22 U.S.C. § 2211a — Authorization; implementation; targeted

Page 684 TITLE 22—FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE § 2211a critical management functions of the Agency, includ- ing functions such as strategy development or overall management of programs in a country; and ‘‘(5) should consult with the appropriate congres- sional committees with respect to the implementa- tion of title VI of chapter 2 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 23, 2004].’’ REFERENCES Pub. L. 108–484, § 9, Dec. 23, 2004, 118 Stat. 3931, pro- vided that: ‘‘Any reference in a law, regulation, agree- ment, or other document of the United States to sec- tion 108, 131, or 132 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 [former 22 U.S.C. 2151f, 2152a, 2152b] shall be deemed to be a reference to subtitle B of title VI of chapter 2 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 [division B of this subpart], subtitle A of title VI of chapter 2 of part I of such Act [this division], or subtitle C of title VI of chapter 2 of part I of such Act [division C of this subpart], respectively.’’ § 2211a. Authorization; implementation; targeted assistance (a) Authorization The President is authorized to provide assist- ance on a non-reimbursable basis for programs in developing countries to increase the avail- ability of credit, including the use of innovative credit scoring models, savings, financial tech- nology, financial literacy, education, insurance, property rights, and other services to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise clients lack- ing full access to capital, training, technical as- sistance, and business development services, through— (1) assistance for the purpose of expanding the availability of credit, savings, and other financial and non-financial services to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise clients, particularly clients owned, managed, and con- trolled by women; (2) assistance for the purpose of training, technical assistance, and business develop- ment services for micro, small, and medium- sized enterprises to enable them to make bet- ter use of credit, to better manage their enter- prises, to conduct market analysis and prod- uct development for expanding domestic and international sales, particularly to United States markets, and to increase their income and build their assets; (3) capacity-building for financial inter- mediaries in order to enable them to better meet the credit, savings, and training needs of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises; (4) policy, regulatory programs, and research at the country level that improve the environ- ment for micro, small, and medium-sized en- terprises, financial intermediaries, and capital markets and institutions that serve the poor and very poor, especially women; (5) assistance for the purpose of promoting the economic empowerment of women, includ- ing through increased access to financial re- sources and improving property rights, inher- itance 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 house- holds in ultra-poverty, consumption support, promotion of savings, financial literacy, skills training, and asset transfers. (b) Implementation (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 finan- cial products and services, and support the de- velopment of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. The Office shall be headed by a Di- rector who shall possess technical expertise and ability to offer leadership in the field of fi- nancial sector development. (2) Additional provisions (A) Use of implementing partner organiza- tions Assistance under this section shall empha- size the use of implementing partner organi- zations that best meet the requirements of subparagraph (C). (B) Use of central funding mechanisms In order to ensure that assistance under this subpart is distributed effectively and ef- ficiently, the office shall provide coordina- tion and support for field-implemented pro- grams, including through targeted core sup- port for micro, small, and medium-sized en- terprises and local financial markets. (C) Efficiency and cost-effectiveness Assistance under this section shall meet high standards of efficiency, cost-effective- ness, and sustainability, particularly by pro- tecting the use and funding of local organi- zations in countries in which the Agency in- vests, and shall especially provide the great- est possible resources to the poor and very poor, especially women. When administering assistance under this section, the Adminis- trator shall— (i) take into consideration the percent- age of funds a provider of assistance in- tends to expend on administrative costs; (ii) take all appropriate steps to ensure that the provider of assistance keeps ad- ministrative costs as low as practicable to ensure the maximum amount of funds are used for directly assisting microfinance and microenterprise clients, for estab- lishing sustainable microfinance and microenterprise institutions, or for ad- vancing the microenterprise development field; and (iii) give preference to proposals from providers of assistance that are the most technically competitive and have a reason- able allocation to overhead and adminis- trative costs. (c) Targeted assistance In carrying out sustainable poverty-focused programs under subsection (a)— (1) 50 percent of all micro, small, and me- dium-sized enterprise resources shall be tar- geted to activities that reach the very poor; and (2) 50 percent of all small and medium-sized enterprise resources shall be targeted to ac- tivities that reach enterprises owned, man- aged, and controlled by women. Page 685 TITLE 22—FOREIGN RELATIONS AND INTERCOURSE § 2211b (Pub. L. 87–195, pt. I, § 252, as added Pub. L. 108–484, § 3, Dec. 23, 2004, 118 Stat. 3924; amended Pub. L. 115–428, § 4(b), Jan. 9, 2019, 132 Stat. 5512.) Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS A prior section 252 of Pub. L. 87–195 was classified to section 2212 of this title, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 95–424, title I, § 102(g)(1)(A), title VI, § 605, Oct. 6, 1978, 92 Stat. 942, 961, effective Oct. 1, 1978. AMENDMENTS 2019—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 115–428, § 4(b)(1)(A), sub- stituted ‘‘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 enter- prise clients’’ for ‘‘credit, savings, and other services to microfinance and microenterprise clients’’ in introduc- tory provisions. Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 115–428, § 4(b)(1)(B), substituted ‘‘micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise clients, particularly clients owned, managed, and controlled by women’’ for ‘‘microfinance and microenterprise cli- ents’’. Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 115–428, § 4(b)(1)(C), substituted ‘‘micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises’’ for ‘‘microenterprises’’. Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 115–428, § 4(b)(1)(D), substituted ‘‘financial intermediaries’’ for ‘‘microfinance and microenterprise institutions’’ and ‘‘micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises’’ for ‘‘microfinance and microenterprise clients’’ and struck out ‘‘and’’ after semicolon at end. Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 115–428, § 4(b)(1)(E), substituted ‘‘micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, financial intermediaries, and capital markets’’ for ‘‘microfinance and microenterprise clients and institutions’’ and ‘‘the poor and very poor, especially women;’’ for ‘‘the poor and very poor.’’ Subsec. (a)(5), (6). Pub. L. 115–428, § 4(b)(1)(F), added pars. (5) and (6). Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 115–428, § 4(b)(2)(A), amended par. (1) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as fol- lows: ‘‘There is established within the Agency an office of microenterprise development, which shall be headed by a Director who shall be appointed by the Adminis- trator and who should possess technical expertise and ability to offer leadership in the field of microenter- prise development.’’ Subsec. (b)(2)(B). Pub. L. 115–428, § 4(b)(2)(B)(i), amended subpar. (B) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: ‘‘(i) PROGRAM.—In order to ensure that assistance under this subpart is distributed effectively and effi- ciently, the office shall also seek to implement a pro- gram of central funding under which assistance is ad- ministered directly by the office, including through targeted core support for microfinance and microenter- prise networks and other practitioners. ‘‘(ii) FUNDING.—Of the amount made available to carry out this division for a fiscal year, not less than $25,000,000 should be made available to carry out clause (i).’’ Subsec. (b)(2)(C). Pub. L. 115–428, § 4(b)(2)(ii), inserted ‘‘, particularly by protecting the use and funding of local organizations in countries in which the Agency invests,’’ after ‘‘and sustainability’’ and ‘‘, especially women’’ after ‘‘the poor and very poor’’. Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 115–428, § 4(b)(2)(C), struck out par. (3). Text read as follows: ‘‘With respect to assist- ance provided under this section, the office shall be re- sponsible for concurring in the microenterprise devel- opment components of strategic plans of missions, bu- reaus, and other offices of the Agency and providing technical support to field missions to help the missions prepare such components.’’ Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 115–428, § 4(b)(3), substituted ‘‘sub- section (a)—’’ and pars. (1) and (2) for ‘‘subsection (a), 50 percent of all microenterprise resources shall be tar- geted to clients who are very poor. Specifically, until September 30, 2006, such resources shall be used for—’’ and former pars. (1) and (2) which identified as entities eligible for microenterprise resources under subsec. (a) programs through certain practitioner institutions and for certain demand-driven business development pro- grams, respectively. § 2211b. Monitoring system (a) In general In order to maximize the sustainable develop- ment impact of assistance authorized under sec- tion 2211a(a) of this title, the Administrator of the Agency, acting through the Director of the office, shall strengthen its monitoring system to meet the requirements of subsection (b). (b) Requirements The requirements referred to in subsection (a) are the following: (1) The monitoring system shall include per- formance goals, including goals on a gender disaggregated basis, such as improvements in employment, access to financial services, edu- cation, enterprise development, earnings and control over income, and property and land rights, for the assistance and expresses such goals in an objective and quantifiable form, to the extent feasible. (2) The monitoring system shall incorporate Agency planning and reporting processes and indicators to measure or assess the achieve- ment of the performance goals described in paragraph (1) and the objectives of the assist- ance authorized under section 2211a of this title. (3) The monitoring system provides a basis for recommendations for adjustments to the assistance to enhance the sustainability and the impact of the assistance, particularly the impact of such assistance on the very poor, particularly poor women. (Pub. L. 87–195, pt. I, § 253, as added Pub. L. 108–484, § 3, Dec. 23, 2004, 118 Stat. 3925; amended Pub. L. 115–428, § 4(c), Jan. 9, 2019, 132 Stat. 5514.) Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS A prior section 253 of Pub. L. 87–195 was classified to section 2213 of this title, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 95–424, title I, § 102(g)(1)(A), title VI, § 605, Oct. 6, 1978, 92 Stat. 942, 961, effective Oct. 1, 1978. AMENDMENTS 2019—Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 115–428, § 4(c)(1), inserted ‘‘, including goals on a gender disaggregated basis, such as improvements in employment, access to finan- cial services, education, enterprise development, earn- ings and control over income, and property and land rights,’’ after ‘‘performance goals’’. Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 115–428, § 4(c)(2), substituted ‘‘incorporate Agency planning and reporting processes and indicators to measure or assess the achievement’’ for ‘‘include performance indicators to be used in meas- uring or assessing the achievement’’. Subsec. (b)(4). Pub. L. 115–428, § 4(c)(3), struck out par. (4) which read as follows: ‘‘The monitoring system adopts the widespread use of proven and effective pov- erty assessment tools to successfully identify the very poor and ensure that they receive adequate access to microenterprise loans, savings, and assistance.’’