[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2524 Introduced in House (IH)]
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2524
To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to improve access to
microenterprise by the very poor, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 13, 2011
Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself and Mr. Rush) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to improve access to
microenterprise by the very poor, 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 ``Microenterprise Empowerment and Job
Creation Act of 2011''.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO FOREIGN ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1961 TO IMPROVE ACCESS
TO MICROENTERPRISE BY THE VERY POOR.
(a) Findings and Policy.--Section 251 of the Foreign Assistance Act
of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2211) is amended by adding at the end the following
new paragraph:
``(7) The very poor can utilize microfinance mechanisms and
benefit from microenterprise opportunities, but they require
innovative approaches that respond to their particular
circumstances and needs.''.
(b) Authorization; Implementation; Targeted Assistance.--
(1) Authorization.--Section 252(a) of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2211a(a)) is amended--
(A) in paragraph (1) to read as follows:
``(1) assistance for the purpose of expanding the
availability of credit, savings, and other financial services
to microfinance and microenterprise clients, particularly those
who are unable to access such services through the private
sector, and to increase the capacity of such clients to access
such services through education, training, and mentoring;'';
(B) in paragraph (3), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(C) by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph
(5); and
(D) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following
new paragraph:
``(4) assistance for value chain interventions that--
``(A) benefit primarily the very poor populations;
``(B) is integral to the success of a microfinance
or microenterprise project; and
``(C) includes measures to ensure that the value
chain that is created or enhanced will be self-
sustainable upon completion of the intervention; and''.
(2) Implementation.--Section 252(b)(2) of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2211a(b)(2)) is amended--
(A) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking
``$25,000,000'' and inserting ``$24,100,000''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following new
subparagraph:
``(D) Administrative costs.--For purposes of
subparagraph (C), the term `administrative costs' does
not include the salary and related costs of personnel
who train, mentor, monitor, and verify the
accountability of groups participating in projects
based on an informal savings-led group model.''.
(3) Targeted assistance.--Section 252 of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2211a) is amended by striking
subsection (c) and inserting the following new subsection:
``(c) Targeted Assistance.--In carrying out sustainable poverty-
focused programs under subsection (a)--
``(1)(A) 50 percent of all microenterprise resources shall
be targeted to clients who are very poor; and
``(B) clients who receive resources specified in
subparagraph (A) shall include individuals who--
``(i) do not have permanent, secure shelter;
``(ii) are living in camps administered by the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for
refugees and internally displaced persons;
``(iii) are victims or potential victims of severe
forms of trafficking in persons or are women who are
victims of or susceptible to other forms of
exploitation and violence; or
``(iv) are widows, orphans, or vulnerable children;
and
``(2) assistance shall be distributed taking into account
country and regional assistance targets established by the
Director that are based on the poverty ratios of countries
eligible for assistance from the International Development
Association.''.
(c) Report.--Section 258(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961
(22 U.S.C. 2214(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following
paragraphs:
``(12) A description of the efforts made to notify new
potential program implementers that provide microenterprise
opportunities to the very poor, including faith-based and
community-based organizations, of assistance available pursuant
to section 252(a).
``(13) A list of organizations that provided assistance to
individuals listed in section 252(c)(1)(B), the amount of
assistance provided to each organization, and a description of
the microenterprise projects funded through each organization.
``(14) The country and regional poverty targets established
pursuant to section 252(c)(2), and a comparison as to how
assistance pursuant to subsection (a) is being distributed
relative to such targets.
``(15) In order to ensure compliance with section 253(b)(4)
and to increase access by the very poor to microenterprise
opportunities, an identification of--
``(A) the poverty assessment tools currently
available for identifying the very poor that have been
evaluated by the Administrator of the Agency, acting
through the Director of the office, during the
applicable fiscal year; and
``(B) those tools identified under subparagraph (A)
that have been determined to meet the Agency's
requirements for accountability and transparency and
have been approved for such purpose.''.
(d) Definitions.--Section 259 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961
(22 U.S.C. 2214a) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (3), by striking ``the Committee on
International Relations'' and inserting ``the Committee on
Foreign Affairs'';
(2) by redesignating paragraph (14) as paragraph (15);
(3) by inserting after paragraph (13) the following new
paragraph:
``(14) Value chain.--The term `value chain' means all or
part of a market system to produce and deliver goods from the
extraction of raw materials or production of other inputs to
final consumer purchase, including the flow of financing among
the value chain actors for the purpose of delivering products
to market.''; and
(4) in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (15) (as
redesignated), by striking ``$1'' and inserting ``$1.25''.
SEC. 3. ENHANCED PROCUREMENT POLICIES FOR MICROFINANCE PROGRAMS.
For the purpose of improving the procurement process for
microfinance programs, when administering assistance under section 252
of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2211a), the
Administrator shall--
(1) develop a formal past performance system and database
for acquisition and assistance instruments to be used in the
evaluation of all future competitions for such instruments; and
(2) develop rules regarding potential organizational
conflicts of interest related to the design, evaluation, and
audit of programs in relation to the implementation of such
programs that apply both to acquisition and assistance
instruments.
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) Grant Assistance.--Section 252 of the Foreign Assistance Act of
1961 (22 U.S.C. 2211a), as amended by this Act, is further amended by
adding at the end the following subsection:
``(d) Availability of Funds.--Of the amounts authorized to be
available to carry out this part, the United States Leadership Against
HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003, the FREEDOM Support
Act, the International Security Assistance Act of 1978, the
Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954, and the
Support for East European Democracy (SEED) Act of 1989, including local
currencies derived from such funds, there are authorized to be
appropriated $264,930,000 for each of the fiscal years 2012 through
2016 to carry out this subtitle.''.
(b) Credit Assistance.--Section 256(f)(1) of the Foreign Assistance
Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2212(f)(1)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``such sums as may be necessary'' and
inserting ``$2,070,000''; and
(2) by striking ``2005 through 2009'' and inserting ``2012
through 2016''.
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