Administrator; or
                    ``(D) any combination of poverty assessment tools 
                described in subparagraphs (A) through (C).''.
    (c) Level of Assistance.--Section 131(d) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 
2152a(d)) is amended by inserting ``and $200,000,000 for fiscal year 
2003 and $225,000,000 for fiscal year 2004'' after ``fiscal years 2001 
and 2002''.
    (d) Definitions.--Section 131(e) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2152a(e)) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) Poorest of the poor.--The terms `poorest of the poor' 
        and `poorest people in developing countries' means those 
        persons living in the bottom 50 percent below the poverty line 
        as established by the national government of the country or 
        those persons whose average daily living expenses are equal to, 
        or less than, the equivalent of $1 per day.''.
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