[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3247 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
S.3247
One Hundred Fifteenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
the third day of January, two thousand and eighteen
An Act
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.
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.
(2) 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 family financial resiliency.
(3) A 2016 report by the McKinsey Global Institute estimated
that achieving global gender parity in economic activity could add
as much as $28,000,000,000,000 to annual global gross domestic
product by 2025.
(4) Lack of access to financial services that address gender-
specific constraints impedes women's economic inclusion. Roughly
1,000,000,000 women around the world are currently left out of the
formal financial system, which causes many women to rely on
informal means of saving and borrowing that are riskier and less
reliable.
(5) Among other consequences, this lack of access hampers the
success of women entrepreneurs, including women who are seeking to
run or grow small and medium-sized enterprises. The International
Finance Corporation has estimated that 70 percent of women-owned
small and medium-sized enterprises in the formal sector are
unserved or underserved in terms of access to financial services,
resulting in a financing gap of $300,000,000,000 for women-owned
small businesses.
(6) 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,
including--
(A) living lives free of violence and exploitation;
(B) achieving the highest possible standard of health and
well-being;
(C) enjoying full legal and human rights, such as access to
registration, identification, and citizenship documents;
(D) benefitting from formal and informal education;
(E) equal protection of and access to land and property
rights;
(F) access to fundamental labor rights;
(G) policies to address disproportionate care burdens; and
(H) business and management skills and leadership
opportunities.
(7) Discriminatory legal and regulatory systems and banking
practices are obstacles to women's access to capital and assets,
including land, machinery, production facilities, technology, and
human resources. These barriers are often 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.
(8) Savings groups primarily comprised of women are recognized
as a vital entry point, especially for poor and very poor women, to
formal financial services. There is a high demand for such groups
to protect and grow the savings of women with formal financial
institutions.
(9) Evidence shows that, once a saving group is linked to a
bank, the average savings per member increases between 40 to 100
percent and the average profit per member doubles. Investing in
financial literacy, business leadership training, and mentorship
are key elements to these outcomes.
(10) 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.
(11) 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 small and medium-sized enterprises in between, which are
critical to driving economic growth in developing countries.
(12) According to the World Bank, small and medium-sized
enterprises create 4 out of 5 new positions in emerging markets,
but approximately 50 percent of formal small and medium-sized
enterprises lack 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 in emerging markets lack access to credit.
SEC. 3. ACTIONS TO IMPROVE THE INTERNATIONAL GENDER POLICY OF THE
UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT.
(a) Gender Analysis Defined.--In this section, the term ``gender
analysis''--
(1) means a socioeconomic 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,
education, opportunities, and services;
(B) the influence of gender roles, structural barriers, and
norms on the division of time between paid employment, unpaid
work (including the 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.
(b) International Development Cooperation Policy.--It shall be the
international development cooperation policy of the United States--
(1) to reduce gender disparities with respect to economic,
social, political, educational, and cultural resources, wealth,
opportunities, and services;
(2) to strive to eliminate gender-based violence and mitigate
its harmful effects on individuals and communities including
through efforts to develop standards and capacity to reduce gender-
based violence in the workplace and other places where women work;
(3) to support activities that secure private property rights
and land tenure for women in developing countries, including--
(A) legal frameworks that give women equal rights to own,
register, use, profit from, and inherit land and property;
(B) improving legal literacy to enable women to exercise
the rights described in subparagraph (A); and
(C) improving the capacity of law enforcement and community
leaders to enforce such rights;
(4) to increase the capability of women and girls to fully
exercise their rights, determine their life outcomes, assume
leadership roles, and influence decision-making in households,
communities, and societies; and
(5) to improve the access of women and girls to education,
particularly higher education opportunities in business, finance,
and management, in order to enhance financial literacy and business
development, management, and strategy skills.
(c) Actions.--In order to advance the policy described in
subsection (b), 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;
(2) standard indicators are used to assess such strategies,
projects, and activities, if applicable; and
(3) gender equality and female empowerment are integrated
throughout the Agency's program cycle and related processes for
purposes of strategic planning, project design and implementation,
monitoring, and evaluation.
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 enterprises'';
(B) by striking ``and in the development'' and inserting
``, in the development''; and
(C) by inserting ``, and in the economic empowerment of the
poor, especially women'' before the period at the end;
(2) in paragraph (2)--
(A) by striking ``microenterprise'' and inserting ``micro,
small, and medium-sized enterprises''; and
(B) by inserting ``, particularly enterprises owned,
managed, and controlled by women'' before the period at the
end;
(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
(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 should'' and
inserting ``development assistance for micro, small, and
medium-sized enterprises should''; 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--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking
``credit, savings, and other services to microfinance and
microenterprise clients'' and inserting ``credit, including the
use of innovative credit scoring models, savings, financial
technology, financial literacy, education, insurance, property
rights, and other services to 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 clients owned,
managed, and controlled by women'';
(C) in paragraph (2), by striking ``microenterprises'' and
inserting ``micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises'';
(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, financial literacy, skills training, and asset
transfers.'';
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) by amending 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) by amending subparagraph (B) to read as follows:
``(B) Use of central funding mechanisms.--In order to
ensure that assistance under this title is distributed
effectively and efficiently, 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
(ii) in subparagraph (C), in the matter preceding
clause (i)--
(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); and
(3) in subsection (c), by striking ``subsection (a), 50 percent
of all microenterprise resources'' and all that follows and
inserting the following: ``subsection (a)--
``(1) 50 percent of all micro, small, and medium-sized
enterprise resources shall be targeted to activities that reach the
very poor; and
``(2) 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, education, enterprise development,
earnings and control over income, and property and land rights,''
after ``performance goals'';
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``include performance
indicators to be used in measuring or assessing 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 1 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)--
(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking
``microenterprise households lacking full access to credit''
and inserting ``micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises and
households lacking full access to credit and other financial
services''; and
(B) in paragraphs (1) and (2), by striking ``microfinance
institutions'' each place such term appears and inserting
``financial intermediaries'';
(4) in subsection (c), in the matter preceding paragraph (1),
by striking ``microfinance institutions'' and inserting ``financial
intermediaries''; and
(5) in subsections (c) and (d), by striking ``microenterprise
households'' each place such term appears and inserting ``micro,
small, and medium-sized enterprises and households''.
(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)--
(A) by striking ``Administrator'' and inserting
``President'';
(B) by striking ``United States-supported microfinance
institutions'' and inserting ``United States-supported
financial intermediaries''; and
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``United States-supported
microfinance institutions'' each place such term 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.--Section 258(b) of the Foreign Assistance
Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2214(b)) is amended to read as follows:
``(b) Contents.--To the extent practicable, the report submitted
under subsection (a) 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 under subsection (c) of such
section.
``(2) The percentage of assistance provided under section 252,
disaggregated by income level, including for the very poor, and by
gender.
``(3) The estimated number of individuals that received
assistance under section 252, disaggregated by income level (or an
appropriate proxy for income level, including for the very poor),
by gender, and by type of assistance.
``(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 of the House of Representatives'' and inserting
``Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives'';
(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, or medium-sized
enterprise institution''; and
(B) in subparagraph (F), by striking ``microfinance
institution'' and inserting ``financial intermediary'';
(4) by striking paragraphs (7) and (8) and inserting the
following:
``(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.
``(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.'';
(5) by striking paragraph (9);
(6) by redesignating paragraphs (10) through (14) as paragraphs
(9) through (13), respectively;
(7) in paragraph (9), as redesignated, by striking ``of
microenterprise development'';
(8) by amending paragraph (10), as redesignated, to read as
follows:
``(10) Practitioner institution.--The term `practitioner
institution' means a not-for-profit entity, a financial
intermediary, an 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.'';
(9) in paragraph (12), as redesignated--
(A) in the paragraph 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''; and
(10) in paragraph (13), as redesignated, by amending
subparagraph (B) 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 (22 U.S.C. 2211 et seq.)
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 THE UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT.
(a) In General.--Not later than 1 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 a
report to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate
regarding 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 subsection (a)
shall be posted and made available on a text-based, searchable, and
publicly-available internet website.
SEC. 6. REPORT BY THE COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES.
(a) In General.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States
shall submit a report to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House
of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate
regarding 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 to ensure
compliance with the targeted assistance requirement under section
252(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended by section
4(b)(3), and the quality of such methodology.
(4) The monitoring system required under section 253(b) of the
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended by section 4(c),
including the quality, appropriateness, and feasibility of such
monitoring system.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.