[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 24 Engrossed in Senate (ES)]

<DOC>
115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. CON. RES. 24

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring),
    That in the enrollment of the bill H.R. 601, the Clerk of the House 
of Representatives shall make the following corrections:
            (1) Amend the long title so as to read: ``Making continuing 
        appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2018, 
        and for other purposes''.
            (2) Insert before the first section 1 immediately following 
        the enacting clause the following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018 
and Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Requirements Act, 
2017''.

SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    The table of contents for this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Table of contents.
Sec. 3. References.
  DIVISION A--REINFORCING EDUCATION ACCOUNTABILITY IN DEVELOPMENT ACT

      DIVISION B--SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS FOR DISASTER RELIEF 
                         REQUIREMENTS ACT, 2017

         DIVISION C--TEMPORARY EXTENSION OF PUBLIC DEBT RELIEF

            DIVISION D--CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2018

SEC. 3. REFERENCES.

    Except as expressly provided otherwise, any reference to ``this 
Act'' contained in any division of this Act shall be treated as 
referring only to the provisions of that division.

  DIVISION A--REINFORCING EDUCATION ACCOUNTABILITY IN DEVELOPMENT ACT

    
            (3) In section 3, strike subparagraph (B) of section 
        105(c)(4) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as added by 
        such section 3, and all that follows through the end of such 
        section 3, and insert the following:
                    ``(B) such assistance can produce a substantial, 
                measurable impact on children and educational systems; 
                and
                    ``(C) there is the greatest opportunity to reduce 
                childhood and adolescence exposure to or engagement in 
                violent extremism or extremist ideologies.''.
             (4) Insert after section 3 the following:

SEC. 4. COMPREHENSIVE INTEGRATED UNITED STATES STRATEGY TO PROMOTE 
              BASIC EDUCATION.

    (a) Strategy Required.--Not later than one year after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the 
appropriate congressional committees a comprehensive United States 
strategy to be carried out during the following five fiscal years to 
promote quality basic education in partner countries by--
            (1) seeking to equitably expand access to basic education 
        for all children, particularly marginalized children and 
        vulnerable groups; and
            (2) measurably improving the quality of basic education and 
        learning outcomes.
    (b) Requirement To Consult.--In developing the strategy required 
under subsection (a), the President shall consult with--
            (1) the appropriate congressional committees;
            (2) relevant Executive branch agencies and officials;
            (3) partner country governments; and
            (4) local and international nongovernmental organizations, 
        including faith-based organizations and organizations 
        representing students, teachers, and parents, and other 
        development partners engaged in basic education assistance 
        programs in developing countries.
    (c) Public Comment.--The President shall provide an opportunity for 
public comment on the strategy required under subsection (a).
    (d) Elements.--The strategy required under subsection (a)--
            (1) shall be developed and implemented consistent with the 
        principles set forth in section 105(c) of the Foreign 
        Assistance Act of 1961, as added by section 3; and
            (2) shall seek--
                    (A) to prioritize assistance provided under this 
                subsection to countries that are partners of the United 
                States and whose populations are most in need of 
                improved basic education, as determined by indicators 
                such as literacy and numeracy rates;
                    (B) to build the capacity of relevant actors in 
                partner countries, including in government and in civil 
                society, to develop and implement national education 
                plans that measurably improve basic education;
                    (C) to identify and replicate successful 
                interventions that improve access to and quality of 
                basic education in conflict settings and in partner 
                countries;
                    (D) to project general levels of resources needed 
                to achieve stated program objectives;
                    (E) to develop means to track implementation in 
                partner countries and ensure that such countries are 
                expending appropriate domestic resources and 
                instituting any relevant legal, regulatory, or 
                institutional reforms needed to achieve stated program 
                objectives;
                    (F) to leverage United States capabilities, 
                including through technical assistance, training, and 
                research; and
                    (G) to improve coordination and reduce duplication 
                among relevant Executive branch agencies and officials, 
                other donors, multilateral institutions, 
                nongovernmental organizations, and governments in 
                partner countries.

SEC. 5. IMPROVING COORDINATION AND OVERSIGHT.

    (a) Senior Coordinator of United States International Basic 
Education Assistance.--There is established within the United States 
Agency for International Development a Senior Coordinator of United 
States International Basic Education Assistance (referred to in this 
section as the ``Senior Coordinator''). The Senior Coordinator shall be 
appointed by the President, shall be a current USAID employee serving 
in a career or noncareer position in the Senior Executive Service or at 
the level of a Deputy Assistant Administrator or higher, and shall 
serve concurrently as the Senior Coordinator.
    (b) Duties.--
            (1) In general.--The Senior Coordinator shall have primary 
        responsibility for the oversight and coordination of all 
        resources and activities of the United States Government 
        relating to the promotion of international basic education 
        programs and activities.
            (2) Specific duties.--The Senior Coordinator shall--
                    (A) facilitate program and policy coordination of 
                international basic education programs and activities 
                among relevant Executive branch agencies and officials, 
                partner governments, multilateral institutions, the 
                private sector, and nongovernmental and civil society 
                organizations;
                    (B) develop and revise the strategy required under 
                section 4;
                    (C) monitor, evaluate, and report on activities 
                undertaken pursuant to the strategy required under 
                section 4; and
                    (D) establish due diligence criteria for all 
                recipients of funds provided by the United States to 
                carry out activities under this Act and the amendments 
                made by this Act.
    (c) Offset.--In order to eliminate duplication of effort and 
activities and to offset any costs incurred by the United States Agency 
for International Development in appointing the Senior Coordinator 
under subsection (a), the President shall, after consulting with 
appropriate congressional committees, eliminate a position within the 
United States Agency for International Development (unless otherwise 
authorized or required by law) that the President determines to be 
necessary to fully offset such costs and eliminate duplication.

SEC. 6. MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF PROGRAMS.

    The President shall seek to ensure that programs carried out under 
the strategy required under section 4 shall--
            (1) apply rigorous monitoring and evaluation methodologies 
        to determine if programs and activities provided under this 
        subsection accomplish measurable improvements in literacy, 
        numeracy, or other basic skills development that prepare an 
        individual to be an active, productive member of society and 
        the workforce;
            (2) include methodological guidance in the implementation 
        plan and support systemic data collection using internationally 
        comparable indicators, norms, and methodologies, to the extent 
        practicable and appropriate;
            (3) disaggregate all data collected and reported by age, 
        gender, marital status, disability, and location, to the extent 
        practicable and appropriate;
            (4) include funding for both short- and long-term 
        monitoring and evaluation to enable assessment of the 
        sustainability and scalability of assistance programs; and
            (5) support the increased use and public availability of 
        education data for improved decision making, program 
        effectiveness, and monitoring of global progress.

SEC. 7. TRANSPARENCY AND REPORTING TO CONGRESS.

    (a) Annual Report on the Implementation of Strategy.--Not later 
than 180 days after the end of each fiscal year during which the 
strategy developed pursuant to section 4(a) is carried out, the 
President shall--
            (1) submit a report to the appropriate congressional 
        committees that describes the implementation of such strategy; 
        and
            (2) make the report described in paragraph (1) available to 
        the public.
    (b) Matters To Be Included.--The report required under subsection 
(a) shall include--
            (1) a description of the efforts made by relevant Executive 
        branch agencies and officials to implement the strategy 
        developed pursuant to section 4, with a particular focus on the 
        activities carried out under the strategy;
            (2) a description of the extent to which each partner 
        country selected to receive assistance for basic education 
        meets the priority criteria specified in section 105(c) of the 
        Foreign Assistance Act, as added by section 3; and
            (3) a description of the progress achieved over the 
        reporting period toward meeting the goals, objectives, 
        benchmarks, and timeframes specified in the strategy developed 
        pursuant to section 4 at the program level, as developed 
        pursuant to monitoring and evaluation specified in section 6, 
        with particular emphasis on whether there are demonstrable 
        student improvements in literacy, numeracy, or other basic 
        skills development that prepare an individual to be an active, 
        productive member of society and the workforce.
            (5) In division B, under the heading ``disaster relief 
        fund'', strike the first ``Provided further'' and insert  
        ``Provided''.
            (6) In section 101(c)(1) of division C, strike ``under 
        section 101(a)'' and insert ``under section 101(b)(1)''.
            (7) Strike the final section 4 and all that follows through 
        the end.

            Passed the Senate September 7, 2017.

            Attest:

                                                             Secretary.
115th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                            S. CON. RES. 24

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

       Providing for a correction in the enrollment of H.R. 601.