[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1605 Reported in Senate (RS)]

<DOC>





                                                       Calendar No. 534
114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 1605

 To amend the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 to authorize concurrent 
compacts for purposes of regional economic integration and cross-border 
                collaborations, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 18, 2015

    Mr. Cardin (for himself, Mr. Flake, Mr. Coons, and Mr. Isakson) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                     Committee on Foreign Relations

                             June 28, 2016

               Reported by Mr. Corker, with an amendment
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 to authorize concurrent 
compacts for purposes of regional economic integration and cross-border 
                collaborations, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    This Act may be cited as the ``Millennium Compacts for 
Regional Economic Integration Act'' or the ``M-CORE Act''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. FINDINGS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Congress makes the following findings:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Over the last 50 years, economies around the 
        world have experienced significant and sustained growth that 
        has been fueled by support to regional infrastructure and 
        integrated trade agreements.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Unfortunately, many countries and their 
        economies are isolated and will require greater support to 
        benefit from regional integration of markets, infrastructure, 
        and trade promotion-type policies.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) By connecting isolated economies around the 
        world, there exists the potential to increase investment 
        opportunities and support market-based growth.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) Developing countries, international 
        organizations, and regional economic bodies have increasingly 
        realized that key drivers to economic growth must involve 
        greater cross-border collaboration and regional economic 
        integration.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) 
        plays a unique role in economic development throughout the 
        world and pursues its mission of reducing poverty through 
        economic growth by making time-bound grant investments through 
        data selectivity, country ownership, and a focus on 
        results.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) The MCC's compacts have increased access to 
        reliable power, built highway corridors, and improved business 
        climates, thereby promoting economic growth and cross-border 
        engagement within MCC partner countries.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (7) The MCC's extensive analysis has concluded 
        that a regional approach to poverty reduction, under the right 
        circumstances, can present opportunities to take advantage of 
        higher rates of return on investment and larger scale 
        reductions in poverty.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (8) This increased flexibility would promote 
        economic growth and cross-border engagement between and among 
        countries, creating larger and more compatible markets and 
        enabling the United States private sector to compete more 
        effectively and partner with the host-country private 
        sectors.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (9) The MCC is developing new partnerships in 
        Asia, including implementation of current compacts in Indonesia 
        and the Philippines, new compacts for Mongolia and the 
        Philippines, and MCC's first-ever compact engagement in South 
        Asia.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (10) In Central America, the MCC's work in road 
        infrastructure could potentially have had an even greater 
        impact had the roads connected across borders.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (11) In Africa, neighboring countries could 
        collaborate on a regional power pool, connect land locked 
        countries to transport, or address other policy, institutional, 
        and logistical issues that hamper trade.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (12) To make a coordinated regional investment 
        across several countries work, the Board of Directors of the 
        MCC would need to select a block of countries at the same time 
        to coordinate project development and compact signings, which 
        is unrealistic, or be able to enter into a concurrent compact 
        with one of those countries, for which it currently lacks 
        authority.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 3. PURPOSE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    The purpose of this Act is to expand the Millennium 
Challenge Corporation's ability to develop compacts with countries, 
particularly in Africa, that promote regional economic integration and 
cross-border collaborations.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 4. MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE COMPACT.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) In General.--Section 609 of the Millennium Challenge 
Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7708) is amended--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) in subsection (k), by striking the first 
        sentence; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) by adding after subsection (k) the following 
        new subsection:</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(l) Concurrent Compacts.--An eligible country and the 
United States that have entered into and have in effect a Compact under 
this section may enter into and have in effect at the same time not 
more than one additional Compact in accordance with the requirements of 
this title if--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) one or both of the Compacts are or will be 
        for purposes of regional economic integration, increased 
        regional trade, or cross-border collaborations; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) the Board determines that the country is 
        making considerable and demonstrable progress in implementing 
        the terms of any existing Compacts and supplementary agreements 
        thereto.''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Applicability.--The amendments made by subsection (a) 
apply with respect to Compacts entered into between the United States 
and an eligible country under the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 
U.S.C. 7701 et seq.) before, on, or after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Conforming Amendment.--Section 613(b)(2)(A) of such 
Act (22 U.S.C. 7712(b)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ``the'' before 
``Compact'' and inserting ``any''.</DELETED>

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Millennium Compacts for Regional 
Economic Integration Act'' or the ``M-CORE Act''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to expand the Millennium Challenge 
Corporation's ability to develop compacts with countries, particularly 
in Africa, that promote regional economic integration and cross-border 
collaborations, and make other changes to the Millennium Challenge Act 
of 2003 to promote the Millennium Challenge Corporation's mission.

SEC. 3. MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE COMPACT.

    (a) In General.--Section 609 of the Millennium Challenge Act of 
2003 (22 U.S.C. 7708) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (k), by striking the first sentence; and
            (2) by adding after subsection (k) the following new 
        subsection:
    ``(l) Concurrent Compacts.--An eligible country and the United 
States that have entered into and have in effect a Compact under this 
section may enter into and have in effect at the same time not more 
than one additional Compact in accordance with the requirements of this 
title if--
            ``(1) one or both of the Compacts are or will be for 
        purposes of regional economic integration, increased regional 
        trade, or cross-border collaborations; and
            ``(2) the Board determines that the country is making 
        considerable and demonstrable progress in implementing the 
        terms of any existing Compacts and supplementary agreements 
        thereto.''.
    (b) Applicability.--The amendments made by subsection (a) apply 
with respect to Compacts entered into between the United States and an 
eligible country under the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 
7701 et seq.) before, on, or after the date of the enactment of this 
Act.
    (c) Conforming Amendment.--Section 613(b)(2)(A) of such Act (22 
U.S.C. 7712(b)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ``the Compact'' and 
inserting ``any Compact''.

SEC. 4. CANDIDACY STATUS.

    Section 606(a)(2) of the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 
U.S.C. 7705) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and (B) as clauses 
        (i) and (ii), respectively, and moving such clauses, as so 
        redesignated, 2 ems to the right;
            (2) by striking ``fiscal years.--A country'' and inserting 
        the following ``fiscal years.--
                    ``(A) In general.--A country''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(B) Treatment of countries with per capita income 
                changes.--A country qualifying for candidate status 
                under this section with a per capita income that 
                changes in the fiscal year such that the country would 
                be reclassified from a low income country to a lower 
                middle income country or from a lower middle income 
                country to a low income country shall retain its 
                candidacy status in its former income classification 
                for such fiscal year and the two subsequent fiscal 
                years.''.

SEC. 5. CARRYOVER AUTHORITY FOR PRIVATE SECTOR MEMBERS OF BOARD OF 
              DIRECTORS.

    Section 604(c)(4)(B) of the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 
U.S.C. 7703(c)(4)(B)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``3 years and may be'' and inserting ``3 
        years, may be''; and
            (2) by inserting ``, and may continue in each appointment 
        to serve until his or her successor is appointed, but in no 
        case more than one year after such appointment or 
        reappointment, as the case may be, has expired'' after ``an 
        additional 2 years''.

SEC. 6. PUBLIC NOTIFICATION OF ENTERING INTO A COMPACT.

    Section 610 of the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 
7709(b)) is amended by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 
following new paragraph:
            ``(2) shall publish in the Federal Register a notice that 
        such detailed summary and the text of the Compact is available 
        on the Internet website of the Corporation and provide the 
        address of the website.''.

SEC. 7. RESTRICTION ON THE USE OF THRESHOLD PROGRAM FUNDS.

    Subsection (d) of section 616 of the Millennium Challenge Act of 
2003 (22 U.S.C. 7715) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(d) Funding.--
            ``(1) Fiscal year 2004.--Not more than 10 percent of the 
        amount appropriated pursuant to the authorization of 
        appropriations under section 619(a) for fiscal year 2004 is 
        authorized to be made available to carry out this section.
            ``(2) Restriction relating to threshold programs.--None of 
        the funds authorized to carry out the purposes of this Act 
        shall be available for assistance under this section to a 
        country that does not qualify as a candidate country under 
        section 606 for the fiscal year when such assistance is 
        provided.''.

SEC. 8. ADDITIONAL REPORTING TO THE BOARD ON THE TREATMENT OF CIVIL 
              SOCIETY IN AN ELIGIBLE COUNTRY.

    Section 607 of the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 
7706) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)(1)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (D), by striking ``; and'' and 
                inserting a semicolon;
                    (B) in subparagraph (E), by striking the semicolon 
                at the end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new 
                subparagraph:
                    ``(F) the quality of the civil society enabling 
                environment;'';
            (2) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as subsections 
        (f) and (g), respectively; and
            (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the following new 
        subsection:
    ``(e) Reporting on Treatment of Civil Society.--Before the Board 
selects an eligible country for a Compact under section 607(c), the 
Corporation shall provide to the Board information on the country's 
treatment of civil society, including classified information when 
appropriate. The information shall include an assessment and analysis 
of factors such as--
            ``(1) any relevant laws governing the formation or 
        establishment of a civil society organization, particularly 
        laws intended to curb the activities of foreign civil society 
        organizations;
            ``(2) any relevant laws governing the operations of a civil 
        society organization, particularly those laws seeking to define 
        or otherwise regulate the actions of foreign civil society 
        organizations;
            ``(3) laws relating to the legal status of civil society 
        organizations, including laws which effectively discriminate 
        against foreign civil society organizations as compared to 
        similarly situated domestic organizations;
            ``(4) laws regulating the freedom of expression and 
        peaceful assembly; and
            ``(5) laws regulating the usage of the Internet generally 
        and by foreign civil society organizations in particular.''.

SEC. 9. STUDY ON SUBNATIONAL COMPACTS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Millennium Challenge Corporation shall 
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a study assessing 
the feasibility and desirability of developing partnerships at the 
subnational level within candidate countries that would be 
complementary to, and, where applicable, concurrent with, any 
Millennium Challenge Corporation national-level or regional 
investments.
    (b) Content.--The study required under subsection (a) shall 
examine, at a minimum, the following issues:
            (1) The extent to which targeting investments at the 
        subnational level might provide new opportunities for reducing 
        poverty through economic growth.
            (2) The extent to which traditional approaches to defining 
        poverty may not adequately capture the nature of poverty within 
        a country.
            (3) What types of subnational entities might be appropriate 
        partners for subnational Millennium Challenge Corporation 
        compacts, how such candidates might best be identified, and 
        what role each national government should play in creating or 
        implementing a subnational partnership.
    (c) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section, 
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
            (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on 
        Appropriations of the Senate; and
            (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on 
        Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
                                                       Calendar No. 534

114th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                S. 1605

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 To amend the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 to authorize concurrent 
compacts for purposes of regional economic integration and cross-border 
                collaborations, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                             June 28, 2016

                       Reported with an amendment