[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 114 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 114
Commending the United States African Development Foundation on the
occasion of its 40th anniversary for creating pathways to prosperity
for underserved communities on the African continent through community-
led development.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 15, 2021
Mr. Coons (for himself and Mr. Inhofe) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
March 25, 2021
Reported by Mr. Menendez, without amendment
May 12, 2021
Considered and agreed to
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Commending the United States African Development Foundation on the
occasion of its 40th anniversary for creating pathways to prosperity
for underserved communities on the African continent through community-
led development.
Whereas December 16, 2020, marked the 40th anniversary of the establishment of
the United States African Development Foundation (referred to in this
preamble as the ``USADF'');
Whereas, on December 16, 1980, the President signed the African Development
Foundation Act (22 U.S.C. 290h et seq.) into law, which established the
USADF as an independent Federal agency with the goal to--
(1) strengthen the bonds of friendship and understanding between the
people of the countries of Africa and the United States;
(2) support local capacity building to create community development
opportunities and expand the participation of the countries of Africa in
their development process; and
(3) foster the establishment and growth of indigenous development
institutions that are equipped to respond to local needs;
Whereas, for 40 years, the USADF has invested in a pan-African network of local
implementing partners that employ a community-led development approach
to support African-designed and African-delivered solutions;
Whereas the USADF has provided more than 3,400 grassroots and community
enterprise grants in more than 40 sub-Saharan African countries;
Whereas the USADF strengthens food security, empowers smallholder farmers, and
creates economic growth in rural, hard-to-reach communities by investing
primarily in agricultural enterprises to increase access to larger
markets for those rural communities and enhance the business management
skills, production, distribution, and marketing capabilities of those
rural communities;
Whereas the USADF has maintained a strong emphasis on women and women
entrepreneurs, and women represent up to 65 percent of the direct
beneficiaries of grants from the USADF;
Whereas, on February 20, 2020, the USADF partnered with the Academy for
Entrepreneurs of the Department of State under the Women's Global
Development and Prosperity Initiative to provide seed funding to
graduates of the Academy for Entrepreneurs to advance the global
economic empowerment of women;
Whereas the USADF prioritizes partnerships with youth and supports nearly 300
social enterprises of Young African Leaders Initiative fellows and
alumni of that initiative in 37 sub-Saharan African countries by
providing seed capital, technical assistance, and skills training to
help young entrepreneurs create businesses that generate new jobs and
incomes for thousands of young Africans;
Whereas the work of the USADF in the off-grid energy sector, which is authorized
under the Electrify Africa Act of 2015 (22 U.S.C. 2293 note), has helped
bring renewable energy solutions to communities with limited or no
connections to national power grids and improve energy access for nearly
370,000 individuals in 15 sub-Saharan African countries;
Whereas the USADF's model of using 100 percent African staff and implementing
partners on the African continent gives the USADF the ability to work in
fragile and conflict-affected areas in the Great Lakes, Horn, and Sahel
regions of Africa;
Whereas the small size of the USADF and the use of local implementing partners
by the USADF has allowed the USADF to be ranked as one of the most
efficient providers of foreign aid by the Center for Global Development;
Whereas the partnerships of the USADF with agencies of the Federal Government,
including the Department of State, the Millennium Challenge Corporation,
and the United States Agency for International Development, along with
the alignment of the USADF with the priorities of Congress, have allowed
the USADF to extend the reach of critical development initiatives of the
United States, such as initiatives authorized by the Global Food
Security Act of 2016 (22 U.S.C. 9301 et seq.), the Electrify Africa Act
of 2015 (22 U.S.C. 2293 note), and the African Growth and Opportunity
Act and Millennium Challenge Act Modernization Act (Public Law 115-167;
132 Stat. 1276);
Whereas the partnerships between the USADF and private sector corporations and
foundations, as well as African national and sub-national governments,
have allowed the USADF to extend its reach and development impact in
addressing food insecurity, insufficient access to energy, and
unemployment through youth and women entrepreneurship and job skills
training and placement in Africa, while leveraging funding to help the
dollars of taxpayers in the United States go further; and
Whereas investments made by the USADF have developed and strengthened an
extensive network of grassroots enterprises and social enterprises that
are positively disposed to the United States and are better positioned
to partner with other Federal agencies and public and private funders:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) commends the United States African Development
Foundation on the occasion of its 40th anniversary for creating
pathways to prosperity for underserved communities on the
African continent through community-led development;
(2) recognizes that, by supporting African-led development
that grows community enterprises, the United States African
Development Foundation empowers individuals who are least
served by existing markets or assistance programs to become a
part of the growth story of Africa;
(3) recognizes that the United States African Development
Foundation advances the foreign policy of the Federal
Government and contributes directly to the national interests
of the United States; and
(4) commits to continue to support the vital work of the
United States African Development Foundation as an independent
agency.
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