Microenterprise Act

Summary: Microenterprise Act - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize the President to provide certain assistance to increase the availability of credit to micro- and small enterprises lacking full access to credit.  Authorizes the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (AID) to provide grant assistance for programs of credit and other assistance for microenterprises in developing countries.  Urges the Administrator to establish a monitoring system that establishes performance goals for such assistance.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Microenterprise Act''.

SEC. 2. MICRO- AND SMALL ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT CREDITS.

    Section 108 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151f) 
is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 108. MICRO- AND SMALL ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT CREDITS.

    ``(a) Findings and Policy.--The Congress finds and declares that--
            ``(1) the development of micro- and small enterprise, 
        including cooperatives, is a vital factor in the stable growth 
        of developing countries and in the development and stability of 
        a free, open, and equitable international economic system;
            ``(2) it is, therefore, in the best interests of the United 
        States to assist the development of the private sector in 
        developing countries and to engage the United States private 
        sector in that process;
            ``(3) the support of private enterprise can be served by 
        programs providing credit, training, and technical assistance 
        for the benefit of micro- and small enterprises; and
            ``(4) programs that provide credit, training, and technical 
        assistance to private institutions can serve as a valuable 
        complement to grant assistance provided for the purpose of 
        benefiting micro- and small private enterprise.
    ``(b) Program.--To carry out the policy set forth in subsection 
(a), the President is authorized to provide assistance to increase the 
availability of credit to micro- and small enterprises lacking full 
access to credit, including through--
            ``(1) loans and guarantees to credit institutions for the 
        purpose of expanding the availability of credit to micro- and 
        small enterprises;
            ``(2) training programs for lenders in order to enable them 
        to better meet the credit needs of micro- and small 
        entrepreneurs; and
            ``(3) training programs for micro- and small entrepreneurs 
        in order to enable them to make better use of credit and to 
        better manage their enterprises.''.

SEC. 3. MICROENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT GRANT ASSISTANCE.

    Chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 
U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section:

``SEC. 129. MICROENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT GRANT ASSISTANCE.

    ``(a) Authorization.--(1) In carrying out this part, the 
Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development 
is authorized to provide grant assistance for programs of credit and 
other assistance for microenterprises in developing countries.
    ``(2) Assistance authorized under paragraph (1) 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
            ``(C) other indigenous governmental and nongovernmental 
        organizations.
    ``(3) Approximately one-half of the credit assistance authorized 
under paragraph (1) shall be used for poverty lending programs, 
including the poverty lending portion of mixed programs. Such 
programs--
            ``(A) shall meet the needs of the very poor members of 
        society, particularly poor women; and
            ``(B) should provide loans of $300 or less in 1995 United 
        States dollars to such poor members of society.
    ``(4) The Administrator should continue support for mechanisms 
that--
            ``(A) provide technical support for field missions;
            ``(B) strengthen the institutional development of the 
        intermediary organizations described in paragraph (2); and
            ``(C) share information relating to the provision of 
        assistance authorized under paragraph (1) between such field 
        missions and intermediary organizations.
    ``(b) Monitoring System.--In order to maximize the sustainable 
development impact of the assistance authorized under subsection 
(a)(1), the Administrator should 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; and
            ``(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.''.

            Passed the House of Representatives July 29, 1996.

            Attest:

                                                ROBIN H. CARLE,

                                                                 Clerk.