[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 139 (Wednesday, September 19, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11753-S11756]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DURBIN (for himself and Mrs. Hutchison):
  S. 2069. A bill to increase the United States financial and 
programmatic contributions to promote economic opportunities for women 
in developing countries; to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 2069

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

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

       (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Global 
     Resources and Opportunities for Women to Thrive Act of 2007'' 
     or the ``GROWTH Act of 2007''.
       (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act 
     is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings and statement of policy.
Sec. 3. Microenterprise development assistance for women in developing 
              countries.
Sec. 4. Support for women's small- and medium-sized enterprises in 
              developing countries.
Sec. 5. Support for private property rights and land tenure security 
              for women in developing countries.
Sec. 6. Support for women's access to employment in developing 
              countries.
Sec. 7. Trade benefits for women in developing countries.
Sec. 8. Exchanges between United States entrepreneurs and women 
              entrepreneurs in developing countries.
Sec. 9. Assistance under the Millennium Challenge Account.
Sec. 10. Growth Fund.
Sec. 11. Data collection.
Sec. 12. Support for local, indigenous women's organizations in 
              developing countries.
Sec. 13. Report.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND STATEMENT OF POLICY.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
       (1) Women around the world are especially vulnerable to 
     poverty. They tend to work longer hours, are compensated 
     less, and have less income stability and fewer economic 
     opportunities than men.
       (2) Women's share of the labor force is increasing in 
     almost all regions of the world. Women comprise more than 40 
     percent of the labor force in eastern and southeastern Asia, 
     sub-Saharan Africa, and the Caribbean, nearly a third of the 
     labor force in Central America, and nearly one-third of total 
     employment in South Asia. About 250 million young women will 
     enter the labor force worldwide between 2003 and 2015.
       (3) Women are more likely to work in informal employment 
     relationships in poor countries compared to men. In sub-
     Saharan Africa, 84 percent of female non-agricultural workers 
     are informally employed compared to 63 percent of men. In 
     Latin America, 58 percent of women are informally employed 
     compared to 48 percent of men. Informal employment is 
     characterized by lower wages and greater variability of 
     earnings, less stability, absence of labor organization, and

[[Page S11754]]

     fewer social protections than formal employment.
       (4) Changes in the economy of a poor country affect women 
     and men differently; women are disproportionately affected by 
     long-term recessions, crises, and economic restructuring and 
     they often miss out on many of the benefits of growth.
       (5) International trade can be an important tool of 
     economic development and poverty reduction and its benefits 
     should extend to all members of society, particularly the 
     world's poor women.
       (6) Promoting fair labor practices for women, and access to 
     information, education, land, credit, physical capital, and 
     social services is a means of boosting productivity and 
     earnings for the economies of developing nations. For 
     example, according to the World Bank, in sub-Saharan Africa, 
     inequality between men and women in employment and education 
     suppressed annual per capita growth during the period 1960-
     1992 by .8 percentage points per year.
       (7) Expanding economic opportunity for women in developing 
     countries can have a positive effect on child nutrition, 
     health, and education, as women often invest their income in 
     their families. Increasing women's income can also decrease 
     women's vulnerability to HIV/AIDS, gender-based violence, and 
     trafficking, and make them more resistant to the impact of 
     natural disasters.
       (8) Economic opportunities for women, including 
     microfinance and microenterprise development and the 
     promotion of women's small- and medium-sized businesses, are 
     a means of generating gainful, safe, and dignified employment 
     for the poor.
       (9) Women play a vital, but often unrecognized, role in 
     averting violence, resolving conflict, and rebuilding 
     economies in post-conflict societies. Women in conflict-
     affected areas face even greater challenges in accessing 
     employment, training, property rights, credit, and financial 
     and non-financial resources for business development. 
     Ensuring economic opportunity for women in conflict-affected 
     areas plays a significant role in economic rehabilitation and 
     consolidation of peace.
       (10) Given the important role of women in the economies of 
     poor nations, poverty alleviation programs funded by the 
     Government of the United States in poor countries should seek 
     to enhance the level of economic opportunity available to 
     women in those countries.
       (b) Statement of Policy.--It is, therefore, the policy of 
     the United States to actively promote development and 
     economic opportunities for women, including programs and 
     policies to--
       (1) promote women's ability to start micro, small, or 
     medium-sized business enterprises, and enable women to grow 
     such enterprises, particularly from micro to small 
     enterprises and from small to medium-sized enterprises, or 
     sustain current business capacity;
       (2) promote the rights of women to own, manage, and inherit 
     property, including land, encourage adoption of laws and 
     policies that support the rights of women to enforce these 
     claims in administrative and judicial tribunals, and address 
     conflicts with customary laws and practices to increase the 
     security of women's tenure;
       (3) increase women's access to employment, enable women to 
     access higher quality jobs with better remuneration and 
     working conditions in both informal and formal employment, 
     and improve the quality of jobs in sectors dominated by women 
     by improving the remuneration and working conditions of those 
     jobs; and
       (4) bring the benefits of international trade policy to 
     women in developing countries and continue to ensure that 
     trade policies and agreements adequately reflect the 
     respective needs of poor women and men.

     SEC. 3. MICROENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE FOR WOMEN IN 
                   DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.

       (a) Authorization; Implementation; Targeted Assistance.--
       (1) Authorization.--Section 252(a) of the Foreign 
     Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2211a(a)) is amended--
       (A) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end before the 
     semicolon the following: ``, including specific activities to 
     enhance the empowerment of women, such as leadership 
     training, basic health and HIV/AIDS education, and literacy 
     skills'';
       (B) in paragraph (3)--
       (i) by adding at the end before the semicolon the 
     following: ``, including women''; and
       (ii) by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (C) in paragraph (4)--
       (i) by adding at the end before the period the following: 
     ``, including initiatives to eliminate legal and 
     institutional barriers to women's ownership of assets, access 
     to credit, access to information and communication 
     technologies, and engagement in business activities within or 
     outside of the home''; and
       (ii) by striking the period at the end and inserting ``; 
     and''; and
       (D) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(5) microfinance and microenterprise development programs 
     that--
       ``(A) specifically target women with respect to outreach 
     and marketing; and
       ``(B) provide products specifically to address women's 
     assets, needs, and the barriers women encounter with respect 
     to participation in enterprise and financial services.''.
       (2) Implementation.--Section 252(b)(2)(C) of the Foreign 
     Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2211a(b)(2)(C)) is 
     amended--
       (A) in clause (ii)--
       (i) by striking ``microenterprise development field'' and 
     inserting ``microfinance and microenterprise development 
     field''; and
       (ii) by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (B) in clause (iii)--
       (i) by inserting after ``competitive'' the following: ``, 
     take into consideration the anticipated impact of the 
     proposals on the empowerment of women and men, 
     respectively,''; and
       (ii) by striking the period at the end and inserting ``; 
     and''; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following new clause:
       ``(iv) give preference to proposals from providers of 
     assistance that demonstrate the greatest knowledge of 
     clients' needs and capabilities, including proposals that 
     ensure that women are involved in the design and 
     implementation of services and programs.''.
       (3) Targeted assistance.--Section 252(c) of the Foreign 
     Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2211a(c)) is amended--
       (A) in the first sentence by adding at the end before the 
     period the following: ``, particularly women''; and
       (B) in the second sentence, by striking ``2006'' and 
     inserting ``2008''.
       (b) Monitoring System.--Section 253(b) of the Foreign 
     Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2211b(b)) is amended in 
     paragraph (1), by inserting after ``performance goals for the 
     assistance'' the following: ``on a sex-disaggregated basis''.
       (c) Microenterprise Development Credits.--Section 256(b)(2) 
     of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2212(b)(2)) 
     is amended by adding at the end before the semicolon the 
     following: ``, with an emphasis on clients who are women''.
       (d) Report.--
       (1) Contents.--Section 258(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act 
     of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2214(b)) is amended by adding at the end 
     the following new paragraph:
       ``(12) An estimate of the potential global demand for 
     microfinance and microenterprise development for women, 
     determined in collaboration with practitioners in a cost-
     effective manner, and a description of the Agency's plan to 
     help meet such demand.''.
       (2) Additional requirement.--Section 258 of the Foreign 
     Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2214) is amended--
       (A) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d); and
       (B) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new 
     subsection:
       ``(c) Additional Requirement.--All information in the 
     report required by this section relating to beneficiaries of 
     assistance authorized by this title shall be disaggregated by 
     sex to the maximum extent practicable.''.

     SEC. 4. SUPPORT FOR WOMEN'S SMALL- AND MEDIUM-SIZED 
                   ENTERPRISES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary of State, acting through the 
     Director of United States Foreign Assistance, shall--
       (1) where appropriate, carry out programs, projects, and 
     activities for enterprise development for women in developing 
     countries that meet the requirements of subsection (b); and
       (2) ensure that such programs, projects, and activities 
     that are carried out pursuant to assistance provided under 
     part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 
     et seq.) meet the requirements of subsection (b).
       (b) Requirements.--The requirements referred to in 
     subsection (a) are the following:
       (1) In coordination with developing country governments and 
     interested individuals and organizations, encourage or 
     enhance laws, regulations, enforcement, and other practices 
     that promote access to banking and financial services for 
     women-owned small- and medium-sized enterprises, and 
     eliminate or reduce regulatory barriers that may exist in 
     this regard.
       (2) Promote access to information and communication 
     technologies (ICT) with training in ICT for women-owned 
     small- and medium-sized enterprises.
       (3) Provide training, through local associations of women-
     owned enterprises or nongovernmental organizations in record 
     keeping, financial and personnel management, international 
     trade, business planning, marketing, policy advocacy, 
     leadership development, and other relevant areas.
       (4) Provide resources to establish and enhance local, 
     national, and international networks and associations of 
     women-owned small- and medium-sized enterprises.
       (5) Provide incentives for nongovernmental organizations 
     and regulated financial intermediaries to develop products, 
     services, and marketing and outreach strategies specifically 
     designed to facilitate and promote women's participation in 
     small and medium-sized business development programs by 
     addressing women's assets, needs, and the barriers they face 
     to participation in enterprise and financial services.
       (6) Seek to award contracts to qualified indigenous women-
     owned small and medium-sized enterprises, including for post-
     conflict reconstruction and to facilitate employment of 
     indigenous women, including during post-conflict 
     reconstruction in jobs not traditionally undertaken by women.

     SEC. 5. SUPPORT FOR PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS AND LAND TENURE 
                   SECURITY FOR WOMEN IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary of State, acting through the 
     Director of United States Foreign Assistance, shall--
       (1) where appropriate, carry out programs, projects, and 
     activities for the promotion of

[[Page S11755]]

     private property rights and land tenure security for women in 
     developing countries that--
       (A) are implemented by local, indigenous nongovernmental 
     and community-based organizations dedicated to addressing the 
     needs of women, especially women's organizations; and
       (B) otherwise meet the requirements of subsection (b); and
       (2) ensure that such programs, projects, and activities 
     that are carried out pursuant to assistance provided under 
     part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 
     et seq.) meet the requirements of subparagraphs (A) and (B) 
     of paragraph (1).
       (b) Requirements.--The requirements referred to in 
     subsection (a) are the following:
       (1) Advocate to amend and harmonize statutory and customary 
     law to give women equal rights to own, use, and inherit 
     property.
       (2) Promote legal literacy among women and men about 
     property rights for women and how to exercise such rights.
       (3) Assist women in making land claims and protecting 
     women's existing claims.
       (4) Advocate for equitable land titling and registration 
     for women.
       (c) Amendment.--Section 103(b)(1) of the Foreign Assistance 
     Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151a(b)(1)) is amended by inserting 
     after ``establishment of more equitable and more secure land 
     tenure arrangements'' the following: ``, especially for 
     women''.

     SEC. 6. SUPPORT FOR WOMEN'S ACCESS TO EMPLOYMENT IN 
                   DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.

       The Secretary of State, acting through the Director of 
     United States Foreign Assistance, shall, where appropriate, 
     carry out the following:
       (1) Support activities to increase women's access to 
     employment and to higher quality employment with better 
     remuneration and working conditions in developing countries, 
     including access to insurance and other social safety nets, 
     in informal and formal employment relative to core labor 
     standards determined by the International Labor Organization. 
     Such activities should include--
       (A) public education efforts to inform poor women and men 
     of their legal rights related to employment;
       (B) education and vocational training tailored to enable 
     poor women to access opportunities in potential growth 
     sectors in their local economies and in jobs within the 
     formal and informal sectors where women are not traditionally 
     highly represented;
       (C) efforts to support self-employed poor women or wage 
     workers to form or join independent unions or other labor 
     associations to increase their income and improve their 
     working conditions; and
       (D) advocacy efforts to protect the rights of women in the 
     workplace, including--
       (i) developing programs with the participation of civil 
     society to eliminate gender-based violence; and
       (ii) providing capacity-building assistance to women's 
     organizations to effectively research and monitor labor 
     rights conditions.
       (2) Provide assistance to governments and organizations in 
     developing countries seeking to design and implement laws, 
     regulations, and programs to improve working conditions for 
     women and to facilitate their entry into and advancement in 
     the workplace.

     SEC. 7. TRADE BENEFITS FOR WOMEN IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.

       In order to ensure that poor women in developing countries 
     are able to benefit from international trade, the President, 
     acting through the Secretary of State (acting through the 
     Director of United States Foreign Assistance) and the heads 
     of other appropriate departments and agencies of the 
     Government of the United States, shall, where appropriate, 
     carry out the following in developing countries:
       (1) Provide training and education to women in civil 
     society, including those organizations representing poor 
     women, and to women-owned enterprises and associations of 
     such enterprises, on how to respond to economic opportunities 
     created by trade preference programs, trade agreements, or 
     other policies creating market access, including training on 
     United States market access requirements and procedures.
       (2) Provide capacity building for women entrepreneurs, 
     including microentrepreneurs, on production strategies, 
     quality standards, formation of cooperatives, market 
     research, and market development.
       (3) Provide capacity building to women, including poor 
     women, to promote diversification of products and value-added 
     processing.
       (4) Provide training to official government negotiators 
     representing developing countries in order to enhance the 
     ability of such negotiators to formulate trade policy and 
     negotiate agreements that take into account the respective 
     needs and priorities of a country's poor women and men.
       (5) Provide training to local, indigenous women's groups in 
     developing countries in order to enhance their ability to 
     collect information and data, formulate proposals, and inform 
     and impact official government negotiators representing their 
     country in international trade negotiations of the respective 
     needs and priorities of a country's poor women and men.

     SEC. 8. EXCHANGES BETWEEN UNITED STATES ENTREPRENEURS AND 
                   WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.

       (a) Department of Commerce.--The Secretary of Commerce 
     shall, where appropriate, encourage United States business 
     participants on trade missions to developing countries to--
       (1) meet with representatives of women-owned small- and 
     medium-sized enterprises in such countries; and
       (2) promote internship opportunities for women owners of 
     small- and medium-sized businesses in such countries with 
     United States businesses.
       (b) Department of State.--The Secretary of State shall 
     promote exchange programs that offer representatives of 
     women-owned small- and medium-sized enterprises in developing 
     countries an opportunity to learn skills appropriate to 
     promoting entrepreneurship by working with business 
     counterparts in the United States.

     SEC. 9. ASSISTANCE UNDER THE MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE ACCOUNT.

       The Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Challenge 
     Corporation (MCC) shall seek to ensure that contracts and 
     employment opportunities resulting from assistance provided 
     by the MCC to the governments of developing countries be 
     fairly and equitably distributed to qualified women-owned 
     small and medium-sized enterprises and other civil society 
     organizations led by women, including nongovernmental and 
     community-based organizations, including for infrastructure 
     projects, and that such projects facilitate employment of 
     women in jobs not traditionally undertaken by women.

     SEC. 10. GROWTH FUND.

       (a) Establishment.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary of State, acting through the 
     Director of United States Foreign Assistance, shall establish 
     the Global Resources and Opportunities for Women to Thrive 
     (GROWTH) Fund (hereinafter in this section referred to as the 
     ``Fund'') for the purpose of enhancing economic opportunities 
     for very poor, poor, and low-income women in developing 
     countries with a focus on--
       (A) increasing women-owned enterprise development;
       (B) increasing property rights for women;
       (C) increasing women's access to financial services;
       (D) increasing women in leadership in implementing 
     organizations, such as indigenous nongovernmental 
     organizations, community-based organizations, and regulated 
     financial intermediaries;
       (E) improving women's employment benefits and conditions; 
     and
       (F) increasing women's ability to benefit from global 
     trade.
       (2) Role of usaid missions.--The Fund shall be available to 
     USAID missions to apply for additional funding to support 
     specific additional activities that enhance women's economic 
     opportunities or to integrate gender into existing economic 
     opportunity programs.
       (b) Activities Supported.--The Fund shall be available to 
     USAID missions to support--
       (1) activities described in title VI of part I of the 
     Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2211 et seq.), as 
     amended by section 3 of this Act;
       (2) activities described in sections 4 through 7 of this 
     Act; and
       (3) technical assistance and capacity-building to local, 
     indigenous civil society, particularly to carry out 
     activities that are covered under paragraphs (1) and (2), 
     for--
       (A) local indigenous women's organizations to the maximum 
     extent practicable; and
       (B) nongovernmental organizations and regulated financial 
     intermediaries that demonstrate a commitment to gender equity 
     in their leadership either through current practice or 
     through specific programs to increase the representation of 
     women in their governance and management.
       (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--
       (1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated to 
     carry out this section $40,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 and 
     such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 
     2009 and 2010.
       (2) Availability.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to the 
     authorization of appropriations under paragraph (1)--
       (A) are authorized to remain available until expended; and
       (B) are in addition to amounts otherwise available for such 
     purposes.

     SEC. 11. DATA COLLECTION.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary of State, acting through the 
     Director of United States Foreign Assistance, shall--
       (1) provide support for tracking indicators on women's 
     employment, property rights for women, women's access to 
     financial services, and women's enterprise development, 
     including microenterprises, in developing countries; and
       (2) where practicable track all United States foreign 
     assistance funds to local indigenous nongovernmental, 
     community-based organizations, and regulated financial 
     intermediaries in developing countries, including through 
     subcontractors and grantees, disaggregated by the sex of the 
     head of the organization, senior management, and composition 
     of the boards of directors;
       (3) encourage United States statistical agencies in their 
     work with statistical agencies in other countries to provide 
     support to collect data on the share of women in wage and 
     self-employment by type of employment; and
       (4) provide funding to the International Labor Organization 
     (ILO) for technical assistance activities to developing 
     countries and for the ILO to consolidate indicators into 
     cross-country data sets.

[[Page S11756]]

       (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--Amounts made 
     available to carry out section 10 of this Act are authorized 
     to be made available to carry out this section.

     SEC. 12. SUPPORT FOR LOCAL, INDIGENOUS WOMEN'S ORGANIZATIONS 
                   IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.

       (a) Amendments.--Section 102 of the Foreign Assistance Act 
     of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151-1) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a) by inserting after the ninth sentence 
     the following new sentences: ``Because men and women 
     generally occupy different economic niches in poor countries, 
     activities must address those differences in ways that enable 
     both women and men to contribute to and benefit from 
     development. Throughout the world, indigenous, local, 
     nongovernmental and community-based organizations and 
     regulated financial intermediaries are essential to 
     addressing many of the development challenges facing 
     countries and to creating stable, functioning democracies. 
     Investing in the capacity of such organizations and in their 
     role in the development process, including that of women's 
     organizations, shall be an important, cross-cutting objective 
     of United States bilateral development assistance.''; and
       (2) in subsection (b)--
       (A) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end the following 
     new sentence: ``The principles described in this paragraph 
     shall, among other strategies, be accomplished through 
     partnerships with local, indigenous nongovernmental and 
     community-based organizations and regulated financial 
     intermediaries that represent the interests of poor women and 
     poor men.''; and
       (B) in paragraph (6), by adding at the end the following 
     new sentence: ``Investing in the capacity and participation 
     of local, indigenous nongovernmental and community-based 
     organizations dedicated to addressing the needs of women, 
     especially women's organizations, shall be an important 
     strategy for achieving the principle described in this 
     paragraph.''.
       (b) Assistance.--The Secretary of State, acting through the 
     Director of United States Foreign Assistance, shall, where 
     appropriate--
       (1) improve the integration of capacity building and 
     technical assistance activities for local, indigenous 
     nongovernmental organizations and community-based 
     organizations in developing countries within project 
     proposals that will include the participation of locally 
     based partners, especially women's organizations and other 
     organizations leading women's empowerment initiatives, to 
     promote the long-term sustainability of projects;
       (2) provide information and training to local indigenous 
     organizations focused on women's empowerment, especially 
     women's organizations, in countries in which USAID missions 
     are located in order to--
       (A) provide technical assistance regarding availability of 
     United States international assistance procurement 
     procedures; and
       (B) undertake culturally-appropriate outreach measures to 
     contact such organizations;
       (3) encourage cooperating agencies, implementing partners, 
     and subcontractors, to the maximum extent practicable, to 
     provide sub-grants to local indigenous organizations that 
     focus on women's empowerment, including women's organizations 
     and other organizations that may not have previously worked 
     with the Government of the United States or one of its 
     partners, in fulfilling project objectives;
       (4) work with local governments where appropriate to 
     conduct outreach campaigns to formally register unofficial 
     local nongovernmental and community-based organizations, 
     especially women's organizations; and
       (5) support efforts of indigenous organizations focused on 
     women's empowerment, especially women's organizations, to 
     network with other indigenous women's groups to collectively 
     access funding opportunities to implement United States 
     international assistance programs.

     SEC. 13. REPORT.

       (a) Report Required.--Not later than June 30, 2009, the 
     Secretary of State, acting through the Director of United 
     States Foreign Assistance, shall submit to Congress a report 
     on the implementation of this Act and the amendments made by 
     this Act.
       (b) Update.--Not later than June 30, 2010, the Secretary of 
     State, acting through the Director of United States Foreign 
     Assistance, shall submit to Congress an update of the report 
     required by subsection (a).
       (c) Availability to Public.--The report required by 
     subsection (a) and the update required by subsection (b) 
     shall be made available to the public on the Internet 
     websites of the Department of State and the United States 
     Agency for International Development.
                                 ______