[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4209 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4209

      To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to reauthorize 
   microenterprise assistance programs under that Act and to expand 
sustainable poverty-focused microenterprise programs under that Act by 
implementing improved poverty measurement methods under those programs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 11, 2002

  Mr. Roemer (for himself, Mr. Houghton, Mr. Gilman, Mr. Berman, Mr. 
Ackerman, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. Rohrabacher, Mr. Moran of Virginia, Mr. 
 McDermott, Mr. Greenwood, Mr. Luther, Mr. Kirk, Mr. Hall of Ohio, Mr. 
 Dicks, Mr. Carson of Oklahoma, Mr. Conyers, Mrs. Meek of Florida, Ms. 
 Eshoo, Mrs. Davis of California, Mr. Horn, Mr. Allen, Mr. Moore, Ms. 
Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Mr. Bishop, Ms. Carson of Indiana, Mr. 
 McNulty, Mr. Frost, Mr. Pastor, Ms. Millender-McDonald, Mrs. Morella, 
 Mr. Price of North Carolina, Mr. Larson of Connecticut, Mr. Sabo, Mr. 
Boehlert, and Mr. Brady of Pennsylvania) introduced the following bill; 
     which was referred to the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
      To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to reauthorize 
   microenterprise assistance programs under that Act and to expand 
sustainable poverty-focused microenterprise programs under that Act by 
implementing improved poverty measurement methods under those programs.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Promoting Self-Reliance for the 
World's Poorest Act of 2002''.

SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF MICROENTERPRISE ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS.

    (a) Micro- and Small Enterprise Development Credits.--Section 
108(f)(1) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151f(f)(1)) 
is amended by inserting ``and $2,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 
2003 through 2006'' after ``$1,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2001 
and 2002''.
    (b) Microenterprise Development Grant Assistance.--Section 131(d) 
of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2152a(d)) is amended 
by inserting ``and $200,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2003 
through 2006'' after ``$155,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2001 
and 2002''.

SEC. 3. POVERTY MEASUREMENT METHODS UNDER MICROENTERPRISE ASSISTANCE 
              PROGRAMS.

    (a) In General.--Section 131(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 
1961 (22 U.S.C. 2152a(b)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (3)--
                    (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A)--
                            (i) by striking ``targeted to very poor 
                        entrepreneurs'' in the first sentence and 
                        inserting ``obligated and expended in support 
                        of programs or services under which 50 percent 
                        or more of the clients are initially very 
                        poor''; and
                            (ii) by adding at the end of the first 
                        sentence before the period the following: ``or 
                        as those living on the equivalent of less than 
                        $1 per day (as determined by the World Bank)''; 
                        and
                    (B) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking 
                ``entrepreneurs'' and inserting ``clients''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(6) Poverty measurement methods.--(A) The Administrator 
        of the United States Agency for International Development 
        shall, in consultation with appropriate microfinance and 
        microenterprise institutions, develop methods to measure the 
        level of poverty of clients of sustainable poverty-focused 
        microenterpise programs under paragraph (1).
            ``(B) In developing poverty measurement methods under 
        subparagraph (A), the Administrator shall--
                    ``(i) utilize cost-efficient sampling methods as 
                opposed to full census methods, using criteria that 
                correlate with characteristics of either those 
                individuals living in the bottom 50 percent below the 
                official poverty line (as established by the national 
                government of the country) or those individuals living 
                on less than $1 per day (as determined by the World 
                Bank), including criteria such as the availability of 
                the basic necessities of life (including nutritious 
                food, climate-appropriate clothing and shelter, and 
                clean water);
                    ``(ii) utilize cost-efficient sampling methods that 
                are appropriate for application by microfinance and 
                microenterprise institutions on an annual basis; and
                    ``(iii) give priority to methods already in use by 
                practitioner institutions that meet the criteria in 
                clauses (i) and (ii), including measures of loan size.
            ``(C) The Administrator--
                    ``(i) shall implement interim poverty measurement 
                methods in accordance with this paragraph--
                            ``(I) with respect to not less than 25 
                        sustainable poverty-focused programs by 
                        September 30, 2002; and
                            ``(II) with respect to not less than 40 
                        sustainable poverty-focused programs by 
                        September 30, 2003; and
                    ``(ii) shall implement final poverty measurement 
                methods in accordance with this paragraph not later 
                than September 30, 2004.
            ``(D) In carrying out subparagraph (C)(i), the 
        Administrator shall ensure that the programs described in such 
        subparagraph are equitably distributed among the various 
        countries and regions of the world.
            ``(E) As of October 1, 2004, grant assistance to a program 
        or service under this subsection shall qualify in whole or in 
        part as targeted assistance to the very poor under paragraph 
        (3) if one of the approved final measurement methods verifies 
        that at least 50 percent of the clients of the program or 
        service are among the very poor as described in paragraph 
        (3).''.
    (b) Report.--Not later than July 1, 2004, the Administrator of the 
United States Agency for International Development shall submit to 
Congress a report that contains--
            (1)(A) a description of the interim poverty measurement 
        methods implemented in accordance with section 131(b)(6)(C)(i) 
        of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as added by subsection 
        (a); and
            (B) an analysis of the results of the application of such 
        poverty measurement methods to sustainable poverty-focused 
        programs under such section; and
            (2) a description of the proposed final poverty measurement 
        methods to be implemented not later than September 30, 2004, in 
        accordance with section 131(b)(6)(C)(ii) of such Act.
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