[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 143 (Wednesday, September 21, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H5787-H5789]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT LAB ACT OF 2016
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 3924) to establish in the United States Agency for International
Development an entity to be known as the United States Global
Development Lab, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 3924
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 ``Global Development Lab Act
of 2016''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The effectiveness of United States foreign assistance
can be greatly enhanced by fostering innovation, applying
science and technology, and leveraging the expertise and
resources of the private sector to find low-cost, common
sense solutions to today's most pressing development
challenges.
(2) Breakthroughs that accelerate economic growth and
produce better health outcomes in developing countries can
help support the growth of healthier, more stable societies
and foster trade relationships that translate into jobs and
economic growth in the United States.
(3) In 2014, the Office of Science and Technology and the
Office of Innovation and Development Alliances at the United
States Agency for International Development (USAID) were
streamlined and merged into the United States Global
Development Lab.
(4) The Lab partners with entrepreneurs, experts,
nongovernmental organizations, universities, and science and
research institutions to find solutions to specific
development challenges in a faster, more cost-efficient, and
more sustainable way.
(5) The Lab utilizes competitive innovation incentive
awards, a ``pay-for-success'' model, whereby a development
challenge is identified, competitions are launched, ideas
with the greatest potential for success are selected and
tested, and awards are provided only after the objectives of
a competition have been substantially achieved.
(6) Enhancing the authorities that support this pay-for-
success model will better enable the Lab to diversify and
expand both the number and sources of ideas that may be
developed, tested, and brought to scale, thereby increasing
USAID's opportunity to apply high value, low-cost solutions
to specific development challenges.
SEC. 3. UNITED STATES GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT LAB.
(a) Establishment.--There is established in USAID an entity
to be known as the United States Global Development Lab.
(b) Duties.--The duties of the Lab shall include--
(1) increasing the application of science, technology,
innovation and partnerships to develop and scale new
solutions to end extreme poverty;
(2) discovering, testing, and scaling development
innovations to increase cost effectiveness and support United
States foreign policy and development goals;
(3) leveraging the expertise, resources, and investment of
businesses, nongovernmental organizations, science and
research organizations, and universities to increase program
impact and sustainability;
(4) utilizing innovation-driven competitions to expand the
number and diversity of solutions to development challenges;
and
(5) supporting USAID missions and bureaus in applying
science, technology, innovation, and partnership approaches
to decisionmaking, procurement, and program design.
(c) Authorities.--
(1) In general.--In carrying out the duties of the Lab
under subsection (b), the Administrator, in addition to such
other authorities as may be available to the Administrator,
including authorities under part I of the Foreign Assistance
Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.), and subject to the
limitations described in paragraph (3), is authorized to--
(A) provide innovation incentive awards (as defined in
section 4(5) of this Act); and
(B) use funds made available to carry out the provisions of
part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 for each of the
fiscal years 2017 through 2021 for the employment of not more
than 30 individuals on a limited term basis pursuant to
schedule A of subpart C of part 213 of title 5, Code of
Federal Regulations, or similar provisions of law or
regulations.
(2) Recovery of funds.--
(A) Authority.--
(i) In general.--In carrying out the duties of the Lab
under subsection (b), the Administrator, subject to the
limitation described in clause (ii), is authorized to require
a person or entity that receives funding under a grant,
contract, or cooperative agreement made by the Lab to return
to the Lab any program income that is attributable to funding
under such grant, contract, or cooperative agreement.
(ii) Limitation.--The amount of program income that a
person or entity is required to return to the Lab under
clause (i) shall not exceed the amount of funding that the
person or entity received under the grant, contract, or
cooperative agreement.
(B) Treatment of payments.--
(i) In general.--The amount of any program income returned
to the Lab pursuant to subparagraph (A) may be credited to
the account from which the obligation and expenditure of
funds under the grant, contract, or cooperative agreement
described in subparagraph (A) was made.
(ii) Availability.--
(I) In general.--Except as provided in subclause (II),
amounts returned and credited to an account under clause
(i)--
(aa) shall be merged with other funds in the account; and
(bb) shall be available, subject to appropriation, for the
same purposes and period of time for which other funds in the
account are available for programs and activities of the Lab.
(II) Exception.--Amounts returned and credited to an
account under clause (i) may not be used to pay for the
employment of individuals described in paragraph (1)(B).
(3) Limitations.--
(A) In general.--Concurrent with the submission of the
Congressional Budget Justification for Foreign Operations for
each fiscal year, the Administrator shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a detailed accounting of
USAID's use of authorities under this section, including the
sources, amounts, and uses of funding under each of
paragraphs (1) and (2).
(B) Innovation incentive awards.--In providing innovation
incentive awards under paragraph (1)(A), the Administrator
shall--
(i) limit the amount of individual awards for fiscal year
2017 to not more than $100,000;
(ii) limit the total number of awards for fiscal year 2017
to not more than 10 awards; and
(iii) notify the appropriate congressional committees not
later than 15 days after providing each such award.
(C) Staff.--In exercising the authority under paragraph
(1)(B), the Administrator should seek to ensure that
increases in the number of staff assigned to the Lab are
offset by an equivalent reduction in the total number of
staff serving elsewhere in USAID.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development.
(2) 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
[[Page H5788]]
(B) the Committees on Foreign Relations and the Committee
on Appropriations of the Senate.
(3) Lab.--The term ``Lab'' means the United States Global
Development Lab established under section 3.
(4) USAID.--The term ``USAID'' means the United States
Agency for International Development.
(5) Innovation incentive award.--The term ``innovation
incentive award'' means the provision of funding on a
competitive basis that--
(A) encourages and rewards the development of solutions for
a particular, well-defined problem relating to the
alleviation of poverty; or
(B) helps identify and promote a broad range of ideas and
practices, facilitating further development of an idea or
practice by third parties.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
California (Mr. Royce) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.
{time} 2030
General Leave
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to
include extraneous material in the Record.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3924, which authorizes the
U.S. Global Development Lab within the U.S. Agency for International
Development. Through the Lab, USAID workers, with the private sector,
partner up; and they tap into the science and technology needed to
source and to test proven, low-cost, high-impact solutions to pressing
development challenges around the world.
From maternal health to food security, the innovations supported by
the Lab are changing the way we think about and the way we deliver
foreign aid. This bill provides important authorities to improve the
Lab's efficacy and efficiency, and it approves incentive awards through
a competitive pay-for-performance process.
It enables the Lab to bring in technical experts on a short-term
basis without long-term salary and benefit obligations. When one of
these new technologies becomes successful, it allows USAID to keep a
portion of its initial investment so the Lab can become financially
self-sustaining.
Mr. Speaker, this is the approach that will bend the development
curve. This is effective foreign aid.
I want to thank Representative Castro and Representative McCaul for
introducing this very important, bipartisan measure.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this measure. I want to thank
Chairman Ed Royce for bringing this bill forward. I want to also thank
Mr. Castro of Texas for his leadership and hard work on this measure,
and I thank Mr. McCaul as well.
Mr. Speaker, around the world, 1.2 billion people live in extreme
poverty. That means they live on less than $1.25 a day. It is hard to
imagine. No one should have to live on so little.
At the same time, we know that areas of extreme poverty can be
hotbeds for other problems. Poverty leads to broader instability. It
creates vulnerabilities that can be exploited by violent extremists,
jihadists, or others spreading dangerous ideologies. It holds
communities and countries back. So we view alleviating poverty as the
right thing to do and also as a strategic concern.
That is why USAID established the Development Lab to help develop and
deploy poverty reduction technologies more widely and at a lower cost.
I want to acknowledge former USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah, who did
tremendous work at USAID helping build the Lab into a world-class
center of innovation, working toward new solutions to extreme poverty.
The Lab works with NGOs, corporations, and universities to bring in
the best ideas and stay on the cutting edge of development. It is also
expanding USAID's impact through a public-private dollar-for-dollar
matching program that allows us to scale these innovations up without
expanding USAID's budget.
We are seeing real results. In 2014, the Lab invested in 362 new
solutions that touch nearly 14 million people around the world. For
example, the Lab funded an initiative aimed at producing more food
where fresh water is hard to come by.
Securing Water for Food: A Grand Challenge for Development led to a
system that makes seawater or brackish water usable for drinking or
agriculture. It consumes so little energy that the cost to use it is
low, even in areas off the power grid. This is what we mean when we
talk about innovation.
Last May, the Development Lab hosted an international competition to
develop technology to fight wildlife trafficking and crimes. I know
that Chairman Royce has been very interested in this issue. This led to
the development of an app called the Wildlife Scan that allows law
enforcement to easily identify endangered species being smuggled out of
countries. After just a couple of months, the app has already been
downloaded more than 1,000 times.
And just last month, the Global Lab finished up a Zika challenge
initiative, which led to 21 new solutions targeted at combating the
spread of the Zika virus and are on track to be tested and deployed.
They could be available within months.
The bill would build on the Lab's success by creating new authorities
for the Lab to expand and manage its partnerships. It will give the Lab
greater flexibility for hiring experts on a project-by-project basis,
and it will allow the Lab to award small, targeted grants that have
proven so effective in supporting healthcare providers.
I commend Mr. Castro for his hard work on this very good bill. It
makes a good initiative better, and I am pleased to support it.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas
(Mr. Castro), a very valuable member of the Foreign Affairs Committee
and the author of this measure.
Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Engel for
yielding me this time and for his support of this legislation. He,
Chairman Royce, as well as their staff members have been terrific
partners in moving this bill forward.
I also want to say a big thank you to my fellow Texan, Representative
Mike McCaul, for being the lead Republican cosponsor of this
legislation, which aims to make our foreign aid efforts more impactful
and cost-efficient.
Created in 2014 through the streamlining and merging of two offices,
USAID'S Global Development Lab is spearheading a new approach that
supports the invention, testing, and utilization of more cost-efficient
solutions to development challenges.
The Lab collaborates with entrepreneurs, corporations, NGOs,
universities, and science and research institutions to solve some of
the world's most difficult development challenges faster, more cheaply,
and more sustainably.
Essentially, the Lab democratizes problem solving by crowdsourcing
ideas and applications to find the best solutions from around the
world. For example, the Lab has used what it calls Grand Challenges for
Development to incentivize problem solvers to develop solutions for
specific problems.
The Saving Lives at Birth Grand Challenge led to the creation of the
Pratt Pouch, a small ketchup packet-like pouch filled with medication
that women can use in rural areas to prevent birth-related HIV
infections. Other Grand Challenges have led to the development of
breakthrough products that keep healthcare workers treating Ebola
patients safe, desalinate water in an environmentally sustainable
manner, and bring electricity to folks living off the electrical grid
in Africa.
The Lab also partners with outside entities, such as universities, to
cultivate solutions to specific development challenges ranging from
health and food insecurity to chronic conflict. Participating
institutions equally match USAID's funding and leverage additional
resources from private foundations.
[[Page H5789]]
The legislation before us today formally authorizes the U.S. Global
Development Lab within USAID and provides new legislative authorities
to augment the Lab's current capabilities, allowing the initiative to
achieve greater results and maximize its impact.
The bill allows the Lab to use a pay-for-success model and tap into
good ideas, no matter their source; bring in term-limited technical
experts in a more cost-effective manner; and gain the flexibility to
use program income more effectively.
In conclusion, Congress can be proud of the work that the Lab is
currently doing and will continue to pursue once we authorize it and
provide proper oversight.
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I congratulate Mr. Castro and Mr. McCaul for
their innovation.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time now to
close.
Let me just say, in recent years, it has become very clear the way
issues like global poverty fit into our broader national and
international concerns. We see the links between poverty, health,
stability, and security. So when we work to relieve this burden and
lift up communities, we are also advancing a wide range of interests.
As I like to say, it is the smart thing to do, and it is also the right
thing to do.
The administration has already taken steps to incorporate poverty
alleviation into our development efforts. This bill will help USAID do
even more.
So, once again, I want to thank Mr. Castro for his hard work. I am
glad to support this bill. I thank Chairman Royce for his help. I urge
all of my colleagues to support this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr.
Engel).
I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from California (Mr. Royce) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 3924, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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