[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 120 (Tuesday, July 17, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H6333-H6337]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
WOMEN'S ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT ACT OF 2018
Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 5480) to improve programs and activities relating
to women's entrepreneurship and economic empowerment that are carried
out by the United States Agency for International Development, and for
other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 5480
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 ``Women's Entrepreneurship and
Economic Empowerment Act of 2018''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Because women make up the majority of the world's poor
and gender inequalities prevail in incomes, wages, access to
finance, ownership of assets, and control over the allocation
of resources, women's entrepreneurship and economic
empowerment is important to achieve inclusive economic growth
at all levels of society. Research shows that when women
exert greater influence over household finances, economic
outcomes for families improve, and childhood survival rates,
food security, and educational attainment increase. Women
also tend to place a greater emphasis on household savings
which improves families' financial resiliency.
(2) A 2016 report by the McKinsey Global Institute
estimated that achieving global gender parity in economic
activity could add as much as $28 trillion to annual global
gross domestic product (GDP) by 2025.
(3) Lack of access to financial services that address
gender-specific constraints impedes women's economic
inclusion. More than one billion women around the world are
currently left out of the formal financial system, which in
turn causes many women to rely on informal means of saving
and borrowing that are riskier and less reliable. Among other
consequences, this hampers the success of women
entrepreneurs, including those seeking to run or grow small
and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The International
Finance Corporation has estimated that 70 percent of women-
owned SMEs in the formal sector are unserved or underserved
in terms of access to credit, amounting to a $285 billion
credit gap.
(4) Women's economic empowerment is inextricably linked to
a myriad of other women's human rights that are essential to
their ability to thrive as economic actors across the
lifecycle. This includes, but is not limited to, living lives
free of violence and exploitation, achieving the highest
possible standard of health and well-being, enjoying full
legal and human rights such as access to registration,
identification, and citizenship documents, benefitting from
formal and informal education, and equal protection of and
access to land and property rights, access to fundamental
labor rights, policies to address disproportionate care
burdens, and business and management skills and leadership
opportunities.
(5) Discriminatory legal and regulatory systems and banking
practices are hurdles to women's access to capital and
assets, including land, machinery, production facilities,
technology, and human resources. Often, these barriers are
connected to a woman's marital status, which can determine
whether she is able to inherit land or own property in her
name. These constraints contribute to women frequently
running smaller businesses, with fewer employees and lower
asset values.
(6) Savings groups primarily comprised of women are
recognized as a vital entry point, especially for poor and
very poor women, to formal financial services and there is a
high demand for such groups to protect and grow their savings
with formal financial institutions. Evidence shows that, once
linked to a bank, the average savings per member increases
between 40 to 100 percent and the average profit per member
doubles. Key to these outcomes is investing in financial
literacy, business leadership training, and mentorship.
(7) United States support for microenterprise and
microfinance development programs, which seek to reduce
poverty in low-income countries by giving small loans to
small-scale entrepreneurs without collateral, have been a
useful mechanism to help families weather economic shocks,
but many microcredit borrowers largely remain in poverty. The
vast majority of microcredit borrowers are women who would
like to move up the economic ladder but are held back by
binding constraints that create a ``missing middle''-large
numbers of microenterprises, a handful of large firms or
conglomerates, and very few SMEs in between, which are
critical to driving economic growth in developing countries.
(8) According to the World Bank, SMEs create 4 out of 5 new
positions in emerging markets but about half of formal SMEs
don't have access to formal credit. The financing gap is even
larger when micro and informal enterprises are taken into
account. Overall, approximately 70 percent of all micro,
small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in emerging
markets lack access to credit.
SEC. 3. ACTIONS TO IMPROVE GENDER POLICIES OF THE UNITED
STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT.
(a) Development Cooperation Policy.--It shall be the
development cooperation policy of the United States--
(1) to reduce gender disparities in access to, control
over, and benefit from economic, social, political, and
cultural resources, wealth, opportunities, and services;
(2) to strive to eliminate gender-based violence and
mitigate its harmful effects on individuals and communities
through efforts to develop standards and capacity to reduce
gender-based violence in the workplace and other places where
women conduct work;
(3) to support activities that secure private property
rights and land tenure for women in developing countries,
including legal frameworks to give women equal rights to own,
register, use, profit from, and inherit land and property,
legal literacy to exercise these rights, and capacity of law
enforcement and community leaders to enforce such rights; and
(4) to increase the capability of women and girls to
realize their rights, determine their life outcomes, assume
leadership roles, and influence decision-making in
households, communities, and societies.
(b) Actions.--In order to advance the policy described in
subsection (a), the Administrator of the United States Agency
for International Development shall ensure that--
(1) strategies, projects, and activities of the Agency are
shaped by a gender analysis and, when applicable, use
standard indicators to provide one measure of success of such
strategies, projects, and activities; and
(2) gender equality and female empowerment is integrated
throughout the Agency's Program Cycle and related processes
for purposes of strategic planning, project design and
implementation, and monitoring and evaluation.
(c) Gender Analysis Defined.--In this section, the term
``gender analysis''--
(1) means a socio-economic analysis of available or
gathered quantitative and qualitative information to
identify, understand, and explain gaps between men and women
which typically involves examining--
(A) differences in the status of women and men and their
differential access to and control over assets, resources,
opportunities, and services;
(B) the influence of gender roles, structural barriers, and
norms on the division of time between paid employment, unpaid
work (including subsistence production and care for family
members), and volunteer activities;
(C) the influence of gender roles, structural barriers, and
norms on leadership roles and decision making; constraints,
opportunities, and entry points for narrowing gender gaps and
empowering women; and
(D) potential differential impacts of development policies
and programs on men and women, including unintended or
negative consequences; and
(2) includes conclusions and recommendations to enable
development policies and programs to narrow gender gaps and
improve the lives of women and girls.
SEC. 4. DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE FOR MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM-
SIZED ENTERPRISES.
(a) Findings and Policy.--Section 251 of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2211) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) by striking ``microenterprise'' and inserting ``micro,
small and medium-sized enterprise'';
(B) by striking ``and in the development'' and inserting
``, in the development''; and
(C) by adding at the end before the period the following:
``, and in the economic empowerment of the poor, especially
women'';
(2) in paragraph (2)--
(A) by striking ``microenterprise'' and inserting ``micro,
small and medium-sized enterprise''; and
(B) by adding at the end before the period the following:
``, particularly those enterprises owned, managed, and
controlled by women'';
(3) in paragraph (3), by striking ``microenterprises'' and
inserting ``micro, small and medium-sized enterprises'';
(4) in paragraph (4), by striking ``microenterprise'' and
inserting ``micro, small and medium-sized enterprise'';
(5) in paragraph (5)--
(A) by striking ``should continue'' and inserting ``should
continue and be expanded''; and
[[Page H6334]]
(B) by striking ``microenterprise and microfinance
development assistance'' and inserting ``development
assistance for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises'';
and
(6) in paragraph (6)--
(A) by striking ``have been successful'' and inserting
``have had some success'';
(B) by striking ``microenterprise programs'' and inserting
``development assistance for micro, small and medium-sized
enterprises''; and
(C) by striking ``, such as countries in Latin America''.
(b) Authorization; Implementation; Targeted Assistance.--
Section 252 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C.
2211a) is amended as follows:
(1) In subsection (a)--
(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1)--
(i) by striking ``credit, savings, and other services'' and
inserting ``credit, including the use of innovative credit
scoring models, savings, financial technology, financial
literacy, insurance, property rights, and other services'';
and
(ii) by striking ``microfinance and microenterprise
clients'' and inserting ``micro, small and medium-sized
enterprise clients'';
(B) in paragraph (1), by striking ``microfinance and
microenterprise clients'' and inserting ``micro, small and
medium-sized enterprise clients, particularly those clients
owned, managed, and controlled by women'';
(C) in paragraph (2)--
(i) by striking ``microenterprises'' and inserting ``micro,
small and medium-sized enterprises''; and
(ii) by inserting ``acquire United States goods and
services,'' after ``United States markets,'';
(D) in paragraph (3)--
(i) by striking ``microfinance and microenterprise
institutions'' and inserting ``financial intermediaries'';
(ii) by striking ``microfinance and microenterprise
clients'' and inserting ``micro, small and medium-sized
enterprises''; and
(iii) by striking ``and'' at the end;
(E) in paragraph (4)--
(i) by striking ``microfinance and microenterprise clients
and institutions'' and inserting ``micro, small and medium-
sized enterprises, financial intermediaries, and capital
markets''; and
(ii) by striking ``the poor and very poor.'' and inserting
``the poor and very poor, especially women;''; and
(F) by adding at the end the following:
``(5) assistance for the purpose of promoting the economic
empowerment of women, including through increased access to
financial resources and improving property rights,
inheritance rights, and other legal protections; and
``(6) assistance for the purpose of scaling up evidence-
based graduation approaches, which include targeting the very
poor and households in ultra-poverty, consumption support,
promotion of savings, skills training, and asset
transfers.''.
(2) In subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (1) to read as follows:
``(1) In general.--There is authorized to be established
within the Agency an office to support the Agency's efforts
to broaden and deepen local financial markets, expand access
to appropriate financial products and services, and support
the development of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.
The Office shall be headed by a Director who shall possess
technical expertise and ability to offer leadership in the
field of financial sector development.'';
(B) in paragraph (2)--
(i) in subparagraph (B)--
(I) by striking ``Use of central funding mechanisms.--''
and all that follows through ``In order to ensure'' and
inserting ``Use of central funding mechanisms.--In order to
ensure'';
(II) by striking ``the office shall'' and all that follows
through ``and other practitioners'' and inserting ``the
office shall provide coordination and support for field-
implemented programs, including through targeted core support
for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and local
financial markets''; and
(III) by striking clause (ii);
(ii) in subparagraph (C)--
(I) by inserting ``, particularly by protecting the use and
funding of local organizations in countries in which the
Agency invests,'' after ``and sustainability''; and
(II) by inserting ``, especially women'' after ``the poor
and very poor''; and
(C) by striking paragraph (3).
(3) In subsection (c)--
(A) by striking ``all microenterprise resources'' and
inserting ``all micro, small and medium-sized enterprise
resources''; and
(B) by striking ``clients who are very poor.'' and all that
follows and inserting ``activities that reach the very poor,
and 50 percent of all small and medium-sized enterprise
resources shall be targeted to activities that reach
enterprises owned, managed, and controlled by women.''.
(c) Monitoring System.--Section 253(b) of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2211b(b)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``, including goals on a
gender disaggregated basis, such as improvements in
employment, access to financial services, enterprise
development, earnings and control over income, and property
and land rights,'' after ``performance goals'';
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``include performance
indicators'' and all that follows through ``the achievement''
and inserting ``incorporate Agency planning and reporting
processes and indicators to measure or assess the
achievement''; and
(3) by striking paragraph (4).
(d) Poverty Measurement Methods.--Section 254 of the
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2211c) is amended
to read as follows:
``SEC. 254. POVERTY MEASUREMENT METHODS.
``The Administrator of the Agency, in consultation with
financial intermediaries and other appropriate organizations,
should have in place at least one method for implementing
partners to use to assess poverty levels of their current
incoming or prospective clients.''.
(e) Additional Authorities.--Section 255 of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2211d) is amended--
(1) by striking ``assistance for microenterprise
development assistance'' and inserting ``development
assistance for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises'';
and
(2) by striking ``and, to the extent applicable'' and all
that follows and inserting a period.
(f) Microenterprise Development Credits.--Section 256 of
the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2212) is
amended--
(1) in the section heading, by striking ``microenterprise
development credits'' and inserting ``development credits for
micro, small and medium-sized enterprises'';
(2) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``micro- and small
enterprises'' and inserting ``micro, small and medium-sized
enterprises''; and
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``microenterprises'' and
inserting ``micro, small and medium-sized enterprises'';
(3) in subsection (b), in the matter preceding paragraph
(1), by inserting ``and other financial services'' after
``credit'';
(4) by striking ``microenterprise households'' each place
it appears and inserting ``micro, small and medium-sized
enterprises and households''; and
(5) by striking ``microfinance institutions'' each place it
appears and inserting ``financial intermediaries''.
(g) United States Microfinance Loan Facility.--Section 257
of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2213) is
amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ``United States-
supported microfinance institutions'' and inserting ``United
States-supported financial intermediaries''; and
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) by striking ``United States-supported microfinance
institutions'' each place it appears and inserting ``United
States-supported financial intermediaries''; and
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``microfinance
institutions'' and inserting ``financial intermediaries''.
(h) Contents of Report.--Subsection (b) of section 258 of
the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2214) is
amended to read as follows:
``(b) Contents.--To the extent practicable, the report
should contain the following:
``(1) Information about assistance provided under section
252, including--
``(A) the amount of each grant or other form of assistance;
``(B) the name and type of each intermediary and
implementing partner organization receiving assistance;
``(C) the name of each country receiving assistance; and
``(D) the methodology used to ensure compliance with the
targeted assistance requirements in subsection (c) of such
section.
``(2) The percentage of assistance provided under section
252 disaggregated by income level, including for the very
poor, and gender.
``(3) The estimated number of individuals that received
assistance provided under section 252 disaggregated by income
level, including for the very poor, and gender, and by type
of assistance, including loans, training, and business
development services.
``(4) The results of the monitoring system required under
section 253.
``(5) Information about any method in place to assess
poverty levels under section 254.''.
(i) Definitions.--Section 259 of the Foreign Assistance Act
of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2214a) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (3), by striking ``Committee on
International Relations'' and inserting ``Committee on
Foreign Affairs'';
(2) in paragraph (4), by striking ``microenterprises'' and
inserting ``micro, small and medium-sized enterprises'';
(3) in paragraph (6)--
(A) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``microenterprise
institution'' and inserting ``micro, small and medium-sized
enterprise institution''; and
(B) in subparagraph (F), by striking ``microfinance
institution'' and inserting ``financial intermediary'';
(4) in paragraph (7) to read as follows:
``(7) Micro, small and medium-sized enterprise
institution.--The term `micro, small and medium-sized
enterprise institution' means an entity that provides
services, including finance, training, or business
development services, for micro, small and medium-sized
enterprises in foreign countries.'';
(5) in paragraph (8) to read as follows:
``(8) Financial intermediary.--The term `financial
intermediary' means the entity that acts as the intermediary
between parties in a financial transaction, such as a bank,
credit union, investment fund, a village savings and loan
group, or an institution that provides financial services to
a micro, small or medium-sized enterprise.'';
(6) by striking paragraph (9);
[[Page H6335]]
(7) by redesignating paragraphs (10) through (14) as
paragraphs (9) through (13), respectively;
(8) in paragraph (9) (as redesignated), by striking ``of
microenterprise development'';
(9) in paragraph (10) to read as follows:
``(10) Practitioner institution.--The term `practitioner
institution' means a not-for-profit entity, financial
intermediary, information and communications technology firm
with a mobile money platform, a village and savings loan
group, or any other entity that provides financial or
business development services authorized under section 252
that benefits micro, small and medium-sized enterprise
clients.'';
(10) in paragraph (12) (as redesignated)--
(A) in the heading, by striking ``united states-supported
microfinance institution'' and inserting ``united states-
supported financial intermediary''; and
(B) by striking ``United States-supported microfinance
institution'' and inserting ``United States-supported
financial intermediary'';
(11) in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (13) (as
redesignated) to read as follows:
``(B) living below the International Poverty Line, as
defined by the International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development and the International Development Association
(collectively referred to as the `World Bank').''.
(j) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--Title VI of
chapter 2 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is
amended in the title heading by striking ``MICROENTERPRISE
DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE'' and inserting ``DEVELOPMENT
ASSISTANCE FOR MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES''.
SEC. 5. REPORT AND BRIEFING BY UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT.
(a) In General.--Not later than one year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the United
States Agency for International Development shall provide a
briefing and submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of
the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign
Relations of the Senate a report on the implementation of
this Act and the amendments made by this Act, including
actions to improve the gender policies of the United States
Agency for International Development pursuant to section 3.
(b) Public Availability.--The report required under
paragraph (1) shall be posted and made available on a text-
based, searchable, and publicly-available internet website.
SEC. 6. REPORT BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES.
(a) In General.--Not later than two years after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the
United States shall submit to the Committee on Foreign
Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Foreign Relations of the Senate a report on development
assistance for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises
administered by the United States Agency for International
Development.
(b) Matters to Be Included.--The report required under
subsection (a) shall include an assessment of the following:
(1) What is known about the impact of such development
assistance on the economies of developing countries.
(2) The extent to which such development assistance is
targeting women and the very poor, including what is known
about how such development assistance benefits women.
(3) The extent to which the United States Agency for
International Development has developed a methodology used to
ensure compliance with the targeted assistance requirement in
section 252(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as
amended by section 4 of this Act, and the quality of such
methodology.
(4) The monitoring system required in section 253(b) of the
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended by section 4 of
this Act, including the quality of such monitoring system.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
California (Mr. Royce) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce).
General Leave
Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that
all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks
and to include any 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 of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I am the author of this measure. It is the Women's
Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment Act, and I want to thank
those members on the staff that worked on this measure: Amy Porter,
Joan Condon, Jessica Kelch, and Emily Cottle, and I thank them because
around the globe, women make up the majority of the world's poor. This
is due, in part, to gender constraints that in some places deny women
access to basic financial services, like savings accounts.
Today, more than 1 billion women remain left outside of the formal
financial system, and women-owned, small-and medium-sized enterprises
face a $300 billion credit gap. A 2014 analysis found that closing the
gender gap and access to credit for small- and medium-sized women-owned
businesses would increase per capita GDP by 12 percent in developing
countries. That is because when women exercise greater influence over
finances, literally, everyone benefits.
Childhood survival rates, food security, children's education,
economic opportunity for families, all of that increases. Investment in
women yields results for entire communities. Indeed, countries with
high female labor force participation rates are more resilient to
economic shocks and suffer fewer slowdowns in economic growth.
A 2016 report estimated that achieving global gender parity in
economic activity by 2025 would add as much as $28 trillion to annual
GDP, an amount equal to the combined economies of the United States and
China.
Confronting the barriers that keep women from being able to fully
participate in their local markets is key to generating sustainable,
economic growth. And this means not only expanding women's access to
the financial system, but also, as cell phones become more and more
available, expanding their access to new financial technology like
mobile money.
The Women's Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment Act addresses
barriers to women's economic inclusion in developing countries by
requiring that all USAID strategies and projects and activities be
shaped by a gender analysis and by expanding the agency's
microenterprise assistance authorities to support small-and medium-
sized women-owned businesses. This is critical as small- and medium-
sized enterprises create four out of five new jobs in developing
economies.
So the bill is the result of the committee's extended focus on
empowering women and girls through U.S. foreign policy, which has been
the subject of five full committee hearings and other subcommittee
hearings in recent Congresses. Our women's empowerment initiative has
produced significant legislation including: the Girls Count Act of
2015, the Protecting Girls' Access to Education in Vulnerable Settings
Act, and the Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017, among others.
Mr. Speaker, I believe that we should invest our limited foreign
assistance dollars wisely, and I have seen the good things that happen
when we focus on empowering women. That is what this bill does, and I
ask for my colleagues' support in helping to make it happen.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this measure, H.R. 5480, the
Women's Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment Act. I want to thank
Mr. Royce and Ms. Lois Frankel for their work on this bill.
This is an important bill that expands U.S. development policy to
empower women entrepreneurs in developing countries. In 2016, the
McKinsey Global Institute estimated that achieving global gender parity
in economic activity could add as much as $28 trillion to the annual
gross domestic product by the year 2025.
This bill will help unlock the productive power of women, and
particularly women-owned small- and medium-sized enterprises. In the
interest of time, I won't go into the details because we have excellent
speakers on both sides of the aisle.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support this bill, which passed our
committee by a unanimous bipartisan voice vote, and I urge my
colleagues to do the same. I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time
to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), chairwoman emeritus
on the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and I ask unanimous consent that
she may control that time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Royce for introducing
[[Page H6336]]
this important bipartisan measure before us today, and of course,
congratulate both him and Ranking Member Engel, who work so well in
bringing important legislation in a bipartisan manner to the floor
every day.
This is H.R. 5480, the Women's Entrepreneurship and Economic
Empowerment Act, and I am a proud cosponsor of this bipartisan measure.
We know that when women work, and the number of women in the workforce
is increasing, there is a corresponding growth in economies.
The benefit that results from empowering women and expanding their
economic activities are far reaching. They have a great society impact.
From the household to communities, to local, State, and the Federal
level, we would see drastic improvements if women not only had greater
access, but greater influence over income and finances.
Yet, sadly, women continue to face seemingly insurmountable barriers
that deter them from becoming full and equal members of society,
particularly when it comes to access to formal financial institutions,
and that is what this bill would do. It updates and expands USAID
policies with respect to microenterprise assistance authority, to chip
away at those barriers that exist now. It will also include support for
small- and medium-sized enterprises. These are the real drivers of
employment in so many places around the globe.
Also, it would provide women with greater access to economic
activities. It will improve the working environment for women and
support their property rights. It is a commonsense approach, Mr.
Speaker. By increasing women's participation in the workforce around
the world, we will be creating greater economic benefits with positive
implications for all aspects of society.
Mr. Speaker, I fully support Mr. Royce's measure. I urge my
colleagues to do the same, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Florida (Ms. Frankel), the lead Democratic sponsor of this bill.
Ms. FRANKEL of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for
yielding.
Mr. Speaker, keeping peace in the world, reducing terrorism, creating
safe environments where countries can be self-reliant and people can be
prosperous is not just about more guns and bombs.
Addressing the root causes of global upheaval is an important task.
It is an important task of USAID that calls itself the world's premier
development agency, which leads me to thank Mr. Royce and Ranking
Member Engel for their bipartisan leadership and for the other
cosponsors of this legislation for this very important bill that we
call the Women's Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment Act, which
recognizes that when girls and women of the world are free from
violence, educated, and have access to tools for economic success,
their communities are more safe, more economically vibrant, and more
peaceful.
This is, of course, when women exert greater influence over household
finances, economic outcomes for their families improve. The childhood
survival rates go up, food security, and educational attainment
increases for their children. Women actually place a greater emphasis
on household savings, which improves a family's financial resiliency.
Mr. Speaker, it is hard to comprehend the hardships and obstacles
that women face globally. I think of a girl like Fatim, born in Mali.
At just 8 months old, she was subjected to genital mutilation. By age
12, her father sold her for marriage to a man she had never met. She is
among the one in three girls worldwide who will suffer gender-based
violence.
I think of Nasha, a young Nigerian, desperate for an education, who
walks miles, fearful of sexual violence or kidnapping just to get to
class. She doesn't want to become one of the 130 million girls
worldwide who are out of school; or Kamila, a woman in Pakistan who
dreams of starting her own business and being able to care for her
family, but discriminatory laws prevent her from owning property or
accessing credit.
She is among the 1 billion women in the world excluded from the
formal financial system. Given all of the roadblocks, it is not
surprising that women and girls are the majority of the world's poor.
Here is the thing: Many of these cruel and unfair practices make the
world poorer, too, as we have heard from my colleagues. According to
the McKinsey Global Institute, a leading international private sector
think tank, if we change this equation and we advance women's equality,
we could add trillions to the global GDP in just years.
We are recognizing today that there is an undeniable link between
women's economic success and global prosperity and peacefulness and
security.
Now, this bill has several components. It makes it USAID policy to do
the following: to reduce gender gaps in economic opportunity; to strive
to eliminate gender-based violence; to support women's property rights;
and to increase the capability of women and girls to determine their
own future.
{time} 1745
Next, the bill requires that 50 percent of USAID's resources for
small- and medium-sized enterprises be targeted to reach enterprises
owned, managed, and controlled by women. It codifies USAID's practice
of shaping policy and activities through a gender analysis.
As important, to ensure that our development assistance is reaching
women, this legislation mandates that USAID track and measure
improvements in women's economic empowerment, including employment,
access to financial services, enterprise development, earnings and
control over income, and property and land rights.
Finally, this legislation also expands the scope of development
assistance from microenterprises to small-and medium-sized enterprises
to reflect changes in the field.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentlewoman an additional 1
minute.
Ms. FRANKEL of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for
joining me in support of this critical bill. Again, it is not about
bombs, military, and guns. Remember this: when women succeed, when
girls succeed, their nations succeed.
Mr. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Nevada (Ms. Titus).
Ms. TITUS. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman for yielding.
I thank Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Engel for bringing this
legislation, but especially my colleague, Congresswoman Frankel, for
being such a champion for women's rights and issues not only in this
country, but around the globe.
I am proud to be a cosponsor of this bill, the Women's
Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment Act, which, as you have heard
by those more eloquent than I, will help to ensure that women's
economic development is a fundamental tenet of U.S. development policy.
Women tend to spend more of their money on family costs like
education and healthcare than men do. Unfortunately, they lack access
to financial services and must rely on riskier and less reliable means
of borrowing and saving.
If global gender parity in economic activity were achieved, we could
add as much as $28 trillion to the annual global GDP. That should be
incentive enough for us to work to ensure that our government
understands and has the capabilities to meet the unique economic needs
of women, particularly since women represent more than half the world's
population and a majority of the world's poor.
Now, in addition to serving on the Foreign Affairs Committee, I am
proud to be the co-chair of the Congressional Mongolian Caucus. We are
working with the Mongolian Government to support the cashmere
production industry to diversify its mining-dependent economy. Notably,
an average of 90 percent of the workers in the Mongolian textile sector
are female. So if we work to ensure that these women in the cashmere
industry have the support, resources, and financial literacy to
prosper, we will not only be boosting individual women, we will be
boosting an entire economy and will be boosting Mongolia overall.
[[Page H6337]]
This is just one example where uplifting women can benefit an entire
industry, a society, and a national prosperity, which, in turn, fosters
democratic stability. As Lois has said, when women succeed, the world
succeeds, so I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, in closing, I invite my colleagues to join me in
supporting this bill.
Women and girls around the world must be included in and empowered by
ongoing U.S. investments in diplomacy, development, and security. The
Women's Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment Act requires USAID to
address gender-specific challenges across the world, and it expands
support for small- and medium-sized enterprises that are owned,
managed, and controlled by women. It also explicitly establishes that
it is our national policy to support the empowerment of women
worldwide.
Mr. Speaker, I urge support of this bill, which passed our committee
by unanimous, bipartisan voice vote, and I yield back the balance of my
time.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Royce and my friend from Florida,
Congresswoman Frankel, for bringing forward this important bipartisan
bill.
All countries of the world stand to benefit from the increased
participation of women in their economies and in their societies at
large.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to vote ``aye,'' and 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. 5480, 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.
____________________