Legislation on Foreign Relations Through ...

ment Corporation, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the Bank for Economic Cooperation and Development in the Middle East and North Africa.

(3) SECRETARY.-The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Treasury.

(4) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.-The term "technical assistance" includes

(A) the use of short-term and long-term expert advisers to assist foreign governments and foreign central banks for the purposes described in subsection (b)(1);

(B) training in the recipient country, the United States, or elsewhere for the purposes described in subsection (b)(1);

(D) grants to United States nonprofit organizations to provide services or products which contribute to the provision of advice to foreign governments and foreign central banks; and

(E) study tours for foreign officials in the United States or elsewhere for the purpose of providing technical information to such officials.

(5) FOREIGN PARTICIPANT.-The term "foreign participant" means the national of a developing or transitional country that is receiving assistance under the program established under subsection (a) who has been designated to participate in activities under such program.

(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

(1) IN GENERAL.-There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 for fiscal year 1999.

(2) AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS.-Amounts authorized to be appropriated under paragraph (1) are authorized to remain available until expended.

SEC. 130.121 ASSISTANCE FOR VICTIMS OF TORTURE.

(a) IN GENERAL.-The President is authorized to provide assistance for the rehabilitation of victims of torture.

(b) ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANTS.-Such assistance shall be provided in the form of grants to treatment centers and programs in foreign countries that are carrying out projects or activities specifically de

121 22 U.S.C. 2152. Added by sec. 4(a) of the Torture Victims Relief Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-320; 112 Stat. 3016), as sec. 129, effective October 1, 1998. See also sec. 4(b) of that Act (p. 425), which authorized $5,000,000 for fiscal year 1999 and $7,500,000 for fiscal year 2000 to carry out this section. Sec. 6(a) of Public Law 106-87 (113 Stat. 1302) redesignated as sec. 130.

Sec. 2 of the Torture Victims Relief Reauthorization Act of 1999 (Public Law 106-87; 113 Stat. 1301) provided the following:

"SEC. 2. FOREIGN TREATMENT CENTERS FOR VICTIMS OF TORTURE.

“(a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.-Of the amounts authorized to be appropriated for fiscal years 2001, 2002, and 2003 pursuant to chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, there are authorized to be appropriated to the President $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2001, $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2002, and $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2003 to carry out section 130 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.

"(b) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.-Amounts appropriated pursuant to this section shall remain available until expended.".

See also legislation relating to torture victims relief in Legislation on Foreign Relations Through 2001, vol. I-B.

signed to treat victims of torture for the physical and psychological effects of the torture.

(1) for direct services to victims of torture; and

(2) to provide research and training to health care providers outside of treatment centers or programs described in subsection (b), for the purpose of enabling such providers to provide the services described in paragraph (1).

SEC. 131.122 MICROENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT GRANT ASSISTANCE. (a) FINDINGS AND POLICY.-Congress finds and declares that—

(1) the development of microenterprise is a vital factor in the stable growth of developing countries and in the development of free, open, and equitable international economic systems;

(2) it is therefore in the best interest of the United States to assist the development of microenterprises in developing countries; and

(3) the support of microenterprise can be served by programs providing credit, savings, training, technical assistance, and business development services.

(b) AUTHORIZATION.—

122 22 U.S.C. 2152a. Added by sec. 105 of the Microenterprise for Self-Reliance Act of 2000 (title I of Public Law 106-309; 114 Stat. 1082). Sec. 108 of that Act (114 Stat. 1087) provided the following:

"SEC. 108. REPORT RELATING TO FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF MICROENTERPRISE INSTITUTIONS.

"(a) REPORT.-Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the most cost-effective methods and measurements for increasing the access of poor people overseas to credit, other financial services, and related training.

"(b) CONTENTS.-The report described in subsection (a)—

"(1) shall include how the President, in consultation with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of the Treasury, will develop a comprehensive strategy for advancing the global microenterprise sector in a way that maintains market principles while ensuring that the very poor overseas, particularly women, obtain access to financial services overseas;

"(2) shall provide guidelines and recommendations for

"(A) instruments to assist microenterprise networks to develop multi-country and regional microlending programs;

"(B) technical assistance to foreign governments, foreign central banks, and regulatory entities to improve the policy environment for microfinance institutions, and to strengthen the capacity of supervisory bodies to supervise microfinance institutions; "(C) the potential for Federal chartering of United States-based international microfinance network institutions, including proposed legislation;

"(D) instruments to increase investor confidence in microfinance institutions which would strengthen the long-term financial position of the microfinance institutions and attract capital from private sector entities and individuals, such as a rating system for microfinance institutions and local credit bureaus;

"(E) an agenda for integrating microfinance into United States foreign policy initiatives seeking to develop and strengthen the global finance sector; and

"(F) innovative instruments to attract funds from the capital markets, such as instruments for leveraging funds from the local commercial banking sector, and the securitization of microloan portfolios; and

"(3) shall include a section that assesses the need for a microenterprise accelerated growth fund and that includes

"(A) a description of the benefits of such a fund;

"(B) an identification of which microenterprise institutions might become eligible for assistance from such fund;

"(C) a description of how such a fund could be administered;

"(D) a recommendation on which agency or agencies of the United States Government should administer the fund and within which such agency the fund should be located; and

"(E) a recommendation on how soon it might be necessary to establish such a fund in order to provide the support necessary for microenterprise institutions involved in microenterprise development.

"(c) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DEFINED.-In this section, the term 'appropriate congressional committees' means the Committee on International Relations of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.".

(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this part, the President is authorized to provide grant assistance for programs to increase the availability of credit and other services to microenterprises lacking full access to capital training, technical assistance, and business development services, through

(A) grants to microfinance institutions for the purpose of expanding the availability of credit, savings, and other financial services to microentrepreneurs;

(B) grants to microenterprise institutions for the purpose of training, technical assistance, and business development services for microenterprises to enable them to make better use of credit, to better manage their enterprises, and to increase their income and build their assets;

(C) capacity-building for microenterprise institutions in order to enable them to better meet the credit and training needs of microentrepreneurs; and

(D) policy and regulatory programs at the country level that improve the environment for microentrepreneurs and microenterprise institutions that serve the poor and very

poor.

(2) IMPLEMENTATION.-Assistance authorized under paragraph (1)(A) and (B) shall be provided through organizations that have a capacity to develop and implement microenterprise programs, including particularly

(A) United States and indigenous private and voluntary organizations;

(B) United States and indigenous credit unions and cooperative organizations; or

(3) TARGETED ASSISTANCE.-In carrying out sustainable poverty-focused programs under paragraph (1), 50 percent of all microenterprise resources shall be targeted to very poor entrepreneurs, defined as those living in the bottom 50 percent below the poverty line as established by the national government of the country. Specifically, such resources shall be used for

(A) direct support of programs under this subsection through practitioner institutions that

(i) provide credit and other financial services to entrepreneurs who are very poor, with loans in 1995 United States dollars of—

(I) $1,000 or less in the Europe and Eurasia region;

(II) $400 or less in the Latin America region; and

(III) $300 or less in the rest of the world; and (ii) can cover their costs in a reasonable time period;

(B) demand-driven business development programs that achieve reasonable cost recovery that are provided to clients holding poverty loans (as defined by the regional poverty loan limitations in subparagraph (A)(i)), whether they

are provided by microfinance institutions or by specialized business development services providers.

(4) SUPPORT FOR CENTRAL MECHANISMS.-The President should continue support for central mechanisms and missions, as appropriate, that

(A) provide technical support for field missions;

(B) strengthen the institutional development of the intermediary organizations described in paragraph (2);

(C) share information relating to the provision of assistance authorized under paragraph (1) between such field missions and intermediary organizations; and

(D) support the development of nonprofit global microfinance networks, including credit union systems, that—

(i) are able to deliver very small loans through a significant grassroots infrastructure based on market principles; and

(ii) act as wholesale intermediaries providing a range of services to microfinance retail institutions, including financing, technical assistance, capacity-building, and safety and soundness accreditation.

(5) LIMITATION.-Assistance provided under this subsection may only be used to support microenterprise programs and may not be used to support programs not directly related to the purposes described in paragraph (1).

(c) MONITORING SYSTEM.-In order to maximize the sustainable development impact of the assistance authorized under subsection (b)(1), the Administrator of the agency primarily responsible for administering this part shall establish a monitoring system that

(1) establishes performance goals for such assistance and expresses such goals in an objective and quantifiable form, to the extent feasible;

(2) establishes performance indicators to be used in measuring or assessing the achievement of the goals and objectives of such assistance;

(3) provides a basis for recommendations for adjustments to such assistance to enhance the sustainable development impact of such assistance, particularly the impact of such assistance on the very poor, particularly poor women; and

(4) provides a basis for recommendations for adjustments to measures for reaching the poorest of the poor, including proposed legislation containing amendments to enhance the sustainable development impact of such assistance, as described in paragraph (3).

(d) LEVEL OF ASSISTANCE.-Of the funds made available under this part, the FREEDOM Support Act, and the Support for East European Democracy (SEED) Act of 1989, including local currencies derived from such funds, there are authorized to be available $155,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2001 and 2002, to carry out this section.

(e) DEFINITIONS.-In this section:

(1) BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SERVICES.-The term "business development services" means support for the growth of microenterprises through training, technical assistance, marketing

assistance, improved production technologies, and other services.

(2) MICROENTERPRISE INSTITUTION.-The term "microenterprise institution" means an institution that provides services, including microfinance, training, or business development services, for microentrepreneurs.

(3) MICROFINANCE INSTITUTION.-The term "microfinance institution" means an institution that directly provides, or works to expand, the availability of credit, savings, and other financial services to microentrepreneurs.

(4) PRACTITIONER INSTITUTION.-The term "practitioner institution" means any institution that provides services, including microfinance, training, or business development services, for microentrepreneurs, or provides assistance to microenterprise institutions.

SEC. 132.123 UNITED STATES MICROFINANCE LOAN FACILITY.

(a) ESTABLISHMENT.-The Administrator is authorized to establish a United States Microfinance Loan Facility (in this section referred to as the "Facility") to pool and manage the risk from natural disasters, war or civil conflict, national financial crisis, or shortterm financial movements that threaten the long-term development of United States-supported microfinance institutions.

(b) DISBURSEMENTS.—

(1) IN GENERAL.-The Administrator shall make disbursements from the Facility to United States-supported microfinance institutions to prevent the bankruptcy of such institutions caused by

(A) natural disasters;

(B) national wars or civil conflict; or

(C) national financial crisis or other short-term financial movements that threaten the long-term development of United States-supported microfinance institutions.

(2) FORM OF ASSISTANCE.-Assistance under this section shall be in the form of loans or loan guarantees for microfinance institutions that demonstrate the capacity to resume self-sustained operations within a reasonable time period.

(3) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES.-During each of the fiscal years 2001 and 2002, funds may not be made available from the Facility until 15 days after notification of the proposed availability of the funds has been provided to the congressional committees specified in section 634A in accordance with the procedures applicable to reprogramming notifications under that section.

(1) POLICY PROVISIONS.-In providing the credit assistance authorized by this section, the Administrator should apply, as

123 22 U.S.C. 2152b. Added by sec. 107(a) of the Microenterprise for Self-Reliance Act of 2000 (title I of Public Law 106-309; 114 Stat. 1086). Sec. 107(b) of that Act provided the following: "(b) REPORT.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the committee on International Relations of the House of Representatives a report on the policies, rules, and regulations of the United States Microfinance Loan Facility, established under section 132 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as added by subsection (a).".

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