[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 130 (Tuesday, August 1, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4684-S4686]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
REINFORCING EDUCATION ACCOUNTABILITY IN DEVELOPMENT ACT
Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 116, H.R. 601.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (H.R. 601) to enhance the transparency and
accelerate the impact of assistance provided under the
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to promote quality basic
education in developing countries, to better enable such
countries to achieve universal access to quality basic
education and improved learning outcomes, to eliminate
duplication and waste, and for other purposes.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill,
which had been reported from the Committee on Foreign Relations, with
amendments, as follows:
(The parts of the bill intended to be stricken are shown in boldface
brackets and the parts of the bill intended to be inserted are shown in
italics.)
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
``Reinforcing Education Accountability in Development Act''
or the ``READ Act''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act
is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definitions.
Sec. 3. Assistance to promote sustainable, quality basic education.
Sec. 4. Comprehensive integrated United States strategy to promote
basic education.
Sec. 5. Improving coordination and oversight.
Sec. 6. Monitoring and evaluation of programs.
Sec. 7. Transparency and reporting to Congress.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
(a) Appropriate Congressional Committees.--In this Act, the
term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(1) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
(2) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;
(3) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives; and
(4) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives.
(b) Other Definitions.--In this Act, the terms ``basic
education'', ``marginalized children and vulnerable groups'',
``national education plan'', ``partner country'', and
``relevant Executive branch agencies and officials'' have the
meanings given such terms in section 105(c) of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961, as added by section 3.
SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE, QUALITY BASIC
EDUCATION.
Section 105 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22
U.S.C. 2151c) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(c) Assistance To Promote Sustainable, Quality Basic
Education.--
``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Basic education.--The term `basic education'
includes--
``(i) measurable improvements in literacy, numeracy, and
other basic skills development that prepare an individual to
be an active, productive member of society and the workforce;
``(ii) workforce development, vocational training, and
digital literacy informed by real market needs and
opportunities and that results in measurable improvements in
employment;
``(iii) programs and activities designed to demonstrably
improve--
``(I) early childhood, preprimary education, primary
education, and secondary education, which can be delivered in
formal or nonformal education settings; and
``(II) learning for out-of-school youth and adults; and
``(iv) capacity building for teachers, administrators,
counselors, and youth workers that results in measurable
improvements in student literacy, numeracy, or employment.
``(B) Communities of learning.--The term `communities of
learning' means a holistic approach to education and
community engagement in which schools act as the primary
resource center for delivery of a service to the community at
large, leveraging and maximizing the impact of other
development efforts and reducing duplication and waste.
``(C) Gender parity in basic education.--The term `gender
parity in basic education' means that girls and boys have
equal access to quality basic education.
``(D) Marginalized children and vulnerable groups.--The
term `marginalized children and vulnerable groups' includes
girls, children affected by or emerging from armed conflict
or humanitarian crises, children with disabilities, children
in remote or rural areas (including those who lack access to
safe water and sanitation), religious or ethnic minorities,
indigenous peoples, orphans and children affected by HIV/
AIDS, child laborers, married adolescents, and victims of
trafficking.
``(E) National education plan.--The term `national
education plan' means a comprehensive national education plan
developed by partner country governments in consultation with
other stakeholders as a means for wide-scale improvement of
the country's education system, including explicit, credible
strategies informed by effective practices and standards to
achieve quality universal basic education.
``(F) Nonformal education.--The term `nonformal education'
means organized educational activities outside the
established formal system, whether operating separately or as
an important feature of a broader activity, that are intended
to provide students with measurable improvements in literacy,
numeracy, and other basic skills development that prepare an
individual to be an active, productive member of society and
the workforce.
``(G) Partner country.--The term `partner country' means a
developing country that
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participates in or benefits from basic education programs
under this subsection pursuant to the prioritization criteria
described in paragraph (4), including level of need,
opportunity for impact, and the availability of resources.
``(H) Relevant executive branch agencies and officials.--
The term `relevant Executive branch agencies and officials'
means the Department of State, the United States Agency for
International Development, the Department of the Treasury,
the Department of Labor, the Department of Education, the
Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Defense, the
Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Challenge
Corporation, the National Security Advisor, and the Director
of the Peace Corps.
``(I) Sustainability.--The term `sustainability' means,
with respect to any basic education program that receives
funding pursuant to this section, the ability of a service
delivery system, community, partner, or beneficiary to
maintain, over time, such basic education program without the
use of foreign assistance.
``(2) Policy.--In carrying out this section, it shall be
the policy of the United States to work with partner
countries, as appropriate, other donors, multilateral
institutions, the private sector, and nongovernmental and
civil society organizations, including faith-based
organizations and organizations that represent teachers,
students, and parents, to promote sustainable, quality basic
education through programs and activities that--
``(A) take into consideration and help respond to the
needs, capacities, and commitment of developing countries to
achieve measurable improvements in literacy, numeracy, and
other basic skills development that prepare an individual to
be an active, productive member of society and the workforce;
``(B) strengthen educational systems, promote communities
of learning, as appropriate, expand access to safe learning
environments, including by breaking down specific barriers to
basic education for women and girls, ensure continuity of
education, including in conflict settings, measurably improve
teacher skills and learning outcomes, and support the
engagement of parents in the education of their children to
help partner countries ensure that all children, including
marginalized children and other vulnerable groups, have
access to and benefit from quality basic education;
``(C) promote education as a foundation for sustained
economic growth and development within a comprehensive
assistance strategy that places partner countries on a
trajectory toward graduation from assistance provided under
this section with clearly defined benchmarks of success that
are used as requirements for related procurement vehicles,
such as grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements; and
``(D) monitor and evaluate the effectiveness and quality of
basic education programs in partner countries.
``(3) Principles.--In carrying out the policy referred to
in paragraph (2), the United States shall be guided by the
following principles of aid effectiveness:
``(A) Alignment.--Assistance provided under this section to
support programs and activities under this subsection shall
be aligned with and advance United States foreign policy and
economic interests.
``(B) Country ownership.--To the greatest extent
practicable, assistance provided under this section to
support programs and activities under this subsection should
be aligned with and support the national education plans and
country development strategies of partner countries,
including activities that are appropriate for and meet the
needs of local and indigenous cultures.
``(C) Coordination.--
``(i) In general.--Assistance provided under this section
to support programs and activities under this subsection
should be coordinated with and leverage the unique
capabilities and resources of local and national governments
in partner countries, other donors, multilateral
institutions, the private sector, and nongovernmental and
civil society organizations, including faith-based
organizations and organizations that represent teachers,
students, and parents.
``(ii) Multilateral programs and initiatives.--Assistance
provided under this section to support programs and
activities under this subsection should be coordinated with
and support proven multilateral education programs and
financing mechanisms, which may include the Global
Partnership for Education, that demonstrate commitment to
efficiency, effectiveness, transparency, and accountability.
``(D) Efficiency.--The President shall seek to improve the
efficiency and effectiveness of assistance provided under
this section to support programs and activities under this
subsection by coordinating the related efforts of relevant
Executive branch agencies and officials.
``(E) Effectiveness.--Programs and activities supported
under this subsection--
``(i) shall be consistent with the policies and principles
set forth in this subsection;
``(ii) shall be designed to achieve specific, measurable
goals and objectives that are directly related to the
provision of basic education (as defined in this section);
and
``(iii) shall include appropriate targets, metrics, and
indicators that--
``(I) move a country along the path to graduation from
assistance provided under this subsection; and
``(II) can be applied with reasonable consistency across
such programs and activities to measure progress and
outcomes.
``(F) Transparency and accountability.--Programs and
activities supported under this subsection shall be subject
to rigorous monitoring and evaluation, which may include
impact evaluations, the results of which shall be made
publically available in a fully searchable, electronic
format.
``(4) Priority and other requirements.--The President shall
ensure that assistance provided under this section to support
programs and activities under this subsection is aligned with
the foreign policy and economic interests of the United
States and, subject to such alignment, priority is given to
developing countries in which--
``(A) there is the greatest need and opportunity to expand
access to basic education and to improve learning outcomes,
including for marginalized and vulnerable groups,
particularly women and girls to ensure gender parity in basic
education, or populations affected by conflict or crisis; and
``(B) such assistance can produce a substantial, measurable
impact on children and educational systems.''.
SEC. 4. COMPREHENSIVE INTEGRATED UNITED STATES STRATEGY TO
PROMOTE BASIC EDUCATION.
(a) Strategy Required.--[Not later than October 1, 2017,
the President shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a comprehensive United States strategy to be
carried out during fiscal years 2018 through 2022 to promote
quality basic education in partner countries by--]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
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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 each March 31 immediately following a fiscal year
during which the strategy developed pursuant to section 4(a)
was carried out, the President shall--]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.
Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the
committee-reported amendments be agreed to, the Rubio amendment at the
desk be agreed to, and the bill, as amended, be considered read a third
time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The committee-reported amendments were agreed to.
The amendment (No. 743) was agreed to, as follows:
(Purpose: To add provisions regarding the promotion of United States
values and the reduction of childhood exposure to extremist ideologies)
On page 8, line 20, strike ``; and'' and insert a
semicolon.
On page 8, line 23, strike the period at the end and insert
``; and''.
On page 8, between lines 23 and 24, insert the following:
``(E) promote United States values, especially respect for
all persons and freedoms of religion, speech, and the press.
On page 12, line 14, strike ``; and'' and insert a
semicolon.
On page 12, strike line 17 and insert ``educational
systems; and''.
On page 12, between lines 17 and 18, insert the following:
``(C) there is the greatest opportunity to reduce childhood
and adolescence exposure to or engagement in violent
extremism or extremist ideologies.''.
The amendments were ordered to be engrossed, and the bill to be read
a third time.
The bill was read the third time.
Mr. PORTMAN. I know of no further debate on the bill.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there further debate?
Hearing none, the bill having been read the third time, the question
is, Shall the bill pass?
The bill (H.R. 601), as amended, was passed.
Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the motion
to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
____________________