[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1295 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1295

 To amend the African Development Foundation Act to change the name of 
     the Foundation, modify the administrative authorities of the 
                  Foundation, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 3, 2007

 Mr. Feingold (for himself, Mr. Coleman, and Ms. Landrieu) introduced 
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 
                          on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the African Development Foundation Act to change the name of 
     the Foundation, modify the administrative authorities of the 
                  Foundation, 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 ``African Development Foundation Act 
of 2007''.

SEC. 2. RENAMING OF FOUNDATION.

    (a) Renaming.--Section 503(a) of the African Development Foundation 
Act (22 U.S.C. 290h-1(a)) is amended by striking ``African Development 
Foundation'' and inserting ``United States African Development 
Foundation''.
    (b) References.--Any reference in any law, regulation, map, 
document, paper, or other record of the United States to the African 
Development Foundation shall be considered to be a reference to the 
United States African Development Foundation.

SEC. 3. FUNCTIONS OF THE FOUNDATION.

    (a) Entities Eligible To Receive Grants, Loans, and Loan 
Guarantees.--Paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of section 505 of such Act 
(22 U.S.C. 290h-3(a)(1)) is amended by inserting after ``other entity'' 
the following: ``(including small- and medium-sized enterprises)''.
    (b) Use of Grant and Loan Funds.--Subparagraph (A) of such 
paragraph (22 U.S.C. 290h-3(a)(1)(A)) is amended by striking ``local 
development institutions and the support of development efforts 
initiated by communities themselves'' and inserting ``local development 
institutions, including capital and technical assistance funds that 
promote the purposes of this title, and the support of development 
efforts initiated by communities themselves or their members''.
    (c) Increased Limitation on Funding of Individual Projects.--
Paragraph (2) of such subsection (22 U.S.C. 290h-3(a)(2)) is amended by 
striking ``$250,000.'' and inserting ``$400,000. This funding 
limitation may be exceeded only in exceptional circumstances and with 
the approval of the Board of Directors and notification to Congress. 
Approval of the Board of Directors and notification to Congress shall 
not be required in the case of an increase of less than $50,000 that is 
necessary to maintain the original value of an award in local 
currency.''.
    (d) Community Project Priorities.--Subsection (b) of such section 
(22 U.S.C. 290h-3(b)) is amended--
            (1) in the first sentence, by striking ``making grants, 
        loans, and loan guarantees'' and all that follows through 
        ``development'' and inserting ``making awards under subsection 
        (a), the Foundation shall give priority to projects which 
        community groups and small- and medium-sized enterprises 
        undertake to foster development at the community level''; and
            (2) in the second sentence, by striking ``make such grants, 
        loans, and loan guarantees'' and inserting ``make awards''.
    (e) Authority To Make Awards to Non-African Entities.--Such section 
is further amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(c) Authority To Make Awards to Non-African Entities.--Upon the 
approval of the Board of Directors and notification to Congress, the 
Foundation may make an award to a small- or medium-sized enterprise 
that is not wholly-owned and controlled by indigenous Africans if it 
meets the following requirements:
            ``(1) Ownership of the entity is predominantly vested in 
        one or more individuals who are indigenous to Africa and who 
        are representative and knowledgeable of, and have a history of 
        responding to, the needs and aspirations of the poor.
            ``(2) Management and daily business operations of the 
        entity are controlled by one or more individuals who are 
        indigenous to and reside in Africa.''.
    (f) Authority To Provide Training and Other Technical Assistance.--
Such section, as amended by subsection (e), is further amended by 
adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(d) Authority To Provide Training and Other Technical 
Assistance.--The Foundation may provide training and other assistance 
to entities described in subsection (a) and to entities described in 
subsection (c), subject to the requirements of such subsection, in 
order to carry out the purposes specified in section 504.''.

SEC. 4. POWERS OF FOUNDATION.

    Section 506(a) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 290h-4(a)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (9), (10), (11), and (12) 
        as paragraphs (10), (12), (13), and (14), respectively;
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (8) the following new 
        paragraph:
            ``(9) may make advance payments in an African country in 
        accordance with lease or rental agreements for periods of time 
        determined by law or custom;''; and
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (10), as redesignated by 
        paragraph (2) of this section, the following new paragraph:
            ``(11) may maintain bank accounts outside the United States 
        Treasury and retain any interest earned on such accounts in 
        furtherance of the purposes of this Act;''.

SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT OF FOUNDATION.

    (a) Reimbursement of Transportation Expenses.--Subsection (b) of 
section 507 of such Act (22 U.S.C. 290h-5(b)) is amended by inserting 
after ``transportation expenses'' the following: ``(in accordance with 
the Federal Travel Regulations (chapters 300 through 304 of title 41, 
Code of Federal Regulations))''.
    (b) Limited Authority To Make Appointments Without Regard to 
Certain Civil Service Laws.--Subsection (d) of such section (22 U.S.C. 
290h-5(d)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(3) Subject to the full time equivalent (FTE) ceiling of the 
Foundation, the president may, without regard to civil service laws 
governing appointments in the competitive service, provide time-limited 
appointments lasting up to 4 years to not more than 4 individuals. 
Individuals so appointed shall be subject to termination without regard 
to chapter 75 of title 5, United States Code.''.
    (c) Elimination of Requirement To Establish Advisory Council.--
Subsection (e) of such section is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``shall'' and inserting 
        ``may''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``The Board'' and 
        inserting ``If an advisory council is established under 
        paragraph (1), the Board''.
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