[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3227 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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114th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3227
To direct the President to establish an interagency mechanism to
coordinate United States development programs and private sector
investment activities, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 14, 2016
Mr. Isakson (for himself and Mr. Perdue) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the President to establish an interagency mechanism to
coordinate United States development programs and private sector
investment activities, 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 ``Economic Growth and Development
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The promotion of sustainable economic growth is the
only long-term solution to lifting people out of poverty and
addressing development challenges such as infectious disease,
food security, access to education, and access to clean water,
as reflected in the Sustainable Development Goals adopted at
the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit on September
25, 2015.
(2) Several of the greatest development success stories of
the past 50 years demonstrate that private sector investment
and economic growth are fundamental to lifting populations out
of poverty.
(3) A dramatic shift in the composition of capital flows to
the developing world necessitates a new approach to official
development assistance; whereas 40 years ago more than 70
percent of capital flowing to developing countries was public
sector foreign assistance, today over 80 percent of capital
flowing to the developing world comes from the private sector.
(4) In order to better leverage United States foreign
assistance dollars and to promote sustainable economic
development in partner countries, the United States Government
must seek to promote economic growth through private sector
investment by consulting United States business during
development planning and programming processes.
(5) Eleven of the 15 largest importers of United States
goods and services are countries that graduated from United
States foreign assistance, and 12 of the 15 fastest growing
markets for United States exports are former United States
foreign assistance recipients.
(6) With 12 departments, 26 agencies, and more than 60
Federal Government offices involved in the delivery of United
States foreign assistance and the promotion of United States
investment overseas, it is unnecessarily difficult for United
States businesses to navigate this bureaucracy in search of
opportunities to partner with such United States agencies.
(7) Although many United States development agencies have
taken steps to improve the private sector coordination
capabilities of such agencies in recent years, these agency-
specific strategies are not integrated into a coherent
interagency coordination structure to effectively engage the
private sector.
(8) The United States Government has no streamlined,
interagency mechanism for coordination with the private sector
for the purposes of development or promotion of opportunities
for investment, nor are the activities of the United States
Government in this area guided by a coherent set of strategic
objectives, targets, or operating principles.
(9) Whether in the context of a country, sector, or global
development strategy, decisions regarding program
prioritization and resource allocation would benefit greatly
from private sector perspectives and market data and
coordination with the private sector from the outset.
(10) Development programs can be designed to better attract
private sector investment and to promote public-private
partnerships in key development sectors.
(11) The Millennium Challenge Corporation and the
Partnership for Growth both analyze constraints on growth as
part of the planning processes of these organizations, but
these analyses need to be included in agency country, sector,
and global development strategies to more effectively inform
and guide the full spectrum of United States development
programs.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development.
(2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the
Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the
Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives.
(3) Private sector.--The term ``private sector'' means for-
profit United States businesses.
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of State.
(5) United states development agencies.--The term ``United
States development agencies'' means--
(A) the Department of State;
(B) the United States Agency for International
Development;
(C) the Millennium Challenge Corporation;
(D) the Overseas Private Investment Corporation;
(E) the Trade and Development Agency;
(F) the Inter-American Foundation; and
(G) the African Development Foundation.
SEC. 4. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to maximize the impact of United States
development programs by--
(1) enhancing coordination between United States
development agencies and the programs of such agencies and the
private sector and the investment activities of the private
sector;
(2) integrating private sector input into the planning and
programming processes of United States development agencies;
(3) institutionalizing analyses of constraints on growth
and investment throughout the planning and programming
processes of United States development agencies;
(4) ensuring United States development agencies are
accountable for improving coordination between United States
development programs and private sector investment activities;
and
(5) promoting and facilitating private sector investment.
SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON UNITED STATES DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) United States development assistance should be pursued
in a way that aims--
(A) to build and strengthen civic institutions;
(B) to provide for public accountability; and
(C) to serve as the basis for a democratic social
contract between the people and their government, and
as a basis for graduation from assistance;
(2) United States Government policies and decisions should
be guided by clear benchmarks for the evaluation of partner
country commitment to funding development priorities, including
the ``investing in people'' metric of the Millennium Challenge
Corporation;
(3) United States Government programs should be guided by a
unified strategy, ambitious targets, and a robust monitoring,
evaluation, and public accountability plan;
(4) United States development assistance should aim to help
build the capacity of partner countries to raise and commit
partner country resources toward development goals, including--
(A) the capacity to increase revenues;
(B) transparent budgeting and expenditures;
(C) policies and laws that increase domestic
investment; and
(D) the ability to address the illicit flows of
capital from domestic and international sources;
(5) the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, reached at the Third
International Conference on Financing for Development, and the
emphasis of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on economic growth
and the commitment of greater domestic resources towards
development goals, serves as a basis for concrete actions by
donors and partner countries to achieve greater accountability
and to foster broad-based economic growth and the establishment
of prosperous, middle class-based societies;
(6) domestic resource commitments and domestic resource
mobilization for development purposes provide a greater chance
for sustainability and an alignment of incentives among
stakeholders, including donors, partner countries, citizens,
and the private sector that drives economic growth;
(7) the domestic resource commitments described in
paragraph (6) are opportunities to provide for greater
accountability and the building of strong, just social
contracts between people and their governments, allowing
governments to raise revenue, address citizen priorities, and
be held accountable for results; and
(8) fostering domestic capacity and domestic responsibility
for outcomes is the basis of true country ownership and a
transition from assistance to sustainability by achieving
development goals.
SEC. 6. INTERAGENCY STRATEGY AND MECHANISM TO COORDINATE UNITED STATES
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS AND PRIVATE SECTOR INVESTMENT
ACTIVITIES.
(a) In General.--The President shall establish a primary,
interagency mechanism to assist the private sector in coordinating
United States development programs with private sector investment
activities.
(b) Duties.--The mechanism established under subsection (a) shall--
(1) streamline and integrate the various private sector
liaison, coordination, and investment promotion functions of
United States development agencies;
(2) facilitate the use of various development and finance
tools across United States development agencies to attract
greater private sector participation in development activities;
and
(3) establish a single point of contact for the private
sector for partnership opportunities with United States
development agencies.
(c) Annual Strategy.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the President
shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a
strategy for the facilitation and coordination of private
sector investments and activities for the purposes of
development.
(2) Elements of the annual strategy.--The annual strategy
required under paragraph (1) shall include--
(A) country, sectoral, and global targets for
private sector investment facilitation and
coordination;
(B) a description of the specific roles and
responsibilities of United States Government
departments and agencies involved in meeting the
targets described in subparagraph (A), including within
United States missions in-country; and
(C) a plan relating to monitoring, evaluation, and
public accountability.
SEC. 7. INTEGRATING PRIVATE SECTOR COORDINATION IN COUNTRY, SECTOR, AND
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES.
The Secretary and the Administrator shall direct their respective
policy teams, including the Assistant to the Administrator for the
Bureau of Policy, Planning and Learning, and country teams, to include
private sector facilitation and coordination in all country, sector,
and global development strategies, including integrated country
strategies, regional and functional strategies, country development
cooperation strategies, mission strategic resource plans, and global
development strategies.
SEC. 8. ANALYSIS OF CONSTRAINTS ON GROWTH AND INVESTMENT IN FOREIGN
COUNTRIES AND SECTORS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary, the Administrator, and the heads of
other relevant Federal agencies shall ensure that analyses of rigorous,
current constraints on growth and investment guide all country, region,
and sector economic development strategies.
(b) Matters To Be Included.--The analysis required under subsection
(a) shall include the identification and analysis of--
(1) constraints posed by the inadequacies of critical
infrastructure, rule of law, tax and investment codes, and
customs and regulatory regimes of recipient countries, as
appropriate; and
(2) particular economic sectors that are central to
achieving economic growth, such as agriculture, transportation,
energy, and financial services.
(c) Results.--The results of the analyses described under
subsection (a) shall--
(1) be incorporated into the development strategies of
United States development agencies;
(2) be used to inform and guide resource allocations; and
(3) be made available to the public, and for comment by all
stakeholders, prior to finalization of development strategies.
SEC. 9. REPORT.
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act,
the President shall transmit to the Committee on Foreign Relations of
the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives a report that describes the specific measures that have
been taken to implement this Act and the outcomes that such measures
are intended to produce.
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