[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 153 (Thursday, September 22, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4995-S4997]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 5609. Mr. HAGERTY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
to amendment SA 5499 submitted by Mr. Reed (for himself and Mr. Inhofe)
and intended to be proposed to the bill H.R. 7900, to authorize
appropriations for fiscal year 2023 for military activities of the
Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense
activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel
strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end of subtitle F of title XII, add the following:
SEC. 1276. OFFICE OF GLOBAL WOMEN'S ISSUES AND THE WOMEN'S
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT AND PROSPERITY INITIATIVE.
Chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961
(22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``SEC. 138. OFFICE OF GLOBAL WOMEN'S ISSUES AND THE WOMEN'S
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT AND PROSPERITY INITIATIVE.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary of State shall establish,
in the Office of the Secretary of State, the Office of Global
Women's Issues (referred to in this section as the `Office').
``(b) Purpose; Duties.--
``(1) Purpose.--The purpose of the Office is to advance
equal opportunity for women and the status of women and girls
in United States foreign policy.
``(2) Duties.--In carrying out the purpose described in
paragraph (1), the Office--
``(A)(i) shall advise the Secretary of State and provide
input on all activities, policies, programs, and funding
relating to equal opportunity for women and the advancement
of women and girls internationally to all bureaus and offices
of the Department of State; and
``(ii) may, as appropriate, provide to the international
programs of other Federal agencies input on all activities,
policies, programs, and funding relating to equal opportunity
for women and the advancement of women and girls
internationally;
``(B)(i) shall work to ensure that efforts to advance equal
opportunity for women and men and women's and girls'
empowerment are fully integrated into the programs,
structures, processes, and capacities of all bureaus and
offices of the Department of State; and
``(ii) may, as appropriate, work to ensure that efforts to
advance equal opportunity for women and men and women's and
girls' empowerment are fully integrated into the
international programs of other Federal agencies;
``(C) shall implement the Women's Global Development and
Prosperity Initiative, in accordance with subsection (c); and
``(D) may not engage in any activities not described in
subparagraphs (A) through (C).
``(c) Women's Global Development and Prosperity
Initiative.--
``(1) Establishment.--The Secretary of State shall
establish the Women's Global Development and Prosperity
Initiative (referred to in this subsection as the
`Initiative') to carry out the activities described in
paragraphs (2) through (4).
``(2) Women prospering in the workforce.--The Initiative
shall advance women in the workforce by improving their
access to quality vocational education and skills training,
which will enable them to secure jobs in their local
economies.
``(3) Women succeeding as entrepreneurs.--The Initiative
shall promote
[[Page S4997]]
women's entrepreneurship and increasing access to capital,
financial services, markets, technical assistance, and
mentorship.
``(4) Women enabled in the economy.--The Initiative shall
identify and reduce the binding constraints in economic and
property laws and practices that prevent women's full and
free participation in the global economy and promote
foundational legal reforms, including--
``(A) ensuring that women can fully participate in the
workforce and engage in economic activities by--
``(i) ending impunity for violence against women;
``(ii) ensuring that women have the authority to sign legal
documents, such as contracts and court documents; and
``(iii) addressing unequal access to courts and
administrative bodies for women, whether officially or
through lack of proper enforcement;
``(B) ensuring women's equal access to credit and capital
to start and grow their businesses, savings, and investments,
including prohibiting discrimination in access to credit on
the basis of sex or marital status;
``(C) lifting restrictions on women's right to own, manage,
and make decisions relating to the use of property, including
repealing limitations on inheritance and ensuring the ability
to transfer, purchase, or lease such property;
``(D) addressing constraints on women's freedom of
movement, including sex-based restrictions on obtaining
passports and identification documents; and
``(E) promoting the free and equal participation of women
in the economy with regard to working hours, occupations, and
occupational tasks.
``(d) Supervision.--The Office shall be headed by an
Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues and the Women's
Global Development and Prosperity Initiative (referred to in
this section as the `Ambassador'), who shall--
``(1) be appointed by the President, with the advice and
consent of the Senate;
``(2) report directly to the Secretary; and
``(3) have the rank and status of Ambassador-at-Large.
``(e) Coordination.--United States Government efforts to
advance women's economic empowerment globally shall be
closely aligned and coordinated with the Initiative.
``(f) Abortion Neutrality.--
``(1) Prohibitions.--The Office, the Initiative, and the
Ambassador may not--
``(A) lobby other countries, including through multilateral
mechanisms and foreign nongovernmental organizations--
``(i) to change domestic laws or policies with respect to
abortion; or
``(ii) to include abortion as a programmatic requirement of
any foreign activities; or
``(B) provide Federal funding appropriated for foreign
assistance to pay for or to promote abortion.
``(2) Limitations on use of funds.--Amounts appropriated
for the Office or the Initiative may not be used--
``(A) to lobby other countries, including through
multilateral mechanisms and foreign nongovernmental
organizations--
``(i) to change domestic laws or policies with respect to
abortion; or
``(ii) to include abortion as a programmatic requirement of
any foreign activities; or
``(B) to provide Federal foreign assistance funding to pay
for or to promote abortion.
``(3) Construction.--Nothing in this subsection may be
construed to prevent--
``(A) the funding of activities for the purpose of treating
injuries or illnesses caused by legal or illegal abortions;
or
``(B) agencies or officers of the United States from
engaging in activities in opposition to policies of coercive
abortion or involuntary sterilization.
``(g) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this section, and not less frequently than
annually thereafter, the Secretary of State shall--
``(1) submit a written report to the Committee on
Appropriations of the Senate, the Committee on Foreign
Relations of the Senate, the Committee on Appropriations of
the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Foreign
Affairs of the House of Representatives that describes the
implementation of this section, including--
``(A) measures taken to ensure compliance with subsection
(f); and
``(B) with respect to funds appropriated pursuant to
subsection (h)--
``(i) amounts awarded to prime recipients and subrecipients
since the end of the previous reporting period; and
``(ii) descriptions of each program for which such funds
are used; and
``(2) make such report publicly available.
``(h) Funding.--
``(1) In general.--There shall be reserved to carry out
this section, from funds made available for development
assistance programs of the United States Agency for
International Development, $200,000,000, for each of the
fiscal years 2023 through 2027, which shall be--
``(A) deposited into the Women's Global Development and
Prosperity Fund (W-GDP);
``(B) administered by the United States Agency for
International Development;
``(C) expended solely for the purpose, duties, and
activities set forth in subsections (b) and (c); and
``(D) expended, to the greatest extent practicable, in
support of removing legal barriers to women's economic
freedom in accordance with the findings of the W-GDP Women's
Economic Freedom Index report published by the Council of
Economic Advisers in February 2020.
``(2) Requirement.--Notwithstanding paragraph (1), amounts
reserved under paragraph (1) for fiscal year 2024, or for any
later fiscal year, may not be obligated or expended unless
the most recent report submitted pursuant to subsection
(g)(1) includes the information required under subparagraphs
(A) and (B) of subsection (g)(1).
``(3) Oversight.--The expenditure of amounts reserved under
paragraph (1) shall be jointly overseen by--
``(A) the United States Agency for International
Development;
``(B) the Ambassador; and
``(C) the Initiative.''.
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