[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3151 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3151

   To establish the Office for Global Women's Issues and the Women's 
  Development Advisor to facilitate interagency coordination and the 
integration of gender considerations into the strategies, programming, 
   and associated outcomes of the Department of State and the United 
  States Agency for International Development, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

               March 22 (legislative day, March 19), 2010

 Mr. Kerry (for himself and Mr. Lugar) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To establish the Office for Global Women's Issues and the Women's 
  Development Advisor to facilitate interagency coordination and the 
integration of gender considerations into the strategies, programming, 
   and associated outcomes of the Department of State and the United 
  States Agency for International 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 ``Enhancing Quality Assistance and 
Leadership and Improving Transparency for Women Act'' or the ``EQUALITY 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Women are vital to successful development. On January 
        6, 2010, Secretary of State Clinton stated, ``Women and girls 
        are one of the world's greatest untapped resources. Investing 
        in the potential of women to lift and lead their societies is 
        one of the best investments we can make. . . . (S)tudies have 
        shown when a woman receives even just one year of schooling, 
        her children are less likely to die in infancy or suffer from 
        illness or hunger, and more likely to go to school 
        themselves.''.
            (2) According to the World Bank--
                    (A) investing in women and girls yields large 
                social and economic returns, including breaking 
                intergenerational cycles of poverty; and
                    (B) societies that treat males and females more 
                equally experience more rapid economic growth and 
                poverty reduction than societies that discriminate 
                based on gender.
            (3) United Nations Millennium Development Goal 3 (MDG3) 
        calls for redressing gender disparities and empowering women. 
        According to the United Nations, women have more access to 
        employment now than ever before; but they still earn \1/3\ less 
        than men. According to the World Bank, MDG3 is the critical 
        avenue through which several other goals are achievable, 
        including--
                    (A) universal primary education (MDG2);
                    (B) a \2/3\ reduction in the mortality rate among 
                children younger than 5 years of age (MDG4);
                    (C) improvements in maternal health (MDG5); and
                    (D) a reduction in the likelihood of contracting 
                HIV/AIDS and other major diseases (MDG6).
            (4) Properly investing in women requires a cross-cutting, 
        multi-sectoral approach. On October 8, 2009, Melanne Verveer, 
        Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues, stated ``The 
        major economic, security, governance, and environmental 
        challenges of our time cannot be solved without the 
        participation of women at all levels of society. Empowering 
        women is one of the most effective and positive forces for 
        improving conditions around the globe. Indeed, no country can 
        prosper if half its people are left behind.''.
            (5) The Department of State and the United States Agency 
        for International Development need stronger tools to create a 
        comprehensive plan and approach to mainstreaming women in 
        development. As of 2010, these efforts are only nascent. In his 
        December 2, 2009, confirmation hearing before the Committee on 
        Foreign Relations of the Senate, USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv 
        Shah stated ``I believe effective gender integration is often 
        the difference between success and failure of a broad variety 
        of development investments.''.

SEC. 3. OFFICE FOR GLOBAL WOMEN'S ISSUES.

    (a) Establishment.--
            (1) In general.--There is established, in the Office of the 
        Secretary of State, the Office for Global Women's Issues 
        (referred to in this section as the ``Office'').
            (2) Personnel.--The Secretary of State may assign 
        appropriate staff with relevant technical and operational 
        expertise to the Office to carry out the purposes of this 
        section.
    (b) Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues.--The Office 
shall be headed by an Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues 
(referred to in this section as the ``Ambassador''), who--
            (1) shall be appointed by the President, by and with the 
        advice and consent of the Senate;
            (2) shall report directly to the Secretary of State; and
            (3) shall have the rank and status of Ambassador-at-Large.
    (c) Duties.--
            (1) In general.--The Ambassador is authorized to--
                    (A) coordinate and advise on activities, policies, 
                programs, and funding of relevant bureaus and offices 
                of the Department of State, which relate to--
                            (i) gender integration;
                            (ii) women's and girls' economic, social 
                        and legal development, protection, improvement 
                        in role and status in societies; and
                            (iii) prevention and response to violence 
                        against women and girls, including child and 
                        forced marriage;
                    (B) promote and advance the full integration of 
                gender analysis into the programs, structures, 
                processes, and capacities of the Department of State 
                and other Federal Government agencies conducting 
                international programs;
                    (C) work with relevant offices within the 
                Department of State to promote the collection, 
                retention, and analysis of data on programs and 
                activities of the Department--
                            (i) to integrate gender into its policies 
                        and programs;
                            (ii) regarding the protection and economic, 
                        social, and legal development of women and 
                        girls;
                            (iii) to improve the role and status of 
                        women and girls in societies; and
                            (iv) to prevent and respond to violence 
                        against women and girls, including child and 
                        forced marriage; and
                    (D) in coordination with relevant bureaus and 
                offices of the Department of State, design support, and 
                implement relevant activities and programs regarding 
                international girls' and women's issues.
            (2) Coordinating role.--The Ambassador is authorized to--
                    (A) advise and coordinate with relevant Executive 
                Branch agencies engaged in international women's 
                policies and programs, including the Department of 
                Justice, the Department of Labor, the Department of 
                Education, the Department of Health and Human Services, 
                the Department of Agriculture, the Department of 
                Defense, the Department of Commerce, the United States 
                Agency for International Development and the Millennium 
                Challenge Corporation, on policies, programs, and 
                funding of such agencies relating to women's issues in 
                their international programs and policies; and
                    (B) work with relevant Executive Branch agencies 
                described in subparagraph (A), to compile and make 
                public comprehensive information about United States 
                Government international programs relating to--
                            (i) the economic, social, and legal 
                        development of women and girls;
                            (ii) the protection of women and girls;
                            (iii) the improvement of the role and 
                        status of women and girls in societies;
                            (iv) the prevention of and response to 
                        violence against women and girls, including 
                        child and forced marriage; and
                            (v) the outcomes and effectiveness of such 
                        programs.
            (3) Diplomatic representation.--Subject to the direction of 
        the President and the Secretary of State, the Ambassador is 
        authorized to represent the United States in matters relevant 
        to the status of women internationally.
    (d) Interagency Cooperation.--
            (1) Authorization.--The Ambassador is authorized--
                    (A) to provide advice and guidance, as appropriate, 
                to the Federal Government agencies described in 
                subsection (c)(2)(A); and
                    (B) on behalf of the Secretary of State, to convene 
                periodic meetings with other Federal Government 
                agencies to enhance and ensure effective coordination 
                of policies, programs, and resources regarding critical 
                issues related to international women's status and 
                development.
            (2) Sense of the senate.--It is the sense of the Senate 
        that the heads of relevant Federal Government agencies 
        described in subsection (c)(2)(A) should ensure effective 
        implementation and coordination of all international women's 
        policies and programs by annually sharing information with the 
        Office on programs described in subsection (c)(2)(B).
    (e) Congressional Briefings.--Not later than 6 months after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 
Ambassador shall brief Congress on the integration of gender 
considerations into its strategies, programming, and associated 
outcomes, and interagency cooperation.
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as may be required for each of the fiscal years 
2011 through 2015 to carry out the activities authorized under this 
section.

SEC. 4. UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT WOMEN'S 
              DEVELOPMENT ADVISOR.

    (a) Establishment.--
            (1) In general.--There is established, within the United 
        States Agency for International Development (referred to in 
        this section as ``USAID''), the Women's Development Advisor 
        (referred to in this section as the ``Advisor''), who shall--
                    (A) be appointed by, and report directly to, the 
                USAID Administrator;
                    (B) be highly qualified in the areas of 
                international development and gender integration; and
                    (C) participate in high level strategic policy, 
                planning, operations, and evaluations throughout all 
                regional and functional disciplines of USAID.
            (2) Support staff.--The Office of Women in International 
        Development shall report directly to the Advisor. The USAID 
        Administrator may assign additional staff with technical and 
        operational expertise as may be needed to assist the Advisor in 
        carrying out the purposes of this section.
    (b) Duties.--The Advisor is authorized to--
            (1) coordinate USAID efforts to integrate gender in foreign 
        assistance design, strategy, and programs;
            (2) coordinate and consult with the Ambassador;
            (3) inform the USAID Administrator of United States 
        Government policies relating to gender, including those 
        disseminated by the Ambassador;
            (4) collect and make publicly available data and analysis 
        on gender integration activities, women's development, 
        strategies for gender-based violence prevention and response, 
        in accordance with agency-wide mechanisms for data collection, 
        monitoring, and evaluation; and
            (5) provide recommendations to the Administrator.
    (c) Congressional Briefings.--Not later than 6 months after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the USAID 
Administrator or the Advisor shall provide to Congress data collected 
under subsection (b)(5) on the integration of gender, women's 
development, and gender-based violence prevention and response into its 
strategies, programming, and associated outcomes.
    (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 
2011 through 2015 to carry out the activities authorized under this 
section.

SEC. 5. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORT.

    (a) Report Required.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall submit a report to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 
Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
Representatives that provides a detailed accounting of all United 
States Government financial assistance--
            (1) to further international economic, social, and legal 
        development for women and girls;
            (2) to provide protection for women and girls;
            (3) to improve the role and status of women and girls in 
        societies;
            (4) to prevent and respond to violence against women and 
        girls, including child and forced marriage; and
            (5) to address related issues.
    (b) Contents.--The report required under subsection (a) shall 
include--
            (1) a description and assessment of the programs authorized 
        and funded to address the issues set forth in paragraphs (1) 
        through (5) of subsection (a);
            (2) an assessment of the coordination among Federal 
        agencies involved in such programs, including--
                    (A) an examination of the internal coordination 
                within such programs; and
                    (B) the integration with the larger global health 
                and development agenda of the United States;
            (3) an assessment of procurement policies and practices 
        within such programs;
            (4) an assessment of the impact of such efforts; and
            (5) recommendations for improving the coordination and 
        outcomes of such programs and funding.
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