[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 202 (Friday, December 21, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H10550-H10553]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
WOMEN'S ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT ACT OF 2018
Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (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.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
S. 3247
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
[[Page H10551]]
(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
[[Page H10552]]
``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.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
California (Mr. Royce) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.
General Leave
Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that
all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend
their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Mr. Speaker, S. 3247, the Women's Entrepreneurship and Economic
Empowerment Act, passed the Senate unanimously. It is the Senate
version of H.R. 5480, my bill, which this body passed on July 17 of
this year. It is an important bipartisan, bicameral bill that would
expand women's access to finance and inclusion in the formal economy in
emerging markets around this globe.
I thank Jessica Kelch, Andy Taylor, and Meghan Gallagher for their
expert contributions to this bill and on this issue.
Mr. Speaker, this bill deserves our unanimous support, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this measure. This is a bipartisan
bill that aims to empower women economically by targeting United States
development assistance to women-owned small- and medium-sized
businesses. As the gentleman from California pointed out, he is the
sponsor of the companion bill in the House.
This legislation passed the Senate unanimously, and is the companion
of H.R. 5480. I urge Members to join me in supporting it.
Before I yield back, Mr. Speaker, I just want to say something, since
this is probably the last time we will have a chance to debate, the
chairman and myself, in this Congress.
I have served as ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs
Committee for the past 6 years, and in the new Congress will become the
chairman of the committee. The gentleman from California (Mr. Royce)
has served as the chairman for 6 years. I can tell you that there is no
better role model than Ed Royce. The bipartisan work we have done
together has really made a difference in people's lives all around the
globe.
Mr. Royce has been a chairman extraordinaire. We have always operated
under the premise that, when it comes to foreign policy, partisanship
should stop at the water's edge. And that is what we have really tried
to do.
I want all my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to know that I
could not be more effusive in praise of the chairman, the gentleman
from California. It has been an honor and a pleasure serving with the
gentleman and being his friend. I cannot think of anyone doing a better
job than he has done for the past 6 years. I hope he will come back and
visit.
Whenever I have a question to think about what I will do as chairman
in the next Congress, I would think about what my friend, Ed Royce,
would do. Then I know I can't go wrong.
Mr. ROYCE of California. Will the gentleman yield?
Mr. ENGEL. I yield to the gentleman from California.
Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Mr. Engel
of New York for his friendship for over 20 years on the committee, but
also for his shared leadership over the last 6 years on this committee.
I would also like to thank him for his commitment over the years and
for his focus on American values and spreading those values around the
globe.
Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I wish the gentleman Godspeed. I know we will
be in touch. We have been a good team. It has been great.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from California (Mr. Royce) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, S. 3247.
[[Page H10553]]
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. MASSIE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
____________________