[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3766 Engrossed Amendment Senate (EAS)]
<DOC>
In the Senate of the United States,
June 28, 2016.
Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R.
3766) entitled ``An Act to direct the President to establish guidelines
for United States foreign development and economic assistance programs,
and for other purposes.'', do pass with the following
AMENDMENTS:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Foreign Aid Transparency and
Accountability Act of 2016''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate;
(B) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
(C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House
of Representatives; and
(D) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives.
(2) Evaluation.--The term ``evaluation'' means, with
respect to a covered United States foreign assistance program,
the systematic collection and analysis of information about the
characteristics and outcomes of the program, including projects
conducted under such program, as a basis for--
(A) making judgments and evaluations regarding the
program;
(B) improving program effectiveness; and
(C) informing decisions about current and future
programming.
(3) Covered united states foreign assistance.--The term
``covered United States foreign assistance'' means assistance
authorized under--
(A) part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961
(22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.), except for--
(i) title IV of chapter 2 of such part
(relating to the Overseas Private Investment
Corporation); and
(ii) chapter 3 of such part (relating to
International Organizations and Programs);
(B) chapter 4 of part II of the Foreign Assistance
Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2346 et seq.; relating to
Economic Support Fund);
(C) the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C.
7701 et seq.); and
(D) the Food for Peace Act (7 U.S.C. 1721 et seq.).
SEC. 3. GUIDELINES FOR COVERED UNITED STATES FOREIGN ASSISTANCE
PROGRAMS.
(a) Purposes.--The purposes of this section are to--
(1) evaluate the performance of covered United States
foreign assistance and its contribution to the policies,
strategies, projects, program goals, and priorities undertaken
by the Federal Government;
(2) support and promote innovative programs to improve
effectiveness; and
(3) coordinate the monitoring and evaluation processes of
Federal departments and agencies that administer covered United
States foreign assistance.
(b) Establishment of Guidelines.--Not later than 18 months after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall set forth
guidelines, according to best practices of monitoring and evaluation
studies and analyses, for the establishment of measurable goals,
performance metrics, and monitoring and evaluation plans that can be
applied with reasonable consistency to covered United States foreign
assistance.
(c) Objectives of Guidelines.--
(1) In general.--The guidelines established pursuant to
subsection (b) shall provide direction to Federal departments
and agencies that administer covered United States foreign
assistance on--
(A) monitoring the use of resources;
(B) evaluating the outcomes and impacts of covered
United States foreign assistance projects and programs;
and
(C) applying the findings and conclusions of such
evaluations to proposed project and program design.
(2) Objectives.--The guidelines established pursuant to
subsection (b) shall provide direction to Federal departments
and agencies that administer covered United States foreign
assistance on how to--
(A) establish annual monitoring and evaluation
objectives and timetables to plan and manage the
process of monitoring, evaluating, analyzing progress,
and applying learning toward achieving results;
(B) develop specific project monitoring and
evaluation plans, including measurable goals and
performance metrics, and to identify the resources
necessary to conduct such evaluations, which should be
covered by program costs;
(C) apply rigorous monitoring and evaluation
methodologies to such programs, including through the
use of impact evaluations, ex-post evaluations, or
other methods, as appropriate, that clearly define
program logic, inputs, outputs, intermediate outcomes,
and end outcomes;
(D) disseminate guidelines for the development and
implementation of monitoring and evaluation programs to
all personnel, especially in the field, who are
responsible for the design, implementation, and
management of covered United States foreign assistance
programs;
(E) establish methodologies for the collection of
data, including baseline data to serve as a reference
point against which progress can be measured;
(F) evaluate, at least once in their lifetime, all
programs whose dollar value equals or exceeds the
median program size for the relevant office or bureau
or an equivalent calculation to ensure the majority of
program resources are evaluated;
(G) conduct impact evaluations on all pilot
programs before replicating, or conduct performance
evaluations and provide a justification for not
conducting an impact evaluation when such an evaluation
is deemed inappropriate or impracticable;
(H) develop a clearinghouse capacity for the
collection, dissemination, and preservation of
knowledge and lessons learned to guide future programs
for United States foreign assistance personnel,
implementing partners, the donor community, and aid
recipient governments;
(I) internally distribute evaluation reports;
(J) publicly report each evaluation, including an
executive summary, a description of the evaluation
methodology, key findings, appropriate context,
including quantitative and qualitative data when
available, and recommendations made in the evaluation
within 90 days after the completion of the evaluation;
(K) undertake collaborative partnerships and
coordinate efforts with the academic community,
implementing partners, and national and international
institutions, as appropriate, that have expertise in
program monitoring, evaluation, and analysis when such
partnerships provide needed expertise or significantly
improve the evaluation and analysis;
(L) ensure verifiable, reliable, and timely data,
including from local beneficiaries and stakeholders,
are available to monitoring and evaluation personnel to
permit the objective evaluation of the effectiveness of
covered United States foreign assistance programs,
including an assessment of assumptions and limitations
in such evaluations; and
(M) ensure that standards of professional
evaluation organizations for monitoring and evaluation
efforts are employed, including ensuring the integrity
and independence of evaluations, permitting and
encouraging the exercise of professional judgment, and
providing for quality control and assurance in the
monitoring and evaluation process.
(d) President's Report.--Not later than 18 months after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit a report to the
appropriate congressional committees that contains a detailed
description of the guidelines established pursuant to subsection (b).
The report shall be submitted in unclassified form, but it may contain
a classified annex.
(e) Comptroller General's Report.--The Comptroller General of the
United States shall, not later than 18 months after the report required
by subsection (d) is submitted to Congress, submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report that--
(1) analyzes the guidelines established pursuant to
subsection (b); and
(2) assesses the implementation of the guidelines by the
agencies, bureaus, and offices that implement covered United
States foreign assistance as outlined in the President's budget
request.
SEC. 4. INFORMATION ON COVERED UNITED STATES FOREIGN ASSISTANCE
PROGRAMS.
(a) Publication of Information.--
(1) Update of existing website.--Not later than 90 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
State shall update the Department of State's website,
``ForeignAssistance.gov'', to make publicly available
comprehensive, timely, and comparable information on covered
United States foreign assistance programs, including all
information required under subsection (b) that is available to
the Secretary of State.
(2) Information sharing.--Not later than 2 years after the
date of the enactment of this Act, and quarterly thereafter,
the head of each Federal department or agency that administers
covered United States foreign assistance shall provide the
Secretary of State with comprehensive information about the
covered United States foreign assistance programs carried out
by such department or agency.
(3) Updates to website.--Not later than 2 years after the
date of the enactment of this Act, and quarterly thereafter,
the Secretary of State shall publish, on the
``ForeignAssistance.gov'' website or through a successor online
publication, the information provided under subsection (b).
(b) Matters To Be Included.--
(1) In general.--The information described in subsection
(a)--
(A) shall be published for each country on a
detailed basis, such as award-by-award; or
(B) if assistance is provided on a regional level,
shall be published for each such region on a detailed
basis, such as award-by-award.
(2) Types of information.--
(A) In general.--To ensure the transparency,
accountability, and effectiveness of covered United
States foreign assistance programs, the information
described in subsection (a) shall include--
(i) links to all regional, country, and
sector assistance strategies, annual budget
documents, congressional budget justifications,
and evaluations in accordance with section
3(c)(2)(J);
(ii) basic descriptive summaries for
covered United States foreign assistance
programs and awards under such programs; and
(iii) obligations and expenditures.
(B) Publication.--Each type of information
described in subparagraph (A) shall be published or
updated on the appropriate website not later than 90
days after the date on which the information is issued.
(C) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this
paragraph may be construed to require a Federal
department or agency that administers covered United
States foreign assistance to provide any information
that does not relate to, or is not otherwise required
by, the covered United States foreign assistance
programs carried out by such department or agency.
(3) Report in lieu of inclusion.--
(A) Health or security of implementing partners.--
If the head of a Federal department or agency, in
consultation with the Secretary of State, makes a
determination that the inclusion of a required item of
information online would jeopardize the health or
security of an implementing partner or program
beneficiary or would require the release of proprietary
information of an implementing partner or program
beneficiary, the head of the Federal department or
agency shall provide such determination in writing to
the appropriate congressional committees, including the
basis for such determination.
(B) National interests of the united states.--If
the Secretary of State makes a determination that the
inclusion of a required item of information online
would be detrimental to the national interests of the
United States, the Secretary of State shall provide
such determination, including the basis for such
determination, in writing to the appropriate
congressional committees.
(C) Form.--Information provided under this
paragraph may be provided in classified form, as
appropriate.
(4) Failure to comply.--If a Federal department or agency
fails to comply with the requirements under paragraph (1), (2),
or (3) of subsection (a), or subsection (c), with respect to
providing information described in subsection (a), and the
information is not subject to a determination under
subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (3) not to make the
information publicly available, the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget, in consultation with the head of such
department or agency, not later than one year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, shall submit a consolidated report
to the appropriate congressional committees that includes, with
respect to each required item of information not made publicly
available--
(A) a detailed explanation of the reason for not
making such information publicly available; and
(B) a description of the department's or agency's
plan and timeline for--
(i) making such information publicly
available; and
(ii) ensuring that such information is made
publicly available in subsequent years.
(c) Scope of Information.--The online publication required under
subsection (a) shall, at a minimum--
(1) in each of the fiscal years 2016 through 2019, provide
the information required under subsection (b) for fiscal years
2015 through the current fiscal year; and
(2) for fiscal year 2020 and each fiscal year thereafter,
provide the information required under subsection (b) for the
immediately preceding 5 fiscal years in a fully searchable
form.
(d) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the
Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency
for International Development should coordinate the consolidation of
processes and data collection and presentation for the Department of
State's website, ``ForeignAssistance.gov'', and the United States
Agency for International Development's website, ``Explorer.USAID.gov'',
to the extent that is possible to maximize efficiencies, no later than
the end of fiscal year 2018.
Amend the title so as to read: ``A bill to direct the
President to establish guidelines for covered United States
foreign assistance programs, and for other purposes.''.
Attest:
Secretary.
114th CONGRESS
2d Session
H.R. 3766
_______________________________________________________________________
AMENDMENTS