[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5652 Introduced in House (IH)]
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5652
To amend the African Development Foundation Act to redesignate the name
of the Foundation, to increase funding for the mission of the
Foundation, and to increase the powers of the Foundation.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 20, 2006
Ms. Lee (for herself and Mr. Fortenberry) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the African Development Foundation Act to redesignate the name
of the Foundation, to increase funding for the mission of the
Foundation, and to increase the powers of the Foundation.
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 ``African Development Foundation Act
of 2006''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The African Development Foundation is uniquely
promoting sustainable community-based solutions to economic and
social development and is effectively supporting the
development of African-owned small enterprises as engines of
growth and sources of income and employment for the poor.
(2) The African Development Foundation's programs advance
United States interests in Africa and are in high demand across
the continent, as evidenced by $20 million in host country
contributions.
(3) The Office of Management and Budget has determined the
African Development Foundation to be a fully effective agency
after assessing its program performance.
(4) The African Development Foundation is the only United
States Government agency working directly at the grassroots
level, supporting African-designed and African-driven solutions
to economic and social problems. The African Development
Foundation enables individuals and groups to get out of poverty
by putting their own ideas to work, instead of someone else's.
(5) In 2005, African Development Foundation investments
across Africa created more than 110,000 jobs for poor Africans
and generated $70 million in gross revenues for enterprises.
Almost 65 percent of micro and small entrepreneurs assisted by
the African Development Foundation were women.
(6) African Development Foundation-assisted groups had $35
million in export sales in 2005. For example, in Tanzania, the
African Development Foundation is helping several thousand
small sugar cane producers improve their income. Mtibwa Sugar
has increased its gross export revenues by 423 percent over the
past three years, from US$1.188 million during fiscal year 2002
to US$5.034 million in fiscal year 2005. In the Ruembe
Outgrowers Association, sugar cane yields per hectare are up 30
percent and cumulative export sales stand at US$4.7 million.
The number of participating cane farmers has increased by 50
percent since project inception and the income of the 1440
growers has almost doubled as a consequence of investment by
the African Development Foundation.
(7) The African Development Foundation is supporting
African solutions to prevent HIV/AIDS and to reduce its impact
on families and communities. For example, in Swaziland, where
almost 40 percent of adults are infected with the AIDS virus,
the African Development Foundation is improving nutrition and
providing income-generating opportunities for widows and
orphans by helping them produce and market vegetables, in
Ghana, the African Development Foundation funded the training
of almost 1500 youth who conducted peer counseling on HIV/AIDS
to more than 200,000 young people, in Plateau State, Nigeria,
the African Development Foundation funded a pilot program to
adapt and extend a faith-based life skills training program in
the public secondary schools in which approximately 500
teachers were trained in the new curriculum and more than
25,000 students received year-long training, and in Tanzania,
the African Development Foundation has experimented with
supporting schemes that extend micro-credit to people living
with HIV/AIDS, enabling them to start informal businesses and
undertake income-generating activities.
(8) The work of the African Development Foundation is a
powerful example of the goodwill of the American people, and it
is one of the most effective foreign assistance programs of the
United States.
SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION ACT.
(a) Redesignation.--
(1) In general.--Section 503(a) of the African Development
Foundation Act (Public Law 96-533; 22 U.S.C. 290h-1(a)) is
amended by striking ```African Development Foundation''' and
inserting ```United States African Development Foundation'''.
(2) Reference.--Any reference to the African Development
Foundation in any law, rule, regulation, certificate,
directive, instruction, or other official paper in force on the
date of the enactment of this Act shall be deemed to be a
reference to the United States African Development Foundation.
(b) Funding for Grants and Loans.--
(1) Limitation.--Subsection (a) of section 505 of such Act
(22 U.S.C. 290h-3) is amended--
(A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``(including
small enterprises, producer associations, and
cooperatives)'' after ``entity''; and
(B) in paragraph (2)--
(i) by striking ``The total'' and inserting
``Except as provided in this paragraph, the
total'';
(ii) by striking ``$250,000'' and inserting
``$400,000''; and
(iii) by adding at the end the following
new sentence: ``The funding limitation
specified in this paragraph may be exceeded
only in exceptional circumstances upon approval
of the Board of the Directors and notification
to Congress.''.
(2) Use of funds.--Subsection (b) of such section is
amended, in the second sentence, by inserting before the period
at the end the following: ``, including supporting projects
which benefit the poor''.
(3) Recipients.--Such section is amended by adding at the
end the following new subsection:
``(c) To be eligible to receive grant, loan, or loan guarantee
under this section, a small enterprise referred to in subsection (a)
shall satisfy the following requirements:
``(1) Ownership is predominantly vested in one or more
individuals who are indigenous to Africa and who are
representative and knowledgeable of, and with a track record of
responding to, the needs and aspirations of the poor.
``(2) Management and daily business operations of the
entity are controlled by one or more individuals who are
indigenous to Africa.''.
(c) Powers of the Foundation.--Section 506(a)(5) of such Act (22
U.S.C. 290h-4(a)) is amended by inserting ``including providing
technical assistance to eligible recipients described in section
505(a)(1),'' after ``situated,''.
(d) Basic Pay and Hiring Authorities.--Subsection (d) of section
507 of such Act (22 U.S.C. 290h-5) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), in the second sentence, by striking
``level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of
title 5'' and inserting ``level II of the Executive Schedule
under section 5313 of title 5, United States Code'';
(2) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end the following
new sentence: ``Such experts and consultants may be employed
without regard to section 5373 of such title.''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(3) Of the individuals employed by the Foundation, not to
exceed four such individuals may be appointed, compensated, or
removed without regard to the civil service laws and
regulations. No individual appointed may receive a rate of pay
that exceeds the rate for senior level positions under section
5376 of title 5, United States Code. An employee of an agency
serving in a career, career conditional, or non-temporary
excepted service position who is appointed by the Foundation
shall be entitled, on termination of such appointment for any
reason other than for the misconduct or delinquence of such
employee, to be reinstated in such employee's former position
or a position of similar seniority and pay in the same
agency.''.
<all>