[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3301 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3301
To promote the empowerment, development, and prosperity of women
globally, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 13, 2020
Mrs. Shaheen (for herself and Mr. Graham) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign
Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To promote the empowerment, development, and prosperity of women
globally, 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 Global Empowerment,
Development and Prosperity Act of 2020''.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE WOMEN'S GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT AND PROSPERITY
INITIATIVE.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of State shall establish within the
Office of Women's Empowerment an office for the Women's Global
Development and Prosperity Initiative (W-GDP) to lead and coordinate
efforts related to the objectives set forth in subsection (b).
(b) Objectives.--The W-GDP Initiative should be based on the
following three pillars:
(1) Women prospering in the workforce.--Advance women in
the workforce by improving access to quality vocational
education and skills training, enabling women to secure jobs in
their local economies.
(2) Women succeeding as entrepreneurs.--Promote women's
entrepreneurship and increase access to capital, markets,
technical assistance, and mentorship.
(3) Women enabled in the economy.--Identify and reduce the
legal, regulatory, and cultural barriers that constrain women's
full and free participation in the global economy and promote
improved practices.
(c) Sense of Congress on Enabling Women in the Economy.--It is the
sense of Congress that, recognizing the breadth of work necessary to
address the overall enabling environment and supporting efforts related
to the third pillar set forth under subsection (b)(3), it should be the
policy of the United States to ensure that the United States Government
promotes the following five types of foundational legal reforms:
(1) Accessing institutions.--Lifting barriers that prevent
women from fully participating in the workforce, ensuring
women's authority to sign legal documents such as contracts and
court documents, and addressing unequal access to courts and
administrative bodies for women, whether officially, through
lack of proper enforcement, or through the unequal access of
education that may prevent women's literacy.
(2) Building credit.--Ensuring women's equal access to
credit and capital to start and grow their businesses, and
prohibiting discrimination in access to credit on the basis of
gender or marital status.
(3) Owning and managing property.--Lifting restrictions on
women's possessing and managing property, including limitations
on inheritance and the ability to transfer, purchase, or lease
property.
(4) Traveling freely.--Addressing constraints on women's
freedom of movement, including restrictions on obtaining
passports on the basis of gender.
(5) Removing restrictions on employment.--Eliminating
barriers that limit working hours, occupations, or tasks on the
basis of gender.
(d) Policy Alignment.--The Women's Global Development and
Prosperity Initiative shall be closely aligned and coordinated with
ongoing United States Government efforts to advance women's empowerment
globally, including requirements under the Women, Peace, and Security
Act of 2017 (Public Law 115-68) and the Women's Entrepreneurship and
Economic Empowerment Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-428).
SEC. 3. LEVERAGING UNITED STATES ASSISTANCE.
The Secretary of State, in coordination with the Ambassador-at-
Large overseeing the Office of Women's Empowerment and the heads of
relevant Federal agencies, including those set forth in section 5(b),
may work with the private sector and nongovernmental organizations to
leverage public and private capital to complement W-GDP Initiative
programs and related efforts, including financing infrastructure
investments and supporting capacity building activities, and enter into
cost-sharing, cost-matching, and other cooperative agreements to
support and finance such programs.
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) In General.--There is authorized to be appropriated not less
than $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2021 and for each fiscal year
thereafter until 2025 for a W-GDP Fund, established at the United
States Agency for International Development, with a focus on sourcing
and scaling the most impactful programs for women's economic
empowerment and ensuring there is not duplication of effort with other
departments and agencies.
(b) Appropriations Requirement.--Funds authorized to be
appropriated by this section shall only be made available subject to
the availability of appropriations.
(c) Oversight.--Funds authorized to be appropriated by this section
shall be jointly overseen by the United States Agency for International
Development and the Ambassador described in section 6.
SEC. 5. INTERAGENCY STEERING GROUP.
(a) Establishment.--The President shall establish a steering group
(the ``Steering Group''), with representation from appropriate Federal
departments and agencies, to carry out the policy goals of this Act.
The President shall designate a chair or co-chairs to lead the
activities of the Steering Group in coordination with the Ambassador-
at-Large.
(b) Membership.--The Steering Group shall include representatives
from--
(1) the Department of State;
(2) the Department of the Treasury;
(3) the Department of Commerce;
(4) the Department of Labor;
(5) the Department of Defense;
(6) the United States Agency for International Development
(USAID);
(7) the Millennium Challenge Corporation;
(8) the Peace Corps;
(9) the United States International Development Finance
Corporation (DFC);
(10) the Inter-American Foundation;
(11) the United States African Development Foundation;
(12) the components of the executive offices of the
President, including the Office of Management and Budget, and
the Office of the United States Trade Representative; and
(13) other Federal agencies, as determined appropriate by
guidelines developed by the co-chairs.
SEC. 6. OFFICE OF WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT.
(a) Establishment.--The Secretary of State shall establish in the
Office of the Secretary of the Department of State the Office of
Women's Empowerment. The Office shall be headed by an Ambassador-at-
Large, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice
and consent of the Senate. The Ambassador shall report directly to the
Secretary and shall have the rank and status of Ambassador-at-Large.
(b) Purpose.--In addition to the duties described in this Act and
duties determined by the Secretary of State, the Ambassador shall
coordinate efforts of the United States Government as directed by the
Secretary regarding approaches that promote equality and advance the
status and development of women and girls in United States foreign
policy.
(c) Duties.--
(1) In general.--The Ambassador shall--
(A) direct activities, policies, programs, and
funding relating to gender equality and the advancement
of women and girls internationally;
(B) actively promote and advance the integration of
gender analysis into the formulation of policy,
programs, structures, process, and capacities
throughout the bureaus and offices of the Department of
State and in the international programs of other
Federal agencies;
(C) direct United States Government resources, as
appropriate, to respond to needs for promoting gender
equality and the empowerment of women in United States
Government foreign policies and international programs;
(D) design, support, and implement activities
regarding--
(i) the empowerment of women
internationally, including for the prevention
of and response to gender-based violence
internationally;
(ii) the policies and goals of the Women,
Peace, and Security Act of 2017 (Public Law
115-68) and the Women's Entrepreneurship and
Economic Empowerment Act of 2018 (Public Law
115-428);
(iii) the Global Women's Development and
Prosperity (W-GDP) Initiative as described in
section 2; and
(iv) the reduction of legal, regulatory,
and cultural barriers that constrain women
worldwide;
(E) ensure that programs, projects, and activities
designed to promote and empower women internationally
are subject to rigorous monitoring and evaluation, and
oversee the development of indicators and standards for
such monitoring and evaluation, with the intent of
using these across relevant Federal agencies;
(F) partner, consult, and coordinate with other
governments, bilateral and multilateral institutions,
nongovernmental organizations, and private-sector
partners, and represent the United States in diplomatic
and multilateral fora as appropriate, to advance the
objectives of this Act;
(G) serve as the principal advisor to the Secretary
of State regarding gender equality, women's
empowerment, and gender-based violence as a foreign
policy matter; and
(H) undertake other relevant duties that the
Secretary of State shall determine, as appropriate.
(2) Information sharing and transparency.--The Office of
Women's Empowerment shall--
(A) be the central repository of data on all United
States programs, projects, and activities that relate
to empowering, promoting, including, and advancing
women worldwide; and
(B) produce a full accounting of United States
Government spending on such programs, projects, and
activities not later than one year after the date of
the enactment of this Act.
(d) Service of Current Senior Official.--A senior official
appointed by the President as an Ambassador-at-Large and confirmed by
the Senate for a position that addresses global women's issues may also
serve in the Ambassador-at-Large position established under this
section.
SEC. 7. SENIOR COORDINATOR FOR GENDER EQUALITY AND WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT.
(a) Establishment.--There is established in the United States
Agency for International Development the position of Senior Coordinator
for Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment. The Senior Coordinator
shall--
(1) report to the Administrator of the United States Agency
for International Development; and
(2) conduct duties as directed by the Administrator to
promote the purposes of this Act.
(b) In General.--The Senior Coordinator--
(1) in consultation with the Ambassador-at-Large described
in section 6, shall coordinate activities, policies, programs,
and funding of the Agency relating to gender equality and
women's empowerment;.
(2) shall actively promote and advance the integration of
gender analysis into the programs, structures, processes, and
capacities of all bureaus and offices of the Agency as dictated
by the Agency's Gender Equality and Female Empowerment Policy;
(3) may design, support, and implement activities led by
the Agency regarding gender equality and women's empowerment,
including for the prevention and response to gender-based
violence internationally;
(4) shall serve as the principal advisor to the
Administrator on gender equality, women's empowerment, and
gender-based violence;
(5) shall track and analyze monitoring and evaluation data
and findings on gender equality and women's empowerment
programs of the Agency; and
(6) shall partner, consult, and coordinate with other
governments, bilateral and multilateral institutions,
nongovernmental organizations, and private-sector partners to
advance the objectives of this Act.
SEC. 8. REPORTING TO CONGRESS.
(a) Annual Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter until 2025, the
President shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a
report that--
(1) summarizes and evaluates the implementation of United
States diplomatic efforts and foreign assistance programs,
projects, and activities to advance the policy objectives set
forth in section 2;
(2) describes the nature and extent of the coordination
among the relevant departments and agencies;
(3) describes the monitoring and evaluation tools,
mechanisms, and common indicators to assess progress made on
the policy objectives of this Act;
(4) describes partnerships and collaborations with the
private sector, including amount of funding leveraged by United
States contributions to support the objectives described in
section 2; and
(5) describes partnerships, consultation, and coordination
being undertaken with other governments, bilateral and
multilateral institutions, and nongovernmental organizations.
(b) Briefing.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Ambassador and
Senior Coordinator shall provide to the appropriate congressional
committees a briefing on barriers preventing gender equality and
women's inclusion and empowerment worldwide and response strategies,
programming, and associated outcomes.
SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Agency.--The term ``Agency'' means the United States
Agency for International Development.
(2) Ambassador.--The term ``Ambassador'' means the
Ambassador-at-Large overseeing the Office of Women's
Empowerment appointed by the President pursuant to section
6(a).
(3) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate;
(B) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
(C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House
of Representatives; and
(D) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives.
(4) Gender analysis.--The term ``gender analysis'' refers
to the definition as outlined in the Women's Entrepreneurship
and Economic Empowerment Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-428),
namely to undertake analysis of ``quantitative and qualitative
information to identify, understand, and explain gaps between
men and women''.
(5) Office.--The term ``Office'' means the Office of
Women's Empowerment established by the Secretary of State
pursuant to section 6(a).
(6) Senior coordinator.--The term ``Senior Coordinator''
means the Senior Coordinator for Gender Equality and Women's
Empowerment at the Agency.
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