[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 496 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 496

Supporting the continued work of the United States African Development 
    Foundation as it creates pathways to prosperity for underserved 
communities on the African Continent through community-led development.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 23, 2021

   Mr. Phillips (for himself, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Ms. Bass, Mr. 
 Jackson, Mr. Malinowski, Mrs. Kim of California, Ms. Wild, Ms. Jacobs 
of California, Mr. Bera, Mr. Castro of Texas, Ms. Omar, Mr. Cicilline, 
Ms. Titus, and Mr. Cohen) submitted the following resolution; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Supporting the continued work of the United States African Development 
    Foundation as it creates pathways to prosperity for underserved 
communities on the African Continent through community-led development.

Whereas the African Development Foundation Act (22 U.S.C. 290h et seq.) 
        established the United States African Development Foundation (referred 
        to in this preamble as the ``USADF'') as an independent Federal agency 
        with the goal to--

    (1) strengthen the bonds of partnership and understanding between the 
people of the countries of Africa and the United States;

    (2) support local capacity building to create community development 
opportunities and expand the participation of the countries of Africa in 
their development process; and

    (3) foster the establishment and growth of indigenous development 
institutions that are equipped to respond to local needs;

Whereas, for 40 years, the USADF has invested in a pan-African network of local 
        implementing partners that employ a community-led development approach 
        to support African-designed and African-delivered solutions;
Whereas the USADF has provided more than 3,400 grassroots and community 
        enterprise grants in more than 40 sub-Saharan African countries;
Whereas the USADF strengthens food security, empowers smallholder farmers, and 
        creates economic growth in rural, hard-to-reach communities by investing 
        primarily in agricultural enterprises to increase access to larger 
        markets for those rural communities and enhance the business management 
        skills, production, distribution, and marketing capabilities of those 
        rural communities;
Whereas the USADF has maintained a strong emphasis on women and women 
        entrepreneurs, and women represent up to 65 percent of the direct 
        beneficiaries of grants from the USADF;
Whereas, on February 20, 2020, the USADF partnered with the Academy for Women 
        Entrepreneurs (AWE) of the Department of State to provide seed funding 
        to graduates of the AWE to advance the global economic empowerment of 
        women;
Whereas, in fiscal year 2020, the USADF awarded 35 AWE grants in 8 countries to 
        help African women break down barriers they disproportionally face in 
        accessing capital, markets, networks, and mentorship so they can succeed 
        as entrepreneurs;
Whereas the USADF prioritizes partnerships with youth and supports nearly 300 
        social enterprises of Young African Leaders Initiative fellows and 
        alumni of that initiative in 37 sub-Saharan African countries by 
        providing seed capital, technical assistance, and skills training to 
        help young entrepreneurs create businesses that generate new jobs and 
        incomes for thousands of young Africans;
Whereas the work of the USADF in the off-grid energy sector, which is authorized 
        under the Electrify Africa Act of 2015 (22 U.S.C. 2293 note), has helped 
        bring renewable energy solutions to communities with limited or no 
        connections to national power grids and improve energy access for nearly 
        370,000 individuals in 15 sub-Saharan African countries;
Whereas the USADF's model of using 100-percent African staff and implementing 
        partners based on the African Continent gives the USADF the ability to 
        work in fragile and conflict-affected areas such as in the Great Lakes, 
        Horn, and Sahel regions of Africa, and elsewhere;
Whereas the small size of the USADF and the use of local implementing partners 
        by the USADF has allowed the USADF to be ranked as one of the most 
        efficient providers of foreign aid by the Center for Global Development;
Whereas the partnerships of the USADF with agencies of the Federal Government, 
        including the Department of State, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, 
        and the United States Agency for International Development, along with 
        the alignment of the USADF with the priorities of Congress, have allowed 
        the USADF to extend the reach of critical development initiatives of the 
        United States, such as initiatives authorized by the Global Food 
        Security Act of 2016 (22 U.S.C. 9301 et seq.), the Electrify Africa Act 
        of 2015 (22 U.S.C. 2293 note), and the African Growth and Opportunity 
        Act and Millennium Challenge Act Modernization Act (Public Law 115-167; 
        132 Stat. 1276);
Whereas the partnerships between the USADF and private sector corporations and 
        foundations, as well as African national and subnational governments, 
        have allowed the USADF to extend its reach and development impact in 
        addressing food insecurity, insufficient access to energy, and 
        unemployment through youth and women entrepreneurship and job skills 
        training and placement in Africa, while leveraging funding to help the 
        dollars of taxpayers in the United States go further; and
Whereas investments made by the USADF have developed and strengthened an 
        extensive network of grassroots enterprises and social enterprises that 
        are positively disposed to the United States and are better positioned 
        to partner with other Federal agencies and public and private funders: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) supports the continued work of the United States 
        African Development Foundation as it creates pathways to 
        prosperity for underserved communities on the African Continent 
        through community-led development;
            (2) recognizes that, by supporting African-led development 
        that grows community enterprises, the United States African 
        Development Foundation empowers individuals who are underserved 
        by or lack connectivity to existing markets or assistance 
        programs to become a part of the growth story of Africa;
            (3) recognizes that the United States African Development 
        Foundation advances the foreign policy of the Federal 
        Government and contributes directly to the national interests 
        of the United States; and
            (4) commits to continue to support the vital work of the 
        United States African Development Foundation as an independent 
        agency.
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