[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4319 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4319

 To provide assistance for small and medium enterprises in sub-Saharan 
               African countries, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 15, 2005

  Mr. Lantos (for himself and Mr. Smith of New Jersey) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on International 
 Relations, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a 
 period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide assistance for small and medium enterprises in sub-Saharan 
               African countries, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Assistance for 
Small and Medium Enterprises in Sub-Saharan African Countries Act of 
2005''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Sense of Congress; declaration of policy.
Sec. 4. Activities of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation to 
                            strengthen financial institutions in sub-
                            Saharan African countries.
Sec. 5. Assistance for small and medium enterprises in sub-Saharan 
                            African countries.
Sec. 6. Actions to improve trade between sub-Saharan African countries 
                            and the United States.
Sec. 7. Definitions.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation 
        and Development (OECD), the economies of sub-Saharan African 
        countries have registered their highest overall growth in eight 
        years--more than five percent in 2004--due to rising global 
        commodity prices, the expansion of production in oil-producing 
        sub-Saharan African countries, and prudent macro-economic 
        policies.
            (2) While economic liberalization has reduced the 
        involvement of governments of sub-Saharan African countries in 
        the economic sector, it has not resulted in improved credit 
        delivery to finance domestic businesses, particularly small and 
        medium enterprises in sub-Saharan African countries, in the 
        private sector.
            (3) Despite the privatization of over 2,273 businesses in 
        sub-Saharan African countries and $9.1 billion raised, private 
        sector investment still lags behind Asia, in large part due to 
        inadequate infrastructure, including electricity, water, roads, 
        and commerce facilities, and a risk-averse retail banking 
        sector.
            (4) Sub-Saharan Africa countries hold billions of 
        uninvested capital in central banks and financial holding 
        institutions. In the eight-nation West African Economic and 
        Monetary Union the amount of excess capital in the central bank 
        recently peaked at almost $2 billion.
            (5) Excess reserves of uninvested capital in sub-Saharan 
        African countries have often been illicitly diverted or 
        invested in economically inefficient enterprises and other 
        purposes, often for the benefit of politically-connected 
        persons or entities.
            (6) Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo recently estimated 
        that corrupt leaders of sub-Saharan African countries have 
        stolen at least $140 billion from their citizens in the four 
        decades since independence. This theft contributes to the fact 
        that the people of sub-Saharan African countries owe 
        unsustainably large public and foreign debts, face high rates 
        of extreme poverty, and have enjoyed little basic economic 
        development.
            (7) Increasingly, governments of sub-Saharan African 
        countries are making concerted efforts to investigate such 
        activities, prosecute corrupt officials, and recover public 
        funds through the creation of agencies such as the Economic and 
        Financial Crimes Commission in Nigeria, the Serious Fraud 
        Office in Ghana, the Federal Ethics and Anticorruption 
        Commission in Ethiopia, and the Anticorruption Commission in 
        Zambia.
            (8) These efforts will require technical assistance and law 
        enforcement cooperation from the international community, 
        including the United States.
            (9) A major challenge for sub-Saharan African countries is 
        to productively invest their own capital to expand domestic 
        business ownership and create employment, particularly for 
        youth, in order to promote broad and sustainable economic 
        growth.
            (10) While the microenterprise movement has shown itself to 
        be an important generator of self-employment, research and 
        experience throughout sub-Saharan Africa also have proven that 
        small and medium enterprises are the greatest catalyst for job 
        creation, skills transfer, and wealth creation in sub-Saharan 
        Africa.
            (11) Although small and medium enterprises in sub-Saharan 
        African countries make up the largest portion of the formal 
        economy in sub-Saharan African countries, the average annual 
        contribution of investments of such small and medium 
        enterprises to growth in the gross domestic product of sub-
        Saharan African countries by proportion declined from an 
        average of 14 percent in the 1970s, to 13 percent in the 1980s, 
        and to 12 percent in the first half of the 1990s, while during 
        the same period, the proportion of gross domestic product 
        investment by small and medium enterprises in other developing 
        regions increased.
            (12) Investments in small and medium enterprises in sub-
        Saharan African countries also have declined, in part because 
        an estimated 37 percent of personal wealth in sub-Saharan 
        African countries is held in assets and cash located outside of 
        sub-Saharan African countries, even though the global region 
        with the highest return on capital investment is sub-Saharan 
        Africa.
            (13) Many retail banks avoid lending to small and medium 
        enterprises in sub-Saharan African countries or engage in 
        predatory lending practices, considering such small and medium 
        enterprises as presenting a high credit default risk and as 
        costly to administer, and instead concentrate on providing 
        credit to larger local or international firms or on holding 
        high-yield government bonds.
            (14) This approach harms the prospects for sustainable 
        private sector development by ignoring the necessity of a 
        bottom-up capital formation--a key factor in creating jobs 
        which is necessary to reduce poverty and income inequalities.
            (15) Governments of sub-Saharan African countries must 
        develop the fiscal policies, economic institutions, legal 
        frameworks, labor market protections, commercial 
        infrastructures, and lending practices to create and manage 
        competitive business environments for investors in small and 
        medium enterprises in sub-Saharan African countries. Further, 
        small and medium enterprises in sub-Saharan African countries 
        must acquire the business skills, expertise, and capital 
        financing necessary to manage successful businesses.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS; DECLARATION OF POLICY.

    (a) Sense of Congress.-- It is the sense of Congress that in an 
increasingly competitive global environment driven by transformations 
in technology, communications, transportation, finance, production, 
labor markets, and markets for goods and services, sub-Saharan African 
countries should develop the private sector, particularly small and 
medium enterprises, and human capital, goods and services, banking and 
finance systems, and create markets to be full participants in the 
global economy.
    (b) Declaration of Policy.--It shall be the policy of the 
Government of the United States to make available for private sector 
development in sub-Saharan African countries professional, technical, 
and other resources for capacity-building for finance ministries, 
central and retail banks, and small and medium enterprises to promote 
entrepreneurship, expand the formal sector, and increase trade under 
the African Growth and Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.) of 
exports from Africa to the United States.

SEC. 4. ACTIVITIES OF THE OVERSEAS PRIVATE INVESTMENT CORPORATION TO 
              STRENGTHEN FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN 
              COUNTRIES.

     Section 240 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2200) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Support for Financial Institutions in Sub-Saharan African 
Countries.--
            ``(1) Support.--The Corporation is commended for its 
        activities in support of the development of small and medium 
        enterprises, and is encouraged to exercise its authorities to 
        promote United States investments in financial institutions 
        that are duly incorporated in sub-Saharan African countries, to 
        the extent that the purpose of such investments is to expand 
        investment and lending opportunities to small and medium 
        enterprises in sub-Saharan African countries that are engaged 
        in domestic commerce in areas that are responsible for 
        significant job creation.
            ``(2) Consideration.--In making a determination to provide 
        insurance and financing to financial institutions referred to 
        in paragraph (1), the Corporation should take into 
        consideration the extent to which a project establishes and 
        implements a nondiscrimination in lending policy to prohibit 
        discrimination based on ethnicity, sex, color, race, religion, 
        physical disability, marital status, or age, and a policy 
        against predatory lending practices.
            ``(3) Technical assistance.--In supporting a project 
        referred to in paragraph (1), the Corporation may provide 
        technical assistance to--
                    ``(A) improve the quality of management of 
                financial institutions referred to in paragraph (1) to 
                ensure the safety and stability of such institutions;
                    ``(B) create in such financial institutions 
                effective credit risk management systems to improve the 
                quality of the assets of such institutions and the 
                ability of such institutions to research and assess the 
                overall credit risk of critical industries in the 
                domestic economy;
                    ``(C) support effective credit risk management by 
                developing internal credit rating systems and credit 
                assessment tools that improve the ability of such 
                financial institutions to evaluate individual credit 
                worthiness and measure the overall amount of risk posed 
                by the total number of borrowers; and
                    ``(D) establish comprehensive collateral management 
                programs to control borrower assets against default and 
                exposure as part of the risk management process.
            ``(4) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Small and medium enterprises in sub-saharan 
                african countries.--The term `small and medium 
                enterprises in sub-Saharan African countries' has the 
                meaning given the term in section 496A(e)(2) of this 
                Act.
                    ``(B) Sub-saharan african countries.--The term 
                `sub-Saharan African countries' means the countries 
                specified in section 107 of the African Growth and 
                Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 3706).''.

SEC. 5. ASSISTANCE FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES IN SUB-SAHARAN 
              AFRICAN COUNTRIES.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 10 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act 
of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2293 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 
496 the following new section:

``SEC. 496A. ASSISTANCE FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES IN SUB-SAHARAN 
              AFRICAN COUNTRIES.

    ``(a) Authorization.--The President, acting through the 
Administrator of the United States Agency for International 
Development, is authorized to provide assistance, on such terms and 
conditions as the President may determine, for small and medium 
enterprises in sub-Saharan African countries.
    ``(b) Activities Supported.--Assistance provided under subsection 
(a) shall, to the maximum extent practicable, be used to carry out the 
following activities:
            ``(1) Effectiveness of financial sectors.--Activities to 
        improve the effectiveness of the financial sectors of sub-
        Saharan African countries to promote increased business and 
        employment opportunities for small and medium enterprises in 
        sub-Saharan African countries. Such activities may include 
        providing technical assistance relating to--
                    ``(A) tax policy and administration;
                    ``(B) government debt issuance and management;
                    ``(C) policies and regulation of financial 
                institutions;
                    ``(D) prevention, detection, and prosecution of 
                financial crimes;
                    ``(E) regulatory systems;
                    ``(F) innovative services and specialized 
                institutions to serve the small and medium enterprise 
                market; and
                    ``(G) compliance with international financial 
                standards.
            ``(2) Lending programs of financial institutions.--
        Activities to promote the establishment of lending programs of 
        financial institutions for small and medium enterprises in sub-
        Saharan African countries by--
                    ``(A) improving the quality of management of such 
                financial institutions to ensure their safety and 
                stability;
                    ``(B) establishing effective credit risk management 
                systems to improve the quality of the assets of such 
                financial institutions and the ability of such 
                financial institutions to research and assess overall 
                credit risk;
                    ``(C) supporting effective credit risk management 
                systems described in subparagraph (B) by developing 
                internal credit rating systems and credit assessment 
                tools that improve the ability of such financial 
                institutions to evaluate individual credit worthiness 
                and measure the overall amount of risk posed by the 
                total number of borrowers; and
                    ``(D) establishing comprehensive collateral 
                management programs to control borrower assets against 
                default and exposure as part of the risk management 
                process.
            ``(3) Technology and information resources.--Activities to 
        improve the technology and information resources of financial 
        institutions and small and medium enterprises in sub-Saharan 
        African countries. Such activities may include--
                    ``(A) developing computer programs and networking 
                capabilities to provide connectivity between domestic 
                and international banking sectors;
                    ``(B) increasing access by finance ministries and 
                central banks to information management systems and 
                high-speed Internet connectivity; and
                    ``(C) promoting the development of Internet service 
                providers.
            ``(4) Business development in rural and peri-urban areas.--
        Activities to promote the development of small and medium 
        enterprises in sub-Saharan African countries that are located 
        in rural and peri-urban areas. Such activities may include--
                    ``(A) carrying out short- and long-term training in 
                entrepreneurship, such as the `Business Opportunity 
                Centers' program of the United States Agency for 
                International Development in the Republic of Zimbabwe;
                    ``(B) providing training in entrepreneurship, 
                including basic business management, accounting, 
                bookkeeping, marketing, risk management, and computer 
                skills;
                    ``(C) providing assistance to meet international, 
                particularly United States, quality control standards;
                    ``(D) providing business services on a fee-for-
                service basis, such as telephone, fax, email, e-
                learning, and money transfer services, based on the 
                cost recovery model of the `Business Opportunity 
                Centers' program in Zimbabwe;
                    ``(E) carrying out capacity-building activities for 
                microenterprise business associations and microfinance 
                networks; and
                    ``(F) providing training in internationally 
                recognized labor rights and core labor standards.
            ``(5) Small business development in post-conflict states.--
        Activities to promote small business development in post-
        conflict sub-Saharan African countries. Such activities may 
        include--
                    ``(A) providing rural agriculture entrepreneurship 
                training to aid displaced persons, particularly youth, 
                with the purpose of helping such persons return to 
                rural areas and re-engage in agricultural activities;
                    ``(B) adopting more productive and profitable 
                production systems such as conservation farming 
                technologies, biotechnologies, biosafety technologies, 
                and increasing the marketability of the surplus 
                production of such systems;
                    ``(C) providing assistance to add commercial value 
                to agricultural goods and to sell such goods to local 
                and regional markets; and
                    ``(D) encouraging agricultural entrepreneurship and 
                the formation of cooperatives and marketing 
                associations and providing such associations with 
                organizational and technical assistance.
            ``(6) Youth entrepreneurship programs.--Activities to 
        establish youth entrepreneurship training programs in schools 
        or through community partnerships with business and youth 
        organizations in sub-Saharan African countries to promote 
        economic skills, ethics, integrity, and healthy life skills 
        among youth in such countries. Such activities may include 
        providing assistance through United States and international 
        youth organizations located in sub-Saharan African countries 
        and ministries of education, local schools, businesses, and 
        youth groups to--
                    ``(A) teach basic concepts of business economics 
                and free enterprise and the relevance of education for 
                such youth to improving the quality of their lives;
                    ``(B) teach basic concepts of good governance, the 
                rule of law, human rights, and citizenship as they 
                relate to national development;
                    ``(C) assist youth to make decisions about their 
                educational and professional future and develop 
                communication skills that are vital to succeed in the 
                domestic, regional, and international business world;
                    ``(D) develop a specialized curriculum for youth in 
                rural and peri-urban areas and utilize, whenever 
                possible, business and community volunteers to deliver 
                such curriculum; and
                    ``(E) organize student-led enterprises.
            ``(7) Intellectual property rights protection.--Activities 
        to introduce and strengthen laws, regulations, and enforcement 
        mechanisms to protect national and international intellectual 
        property rights and to protect the people and industries of 
        sub-Saharan African countries against imported counterfeit 
        consumer and other goods.
            ``(8) Anti-corruption initiatives.--Activities that combat 
        corruption, improve transparency and accountability, and 
        promote other forms of good governance and management in sub-
        Saharan African countries. Such activities may include--
                    ``(A) providing technical assistance to governments 
                of sub-Saharan African countries that are implementing 
                the United Nations Convention against Corruption, 
                including assistance to combat anti-competitive, 
                unethical, and corrupt activities, including protection 
                against actions that may distort or inhibit 
                transparency in market mechanisms and impair the 
                development of small and medium enterprises.
                    ``(B) providing assistance to develop a legal 
                framework for commercial transactions that fosters 
                business practices that promote transparent, ethical, 
                and competitive behavior in the economic sector, such 
                as commercial codes that incorporate international 
                standards and protection of national and international 
                intellectual property rights and core labor standards; 
                and
                    ``(C) providing training and technical assistance 
                relating to drafting of anti-corruption, privatization, 
                and competitive statutory and administrative codes, and 
                providing technical assistance to ministries and 
                agencies implementing anti-corruption laws and 
                regulations.
    ``(c) Consideration.--In making a determination to provide 
assistance to financial institutions referred to in subsection (b), the 
President should take into consideration the extent to which a project 
establishes and implements a nondiscrimination in lending policy to 
prohibit discrimination based on ethnicity, sex, color, race, religion, 
physical disability, marital status, or age, and a policy against 
predatory lending practices.
    ``(d) Acceptance and Use of Gifts, Devises, Bequests, and Grants.--
In accordance with section 635(d) of this Act, the President may accept 
and use in furtherance of the purposes of this section, money, funds, 
property, and services of any kind made available by gift, devise, 
bequest, grant, or otherwise for such purposes.
    ``(e) Report.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than January 31 of each year, 
        the President shall transmit to the appropriate congressional 
        committees a report that contains a detailed description of the 
        implementation of this section for the prior fiscal year.
            ``(2) Contents.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall 
        contain a description of the number of grants, contracts, 
        cooperative agreements, or other form of assistance provided 
        under this section with a detailed description of--
                    ``(A) the amount of each grant, contract, 
                cooperative agreement, or other form of assistance; and
                    ``(B) the name of each recipient and each country 
                with respect to which projects or activities under the 
                grant, contract, cooperative agreement, or other form 
                of assistance were carried out.
            ``(3) Availability to the public.--The report required by 
        this subsection shall be made available to the public on the 
        Internet website of the United States Agency for International 
        Development.
    ``(f) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        `appropriate congressional committees' means--
                    ``(A) the Committee on International Relations of 
                the House of Representatives; and
                    ``(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 
                Senate.
            ``(2) Small and medium enterprises in sub-saharan african 
        countries.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The term `small and medium 
                enterprises in sub-Saharan African countries' means 
                corporations and other legal entities that meet the 
                requirements of this subparagraph. A legal entity meets 
                the requirements of this subparagraph if it--
                            ``(i) is organized under the laws of a sub-
                        Saharan African country and has its principal 
                        place of business within such country;
                            ``(ii) is owned or controlled by natural 
                        persons who are citizens of the sub-Saharan 
                        African country referred to in clause (i); and
                            ``(iii) has fewer than 50 employees.
                    ``(B) Owned or controlled.--In subparagraph (A), 
                the term `owned or controlled' means--
                            ``(i) in the case of a corporation, the 
                        holding of at least 50 percent (by vote or 
                        value) of the capital structure of the 
                        corporation; and
                            ``(ii) in the case of any other kind of 
                        legal entity, the holding of interests 
                        representing at least 50 percent of the capital 
                        structure of the entity.
            ``(3) Sub-saharan african countries.--The term `sub-Saharan 
        African countries' means the countries specified in section 107 
        of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 3706).
    ``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the President to carry out this section $30,000,000 for 
each of the fiscal years 2007 and 2008.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 497 of the Foreign Assistance 
Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2294) is amended in the second sentence by 
adding at the end before the period the following: ``or section 496A''.

SEC. 6. ACTIONS TO IMPROVE TRADE BETWEEN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN COUNTRIES 
              AND THE UNITED STATES.

    (a) Actions of the United States Trade Representative.--
            (1) Plan.--The United States Trade Representative, in 
        consultation with the Administrator of the United States Agency 
        for International Development and the Secretary of Agriculture, 
        shall develop a comprehensive plan for the expansion and 
        diversification of agricultural trade between sub-Saharan 
        African countries and the United States under the African 
        Growth and Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.).
            (2) Elements.--The plan required by paragraph (1) shall--
                    (A) identify the major agricultural products that 
                are exported between sub-Saharan African countries and 
                the United States;
                    (B) analyze critical constraints to agricultural 
                trade between sub-Saharan African countries and the 
                United States and efforts to remove such constraints;
                    (C) increase capacity building for research and 
                development for local, regional, and international 
                markets, agricultural export products, quality 
                improvement, and international food standards;
                    (D) strengthen infrastructure and communication 
                networks to reduce marketing and transaction costs, in 
                collaboration with the United States Agency for 
                International Development;
                    (E) increase access to market information (such as 
                information relating to prices, product quality and 
                demand, input quality and costs, and customs rules and 
                regulations) for smallholder farmers, farmer groups and 
                cooperatives, and relevant government ministries of 
                sub-Saharan African countries;
                    (F) establish and strengthen public-private 
                partnerships in sub-Saharan African countries to 
                enhance agricultural trade between such countries and 
                the United States;
                    (G) establish consultation mechanisms between the 
                five United States Agricultural Technical Advisory 
                Committees and counterpart groups in sub-Saharan 
                African countries and regional economic organizations; 
                and
                    (H) support ongoing discussions with agricultural 
                government ministries of sub-Saharan African countries 
                and private sector agricultural organizations in sub-
                Saharan African countries on issues of mutual concern 
                in the context of World Trade Organization (WTO) 
                agricultural negotiations.
            (3) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act, the United States Trade Representative 
        shall submit to Congress a report that contains--
                    (A) a detailed description of the plan required by 
                this subsection; and
                    (B) recommendations for legislation, administrative 
                actions, or other actions that the Trade Representative 
                considers appropriate to implement the plan.
    (b) Actions of the Department of State.--
            (1) Activities to strengthen fundamental labor rights.--
                    (A) Sense of congress.-- It is the sense of 
                Congress that sustained economic growth and development 
                in sub-Saharan Africa will depend on building strong, 
                effective enforcement of international labor standards 
                and democratic trade unions that can responsibly 
                represent workers' interests at the workplace and with 
                their governments in sub-Saharan African countries.
                    (B) Activities.--The Secretary of State shall 
                undertake activities to strengthen internationally 
                recognized labor rights and standards in sub-Saharan 
                African countries by--
                            (i) ensuring that governments and 
                        businesses in sub-Saharan African countries are 
                        aware of their obligations (through membership 
                        in the International Labor Organization (ILO) 
                        as well as under United States trade preference 
                        programs such as the generalized system of 
                        preferences and the African Growth and 
                        Opportunity Act) to respect, promote, and 
                        realize the international labor standards 
                        established by the ILO;
                            (ii) monitoring the enforcement of labor 
                        laws in sub-Saharan African countries, 
                        including labor laws relating to workers' 
                        rights to free association, prohibitions on 
                        child labor, forced labor, and discrimination, 
                        safety in the work environment, workplace 
                        standards laws regulating minimum wage and 
                        hours of work, and collective bargaining, 
                        through ensuring, among other things, that 
                        reporting on labor rights at United States 
                        missions is a priority; and
                            (iii) providing technical assistance to 
                        enhance enforcement of labor laws in sub-
                        Saharan African countries and for institutional 
                        capacity building of trade unions to increase 
                        their capabilities to represent workers at 
                        workplaces and with their governments.
            (2) Activities to promote dialogue among business, 
        government, labor, and nongovernmental organizations.--The 
        Secretary of State shall undertake activities to promote social 
        dialogue among business, government, labor, and nongovernmental 
        organizations, including all types of negotiations, 
        consultations, or exchanges of information between, or among, 
        representatives of business, government, labor, and 
        nongovernmental organizations, on issues of common interest 
        relating to economic and social policy.
    (c) Actions of the Food and Drug Administration.--The Secretary 
Health and Human Services, acting through the Food and Drug 
Administration--
            (1) shall provide training to agricultural producers in 
        sub-Saharan African countries to ensure that exports of such 
        producers meet United States food safety standards;
            (2) should provide technical assistance and capacity 
        building to agricultural producers in sub-Saharan African 
        countries to ensure such producers meet phytosanitary standards 
        in planting, cultivating, harvesting, and processing 
        agricultural products for export, with particular attention to 
        institutions serving smallholder producers, small-scale rural 
        businesses, and cooperatives; and
            (3) should provide assistance to strengthen agricultural 
        research and extension capacity to disseminate relevant 
        information on pests and diseases to smallholder farmers in 
        sub-Saharan African countries, as well as successful, cost 
        efficient and environmentally sound solutions.
    (d) Actions of the Foreign Agriculture Service.--The Secretary of 
Agriculture, acting through the Foreign Agriculture Service, should 
improve market access for United States agricultural products in sub-
Saharan African countries by--
            (1) in conjunction with the Secretary of Commerce, 
        strengthening the capacity of agricultural producer 
        organizations in sub-Saharan African countries to identify 
        agricultural equipment and supply needs;
            (2) working with United States financial institutions to 
        increase the number of such financial institutions that 
        cooperate with the Supplier Credit Guarantee Program;
            (3) working with financial institutions in sub-Saharan 
        African countries to remove obstacles that inhibit fuller 
        implementation of the Export Credit Guarantee and Intermediate 
        Export Credit Guarantee programs; and
            (4) facilitating access for ports of entry and warehouse 
        facilities in sub-Saharan African countries to the Facilities 
        Guarantee Program.
    (e) Actions of the United States Agency for International 
Development.--
            (1) Technical assistance relating to agoa eligibility.--The 
        President, acting through the Administrator of the United 
        States Agency for International Development, shall provide 
        technical assistance to eligible sub-Saharan African countries 
        under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 3701 et 
        seq.) to assist such countries to continue to meet the 
        eligibility requirements under such Act, including eligibility 
        requirements relating to political and economic reforms.
            (2) Technical assistance relating to agoa benefits.--The 
        President, acting through the Administrator of the United 
        States Agency for International Development, shall provide 
        technical assistance to eligible sub-Saharan African countries 
        under the African Growth and Opportunity Act to enable small 
        and medium enterprises in sub-Saharan African countries, 
        including agricultural producers, processors and traders, to 
        maximize benefits under such Act (and the amendments made by 
        that Act), including--
                    (A) specific training for business owners on 
                expanding access to the benefits of the African Growth 
                and Opportunity Act (and the amendments made by that 
                Act) and other trade preference programs;
                    (B) capacity building for entrepreneurs on 
                production strategies, quality standards, formation of 
                cooperatives, market research, and market development;
                    (C) capacity building to promote diversification of 
                products and value-added processing; and
                    (D) capacity building and technical assistance for 
                businesses and institutions to help them comply with 
                United States counter-terrorism laws.
            (3) Transportation and communications.--
                    (A) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
                            (i) A major impediment to trade between 
                        sub-Saharan African countries and the United 
                        States is inadequate direct and regular 
                        transport, for products and people, between 
                        such countries and the United States.
                            (ii) This transport deficit has reduced the 
                        competitiveness of products of sub-Saharan 
                        African countries, hindered the people of sub-
                        Saharan African countries from expanding 
                        exports of perishable items, such as cut 
                        flowers or fresh fruits and vegetables, limited 
                        the ability of sub-Saharan African countries to 
                        increase tourism, and limited the overall 
                        volume of trade between sub-Saharan African 
                        countries and the United States.
                    (B) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress 
                that there should be an expansion of port-to-port 
                relationships between sub-Saharan African countries and 
                the United States. Such relationships should 
                facilitate--
                            (i) increased coordination between land, 
                        sea, and airports to reduce time in transit and 
                        thus freight charges;
                            (ii) interaction between technical staff 
                        from land, sea, and airports in sub-Saharan 
                        African countries and the United States to 
                        increase efficiency and safety procedures and 
                        protocols;
                            (iii) coordination between chambers of 
                        commerce, freight forwarders, customs brokers, 
                        and others involved in consolidating and moving 
                        freight; and
                            (iv) joint negotiations with shipping 
                        companies and airlines on direct shipping and 
                        flights between land, sea, and airports in sub-
                        Saharan African countries and the United States 
                        to increase frequency and capacity.
                    (C) Assistance.--The President, acting through the 
                Administrator of the United States Agency for 
                International Development and the Global Development 
                Alliance of the Agency, shall facilitate trade between 
                sub-Saharan African countries and the United States by 
                encouraging public-private partnerships involving 
                businesses in sub-Saharan African countries and the 
                United States, national and local governments, 
                bilateral donors, and international financial 
                institutions, to create needed transportation and 
                communication infrastructure for products and people 
                between rural areas and markets (such as ``farm-to-
                market'' roads), and between sub-Saharan African 
                countries.
    (f) Actions of the Small Business Administration.--The 
Administrator of the Small Business Administration should conduct trade 
training programs for small businesses in the United States, such as 
the Export Trade Assistance Program, which convey basic information on 
selling goods to foreign markets, including markets in sub-Saharan 
African countries.
    (g) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            (1) General activities.--There are authorized to be 
        appropriated to carry out this section (other than subsection 
        (b)) $5,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2007 and 2008.
            (2) Activities of the department of state.--There are 
        authorized to be appropriated to carry out subsection (b) 
        $3,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2007 and 2008.
            (3) Availability.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to the 
        authorization of appropriations under paragraphs (1) and (2) 
        are authorized to remain available until expended.

SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Small and medium enterprises in sub-saharan african 
        countries.--The term ``small and medium enterprises in sub-
        Saharan African countries'' has the meaning given the term in 
        section 496A(e)(2) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (as 
        added by section 5(a) of this Act).
            (2) Sub-saharan african countries.--The term ``sub-Saharan 
        African countries'' means the countries specified in section 
        107 of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 3706).
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