[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3766 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.3766

                     One Hundred Fourteenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

           Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,
           the fourth day of January, two thousand and sixteen


                                 An Act


 
   To direct the President to establish guidelines for covered United 
       States foreign assistance programs, 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 ``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.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.