[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2747 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2747

   To catalyze market-based economic growth in developing countries, 
  create opportunities for the private sector of the United States to 
effectively engage in foreign assistance programs, improve planning and 
coordination among relevant United States departments and agencies, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 25, 2017

  Mr. Yoho (for himself, Mr. Smith of Washington, Mr. Kinzinger, Mr. 
  Rush, Mr. Thomas J. Rooney of Florida, Mr. Ellison, and Mr. Polis) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                            Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To catalyze market-based economic growth in developing countries, 
  create opportunities for the private sector of the United States to 
effectively engage in foreign assistance programs, improve planning and 
coordination among relevant United States departments and agencies, 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 ``Economic Growth and Development 
Act''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON UNITED STATES DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) United States development assistance--
                    (A) is most effective in countries with governments 
                that demonstrate a commitment to the rule of law, human 
                rights, investing in their own people, combating 
                corruption, and creating a policy environment and legal 
                framework that enables trade, investment, and enduring 
                economic growth;
                    (B) is most likely to produce sustainable results 
                when it aligns with the development priorities of the 
                recipient country, creates opportunities for growth 
                lead by the private sector, and complements rather than 
                replacing government investments in priority sectors 
                through a transparent and accountable system of 
                domestic resource mobilization;
                    (C) should be guided by a unified strategy, 
                ambitious targets, and robust monitoring and evaluation 
                to ensure that it is efficient, effective, and results-
                oriented;
                    (D) should be targeted in recipient countries in a 
                manner that--
                            (i) advances the rule of law;
                            (ii) builds and strengthens civic 
                        institutions and trade capacity;
                            (iii) addresses binding constraints to 
                        market-based economic growth;
                            (iv) catalyzes private sector investment in 
                        key development areas, such as utilities, 
                        infrastructure, agriculture, health, and 
                        education;
                            (v) promotes transparency and 
                        accountability among donors, governments, and 
                        citizens; and
                            (vi) places recipient countries on a 
                        trajectory toward graduation from foreign 
                        assistance; and
                    (E) should prioritize and better coordinate 
                resources that support enhanced trade capacity and 
                facilitate fairer and more sustainable trade with 
                partner countries; and
            (2) United States development finance programs, which 
        mobilize private capital to achieve development objectives and 
        may soon outpace traditional grant-based assistance programs in 
        terms of total capital investments, should--
                    (A) be appropriately leveraged to complement, 
                rather than replace, other forms of private capital;
                    (B) drive inclusive, enduring economic growth; and
                    (C) have stability and predictability by being 
                provided a multi-year authorization.

SEC. 3. INTERAGENCY MECHANISM TO COORDINATE UNITED STATES DEVELOPMENT 
              PROGRAMS AND PRIVATE SECTOR INVESTMENT.

    (a) In General.--The President shall establish a primary 
interagency mechanism to coordinate United States development 
assistance programs carried out by Federal departments and agencies 
engaged in planning or providing such assistance overseas with the 
investment activities of the private sector.
    (b) Duties.--The interagency mechanism established under subsection 
(a) shall--
            (1) streamline the private-sector liaison, coordination, 
        and investment promotion functions of such Federal departments 
        and agencies;
            (2) facilitate the use of development and finance tools 
        across such Federal departments and agencies to attract greater 
        participation in development activities by the private sector; 
        and
            (3) establish a single point of contact for entities in the 
        private sector of the United States to pursue partnership 
        opportunities with such Federal departments and agencies.
    (c) Annual Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter through 2022, the 
President shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 
of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate 
a report evaluating the progress of the interagency mechanism in 
carrying out the duties described in subsection (b).

SEC. 4. DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES.

    (a) In General.--The heads of Federal departments and agencies 
engaged in planning or providing United States development assistance 
overseas shall ensure that--
            (1) a rigorous analysis of the constraints to economic 
        growth and investment within a country receiving such 
        assistance guides any development strategy of the United States 
        with respect to such country; and
            (2) the development strategies of the United States are 
        coordinated with activities carried out by the private sector 
        within countries receiving such assistance, to the greatest 
        extent practicable and appropriate.
    (b) Matters To Be Included.--Each analysis required under 
subsection (a)(1) shall include an identification and analysis of--
            (1) the constraints posed by inadequacies in critical 
        infrastructure, the education system, the rule of law, the tax 
        and investment codes, or the customs or regulatory regimes in 
        the recipient country; and
            (2) the particular economic sectors, such as the 
        agriculture, transportation, energy, education, or financial 
        services sectors, that are central to achieving economic growth 
        in the recipient country.
    (c) Results.--The results of each analysis required under 
subsection (a)(1) shall be--
            (1) incorporated into any relevant development strategy, as 
        defined in subsection (d); and
            (2) used to inform and guide the allocation of resources by 
        Federal departments and agencies engaged in planning or 
        providing United States development assistance overseas.
    (d) Development Strategy Defined.--In this section, the term 
``development strategy'' means any global, sectoral, or country 
development strategy of the United States and includes any integrated 
country strategy, regional or functional strategy, country development 
cooperation strategy, or mission strategic resource plan.
                                 <all>