[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 212 (Tuesday, December 15, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S7504]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 802--COMMENDING THE UNITED STATES AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT 
    FOUNDATION ON THE OCCASION OF ITS 40TH ANNIVERSARY FOR CREATING 
   PATHWAYS TO PROSPERITY FOR UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES ON THE AFRICAN 
              CONTINENT THROUGH COMMUNITY-LED DEVELOPMENT

  Mr. COONS (for himself and Mr. Inhofe) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 802

       Whereas December 16, 2020, marks the 40th anniversary of 
     the establishment of the United States African Development 
     Foundation (referred to in this preamble as the ``USADF'');
       Whereas, on December 16, 1980 the President signed the 
     African Development Foundation Act (22 U.S.C. 290h et seq.) 
     into law, which established the USADF as an independent 
     Federal agency with the goal to--
       (1) strengthen the bonds of friendship and understanding 
     between the people of the countries of Africa and the United 
     States;
       (2) support local capacity building to create community 
     development opportunities and expand the participation of the 
     countries of Africa in their development process; and
       (3) foster the establishment and growth of indigenous 
     development institutions that are equipped to respond to 
     local needs;
       Whereas, for 40 years, the USADF has invested in a pan-
     African network of local implementing partners that employ a 
     community-led development approach to support African-
     designed and African-delivered solutions;
       Whereas the USADF has provided more than 3,400 grassroots 
     and community enterprise grants in more than 40 sub-Saharan 
     African countries;
       Whereas the USADF strengthens food security, empowers 
     smallholder farmers, and creates economic growth in rural, 
     hard-to-reach communities by investing primarily in 
     agricultural enterprises to increase access to larger markets 
     for those rural communities and enhance the business 
     management skills, production, distribution, and marketing 
     capabilities of those rural communities;
       Whereas the USADF has maintained a strong emphasis on women 
     and women entrepreneurs, and women represent up to 65 percent 
     of the direct beneficiaries of grants from the USADF;
       Whereas, on February 20, 2020, the USADF partnered with the 
     Academy for Entrepreneurs of the Department of State under 
     the Women's Global Development and Prosperity Initiative to 
     provide seed funding to graduates of the Academy for 
     Entrepreneurs to advance the global economic empowerment of 
     women;
       Whereas the USADF prioritizes partnerships with youth and 
     supports nearly 300 social enterprises of Young African 
     Leaders Initiative fellows and alumni of that initiative in 
     37 sub-Saharan African countries by providing seed capital, 
     technical assistance, and skills training to help young 
     entrepreneurs create businesses that generate new jobs and 
     incomes for thousands of young Africans;
       Whereas the work of the USADF in the off-grid energy 
     sector, which is authorized under the Electrify Africa Act of 
     2015 (22 U.S.C. 2293 note), has helped bring renewable energy 
     solutions to communities with limited or no connections to 
     national power grids and improve energy access for nearly 
     370,000 individuals in 15 sub-Saharan African countries;
       Whereas the USADF's model of using 100 percent African 
     staff and implementing partners on the African continent 
     gives the USADF the ability to work in fragile and conflict-
     affected areas in the Great Lakes, Horn, and Sahel regions of 
     Africa;
       Whereas the small size of the USADF and the use of local 
     implementing partners by the USADF has allowed the USADF to 
     be ranked as one of the most efficient providers of foreign 
     aid by the Center for Global Development;
       Whereas the partnerships of the USADF with agencies of the 
     Federal Government, including the Department of State, the 
     Millennium Challenge Corporation, and the United States 
     Agency for International Development, along with the 
     alignment of the USADF with the priorities of Congress, have 
     allowed the USADF to extend the reach of critical development 
     initiatives of the United States, such as initiatives 
     authorized by the Global Food Security Act of 2016 (22 U.S.C. 
     9301 et seq.), the Electrify Africa Act of 2015 (22 U.S.C. 
     2293 note), and the African Growth and Opportunity Act and 
     Millennium Challenge Act Modernization Act (Public Law 115-
     167; 132 Stat. 1276);
       Whereas the partnerships between the USADF and private 
     sector corporations and foundations, as well as African 
     national and sub-national governments, have allowed the USADF 
     to extend its reach and development impact in addressing food 
     insecurity, insufficient access to energy, and unemployment 
     through youth and women entrepreneurship and job skills 
     training and placement in Africa, while leveraging funding to 
     help the dollars of taxpayers in the United States go 
     further; and
       Whereas investments made by the USADF have developed and 
     strengthened an extensive network of grassroots enterprises 
     and social enterprises that are positively disposed to the 
     United States and are better positioned to partner with other 
     Federal agencies and public and private funders: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) commends the United States African Development 
     Foundation on the occasion of its 40th anniversary for 
     creating pathways to prosperity for underserved communities 
     on the African continent through community-led development;
       (2) recognizes that, by supporting African-led development 
     that grows community enterprises, the United States African 
     Development Foundation empowers individuals who are who are 
     least served by existing markets or assistance programs to 
     become a part of the growth story of Africa;
       (3) recognizes that the United States African Development 
     Foundation advances the foreign policy of the Federal 
     Government and contributes directly to the national interests 
     of the United States; and
       (4) commits to continue to support the vital work of the 
     United States African Development Foundation as an 
     independent agency.

                          ____________________