[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2139 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2139
To direct the President to develop and implement a comprehensive
national strategy to further the United States foreign policy objective
of promoting global development, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 28, 2009
Mr. Berman (for himself and Mr. Kirk) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the President to develop and implement a comprehensive
national strategy to further the United States foreign policy objective
of promoting global development, 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 ``Initiating Foreign Assistance Reform
Act of 2009''.
SEC. 2. NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT.
(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Poverty, lack of opportunity, gender inequality and
other violations of human rights, and environmental degradation
are recognized as significant contributors to socioeconomic and
political instability, as well as to the exacerbation of
disease pandemics and other global health threats.
(2) The 2002 National Security Strategy of the United
States notes: ``[A] world where some live in comfort and
plenty, while half of the human race lives on less than $2 per
day, is neither just nor stable. Including all of the world's
poor in an expanding circle of development and opportunity is a
moral imperative and one of the top priorities of United States
international policy.''.
(3) The 2006 National Security Strategy of the United
States notes: ``America's national interests and moral values
drive us in the same direction: to assist the world's poor
citizens and least developed nations and help integrate them
into the global economy.''.
(4) Poverty reduction is in the United States national
security interest, in that it improves United States security
by mitigating the underlying causes of violence and extremism,
addresses threats like climate change and disease that know no
borders, expands economic opportunities for United States
producers and consumers, shows the best face of the United
States to the world, and represents the values, kindness, and
generosity of the American people.
(5) Elevating the United States' standing in the world
represents a critical and essential element of any strategy to
improve national and global security by mitigating the root
causes of conflict and multinational terrorism, strengthening
diplomatic and economic relationships, preventing global
climate change, curbing weapons proliferation, and fostering
peace and cooperation among all nations.
(6) Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has stated that
``robust diplomacy and effective development are the best long-
term tools for securing America's future''.
(7) A National Strategy for Global Development, as required
under subsection (b), would bring such departments, agencies,
and offices together to develop a comprehensive strategy laying
out the principal objectives, approaches, and basic framework
for global development policies and programs--bilateral and
multilateral--as part of broader policies of the United States
for engaging in the world.
(b) Strategy Required.--The President shall develop and implement,
on an interagency basis, a comprehensive national strategy to further
the United States foreign policy objective of reducing poverty and
contributing to broad-based economic growth in developing countries,
including responding to humanitarian crises. The strategy required
under this subsection shall be known as the ``National Strategy for
Global Development''.
(c) Elements of Strategy.--The strategy required under subsection
(b) shall support United States engagement with developing countries in
order to reduce poverty and contribute to broad-based economic growth
in developing countries and therefore further the achievement of United
States long-term foreign policy and national security interests. The
strategy shall further--
(1) define the role of United States Government departments
and agencies in carrying out global development policies and
programs, such as trade policies, debt relief, climate change,
and other polices and programs to reduce poverty and contribute
to broad-based economic growth in developing countries, and
create a process to enhance the interagency coordination among
such departments and agencies to ensure policy and program
coherence and avoid duplication and counterproductive outcomes
among such policies and programs;
(2) establish development objectives for global development
policies and programs described in paragraph (1) to reduce
poverty and contribute to broad-based economic growth in
developing countries consistent with internationally recognized
development goals and host country priorities, including cross-
cutting principles and best practices to ensure that efforts
are as effective as possible;
(3) review and improve coordination among United States
Government departments and agencies carrying out global
development policies and programs described in paragraph (1)
and other countries and organizations, including multilateral,
bilateral, and international organizations, host country
governments, and civil society organizations, carrying out
similar policies and programs to reduce poverty and contribute
to broad-based economic growth;
(4) address the continuum of activities relating to poverty
reduction in developing countries, including activities to
address humanitarian needs through urgent humanitarian
assistance and rehabilitation, reconstruction, and long-term
development;
(5) establish development goals for each geographic region
of the world based on the specific needs of each such region;
and
(6) include budget requirements to carry out the strategy.
(d) Character of Strategy.--In developing the strategy required
under subsection (b), the President should, to the maximum extent
practicable, ensure that the strategy is flexible so as to respond to
changing objectives, approaches, and needs of developing countries and
changing United States foreign policy and national security interests.
(e) Consultation.--In developing and implementing the strategy
required under subsection (b), the President should consult with the
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, nongovernmental
stakeholders, international financial institutions, other international
organizations involved in humanitarian assistance and development
efforts, and developing countries.
(f) Transmission to Congress.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the President shall transmit to the
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives
and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a copy of
the strategy required under subsection (b). The strategy shall
be transmitted in unclassified form, but may contain a
classified annex if necessary.
(2) Availability to public.--Upon transmission of the
strategy to Congress under paragraph (1), the President shall
publish the strategy (other than the classified annex, if any)
on the White House website.
SEC. 3. MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF UNITED STATES FOREIGN ASSISTANCE.
Chapter 1 of part III of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22
U.S.C. 2351 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 608 the
following new section:
``SEC. 609. MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF UNITED STATES FOREIGN
ASSISTANCE.
``(a) In General.--The President shall develop and implement a
rigorous system to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness and
efficiency of United States foreign assistance. The system shall
include a method of coordinating the evaluation activities of each
Federal department or agency primarily responsible for carrying out
United States foreign assistance programs with evaluation activities
carried out by other such Federal departments and agencies, and when
possible with other international bilateral and multilateral agencies
and entities.
``(b) Requirements.--In carrying out subsection (a), the President
shall ensure that the head of each Federal department or agency
described in subsection (a)--
``(1) establishes measurable performance goals, including
gender-sensitive goals, for United States foreign assistance
programs carried out by the Federal department or agency;
``(2) establishes criteria for selection of such United
States foreign assistance programs to be subject to various
evaluation methodologies, with particular emphasis on criteria
for selection of programs and projects to be subject to impact
evaluation;
``(3) establishes an organization unit with adequate staff
and funding to budget, plan, and conduct appropriate
performance monitoring and improvement and evaluation
activities with respect to such United States foreign
assistance programs;
``(4) establishes a process for applying the lessons
learned and results from evaluation activities, including the
use and results of impact evaluation research, into future
budgeting, planning, programming, design and implementation of
such United States foreign assistance programs; and
``(5) establishes a policy to publish all evaluation plans
and reports relating to such United States foreign assistance
programs.
``(c) Annual Evaluation Plan.--
``(1) In general.--In carrying out subsection (a), the
President shall ensure that the head of each Federal department
or agency described in subsection (a) develops an annual
evaluation plan of United States foreign assistance programs
carried out by the department or agency stating how the
department or agency will meet the requirements of this
section.
``(2) Consultation.--In preparing the evaluation plan, the
head of each Federal department or agency described in
subsection (a) shall consult with the heads of other
appropriate Federal departments and agencies, governments of
host countries, international and indigenous nongovernmental
organizations, and other relevant stakeholders.
``(3) Submission to congress.--Not later than 180 days
after the date of the enactment of this section, and annually
thereafter, the head of each Federal department or agency
described in subsection (a) shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees and the United States foreign
assistance evaluation advisory council established under
subsection (h) a copy of the evaluation plan.
``(d) Capacity Building.--
``(1) For federal departments and agencies.--The President
shall enhance the performance monitoring and improvement and
evaluation capacity of each Federal department and agency
described in subsection (a) by increasing and improving
training and education opportunities, including adopting best
practices and up-to-date evaluation methodologies to provide
the best evidence available for assessing the results of United
States foreign assistance programs.
``(2) For recipient countries.--The President is authorized
to provide assistance to increase the capacity of the
governments of countries receiving United States foreign
assistance to design and conduct performance monitoring and
improvement and evaluation activities.
``(e) Budgetary Planning.--The head of each Federal department or
agency described in subsection (a) shall include in the annual budget
of the department or agency a funding amount to conduct performance
monitoring and improvement and evaluations of United States foreign
assistance programs, projects, or activities.
``(f) United States Foreign Assistance Evaluation Advisory
Council.--
``(1) In general.--The President shall establish a United
States foreign assistance evaluation advisory council to--
``(A) provide guidance on the conduct of
evaluations for United States foreign assistance
programs, projects, and activities;
``(B) facilitate publication of common indicators
to be used for measuring the outcomes and impacts of
United States foreign assistance;
``(C) facilitate publication of best practices
reports for different types of United States foreign
assistance; and
``(D) provide advice in the planning and
coordination of United States foreign assistance
evaluation to avoid duplication of efforts.
``(2) Membership.--The advisory council shall be composed
of not less than 7 members appointed by the President from
among private individuals who are familiar and experienced in
monitoring and evaluating foreign assistance programs, with at
least 2 members having specialized expertise in outcome and
impact evaluation methodologies.
``(3) Chairperson.--The chairperson of the advisory council
shall be designated by the President at the time of
appointment.
``(4) Term.--
``(A) In general.--Each member shall be appointed
for a term of 4 years, except as provided in
subparagraph (B).
``(B) Vacancies.--Any member appointed to fill a
vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term
for which the member's predecessor was appointed shall
be appointed for the remainder of that term and may be
appointed for an additional term of 4 years.
``(5) Meetings.--The advisory council shall meet not less
than four times each year. The chairperson of the advisory
council shall call a meeting of the advisory council upon
request by four or more members of the advisory council. The
meetings of the advisory council shall be made open to the
public and minutes, comments, reports and other related
documents shall be published in the Federal Register in a
timely fashion.
``(6) Termination.--Section 14(a)(2) of the Federal
Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.; relating to the
termination of advisory committees) shall not apply to the
advisory council.
``(7) Report.--Not later than two years after the date of
the enactment of this section, and every two years thereafter,
the advisory council shall prepare and submit to the President
and the appropriate congressional committees a report that
summarizes the activities of the advisory council, including
the advisory council's assessment of the performance monitoring
and improvement and evaluation programs of each Federal
department or agency described in subsection (a).
``(g) Report.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than one year after the date
of the enactment of this section, and annually thereafter, the
President shall transmit to the appropriate congressional
committees a report on--
``(A) the use of funds to carry out evaluations
under this section;
``(B) the status and results of evaluations under
this section; and
``(C) the use of results and lessons learned from
evaluations under this section, including actions taken
in response to recommendations included in current and
previous evaluations, such as the improvement or
continuation of a program, project, or activity.
``(2) Publication.--The report shall also be published in
the Federal Register and made available on the public website
of each Federal department or agency described in subsection
(a).
``(h) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
`appropriate congressional committees' means the Committee on
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.
``(2) Evaluation; outcome and impact evaluation.--
``(A) Evaluation.--The term `evaluation' means the
systematic and objective determination and assessment
of the design, implementation, and results of an on-
going or completed program, project, or activity.
``(B) Outcome and impact evaluation.--The term
`outcome and impact evaluation' means an assessment of
the impact and outcome of the outputs of a program,
project, or activity.
``(3) Impact evaluation research.--The term `impact
evaluation research' means the application of research methods
and statistical analysis to measure the extent to which change
in a population-based outcome or impact can be attributed to
United States program, project, or activity intervention
instead of other environmental factors, including change in
political climate and other donor assistance.
``(4) Impacts.--The term `impacts' means the positive and
negative, direct and indirect, intended and unintended long-
term effects produced by a program, project, or activity.
``(5) Outcomes.--The term `outcomes' means the likely or
achieved immediate and intermediate effects of the outputs of a
program, project, or activity.
``(6) Outputs.--The term `outputs' means--
``(A) the products, capital, goods, and services
that result from a program, project, or activity; or
``(B) the changes resulting from the program,
project, or activity that are relevant to the
achievement of outcomes.
``(7) Results.--The term `results' means the positive or
negative, direct or indirect, intended or unintended outputs,
outcomes, and impacts of a program, project, or activity.
``(8) Performance monitoring and improvement.--The term
`performance monitoring and improvement' means a continuous
process of collecting, analyzing, and using data to compare how
well a program, project, or activity is being implemented
against expected results and program costs and to make
appropriate improvements accordingly.
``(9) United states foreign assistance.--The term `United
States foreign assistance' means--
``(A) assistance authorized under this Act; and
``(B) assistance authorized under any other
provision of law that is classified under budget
function 150 (International Affairs).
``(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--
``(1) In general.--Of the amounts authorized to be
appropriated for each United States foreign assistance program
for each of the fiscal years 2010 and 2011, not less than 5
percent of such amounts are authorized to be appropriated to
carry out this section for such fiscal year.
``(2) Availability.--Amounts authorized to be appropriated
to carry out this section for a fiscal year are in addition to
amounts otherwise available for such purposes.''.
SEC. 4. TRANSPARENCY OF UNITED STATES FOREIGN ASSISTANCE.
(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the
American taxpayers and recipients of United States foreign assistance
should, to the maximum extent practicable, have full access to
information on United States foreign assistance.
(b) Information Available to Public.--
(1) In general.--The President shall publish in the Federal
Register and make publicly available on the websites of
appropriate Federal departments and agencies comprehensive,
timely, comparable, and accessible information on United States
foreign assistance a detailed program-by-program basis and
country-by-country basis.
(2) Scope.--To ensure transparency, accountability, and
effectiveness of United States foreign assistance, the
information on United States foreign assistance published and
made available under paragraph (1) shall include planning,
allocations and disbursement, terms, contracting, monitoring,
and evaluation elements with respect to activities carried out
under such United States foreign assistance.
(3) Availability to be in timely manner.--The President
shall direct the head of each Federal department and agency
providing United States foreign assistance to ensure that the
information required under this subsection shall be made
available in a timely manner.
(c) Multilateral Efforts.--In order to best assess the use and
impact of United States foreign assistance in relation to funding
provided by other donor nations and recipient countries, the President
should fully engage with and participate in the International Aid
Transparency Initiative, established on September 4, 2008, at the Accra
High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness.
(d) Definition.--In this section, the term ``United States foreign
assistance'' has the meaning given the term in section 609(h) of the
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (as added by section 3 of this Act).
SEC. 5. REPEALS OF OBSOLETE AUTHORIZATIONS OF ASSISTANCE; CONFORMING
AMENDMENTS.
(a) Repeals.--The following provisions of the Foreign Assistance
Act of 1961 are hereby repealed:
(1) Section 125 (22 U.S.C. 2151w; relating to general
development assistance).
(2) Section 219 (22 U.S.C. 2179; relating to prototype
desalting plant).
(3) Title V of chapter 2 of part I (22 U.S.C. 2201;
relating to disadvantaged children in Asia).
(4) Section 466 (22 U.S.C. 2286; relating to debt-for-
nature exchanges pilot program for sub-Saharan Africa).
(5) Sections 494, 495, and 495B through 495K (22 U.S.C.
2292c, 2292f, and 2292h through 2292q; relating to certain
international disaster assistance authorities).
(6) Section 546 (22 U.S.C. 2347c; relating to certain
international military education and training authorities).
(7) Section 638(b) (22 U.S.C. 2398(b); relating to
exclusions).
(8) Section 648 (22 U.S.C. 2407; relating to certain
miscellaneous provisions).
(b) Conforming Amendments.--(1) Section 135 of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2152h) is amended by striking
``section 135'' and inserting ``section 136.''
(2) Section 638 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C.
2398) is amended by striking ``(a) No provision'' and inserting ``No
provision''.
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