[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3924 Introduced in House (IH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3924

To establish in the United States Agency for International Development 
an entity to be known as the United States Global Development Lab, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 4, 2015

    Mr. Castro of Texas (for himself and Mr. McCaul) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish in the United States Agency for International Development 
an entity to be known as the United States Global Development Lab, 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 ``Global Development Lab Act of 
2015''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Leveraging academic research and private sector 
        expertise to effectively apply science and technology to United 
        States foreign aid can increase the effectiveness of United 
        States aid dollars and lead to better outcomes.
            (2) In the last 20 years, human ingenuity and 
        entrepreneurship around the world has reduced child mortality 
        rates by 42 percent and poverty rates by 52 percent, lifting 
        hundreds of millions of people out of poverty.
            (3) Over the next 40 years, the developing world is 
        expected to be the largest source of product and services 
        growth. Breakthroughs pioneered for the developing world can 
        translate into jobs and economic growth in the United States.
            (4) In 2014 the Office of Science and Technology and the 
        Office of Innovation and Development Alliances at the United 
        States Agency for International Development were abolished to 
        pave the way to bring their staffing and other resources into 
        the United States Global Development Lab.
            (5) The Lab represents a new approach to invest, test, and 
        apply more effective solutions to humanity's greatest 
        challenges.
            (6) The Lab will partner with entrepreneurs, experts, 
        nongovernmental organizations, universities, and science and 
        research institutions to solve development challenges in a 
        faster, more cost-efficient, and more sustainable way.
            (7) The Lab will utilize innovation incentives, a pay-for-
        success model, which uses science, technology, and innovation-
        driven competitions to expand the number and diversity of 
        solutions to development challenges.
            (8) In contrast with traditional grants or contracts, where 
        USAID pays for a proposal to be implemented, pay-for-success 
        awards are given to a winner only after the objectives of the 
        competition have been achieved.
            (9) Expanding pay-for-success authority to allow the Lab to 
        use these awards globally will increase the number of high 
        value solutions to choose from at a significantly reduced cost.

SEC. 3. UNITED STATES GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT LAB.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established in USAID an entity to be 
known as the United States Global Development Lab.
    (b) Duties and Responsibilities.--The duties and responsibilities 
of the Lab should include--
            (1) increasing the application of science, technology, 
        innovation and partnerships to develop and scale new solutions 
        to end extreme poverty;
            (2) discovering, testing, and scaling development 
        innovations to solve development challenges to increase cost 
        effectiveness and support United States foreign policy and 
        development goals;
            (3) leveraging the expertise, resources, and investment of 
        businesses, nongovernmental organizations, science and research 
        organizations, and universities to increase program impact and 
        sustainability;
            (4) utilizing innovation-driven competitions to expand the 
        number and diversity of solutions to development challenges; 
        and
            (5) supporting USAID missions and bureaus in applying 
        science, technology, innovation, and partnership approaches to 
        decisionmaking, procurement, and program design.
    (c) Authorities.--
            (1) In general.--In carrying out the duties and 
        responsibilities of the Lab under subsection (b), the 
        Administrator, in addition to such other authorities as may be 
        available to the Administrator, including authorities under 
        part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et 
        seq.), is authorized to--
                    (A) use not more than $15,000,000 of funds 
                appropriated or otherwise made available by an Act 
                making appropriations for the Department of State, 
                foreign operations, and related programs under the 
                heading ``Development Assistance'' for any fiscal year 
                to provide funding to improve health outcomes;
                    (B) provide innovation incentive awards (as defined 
                in section 4(4) of this Act); and
                    (C) use funds appropriated to carry out part I of 
                the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et 
                seq.) for the employment of not more than 30 
                individuals on a limited term basis pursuant to 
                schedule A of subpart C of part 213 of title 5, Code of 
                Federal Regulations, or equivalent provisions of law or 
                regulations.
            (2) Recovery of funds.--
                    (A) In general.--In carrying out the duties and 
                responsibilities of the Lab under subsection (b), the 
                Administrator shall require a person or entity that 
                receives funding under a grant, contract, or 
                cooperative agreement made by the Lab to return to the 
                Lab any income generated under a program carried out 
                under such grant, contract, or cooperative agreement.
                    (B) Treatment of payments.--
                            (i) In general.--The amount of any program 
                        income returned to the Lab pursuant to 
                        subparagraph (A) may be credited to the account 
                        from which the obligation and expenditure of 
                        funds under the grant, contract, or cooperative 
                        agreement described in subparagraph (A) was 
                        made.
                            (ii) Availability.--
                                    (I) In general.--Except as provided 
                                in subclause (II), amounts returned and 
                                credited to an account under clause 
                                (i)--
                                            (aa) shall be merged with 
                                        other funds in the account; and
                                            (bb) shall be available for 
                                        the same purposes and period of 
                                        time for which other funds in 
                                        the account are available for 
                                        programs and activities of the 
                                        Lab.
                                    (II) Exception.--Amounts returned 
                                and credited to an account under clause 
                                (i) may not be used to pay for the 
                                employment of individuals described in 
                                paragraph (1)(C).

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the United States Agency for International 
        Development.
            (2) Lab.--The term ``Lab'' means the United States Global 
        Development Lab established under section 3.
            (3) USAID.--The term ``USAID'' means the United States 
        Agency for International Development.
            (4) Innovation incentive award.--The term ``innovation 
        incentive award'' means the provision of funding on a 
        competitive basis that--
                    (A) rewards and spurs the development of solutions 
                for a particular, well-defined problem;
                    (B) helps identify and promote a broad range of 
                ideas and practices that may not otherwise attract 
                attention, facilitating further development of the idea 
                or practice by third parties; or
                    (C) provides such other types of incentives as the 
                Administrator considers appropriate to stimulate 
                innovation that has the potential to advance the 
                mission of USAID.
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