[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7817 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7817
To establish a review of United States multilateral aid.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 18, 2022
Mr. Buck (for himself and Mr. McCaul) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a review of United States multilateral aid.
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 ``Multilateral Aid Review Act of
2022''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to establish a United States
Multilateral Aid Review (in this Act referred to as the ``Review'') to
publicly assess the value of United States Government investments in
multilateral entities.
SEC. 3. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DEFINED.
In this Act, the term ``appropriate congressional committees''
means--
(1) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on
Appropriations of the Senate; and
(2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on
Financial Services, and the Committee on Appropriations of the
House of Representatives.
SEC. 4. OBJECTIVES.
The objectives of the Review are as follows:
(1) Provide a tool to guide the United States Government's
decisionmaking and prioritization with regard to funding
multilateral entities and to provide a methodological basis for
allocating scarce budgetary resources to entities that advance
relevant United States foreign policy objectives.
(2) Incentivize improvements in the performance of
multilateral entities to achieve better outcomes on the ground
in developing, fragile, and crisis-afflicted regions.
(3) Protect United States taxpayer investments in foreign
assistance by improving transparency with regard to the funding
of multilateral entities.
SEC. 5. SCOPE.
The Review shall include in its assessment multilateral entities to
which the United States Government contributes voluntary or assessed
funding, whether cash or in-kind.
SEC. 6. TRIENNIAL REPORT ON REVIEW.
(a) In General.--Not later than twenty-one months after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and every three years thereafter, the United
States Multilateral Aid Review Task Force established under section 7,
in regular consultation with the Peer Review Group established under
section 8, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a
final report on the findings of the Review. The Secretary of State
shall publish the report on the internet website of the Department of
State within seven days of submitting the report to the appropriate
congressional committees.
(b) Methodology.--
(1) Use of criteria.--The Task Force shall establish an
analytical framework and assessment scorecard for the Review
using the criteria set forth in subsection (c).
(2) Consultation with congress.--Not later than 120 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Task Force
shall submit the methodology for the initial Review to the
appropriate congressional committees. The Task Force may not
proceed with the Review until 30 days after submission of the
methodology to the appropriate congressional committees, taking
into consideration the views of the Chairmen and Ranking
Members of each of the appropriate congressional committees.
For each subsequent Review, the Task Force shall consult with
the Chairmen and Ranking Members of each of the appropriate
congressional committees regarding any changes to the
methodology.
(c) Assessment Criteria.--The assessment scorecard shall include
the following criteria:
(1) Relationship of stated goals to actual results.--The
extent to which the stated mission, goals, and objectives of
the entity have been achieved during the review period,
including--
(A) an identification of the stated mission, goals,
and objectives of each entity;
(B) an evaluation of the major projects and
programs selected for implementation by the entity in
comparison with the stated mission, goals, and
objectives of the entity;
(C) an evaluation of whether the major projects and
programs selected by the entity within the given review
period were more likely than not to further the
achievement of the stated mission, goals, and
objectives of the entity;
(D) an evaluation of the extent to which the major
selected projects and programs met their own stated
implementation timelines and achieved declared results;
and
(E) an evaluation of whether the entity optimizes
resources to achieve the stated mission, goals, and
objectives of the entity.
(2) Responsible management.--The extent to which management
of the entity follows best management practices, including--
(A) an evaluation of the ratio of management and
administrative expenses to program expenses, including
an evaluation of entity resources spent on
nonprogrammatic expenses;
(B) an evaluation of program expense growth,
including a comparison of the annual growth of program
expenses to the annual growth of management and
administrative expenses; and
(C) an evaluation of whether the entity has
established appropriate levels of senior management
compensation.
(3) Accountability and transparency.--The extent to which
the policies and procedures of the entity follow best practices
of accountability and transparency, taking into consideration
credible reporting regarding unauthorized conversion or
diversion of entity resources, and including--
(A) an evaluation of whether the entity has
established and enforced appropriate auditing
procedures;
(B) an evaluation of whether the entity has
established and enforced appropriate rules to reduce
the risk of conflicts of interest among the senior
leadership of the entity;
(C) an evaluation of whether the entity has
established and enforced appropriate whistleblower
policies;
(D) an evaluation of whether the entity has
established and maintained appropriate records
retention policies and guidelines;
(E) an evaluation of whether the entity has
established and maintained best practices with respect
to transparency and public disclosure; and
(F) an evaluation of whether the entity has
established and maintained best practices with respect
to disclosure of the compensation of senior leadership
officials.
(4) Alignment with united states foreign policy
objectives.--The extent to which the policies and practices of
the entity align with relevant United States foreign policy
objectives, including--
(A) an evaluation of the entity's stated mission,
goals, and objectives in comparison to relevant United
States foreign policy objectives;
(B) an evaluation of whether continued
participation by the United States in the entity
contributes a net benefit towards achieving relevant
United States foreign policy objectives, including the
reasons for the conclusion; and
(C) an evaluation of any divergence between the
actions of the entity and relevant United States
foreign policy objectives.
(5) Multilateral approach compared to bilateral approach.--
The extent to which pursuing relevant United States foreign
policy objectives through a multilateral approach is effective
and cost-efficient compared to a bilateral approach,
including--
(A) an evaluation of whether relevant United States
foreign policy objectives are effectively pursued
through the entity, compared to existing or potential
bilateral approaches; and
(B) an evaluation of whether relevant United States
foreign policy objectives are pursued on a cost-
effective basis through the entity, compared to
existing or potential bilateral approaches.
(6) Redundancies and overlap.--The extent to which the
mission, goals, and objectives of the entity overlap with the
mission, goals, and objectives of other multilateral
institutions to which United States Government entities
contribute voluntary or assessed funding, whether cash or in-
kind, including--
(A) an identification of significant redundancies
or overlap with the mission, goals, and objectives of
other multilateral entities to which United States
Government entities contribute voluntary or assessed
funding, whether cash or in-kind; and
(B) a comparison of the extent to which relevant
United States foreign policy objectives are effectively
pursued on a cost-effective basis through each of the
overlapping entities.
SEC. 7. UNITED STATES MULTILATERAL REVIEW TASK FORCE.
(a) Establishment.--The President shall establish an interagency
Multilateral Review Task Force (referred to in this Act as the ``Task
Force'') to review and assess United States participation in
multilateral entities identified in section 5 and to develop and
transmit to the appropriate congressional committees the reports
required under section 6.
(b) Leadership.--The Task Force shall be chaired by the Secretary
of State. The Secretary may delegate his or her responsibilities under
this Act to an appropriate senior Senate-confirmed official.
(c) Membership.--The President may appoint to the interagency Task
Force senior Senate-confirmed officials from the Department of State,
the Department of the Treasury, the United States Agency for
International Development, the Office of Management and Budget, and any
other relevant executive branch department or agency.
(d) Consultation.--In the preparation of each report under section
6, including the initial review of methodology, the Task Force shall
consult regularly with the Peer Review Group established under section
8.
SEC. 8. UNITED STATES MULTILATERAL AID REVIEW PEER REVIEW GROUP.
(a) Establishment.--There is established the United States
Multilateral Aid Review Peer Review Group (referred to in this Act as
the ``Peer Review Group'').
(b) Membership.--
(1) Composition.--The Peer Review Group shall be composed
of 8 nongovernmental volunteer members, of whom--
(A) two shall be appointed by the majority leader
of the Senate;
(B) two shall be appointed by the minority leader
of the Senate;
(C) two shall be appointed by the Speaker of the
House of Representatives; and
(D) two shall be appointed by the minority leader
of the House of Representatives.
(2) Appointment criteria.--The members of the Peer Review
Group shall have appropriate expertise and knowledge of the
multilateral entities subject to the Review established by this
Act. In making appointments to the Peer Review Group, potential
conflicts of interest should be taken into account.
(3) Date.--The initial appointments of the members of the
Peer Review Group shall be made not later than 100 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act, and the terms of such
appointments shall begin on that date.
(4) Chairman and vice chairman.--The Peer Review Group
shall select a Chairman and Vice Chairman from among the
members of the Peer Review Group.
(c) Expert Analysis.--The Peer Review Group shall meet regularly
with the Task Force, including regarding the initial review of
methodology, to offer their expertise of the funding and performance of
multilateral entities.
(d) Review of Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days before submitting
each report required under section 6(a), the Task Force shall
transmit a draft of the report to the Peer Review Group and the
appropriate congressional committees.
(2) Review.--The Peer Review Group shall review the draft
report submitted under paragraph (1) and provide to the Task
Force and the appropriate congressional committees not later
than 90 days before the submission of each report required
under section 6(a) the following:
(A) An analysis of the conclusions of the report.
(B) An analysis of the established methodologies
used to reach conclusions in the report.
(C) An analysis of the evidence used to reach
conclusions in the report.
(D) Any additional comments to improve the
evaluations and analysis of the report.
(e) Period of Appointment; Vacancies.--
(1) In general.--Each member of the Peer Review Group shall
be appointed for a 6-year term and may be reappointed under
subsection (b)(1) for one additional term.
(2) Vacancies.--Any vacancy in the Peer Review Group--
(A) shall not affect the powers of the Peer Review
Group; and
(B) shall be filled in the same manner as the
original appointment.
(f) Meetings.--
(1) In general.--The Peer Review Group shall meet at the
call of the Chairman.
(2) Initial meeting.--Not later than 120 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Peer Review Group shall
hold its first meeting.
(3) Quorum.--A majority of the members of the Peer Group
shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number of members may
hold meetings.
SEC. 9. TERMINATION.
The authorities and requirements provided under this Act shall
terminate 11 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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