[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3247 Reported in Senate (RS)]
<DOC>
Calendar No. 683
115th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3247
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.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 19, 2018
Mr. Boozman (for himself, Mr. Cardin, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Rubio, Ms.
Murkowski, Mr. Coons, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Merkley, Ms. Collins, Mr.
Graham, and Mr. Durbin) introduced the following bill; which was read
twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
November 28, 2018
Reported by Mr. Corker, with an amendment
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
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,
<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>
<DELETED> This Act may be cited as the ``Women's Entrepreneurship
and Economic Empowerment Act of 2018''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 2. FINDINGS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> Congress finds the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) 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 (GDP) by 2025.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) Lack of access to financial services that
address gender-specific constraints impedes women's economic
inclusion. More than 1,000,000,000 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 $285,000,000,000 credit gap.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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 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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (8) According to the World Bank, SMEs create four
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.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 3. ACTIONS TO IMPROVE GENDER POLICIES OF THE UNITED
STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) Development Cooperation Policy.--It shall be the
development cooperation policy of the United States--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) to reduce gender disparities in access to,
control over, and benefit from economic, social, political, and
cultural resources, wealth, opportunities, and
services;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) to increase the capability of women and girls
to realize their rights, determine their life outcomes, assume
leadership roles, and influence decisionmaking in households,
communities, and societies.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (c) Gender Analysis Defined.--In this section, the term
``gender analysis''--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) differences in the status of women and
men and their differential access to and control over
assets, resources, opportunities, and
services;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (C) the influence of gender roles,
structural barriers, and norms on leadership roles and
decisionmaking; constraints, opportunities, and entry
points for narrowing gender gaps and empowering women;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (D) potential differential impacts of
development policies and programs on men and women,
including unintended or negative consequences;
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) includes conclusions and recommendations to
enable development policies and programs to narrow gender gaps
and improve the lives of women and girls.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 4. DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE FOR MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM-
SIZED ENTERPRISES.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) Findings and Policy.--Section 251 of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2211) is amended--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) in paragraph (1)--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) by striking ``microenterprise'' and
inserting ``micro, small, and medium-sized
enterprises'';</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) by striking ``and in the development''
and inserting ``, in the development''; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (C) by inserting ``, and in the economic
empowerment of the poor, especially women'' before the
period at the end;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) in paragraph (2)--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) by striking ``microenterprise'' and
inserting ``micro, small, and medium-sized
enterprises''; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) by inserting ``, particularly
enterprises owned, managed, and controlled by women''
before the period at the end;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) in paragraph (3), by striking
``microenterprises'' and inserting ``micro, small, and medium-
sized enterprises'';</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) in paragraph (4), by striking
``microenterprise'' and inserting ``micro, small, and medium-
sized enterprise'';</DELETED>
<DELETED> (5) in paragraph (5)--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) by striking ``should continue'' and
inserting ``should continue and be expanded'';
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) by striking ``microenterprise and
microfinance development assistance'' and inserting
``development assistance for micro, small, and medium-
sized enterprises''; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (6) in paragraph (6)--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) by striking ``have been successful''
and inserting ``have had some success'';</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) by striking ``microenterprise
programs'' and inserting ``development assistance for
micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises'';
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (C) by striking ``, such as countries in
Latin America''.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Authorization; Implementation; Targeted Assistance.--
Section 252 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2211a) is
amended--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) in subsection (a)--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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, insurance, property rights, and
other services to micro, small, and medium-sized
enterprise clients'';</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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'';</DELETED>
<DELETED> (C) in paragraph (2)--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) by striking
``microenterprises'' and inserting ``micro,
small, and medium-sized enterprises'';
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) by inserting ``to acquire
United States goods and services,'' after
``United States markets,'';</DELETED>
<DELETED> (D) in paragraph (3)--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) by striking ``microfinance and
microenterprise institutions'' and inserting
``financial intermediaries'';</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) by striking ``microfinance
and microenterprise clients'' and inserting
``micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises'';
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (iii) by striking ``and'' at the
end;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (E) in paragraph (4)--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) by striking ``microfinance and
microenterprise clients and institutions'' and
inserting ``micro, small, and medium-sized
enterprises, financial intermediaries, and
capital markets''; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) by striking ``the poor and
very poor.'' and inserting ``the poor and very
poor, especially women;''; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (F) by adding at the end the
following:</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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.'';</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) in subsection (b)--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as
follows:</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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.'';</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) in paragraph (2)--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) by amending subparagraph (B)
to read as follows:</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) in subparagraph (C), in the
matter preceding clause (i)--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (I) by inserting ``,
particularly by protecting the use and
funding of local organizations in
countries in which the Agency
invests,'' after ``and
sustainability''; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (II) by inserting ``,
especially women'' after ``the poor and
very poor''; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (C) by striking paragraph (3);
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) in subsection (c), by striking ``subsection
(a), 50 percent of all microenterprise resources'' and all that
follows and inserting the following: ``subsection (a)--
</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(1) 50 percent of all micro, small, and medium-
sized enterprise resources shall be targeted to activities that
reach the very poor; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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.''.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (c) Monitoring System.--Section 253(b) of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2211b(b)) is amended--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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'';</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) by striking paragraph (4).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (d) Poverty Measurement Methods.--Section 254 of the
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2211c) is amended to read as
follows:</DELETED>
<DELETED>``SEC. 254. POVERTY MEASUREMENT METHODS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``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.''.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (e) Additional Authorities.--Section 255 of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2211d) is amended--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) by striking ``assistance for microenterprise
development assistance'' and inserting ``development assistance
for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises''; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) by striking ``and, to the extent applicable''
and all that follows and inserting a period.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (f) Microenterprise Development Credits.--Section 256 of
the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2212) is amended--
</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) in the section heading, by striking
``microenterprise development credits'' and inserting
``development credits for micro, small, and medium-sized
enterprises'';</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) in subsection (a)--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``micro-
and small enterprises'' and inserting ``micro, small,
and medium-sized enterprises''; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) in paragraph (2), by striking
``microenterprises'' and inserting ``micro, small, and
medium-sized enterprises'';</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) in subsection (b)--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) in paragraphs (1) and (2), by striking
``microfinance institutions'' each place such term
appears and inserting ``financial
intermediaries'';</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) in subsection (c), in the matter preceding
paragraph (1), by striking ``microfinance institutions'' and
inserting ``financial intermediaries''; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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''.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (g) United States Microfinance Loan Facility.--Section 257
of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2213) is amended--
</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``United
States-supported microfinance institutions'' and inserting
``United States-supported financial intermediaries'';
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) in subsection (b)--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``United
States-supported microfinance institutions'' each place
such term appears and inserting ``United States-
supported financial intermediaries''; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) in paragraph (2), by striking
``microfinance institutions'' and inserting ``financial
intermediaries''.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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:</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(b) Contents.--To the extent practicable, the report
submitted under subsection (a) should contain the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(1) Information about assistance provided under
section 252, including--</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(A) the amount of each grant or other
form of assistance;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(B) the name and type of each
intermediary and implementing partner organization
receiving assistance;</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(C) the name of each country receiving
assistance; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(D) the methodology used to ensure
compliance with the targeted assistance requirements
under subsection (c) of such section.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(2) The percentage of assistance provided under
section 252, disaggregated by income level, including for the
very poor, and by gender.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(3) The estimated number of individuals that
received assistance under section 252, disaggregated by income
level, including for the very poor, by gender, and by type of
assistance, including loans, training, and business development
services.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(4) The results of the monitoring system
required under section 253.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(5) Information about any method in place to
assess poverty levels under section 254.''.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) Definitions.--Section 259 of the Foreign Assistance
Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2214a) is amended--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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'';</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) in paragraph (4), by striking
``microenterprises'' and inserting ``micro, small, and medium-
sized enterprises'';</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) in paragraph (6)--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) in subparagraph (E), by striking
``microenterprise institution'' and inserting ``micro,
small, or medium-sized enterprise institution'';
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) in subparagraph (F), by striking
``microfinance institution'' and inserting ``financial
intermediary'';</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) by striking paragraphs (7) and (8) and
inserting the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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.'';</DELETED>
<DELETED> (5) by striking paragraph (9);</DELETED>
<DELETED> (6) by redesignating paragraphs (10) through (14)
as paragraphs (9) through (13), respectively;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (7) in paragraph (9), as redesignated, by striking
``of microenterprise development'';</DELETED>
<DELETED> (8) by amending paragraph (10), as redesignated,
to read as follows:</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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.'';</DELETED>
<DELETED> (9) in paragraph (12), as redesignated--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) in the paragraph heading, by striking
``United states-supported microfinance institution''
and inserting ``United states-supported financial
intermediary''; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) by striking ``United States-supported
microfinance institution'' and inserting ``United
States-supported financial intermediary'';
and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (10) in paragraph (13), as redesignated, by
amending subparagraph (B) to read as follows:</DELETED>
<DELETED> ``(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')).''.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 5. REPORT AND BRIEFING BY UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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 Energy and Natural Resources of
the Senate 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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 6. REPORT BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED
STATES.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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 Energy and Natural Resources of
the Senate on development assistance for micro, small, and medium-sized
enterprises administered by the United States Agency for International
Development.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Matters To Be Included.--The report required under
subsection (a) shall include an assessment of the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) What is known about the impact of such
development assistance on the economies of developing
countries.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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, and the quality of such
methodology.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) The monitoring system required under section
253(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended by
section 4, including the quality of such monitoring
system.</DELETED>
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.
Calendar No. 683
115th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3247
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
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.
_______________________________________________________________________
November 28, 2018
Reported with an amendment