[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5177 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5177

 To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to provide assistance for 
    developing countries to promote quality basic education and to 
     establish the achievement of universal basic education in all 
     developing countries as an objective of United States foreign 
               assistance policy, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 29, 2004

  Mrs. Lowey introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                  Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to provide assistance for 
    developing countries to promote quality basic education and to 
     establish the achievement of universal basic education in all 
     developing countries as an objective of United States foreign 
               assistance policy, 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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Education for All Act of 2004''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Throughout the world, an alarming number of children 
        are not receiving primary education. At least 104,000,000 
        children ages 6 through 11 are not in school, and 57 percent of 
        such children are girls. Another 150,000,000 children are at 
        risk of dropping out before completing primary school, and at 
        least 66 percent of such children are girls. At least 86 
        countries are unlikely to achieve the goal of 100 percent of 
        children completing primary school by 2015.
            (2) The final report of the National Commission on 
        Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (hereafter in this 
        section referred to as the ``Report'') concluded that education 
        that teaches tolerance, the dignity and value of each 
        individual, and respect for different beliefs must be a key 
        element in any global strategy to eliminate terrorism.
            (3) Extending the vision of educational opportunity 
        described in the Report to all developing countries is critical 
        to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and 
        prevent the rise of violent extremism worldwide.
            (4) The Report concluded that the United States Government 
        must offer an example of moral leadership in the world and 
        offer parents and their children a vision of the future that 
        emphasizes individual educational and economic opportunity.
            (5) At the World Education Forum held in Dakar, Senegal in 
        2000, the United States joined more than 180 other nations in 
        committing to the goal of universal basic education by 2015. 
        Universal completion of primary school and eliminating gender 
        disparity in all levels of education not later than 2015 are 
        part of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.
            (6) According to the 2002 United Nations Development 
        Programme Arab Human Development Report, 10,000,000 children 
        between the ages of 6 through 15 in the Arab world do not 
        attend school, and \2/3\ of the 65,000,000 illiterate adults in 
        the Arab world are women. At all educational stages, the most 
        important challenge facing education in the Arab world is the 
        declining quality of such education.
            (7) The Report noted that the United Nations has rightly 
        equated ``literacy as freedom'' and that the international 
        community is moving toward setting a goal of reducing by half 
        the illiteracy rate in the Middle East by 2010, through the 
        implementation of education programs targeting women and girls 
        and supporting programs for adult literacy.
            (8) Basic education has been demonstrated to be fundamental 
        to development. No country has reached sustained economic 
        growth without achieving near universal primary education. 
        Education reduces poverty and inequality, and lays the 
        foundation for sound governance, civic participation, and 
        strong institutions.
            (9) Investing in girls' education delivers substantial 
        returns not only in educational attainment but also in 
        increasing women's incomes, delaying the start of sexual 
        activity, reducing infant mortality, increasing women's 
        political participation, and spurring economic growth.
            (10) The Report concluded that ensuring educational 
        opportunity is essential to the efforts of the United States to 
        defeat global terrorism and recommended that the United States 
        Government ``should offer to join with other nations in 
        generously supporting [spending funds] . . . directly on 
        building and operating primary and secondary schools in those 
        Muslim states that commit to sensibly investing financial 
        resources in public education.''.
            (11) Credible estimates indicate that at least an 
        additional $7,000,000,000 to $10,000,000,000 per year of 
        external development assistance is necessary for developing 
        countries to achieve universal basic education by 2015.

SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE TO ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL BASIC EDUCATION.

    The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) is 
amended by inserting after section 105 the following new section:

``SEC. 105A. UNIVERSAL BASIC EDUCATION.

    ``(a) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this section to ensure that 
the United States provides the resources and leadership to ensure a 
successful international effort to provide all children with a quality 
basic education in order to achieve the goal of universal basic 
education by 2015 agreed to at the World Education Forum held in Dakar, 
Senegal in 2000.
    ``(b) Policy.--It is the policy of the United States to work with 
foreign countries and international organizations to increase the 
global commitment to achieving universal basic education to--
            ``(1) assist developing countries committed to serious 
        reforms to provide all children with a quality elementary 
        education and secondary education; and
            ``(2) provide incentives to encourage reform of the 
        education system and improve educational services in countries 
        that lack such commitment.
    ``(c) Principles.--In developing the global commitment referred to 
in subsection (b), the policy of the United States shall be guided by 
the following principles:
            ``(1) United states resources.--To lead a global commitment 
        to achieving universal basic education, the United States shall 
        commit substantial new resources for education in developing 
        countries to inspire confidence in such countries that efforts 
        to reform education in such countries will receive adequate 
        resources.
            ``(2) Other major donors.--The United States Government 
        shall encourage other donors to contribute commensurate amounts 
        to support such a global commitment.
            ``(3) Private sector and nongovernmental participation and 
        contributions.--United States efforts in leading such a global 
        commitment shall include explicit strategies to encourage and 
        integrate contributions of strategic direction and financial 
        resources from indigenous and international private sector and 
        civil society organizations interested in supporting quality 
        universal basic education efforts.
            ``(4) School access, quality, and completion.--United 
        States assistance for basic education in developing countries 
        shall seek to expand access to school for all children and to 
        improve the quality of education in order to increase the 
        number of children completing a basic education.
            ``(5) Coordination within the united states government.--A 
        comprehensive strategy shall improve coordination and 
        collaboration among all departments and agencies of the United 
        States Government involved in education assistance to ensure 
        efficient and effective use of the resources of the United 
        States.
            ``(6) Coordination between education and aids prevention 
        efforts.--United States assistance shall support efforts to 
        improve coordination between global health and education 
        initiatives in United States Government programs and 
        internationally to reduce the adverse impact of HIV/AIDS on 
        education systems, teaching forces, and vulnerable children in 
        developing countries.
            ``(7) Integration of education plans within overall 
        national economic strategies.--United States policies and 
        programs shall encourage poor countries to ensure that efforts 
        are developed within an overall strategy of economic and market 
        reforms to reduce poverty and spur sustained economic growth.
            ``(8) High standards of accountability and transparency in 
        budgeting.--The United States shall develop procedures to 
        monitor the expenditure of funds allocated for the purposes 
        described in this section, and shall only provide funds to the 
        government of a foreign country only if such government has 
        developed high standards of budget transparency, independent 
        monitoring, and accountability.
    ``(d) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) AIDS.--The term `AIDS' has the meaning given that 
        term in section 104A(g).
            ``(2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        `appropriate congressional committees' means the Committee on 
        Appropriations and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 
        Senate and the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on 
        International Relations of the House of Representatives.
            ``(3) Basic education.--The term `basic education' means an 
        education, generally consisting of completion of 9-10 years of 
        schooling, including early childhood development, primary 
        education, some secondary education, teacher training, literacy 
        training, and life skills training.
            ``(4) HIV/AIDS.--The term `HIV/AIDS' has the meaning given 
        that term in section 104A(g).
            ``(5) Education for all fast track initiative.--The term 
        `Education for All Fast Track Initiative' means the Fast Track 
        Initiative launched in 2002 to mobilize donor resources to 
        support Education for All, an international commitment launched 
        in 1990 to bring the benefits of education to every individual.
            ``(6) Member states of the group of eight.--The term 
        `member states of the Group of Eight' means the countries of 
        Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United 
        Kingdom, and the United States.
    ``(e) Development and Implementation of a Comprehensive United 
States Strategy on Education for All.--
            ``(1) Education for all task force.--The President shall 
        establish an Education for All Task Force as described in this 
        subsection.
            ``(2) Purposes.--The purposes of the Task Force are--
                    ``(A) to carry out the policy set out in subsection 
                (b); and
                    ``(B) to develop a unified strategy of the United 
                States to promote universal basic education.
            ``(3) Membership.--The Task Force shall include the 
        following members:
                    ``(A) The Administrator of the United States Agency 
                for International Development.
                    ``(B) The Secretary of the Treasury.
                    ``(C) The Secretary of Labor.
                    ``(D) The Secretary of Education.
                    ``(E) The Secretary of Health and Human Services.
                    ``(F) The Secretary of Agriculture.
                    ``(G) The Secretary of State.
                    ``(H) The Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium 
                Challenge Corporation.
                    ``(I) The Coordinator of United States Government 
                Activities to Combat HIV/AIDS Globally.
                    ``(J) The National Security Advisor.
                    ``(K) The National Economic Advisor.
            ``(4) Co-chairs and headquarters.--The Task Force shall be 
        co-chaired by the National Security Advisor and the National 
        Economic Advisor, and the headquarters of the Task Force shall 
        be located at both the National Security Council and the 
        National Economic Council.
    ``(f) Unified Strategy.--
            ``(1) Content.--The unified strategy developed by the Task 
        Force should include a detailed description of the United 
        States plan to promote universal basic education, including a 
        description of the following elements:
                    ``(A) The manner in which the resources of the 
                United States shall be used to achieve universal basic 
                education, including--
                            ``(i) the efforts of the United States to 
                        coordinate an international effort to achieve 
                        universal basic education by 2015;
                            ``(ii) the activities of the United States 
                        to leverage contributions from member states of 
                        the Group of Eight and other donors to provide 
                        universal basic education by 2015; and
                            ``(iii) the assistance provided by the 
                        United States to leverage contributions from 
                        the private sector and civil society 
                        organizations to achieve universal basic 
                        education.
                    ``(B) The efforts of the United States to 
                coordinate with other donors to reduce duplication and 
                waste at the global and country levels and ensure 
                efficient coordination among all relevant departments 
                and agencies of the United States Government.
                    ``(C) The strategy of the United States to support 
                efforts to overcome challenges to achieving universal 
                basic education, including strategies to target hard-
                to-reach populations to promote education as a 
                fundamental means to preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS, 
                and to support efforts to reduce the adverse impact of 
                HIV/AIDS on education systems.
            ``(2) Requirement to consult.--The Task Force shall consult 
        with nongovernmental organizations and individuals involved in 
        the promotion and implementation of education assistance 
        programs in developing countries to give such organizations and 
        individuals an opportunity to contribute to, and comment on, 
        the unified strategy to promote universal basic education 
        developed by the Task Force.
            ``(3) Schedule for completion of strategy.--Not later than 
        180 days after the date of enactment of the Education for All 
        Act of 2004, the Task Force shall submit the unified strategy 
        to the President and to appropriate congressional committees.
    ``(g) National Education Plans.--
            ``(1) Authority.--The President is authorized to provide 
        funds and other assistance to an eligible entity to assist a 
        foreign country to create the policies, processes, or 
        infrastructure to develop and implement a comprehensive 
        national education plan as described in this subsection to 
        allow all citizens of such country to access and complete basic 
        education.
            ``(2) Eligible entity.--In this subsection, the term 
        `eligible entity' means--
                    ``(A) the government of a foreign country; or
                    ``(B) a person that the President determines is 
                appropriate to receive assistance under this 
                subsection.
            ``(3) Criteria for national education plans.--Assistance 
        may be provided under this subsection to an eligible entity to 
        assist a foreign country that is developing a comprehensive, 
        national education plan, or to encourage a foreign country to 
        develop a comprehensive national education plan. Such a 
        national education plan shall--
                    ``(A) include explicit, credible strategies to 
                achieve universal basic education;
                    ``(B) be developed in accordance with the 
                provisions of--
                            ``(i) this section;
                            ``(ii) the Education for All Fast Track 
                        Initiative;
                            ``(iii) the Poverty Reduction Strategy 
                        Paper process administered by the World Bank 
                        and the International Monetary Fund; and
                            ``(iv) the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 
                        (22 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.);
                    ``(C) be developed and implemented in consultation 
                with indigenous, nongovernmental organizations and 
                civil society organizations;
                    ``(D) demonstrate a clear commitment of political 
                and financial resources to education by the foreign 
                country to ensure that assistance made available under 
                this subsection supplements, not supplants, the 
                investment in education made by such country;
                    ``(E) establish clear processes for the monitoring 
                and tracking of funds committed to education, and clear 
                standards for assessing progress toward achieving 
                universal basic education; and
                    ``(F) include special strategies to--
                            ``(i) target hard-to-reach populations, 
                        especially girls, out-of-school youth, children 
                        with disabilities, orphans, refugees, 
                        populations in emergency situations, and 
                        children impacted by AIDS;
                            ``(ii) improve coordination between 
                        education and other sectors, particularly the 
                        health sector, in order to address the role of 
                        education in preventing HIV/AIDS and other 
                        diseases and to specify efforts to minimize the 
                        adverse impact of the disease on school systems 
                        and children's access to schooling; and
                            ``(iii) ensure that schools provide quality 
                        education and are not incubators for violent 
                        extremism.
            ``(4) Activities supported.--Assistance provided under this 
        subsection may be used to support efforts to expand access and 
        to improve the quality of basic education, including--
                    ``(A) in a foreign country that has demonstrated a 
                capacity to develop a national education plan, efforts 
                to--
                            ``(i) ensure an adequate supply of trained 
                        teachers, effective curriculum, and adequate 
                        infrastructure;
                            ``(ii) build systems to provide continuing 
                        support, training, and professional development 
                        for all educators;
                            ``(iii) eliminate fees for educational 
                        services, including fees for tuition, uniforms, 
                        and materials, and to provide access to 
                        education without additional costs to families;
                            ``(iv) build systems to ensure continuing 
                        information collection, monitoring, and 
                        evaluation of education services and financing; 
                        and
                            ``(v) ensure that schools are not 
                        incubators for violent extremism; and
                    ``(B) in a foreign country that has not 
                demonstrated a capacity to develop a national education 
                plan, efforts to--
                            ``(i) assist such country in developing 
                        such a capacity;
                            ``(ii) assist civil society organizations, 
                        international organizations, and local 
                        governments that have demonstrated a commitment 
                        to education reform in implementing programs to 
                        provide basic education on a community level, 
                        with an emphasis on such programs that could be 
                        expanded if such country demonstrates a 
                        national commitment to basic education; and
                            ``(iii) assist civil society organizations 
                        and international organizations to provide 
                        education in situations of humanitarian 
                        emergency or armed conflict.
            ``(4) Suspension of assistance.--The President may suspend 
        the provision of all or part of the assistance provided under 
        this subsection for a foreign country if there is substantial 
        evidence that a government of such country--
                    ``(A)(i) is not tracking and monitoring the use of 
                foreign and domestic assistance to develop or implement 
                a comprehensive, national education plan and making 
                such tracking and monitoring information available to 
                the public; or
                    ``(ii) using such assistance for unauthorized 
                purposes; and
                    ``(B) fails to come forward with an immediate plan 
                to address a deficiency described in clause (i) or (ii) 
                of subparagraph (A).
    ``(h) Universal Basic Education Fellowship Program.--
            ``(1) Authority.--The Administrator of the United States 
        Agency for International Development is authorized to establish 
        an education fellowship program at the United States Agency for 
        International Development to increase the expertise of the 
        personnel of the Agency in promoting universal basic education 
        and to carry out the provisions of this section.
            ``(2) Term of fellowship.--An individual may participate in 
        a fellowship under this subsection for a term of not more than 
        3 years.
            ``(3) Qualifications.--An individual is qualified to 
        participate in a fellowship under this subsection if such 
        individual has the specific expertise required--
                    ``(A) to develop and implement the policies and 
                programs of this section; and
                    ``(B) to promote the exchange of knowledge and 
                experience among the Agency, the education service 
                delivery community, private business, and the academic 
                and research communities.
    ``(i) Relationship to Other Laws.--The President shall exercise the 
authority provided in this section in accordance with other applicable 
law.
    ``(j) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            ``(1) Authorization of appropriations.--There are 
        authorized to be appropriated to the President to carry out the 
        provisions of this section amounts as follows:
                    ``(A) $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2005.
                    ``(B) $1,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2006.
                    ``(C) $1,500,000,000 for fiscal year 2007.
                    ``(D) $2,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2008.
                    ``(E) $2,500,000,000 for fiscal year 2009.
            ``(2) Availability of funds.--Amounts made available under 
        paragraph (1) are authorized to remain available until expended 
        and are in addition to amounts otherwise available for such 
        purposes.''.
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