[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 170 (Sunday, December 30, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H7458-H7461]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
FOREIGN AID TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2012
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass
the bill (H.R. 3159) to direct the President, in consultation with the
Department of State, United States Agency for International
Development, Millennium Challenge Corporation, and the Department of
Defense, to establish guidelines for United States foreign assistance
programs, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 3159
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 ``Foreign Aid Transparency and
Accountability Act of 2012''.
SEC. 2. GUIDELINES FOR UNITED STATES FOREIGN DEVELOPMENT
ASSISTANCE.
(a) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to evaluate
the performance of United States foreign development
assistance and its contribution to policy, strategies,
projects, program goals, and priorities undertaken by the
United States, to foster and promote innovative programs to
improve the effectiveness of United States foreign
development assistance, and to coordinate the monitoring and
evaluation processes of Federal departments and agencies that
administer United States foreign development assistance.
(b) Establishment of Guidelines.--Not later than 18 months
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President
shall establish guidelines regarding the establishment of
measurable goals, performance metrics, and monitoring and
evaluation plans that can be applied with reasonable
consistency to United States foreign development assistance.
Such guidelines should be established according to best
practices of monitoring and evaluation studies and analyses.
(c) Objectives of Guidelines.--
(1) In general.--The guidelines established under this
section shall provide direction to Federal departments and
agencies that administer United States foreign development
assistance on how to develop the complete range of activities
relating to the monitoring of resources, the evaluation of
projects, the evaluation of program impacts, and analysis
that is necessary for the identification of findings,
generalizations that can be derived from those findings, and
their applicability to proposed project and program design.
(2) Objectives.--Specifically, the guidelines shall provide
direction on how to achieve the following objectives for
monitoring and evaluation of programs:
(A) Building measurable goals, performance metrics and
monitoring and evaluation into program design at the outset,
including the provision of sufficient program resources to
conduct monitoring and evaluation.
(B) Disseminating guidelines for the development and
implementation of monitoring and evaluation programs to all
personnel, especially in the field, who are responsible for
the design, implementation, and management of United States
foreign development assistance programs.
(C) Contributing to the collection and dissemination of
knowledge and lessons learned to United States development
professionals, implementing partners, the international aid
community, and aid recipient governments, and as a repository
of knowledge on lessons learned.
(D) Distributing evaluation reports internally.
(E) Establishing annual monitoring and evaluation agendas
and objectives.
(F) Applying rigorous monitoring and evaluation
methodologies, including choosing from among a wide variety
of qualitative and quantitative methods common in the field
of social scientific inquiry.
(G) Partnering with the academic community, implementing
partners, and national and international institutions that
have expertise in monitoring and evaluation and analysis when
such partnerships will provide needed expertise or will
significantly improve the evaluation and analysis.
(H) Developing and implementing a training plan for
appropriate aid personnel on the proper conduct of monitoring
and evaluation programs.
(d) Implementation of Guidelines.--Beginning not later than
one year after the date on which the President establishes
the guidelines under this section, the head of each Federal
department or agency that administers United States foreign
development assistance shall administer the United States
foreign development assistance in accordance with the
guidelines.
(e) Presidential Report.--Not later than 18 months after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall
submit to Congress a report that contains a detailed
description of the guidelines that have been developed on
measurable goals, performance metrics, and monitoring and
evaluation plans for United States foreign development
assistance established under this section. The report shall
be submitted in unclassified form to the maximum extent
possible, but may include a classified annex.
(f) Comptroller General Reports.--The Comptroller General
of the United States shall--
(1) not later than one year after the date of the enactment
of this Act, submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a report that contains an analysis of the actions
that the major Federal departments and agencies that
administer United States foreign development assistance have
taken to ensure that United States foreign development
assistance program evaluation is planned, conducted, and
utilized effectively; and
[[Page H7459]]
(2) not later than two years after the date of the
enactment of this Act, submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report that contains an analysis
of--
(A) the guidelines established pursuant to subsection (b);
and
(B) the implementation of the guidelines by the major
Federal departments and agencies that administer United
States foreign development assistance.
(g) Evaluation Defined.--In this section, the term
``evaluation'' means, with respect to a United States foreign
development assistance program, the systematic collection and
analysis of information about the characteristics and
outcomes of the program and projects under the program as a
basis for judgments, to improve effectiveness, and to inform
decisions about current and future programming.
SEC. 3. INTERNET WEBSITE TO MAKE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE
COMPREHENSIVE, TIMELY, COMPARABLE, AND
ACCESSIBLE INFORMATION ON UNITED STATES FOREIGN
DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS.
(a) Establishment; Publication and Updates.--Not later than
30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
President shall direct the Secretary of State to establish
and maintain an Internet website to make publicly available
in unclassified form comprehensive, timely, comparable, and
accessible information on United States foreign development
assistance. The head of each Federal department or agency
that administers United States foreign development assistance
shall, not later than 3 years after the date of the enactment
of this Act, publish and on a quarterly basis update on the
Internet website such information with respect to the United
States foreign development assistance programs of such
Federal department or agency.
(b) Matters To Be Included.--
(1) In general.--Such information shall be published on a
detailed program-by-program basis and country-by-country
basis.
(2) Types of information.--To ensure transparency,
accountability, and effectiveness of United States foreign
development assistance, such information should include
country assistance strategies, annual budget documents,
congressional budget justifications, obligations,
expenditures, and reports and evaluations, including those
developed pursuant to the guidelines established by section
2, for United States foreign development assistance programs
and projects under such programs. Each type of information
described in this paragraph shall be published or updated on
the Internet website not later than 90 days after the date of
issuance of the information.
(3) Report in lieu of inclusion.--If--
(A) the head of a Federal department or agency makes a
determination that the inclusion of a required item of
information on the Internet website would jeopardize the
health or security of an implementing partner or program
beneficiary, or
(B) the Secretary of State makes a determination that the
inclusion of a required item of information on the Internet
website would be detrimental to the national interests of the
United States,
then the head of such Federal department or agency or the
Secretary of State, as the case may be, shall provide
briefings to Congress on the item of information or submit to
Congress the item of information in a written report in lieu
of it being included on the Internet website, along with the
reasons for it not being included on the Internet website.
Any such item of information may be submitted to Congress in
classified form.
(c) Scope of Information.--
(1) In general.--The Internet website shall contain the
information described in subsection (b) as follows:
(A) For fiscal year 2013, the information relating to such
fiscal year and each of the immediately preceding 2 fiscal
years.
(B) For fiscal year 2014, the information relating to such
fiscal year and each of the immediately preceding 3 fiscal
years.
(C) For fiscal year 2015, the information relating to such
fiscal year and each of the immediately preceding 4 fiscal
years.
(D) For fiscal year 2016 and each fiscal year thereafter,
the information relating to such fiscal year and each of the
immediately preceding 5 fiscal years.
(2) Older information.--For fiscal year 2017 and each
fiscal year thereafter, the Internet website shall also
contain a link to a searchable database available to the
public containing information described in subsection (b)
relating to fiscal years prior to the immediately preceding 5
fiscal years but subsequent to fiscal year 2010.
SEC. 4. CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFINGS IF REQUIREMENTS OF SECTION 3
ARE NOT MET.
If the information described in section 3(b) with respect
to a United States foreign development assistance program is
not provided as required under section 3, then the head of
the relevant Federal department or agency shall provide
briefings to the appropriate congressional committees, along
with a detailed explanation of why the requirements for
publication on the Internet have not been met and when they
will be met, with respect to each month for which such
information is not published on the Internet.
SEC. 5. OFFSET.
Of the amounts authorized to be appropriated for United
States foreign development assistance programs of a Federal
department or agency that administers such programs for a
fiscal year, up to 5 percent of such amounts are authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this Act with respect to such
programs for such fiscal year.
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on
Appropriations of the Senate.
(2) United states foreign development assistance.--The term
``United States foreign development assistance'' means
assistance primarily for purposes of foreign development and
economic support, including but not limited to assistance
authorized under--
(A) part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C.
2151 et seq.), other than--
(i) title IV of chapter 2 of such part (relating to the
Overseas Private Investment Corporation);
(ii) chapter 3 of such part (relating to International
Organizations and Programs); and
(iii) chapter 8 of such part (relating to International
Narcotics Control);
(B) chapter 4 of part II of the Foreign Assistance Act of
1961 (22 U.S.C 2346 et seq.; relating to Economic Support
Fund) for long-term development; and
(C) the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C 7701 et
seq.).
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr.
Connolly) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Florida.
General Leave
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material in the Record on this bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Florida?
There was no objection.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I rise in strong support of H.R. 3159 introduced by my good friend
from Texas, Judge Poe.
This bill stands for the simple proposition that consistent
evaluation and transparency will improve the effectiveness of U.S.
development assistance around the world. H.R. 3159 will require the
President to establish guidelines for measurable goals, monitoring, and
evaluation plans that can be applied with reasonable consistency to all
overseas development assistance.
I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3159, and I reserve the balance
of my time.
Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R.
3159, as amended, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Let me start first by thanking my distinguished colleague from Texas
(Mr. Poe) for his leadership on this legislation. He and his staff have
worked tirelessly to address a range of technical issues so that this
bill could be considered under suspension.
H.R. 3159 is an important first step in bringing greater rationality
and oversight to the foreign aid process. It contains two fundamental
reforms to make our programs more efficient, more effective, and better
at serving our national interests.
The first is to strengthen monitoring and evaluation so that we can
be sure our aid is performing as intended. Right now we make most of
our aid decisions in the dark. We set budgets year after year without
having any idea necessarily what the outcomes might be. This bill
requires the President to establish a consistent set of guidelines so
that all Federal agencies carrying out development assistance will set
measurable goals, establish indicators, monitor results, and evaluate
impact. We can make much better decisions about how and where to invest
our scarce resources once we know which types of programs are the most
cost-effective and produce the best results.
The second reform is to increase aid transparency so that everyone
can see where we're spending the money and why. There are all too many
misperceptions about the size of the foreign aid budget and exactly
what it does. This bill will address that.
It also requires the President to establish and maintain an Internet
Web site that makes comprehensive and timely information accessible to
the public.
[[Page H7460]]
Similar reforms are included in comprehensive foreign aid reform
legislation recently introduced by the current ranking member of our
committee, Mr. Berman, and myself. They were also included in the State
Department authorization bills passed by the full House under the
leadership of our outgoing chairwoman, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida,
in 2009, and reported by the Foreign Affairs Committee in 2011. Both
times, these provisions were adopted with strong bipartisan support.
The administration also recognizes the need for these types of
changes. They've created the Foreign Assistance Dashboard, a Web site
that provides accessible and easy-to-understand data about our aid
programs. Both the Millennium Challenge Corporation and USAID have put
into place their own rigorous evaluation policies.
This bill will ensure that all Federal agencies carrying out
development programs will adhere to the same high standards, and at a
time when there are so many issues that divide our parties and our
Nation, I think this is one that we can come together on. Again, I urge
my colleagues to support this legislation.
I reserve the balance of my time.
[From The Hill, Dec. 12, 2012]
Overhaul of U.S. Foreign Aid is Overdue
(By Reps. Howard L. Berman (D-Calif.) and Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.))
At a time when competing government priorities face the
chopping block, advocates of effective foreign aid have a
responsibility to make the case that aid directly serves our
country's long-term national-security and economic interests,
and in a cost-effective way.
A key goal of foreign aid is to make the right investments
that reinforce America's priorities. Unfortunately, the
current foreign aid process and the underlying statute are
encrusted with legislative barnacles built up over half a
century that are messy, conflicting and outdated, and that
actually hinder our ability to deliver foreign aid
effectively and efficiently.
It is time for a complete overhaul. The 21st century
requires a foreign aid program that recognizes today's
priorities and streamlines the process in the post-Cold War
era. For instance, do we still need language in current law,
passed in 1961, that requires the president to assure
Congress that foreign aid recipients are not ``controlled by
the international Communist conspiracy''?
The many task forces and policy committees that have
examined U.S. foreign aid have cited the myriad goals,
objectives and priorities contained in the Foreign Assistance
Act of 1961. The Center for Global Development, for example,
identified more than 33 major objectives, 75 priorities and
247 directives relating to foreign aid in the act. And all of
this for a miniscule piece of the federal budget. Little
wonder, then, that we lack any central focus to our effort
and even less of an ability to measure its effectiveness.
The Global Partnerships Act of 2012 (H.R. 6644) replaces
this byzantine labyrinth of priorities by identifying eight
concise goals for development assistance. The legislation
simplifies the bureaucracy administering foreign aid by
restoring the U.S. Agency for International Development's
policy and budget functions and clarifies the roles and
relationships of key officials involved in its delivery.
In addition, the Global Partnerships Act tackles problems
like the lack of transparency, accountability and oversight
in the system. It requires the maintenance of an online
database of information, easily accessible by the public,
with complete information about all forms of U.S. foreign
assistance, including an unclassified database on security
assistance. This online database would provide detailed
information on overhead and administrative costs for overseas
projects, ensuring that U.S. taxpayers get the most out of
their investment.
Opponents of foreign aid say that aid programs amount to
little more than handouts. But the purpose of foreign
assistance, as President Obama has insisted, must be to
create the conditions where it's no longer needed. To do
this, our programs should aim to build indigenous capacity in
various sectors, with the ultimate goals of country ownership
and self-reliance. The Global Partnerships Act emphasizes the
importance of country ownership by transforming the donor-
recipient relationship to one of partners working toward
mutually agreed-upon and beneficial goals.
Many believe that foreign assistance is a luxury we can no
longer afford in an era of tight budgets and fiscal
challenges. They perpetuate the misconception that foreign
aid encompasses a massive portion of the federal budget. In
reality, this assistance amounts to only about 1 percent of
federal spending.
Moreover, foreign aid is a critical component of our
national-security strategy, which includes three key pillars:
defense, diplomacy and development. National-security experts
and military leaders frequently extol the importance of
foreign aid, recognizing, as former Defense Secretary Robert
Gates once said, that ``economic development is a lot cheaper
than sending soldiers.''
It is critical that the United States modernize its foreign
aid policies and maintain its foreign aid investments. It is
also critical that we establish metrics to gauge the efficacy
of those investments. There are other countries ready and
willing to fill the vacuum that we will leave behind.
Foreign assistance is a critical tool in the diplomatic
toolkit. A great power must have the tools to act--beyond
simply intervening militarily. A streamlined, effective
foreign aid template can enhance U.S. values and influence in
a dangerous world and help avoid the enormous costs in blood
and treasure that inevitably result from military
intervention.
While admittedly some of our foreign aid investments have
been ineffectively deployed in the field over the years, it
is beyond dispute that foreign assistance has dramatically
lowered infant mortality rates, raised hundreds of millions
of people from poverty, extended longevity, created
employment and fostered democratic institutions in every
corner of the world. Its return is well worth the investment.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to
the gentleman from Texas, Judge Poe, an esteemed member of our Foreign
Affairs Committee and the author of this bill.
Mr. POE of Texas. I thank the gentlewoman and appreciate her yielding
me this time. I want to thank Chairwoman Ros-Lehtinen, Ranking Member
Berman, and House leadership for getting this bill to the House floor,
and also Mr. Connolly from Virginia for his support of this
legislation.
{time} 1820
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3159, the Foreign Aid Transparency and
Accountability Act, is a simple, bipartisan bill. We have, in fact,
equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats as cosponsors of this
legislation.
Last year, the House Foreign Affairs Committee passed this bill
unanimously as an amendment to the state authorization bill. This bill
does two things: it increases monitoring and evaluation of our foreign
aid programs, and it also increases transparency of foreign aid.
Our foreign aid can do some good to other countries, but there are
also problems with American foreign aid. Unfortunately, we do not keep
track of what we're spending, and we don't ask for real results.
Since the passage of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, foreign aid
programs have spread across 12 departments, 25 agencies, and almost 60
Federal offices. There are so many Federal Government programs that
they often don't know what each other is doing, and many Federal
Government programs don't even keep track of what they're doing.
According to an independent study commissioned by USAID in 2009,
agencies don't assess the impact their aid is having on foreign
countries:
Do we know if our money actually helps people?
Is our money helping people become more self-sufficient or more
reliant on U.S. dollars?
And does American aid leave people better off?
We don't know the answers to these questions. This bill addresses
this problem by requiring the President to set up tough monitoring and
evaluation guidelines for development programs.
These guidelines will be used for monitoring and evaluation of every
foreign aid development program from agriculture to AIDS to democracy
promotion. Monitoring will allow us to cut programs that simply do not
work.
We also need transparency. Americans don't know what we spend our aid
on, and so that is why many Americans are frustrated when the word or
phrase ``foreign aid'' is mentioned. We need to be honest with American
taxpayers.
Until November of 2011, the United States ranked 22nd out of 31
countries when it came to transparency in foreign aid programs. That's
according to the Brookings Institute and the Center for Global
Development.
We should have nothing to hide when it comes to foreign aid. Let's
tell the American taxpayers what they're getting for their buck. This
bill requires more information about foreign aid to be posted online so
Americans can know what we are doing.
We can't continue down the path of the same-old same-old regarding
foreign aid. We need to restore trust with the American people. Lack of
transparency and accountability invites corruption, waste, and
incompetence.
[[Page H7461]]
The losers are those who the programs aim to help and also Americans
who pay for foreign aid. Regardless of whether a Member believes we
need more foreign aid, less foreign aid, or no foreign aid at all, we
should all agree that accountability and transparency are an absolute
must.
Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia. I have no other speakers. Mr. Speaker, I
yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I also yield back the balance of my
time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3159, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the
ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a
quorum is not present.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this question will be postponed.
The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.
____________________