S 1425 ISCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To increase the United States financial and programmatic contributions to promote economic opportunities for women in developing countries.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

July 9, 2009CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mrs. HUTCHISON, Ms. COLLINS, Ms. LANDRIEU, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. CASEY, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. JOHNSON, and Mrs. GILLIBRAND) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign RelationsCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To increase the United States financial and programmatic contributions to promote economic opportunities for women in developing countries.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

(a) Short Title- This Act may be cited as the ‘Global Resources and Opportunities for Women To Thrive Act of 2009’ or the ‘GROWTH Act of 2009’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Table of Contents- The table of contents of this Act is as follows:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 2. Findings and statement of purpose.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 3. Microfinance and microenterprise development assistance for women in developing countries.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 4. Support for women’s small- and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 5. Support for private property rights and land tenure security for women in developing countries.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 6. Support for women’s access to employment in developing countries.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 7. Trade benefits for women in developing countries.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 8. Exchanges between United States entrepreneurs and women entrepreneurs in developing countries.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 9. Assistance under the Millennium Challenge Account.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 10. GROWTH Fund.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 11. Data collection.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 12. Support for women’s organizations in developing countries.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 13. Report.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 14. Authorization of appropriations.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.

(a) Findings- Congress finds the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) Women around the world are especially vulnerable to poverty. They tend to work longer hours, are compensated less, and have less income stability and fewer economic opportunities than men.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) Women’s share of the labor force is increasing in almost all regions of the world. Women comprise more than 40 percent of the global labor force as well as 40 percent of the labor force in eastern and southeastern Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Caribbean. Women comprise a third of the labor force in Central America and nearly a third of total employment in South Asia. About 250,000,000 young women will enter the labor force worldwide before 2015.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) Women are more likely to work in informal employment relationships in poor countries compared to men. In sub-Saharan Africa, 84 percent of women are employed informally compared to 71 percent of men. In the Middle East, 44 percent of women are employed informally compared to 29 percent of men. Informal employment is characterized by lower wages and greater variability of earnings, less stability, absence of labor organization, and fewer social protections than formal employment.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) Changes in the economy of a poor country affect women and men differently. Women are disproportionately affected by long-term recessions, crises, and economic restructuring and they often miss out on many of the benefits of growth.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(5) International trade can be an important tool for economic development and poverty reduction. The benefits of international trade should extend to all members of society, particularly the world’s poor women.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(6) Policies that promote fair labor practices for women, and access to information, education, land, credit, physical capital, and social services can be a means of reducing poverty, ensuring food security, and boosting productivity and earnings for the economies of developing countries.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(7) Expanding economic opportunity for women in developing countries can have a positive effect on child nutrition, health, and education, as women often invest their income in their families. Increasing women’s income can also decrease women’s vulnerability to HIV/AIDS, gender-based violence, and trafficking, and make women more resistant to the impact of natural disasters.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(8) Policies that promote economic opportunities for women, including microfinance and microenterprise development and the promotion of women’s small- and medium-sized businesses, can be a means of generating gainful, safe, and dignified employment for the poor.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(9) Women play a vital, but often unrecognized, role in averting violence, resolving conflict, and rebuilding economies in postconflict societies. Women in conflict-affected areas face even greater challenges than men do in accessing employment, training, property rights, credit, and financial and nonfinancial resources for business development. Policies designed to ensure economic opportunity for women in conflict-affected areas play a significant role in economic rehabilitation and consolidation of peace.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(10) Given the important role of women in the economies of poor countries, poverty alleviation programs funded by the United States in poor countries should seek to enhance the level of economic opportunity available to women in those countries.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Statement of Purpose- The purpose of this Act is to ensure that the policies of the United States actively promote development and economic opportunities for women, including programs and policies that--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) promote women’s ability to start micro-, small-, or medium-sized business enterprises, and enable women to grow such enterprises, particularly from micro- to small-sized enterprises and from small- to medium-sized enterprises, or sustain current business capacity;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) promote the rights of women to own, manage, and inherit property, including land, encourage the adoption of laws and policies that support women in their efforts to enforce those rights in administrative and judicial tribunals, and address conflicts with country-specific legal regimes or practices (often known as ‘customary law’) to increase the ability of women to inherit and own real property;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) increase women’s access to employment, enable women to access higher quality jobs with better remuneration and working conditions in both informal and formal employment, and improve the quality of jobs in sectors dominated by women by improving the remuneration and working conditions for those jobs; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) bring the benefits of international trade policy to women in developing countries and continue to ensure that trade policies and agreements adequately reflect the respective needs of poor women and men.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 3. MICROFINANCE AND MICROENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE FOR WOMEN IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.

(a) Authorization; Implementation; Targeted Assistance-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) AUTHORIZATION- Section 252(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2211a(a)) is amended--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (4) as subparagraphs (A) through (D), respectively;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) by striking ‘The President is’ and inserting the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) IN GENERAL- The President is’; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) by adding at the end the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) ASSISTANCE FOR WOMEN IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES- In providing assistance under paragraph (1), the President shall pay special attention to the needs of women in developing countries, including by--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) carrying out specific activities to enhance the empowerment of women in developing countries, such as providing leadership training, basic health and HIV/AIDS education, and assistance with the development of literacy skills;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) carrying out initiatives to eliminate legal and institutional barriers to women’s ownership of assets, access to credit, access to information and communication technologies, and engagement in business activities within or outside of the home;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(C) providing assistance for capacity building for microfinance and microenterprise institutions to enable such institutions to better meet the credit, savings, insurance, and training needs of women who are microfinance and microenterprise clients; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(D) carrying out microfinance and microenterprise development programs that--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) specifically target women with respect to outreach and marketing;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) provide products specifically designed to address women’s assets and needs and the barriers women encounter with respect to participating in enterprise and financial services; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(iii) promote women’s ability to grow micro-enterprises to small- and medium-sized enterprises.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) IMPLEMENTATION- Section 252(b)(2)(C) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2211a(b)(2)(C)) is amended--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) in clause (ii)--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(i) by striking ‘microenterprise development field’ and inserting ‘microfinance and microenterprise development field’; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(ii) by striking ‘and’ at the end;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) in clause (iii)--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(i) by inserting after ‘competitive’ the following: ‘, take into consideration the anticipated impact of the proposals on the empowerment of women and men,’; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(ii) by striking the period at the end and inserting ‘; and’; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) by adding at the end the following new clause:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(iv) give preference to proposals from providers of assistance that demonstrate the greatest knowledge of clients’ needs and capabilities, including proposals that ensure that women are involved in the design and implementation of services and programs.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) TARGETED ASSISTANCE- Section 252(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2211a(c)) is amended--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) in the first sentence, by inserting before the period the following: ‘and an effort shall be made to target such resources to women’; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) in the second sentence, by striking ‘2006’ and inserting ‘2011’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Monitoring System- Section 253(b)(1) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2211b(b)(1)) is amended to read as follows:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) The monitoring system shall include performance goals for the assistance and shall express such goals, to the extent feasible--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) in an objective and quantifiable form;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) in a manner that describes the effects of such goals on women and men, respectively; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(C) in a manner that describes the number of women and the number of men benefiting from the assistance.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Microenterprise Development Credits- Section 256(b)(2) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2212(b)(2)) is amended by inserting before the semicolon the following: ‘, especially the needs of clients who are women’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(d) Additional Report Requirements- Section 258 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2214) is amended--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the following new paragraph:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(12) An estimate of the potential global demand for microfinance and microenterprise development for women, determined in collaboration with practitioners in a cost-effective manner, and a description of the Agency’s plan to help meet such demand.’;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d); andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new subsection:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(c) Additional Requirement- All information in the report required by this section relating to beneficiaries of assistance authorized by this title shall be disaggregated by sex to the maximum extent practicable.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 4. SUPPORT FOR WOMEN’S SMALL- AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.

(a) In General- The Secretary of State, acting through the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, shall--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) where appropriate, carry out programs, projects, and activities that meet the requirements described in subsection (b) for enterprise development for women in developing countries; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) ensure that any programs, projects, and activities for enterprise development for women in developing countries that are carried out pursuant to assistance provided under part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) meet the requirements described in subsection (b).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Requirements- A program, project, or activity described in subsection (a) meets the requirements described in this subsection if the program, project, or activity--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) in coordination with the governments of developing countries and interested individuals and organizations, promotes the development or enhancement of laws, regulations, or practices (including practices with respect to the enforcement of such laws or regulations) that improve access to banking and financial services for women-owned small- and medium-sized enterprises;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) promotes access to information and communication technologies by providing training with respect to such technologies for women-owned small- and medium-sized enterprises;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) provides training, through local associations of women-owned enterprises or nongovernmental organizations, with respect to recordkeeping, financial and personnel management, international trade, business planning, marketing, policy advocacy, leadership development, and other areas relevant to running enterprises;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) provides resources to establish and enhance local, national, and international networks and associations of women-owned small- and medium-sized enterprises;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(5) provides incentives for nongovernmental organizations and financial service providers to develop products, services, and marketing and outreach strategies specifically designed to facilitate and promote women’s participation in development programs for small- and medium-sized businesses by addressing women’s assets and needs and the barriers women face to participating in enterprise and financial services; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(6) seeks to award contracts to qualified small- and medium-sized enterprises owned by women, particularly indigenous women, including--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) for postconflict reconstruction; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) to facilitate employment of women, particularly indigenous women in jobs not traditionally undertaken by women.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 5. SUPPORT FOR PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS AND LAND TENURE SECURITY FOR WOMEN IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.

(a) In General- The Secretary of State, acting through the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, shall--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) where appropriate, carry out programs, projects, and activities to promote private property rights and land tenure security for women in developing countries that--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) are implemented by local, indigenous, nongovernmental, and community-based organizations, especially women’s organizations, that are dedicated to addressing the needs of women; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) otherwise meet the requirements described in subsection (b); andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) ensure that any programs, projects, and activities to promote private property rights and land tenure security for women in developing countries that are carried out pursuant to assistance provided under part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.)--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) are implemented by local, indigenous, nongovernmental, and community-based organizations, especially women’s organizations, that are dedicated to addressing the needs of women; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) otherwise meet the requirements described in subsection (b).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Requirements- A program, project, or activity described in subsection (a) meets the requirements described in this subsection if the program, project, or activity--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) advocates to amend and harmonize statutory and other country-specific legal regimes or practices to give women equal rights to own, use, and inherit property;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) promotes legal literacy among women and men about property rights for women and how to exercise such rights;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) assists women in making land claims and protecting existing land claims; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) advocates for equitable land titling and registration for women.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Amendment- Section 103(b)(1) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151a(b)(1)) is amended by inserting ‘, especially for women’ after ‘establishment of more equitable and more secure land tenure arrangements’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 6. SUPPORT FOR WOMEN’S ACCESS TO EMPLOYMENT IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.

The Secretary of State, acting through the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, shall, where appropriate--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) support activities to increase the access of women in developing countries to employment and to higher quality employment, in informal and formal employment, with better remuneration, working conditions, and benefits (including health insurance and other social safety nets) in accordance with the core labor standards of the International Labour Organization, including--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) public education efforts to inform poor women and men of women’s legal rights related to employment;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) education and vocational training tailored to enable poor women to access job opportunities, whether for formal or informal employment, in--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(i) sectors in their local economies with the potential for growth; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(ii) sectors in which women are not traditionally highly represented;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) efforts to support self-employed poor women or wage workers to form or join independent unions or other labor associations to increase their incomes and improve their working conditions; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(D) advocacy efforts to protect the rights of women in the workplace, including--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(i) developing programs with the participation of civil society to eliminate gender-based violence; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(ii) providing capacity-building assistance to women’s organizations to effectively research and monitor labor rights conditions; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) provide assistance to governments and nongovernmental organizations in developing countries seeking to design and implement laws, regulations, and programs to improve working conditions for women and to facilitate the entry into, and advancement in, the workplace by women.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 7. TRADE BENEFITS FOR WOMEN IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.

In order to ensure that poor women in developing countries are able to benefit from international trade, the President, acting through the Secretary of State (acting through the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development) and the heads of other appropriate departments and agencies of the United States, shall, where appropriate, provide the following training and education in developing countries:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) Training women in civil society organizations, including those organizations representing poor women, and women-owned enterprises and associations of such enterprises, on how to respond to economic opportunities created by trade preference programs, trade agreements, or other policies that create or facilitate market access. The training shall include information with respect to requirements and procedures for accessing the United States market.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) Training women entrepreneurs, including microentrepreneurs, with respect to production strategies, quality standards, formation of cooperatives, market research, and market development.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) Teaching women, including poor women, to promote diversification of products and value-added processing.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) Instructing negotiators officially representing the governments of developing countries in international trade negotiations in order to enhance the ability of the negotiators to formulate trade policy and negotiate agreements that take into account the respective needs and priorities of poor women and men in developing countries.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(5) Educating local groups representing indigenous women in developing countries in order to enhance the ability of those groups to collect information and data, formulate proposals, and inform and impact negotiators described in paragraph (4) with respect to the respective needs and priorities of poor women and men in developing countries.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 8. EXCHANGES BETWEEN UNITED STATES ENTREPRENEURS AND WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.

(a) Department of Commerce- The Secretary of Commerce shall, where appropriate, encourage representatives of United States businesses on trade missions to developing countries to--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) meet with representatives of women-owned small- and medium-sized enterprises in such countries; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) promote internship opportunities for women owners of small- and medium-sized enterprises in such countries with United States businesses.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Department of State- The Secretary of State shall promote exchange programs that offer representatives of women-owned small- and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries an opportunity to learn skills appropriate for promoting entrepreneurship by working with representatives of businesses in the United States.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 9. ASSISTANCE UNDER THE MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE ACCOUNT.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation shall seek to ensure that contracts and employment opportunities resulting from assistance provided by the Corporation to the governments of developing countries are fairly and equitably distributed to qualified women-owned small- and medium-sized enterprises and other civil society organizations led by women, including nongovernmental and community-based organizations, for projects, including for infrastructure projects, that facilitate employment of women in jobs not traditionally undertaken by women.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 10. GROWTH FUND.

(a) Establishment-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary of State, acting through the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, shall establish the Global Resources and Opportunities for Women to Thrive (GROWTH) Fund (in this section referred to as the ‘Fund’) for the purpose of enhancing economic opportunities for very poor, poor, and low-income women in developing countries with a focus on--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) increasing the development of women-owned enterprises;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) increasing property rights for women;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) increasing women’s access to financial services;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(D) increasing the number of women in leadership in implementing partner organizations (as defined in section 259(6) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2214a(6))), as well as financial service providers;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(E) improving the employment benefits and conditions available to women; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(F) increasing the benefits of international trade available to women.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) APPLICATION FOR FUNDS BY USAID MISSIONS-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) IN GENERAL- A mission of the United States Agency for International Development may apply for funds from the Fund to support specific activities, in addition to activities already carried out by that mission, that are described in subsection (b) and enhance economic opportunities for women in developing countries or integrate gender into economic opportunity programs.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT- Funds provided to a mission of the United States Agency for International Development pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall supplement and not supplant other funds available to that mission.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Activities Supported- The activities described in this subsection are--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) activities described in title VI of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2211 et seq.), as amended by section 3 of this Act;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) activities described in sections 4 through 7 of this Act; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) technical assistance to, and capacity building for, civil society organizations, particularly to carry out activities described in paragraphs (1) and (2), for--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) local and indigenous women’s organizations to the maximum extent practicable; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) local, indigenous, nongovernmental, and community-based organizations and financial service providers that demonstrate a commitment to gender equity in the leadership of such organizations and intermediaries either through current practice or through specific programs to increase the representation of women in the governance and management of such organizations and intermediaries.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 11. DATA COLLECTION.

The Secretary of State, acting through the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, shall--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) provide support for tracking indicators on women’s employment, property rights for women, women’s access to financial services, and women’s enterprise development, including microenterprises, in developing countries;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) to the extent practicable, track all foreign assistance funds provided by the United States to local, indigenous, nongovernmental, community-based organizations, and financial service providers in developing countries, including through subcontractors and grantees, disaggregated by the sex of the head of the organization, senior management, and composition of the boards of directors;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) encourage agencies of the United States that collect statistical data to provide support to agencies in developing countries that collect statistical data to collect data on the share of women in wage work and self-employment, disaggregated by type of employment; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) provide funding to the International Labour Organization--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) to carry out technical assistance activities in developing countries; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) to consolidate data indicators collected in different developing countries into cross-country data sets.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 12. SUPPORT FOR WOMEN’S ORGANIZATIONS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.

(a) Amendments- Section 102 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151-1) is amended--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) in subsection (a), by inserting after the ninth sentence the following new sentences: ‘Because men and women generally occupy different economic niches in poor countries, activities must address those differences in ways that enable both women and men to contribute to and benefit from development. Throughout the world, indigenous, local, nongovernmental and community-based organizations, as well as financial service providers, are essential to addressing many of the development challenges facing countries and to creating stable, functioning democracies. Investing in the capacity of such organizations, including women’s organizations, and in their roles in the development process shall be an important, cross-cutting objective of United States bilateral development assistance.’; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) in subsection (b)--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end the following new sentence: ‘The principles described in this paragraph shall, among other strategies, be accomplished through partnerships with local, indigenous, nongovernmental, and community-based organizations, as well as financial service providers, that represent the interests of women.’; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) in paragraph (6), by adding at the end the following new sentence: ‘Such participation and improvement shall be encouraged and promoted by, among other strategies, investing in the capacity of and participation in local, indigenous, nongovernmental, and community-based organizations, especially women’s organizations, dedicated to addressing the needs of women.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Assistance- The Secretary of State, acting through the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, shall, where appropriate--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) ensure project proposals include capacity building and technical assistance for local, indigenous, nongovernmental, organizations and community-based organizations dedicated to addressing the needs of women, especially women’s organizations, to promote the long-term sustainability of projects;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) provide information and training to local, indigenous, nongovernmental, and community-based organizations, especially women’s organizations, focused on women’s empowerment in countries in which missions of the United States Agency for International Development are located in order to--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) provide technical assistance with respect to United States foreign assistance procurement procedures; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) undertake culturally appropriate outreach measures to contact such organizations;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) encourage recipients of United States technical and financial aid to the maximum extent practicable, to provide financial support to local, indigenous, nongovernmental, and community-based organizations that focus on women’s empowerment, including women’s organizations and other organizations that may not have previously worked with the United States or a partner of the United States, in fulfilling project objectives;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) work with local governments to conduct outreach campaigns to register, as required by local laws and regulations, unofficial local, indigenous, nongovernmental, and community-based organizations, especially women’s organizations; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(5) support efforts of indigenous organizations, especially women’s organizations, focused on women’s empowerment to network with other indigenous women’s groups to collectively access funding opportunities to implement United States foreign assistance programs.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 13. REPORT.

(a) Report Required- Not later than June 30, 2011, the Secretary of State, acting through the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, shall submit to Congress a report on the implementation of this Act and the amendments made by this Act.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Update- Not later than June 30, 2012, the Secretary of State, acting through the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, shall submit to Congress an update of the report required by subsection (a).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Availability to Public- The report required by subsection (a) and the update required by subsection (b) shall be made available to the public on the Internet websites of the Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 14. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

(a) In General- There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of State to carry out sections 10 and 11--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) $40,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2012 and 2013.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Availability- Amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization of appropriations under subsection (a)--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) are authorized to remain available until expended; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) shall supplement and not supplant any other amounts available for the purposes described in sections 10 and 11.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink