I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4674 

To support the sustainable recovery and rebuilding of Nepal following the 

recent, devastating earthquakes near Kathmandu. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 2, 2016 

Ms. MENG (for herself, Mr. CRENSHAW, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. SALMON, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. CROWLEY, and Mr. POLIS) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To support the sustainable recovery and rebuilding of Nepal 

following the recent, devastating earthquakes near 

Kathmandu. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Nepal Recovery Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

6 In this Act: 

7 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis8 trator’’ means the Administrator of the United 

9 States Agency for International Development. 


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1 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT2 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com3 mittees’’ means— 

4 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

5 the Senate; 

6 (B) the Committee on Appropriations of 

7 the Senate; 

8 (C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

9 the House of Representatives; and 

10 (D) the Committee on Appropriations of 

11 the House of Representatives. 

12 (3) INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITU13 TION.—The term ‘‘international financial institu14 tion’’ means— 

15 (A) each of the institutions listed in sec16 tion 1701(c)(2) of the International Financial 

17 Institutions Act (22 U.S.C. 262r(c)(2)); and 

18 (B) the International Fund for Agricul19 tural Development. 

20 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

21 Congress makes the following findings: 

22 (1) On April 25, 2015, an earthquake meas23 uring 7.8 on the Richter scale and a subsequent 

24 earthquake on May 12 measuring 7.3 on the Richter 

25 scale and numerous aftershocks— 


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1 (A) devastated Kathmandu, Nepal, and the 

2 surrounding areas; 

3 (B) killed more than 8,700 people; 

4 (C) injured hundreds of thousands addi5 tional people; 

6 (D) destroyed or damaged more than 

7 770,000 homes, leaving the families who had 

8 been living in those homes without shelter; 

9 (E) damaged or destroyed more than 

10 47,000 classrooms; 

11 (F) damaged or destroyed over 1,000 

12 health facilities including primary health care 

13 centers and birthing centers; 

14 (G) left many people with newly acquired 

15 disabilities, including lost limbs and other phys16 ical and mental trauma; 

17 (H) severely impacted livelihoods and food 

18 security for millions of people, including the de19 struction of stockpiled grains and the loss of 

20 more than 17,000 cattle and 40,000 smaller do21 mesticated animals; and 

22 (I) disrupted social structures and families 

23 through death, injury, and relocation. 


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1 (2) The earthquake devastated Nepal’s infra2 structure, including homes, offices, factories, roads, 

3 bridges, communications, and other facilities. 

4 (3) American citizens were also killed in the 

5 widespread destruction caused by the earthquake. 

6 (4) Six American servicemembers and 2 mem7 bers of the Nepalese Army lost their lives in a heli8 copter accident while working to relieve the suffering 

9 of the Nepalese people following the earthquake. 

10 (5) The World Bank and the Government of 

11 Nepal conducted a post disaster needs assessment 

12 that estimated almost $6,700,000,000 in sector spe13 cific damage, losses, and recovery needs. 

14 (6) In Nepal, which is one of the poorest coun15 tries in the world— 

16 (A) an estimated 25 percent of the popu17 lation lives on less than $1.25 per day; 

18 (B) there is a 46-percent unemployment 

19 rate, with the majority of the population en20 gaged in subsistence agriculture; 

21 (C) only 25 percent of Nepalese participate 

22 in the formal banking system, with the majority 

23 of Nepalese severely lacking access to credit 

24 and financial services, making accessing credit 

25 for rebuilding difficult; and 


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1 (D) has one of the slowest economic 

2 growth rates in the region. 

3 (7) The geography of Nepal poses a significant 

4 challenge to relief, reconstruction, and development 

5 that requires extraordinary efforts and assets to 

6 overcome. 

7 (8) The United States Government, the Govern8 ment of Nepal, and civil society organizations have 

9 invested in disaster risk reduction efforts for nearly 

10 20 years. Those efforts have reduced suffering and 

11 prevented greater loss of life and property. 

12 (9) In recent years, the Government and people 

13 of Nepal have taken important steps forward to re14 solve civil conflict, reconcile, and promote economic 

15 growth and development. 

16 (10) Nepal has qualified for the Millennium 

17 Challenge Corporation Threshold Program and has 

18 been selected for a Millennium Challenge Corpora19 tion Compact, based on its performance on key se20 lection criteria. 

21 (11) The earthquake has significantly increased 

22 the costs and uncertainty of doing business in 

23 Nepal. 


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1 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

2 It is the policy of the United States, in partnership 

3 with the Government of Nepal and in coordination with 

4 the international community— 

5 (1) to support the sustainable recovery and re6 building of Nepal in a manner that— 

7 (A) encourages greater economic growth; 

8 (B) embraces the independence, resilience, 

9 and democratic governance of Nepal; 

10 (C) supports collaboration with the Gov11 ernment of Nepal and consultation with Nepa12 lese and international civil society and including 

13 the participation of affected communities in 

14 planning and implementing recovery and recon15 struction; 

16 (D) ensures that the National Reconstruc17 tion Authority institutes strong internal ac18 counting and accountability measures; 

19 (E) seeks to reach the most severely af20 fected communities, particularly those who live 

21 in hard-to-reach areas or who are otherwise 

22 marginalized; 

23 (F) seeks to address the vulnerability of 

24 young girls and boys who are often at much 

25 higher risk of trafficking, sexual exploitation, 


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1 child labor, and other forms of abuse during 

2 emergencies; 

3 (G) prohibits the participation of the 

4 United States in any construction effort, which 

5 uses forced or child labor, unregistered recruit6 ment agencies, or pays wages through means 

7 other than directly to the laborer or to their 

8 bank account; 

9 (H) promotes compliance with Nepalese 

10 labor law and internationally recognized core 

11 labor standards, as set forth in the Inter12 national Labor Organization Declaration on 

13 Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work 

14 and its followup; 

15 (I) harnesses the energy of youth, who 

16 make up 33 percent of Nepal’s population, to 

17 rebuild Nepal; 

18 (J) includes regulatory reforms that im19 prove the environment for investors; 

20 (K) supports the role of women in the re21 construction and recovery effort; 

22 (L) rebuilds in ways that foster resilience 

23 to future earthquakes, landslides, and other 

24 natural disasters that threaten Nepal; 


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1 (M) enables a rapid return to school for 

2 children, including the rapid construction and 

3 effective utilization of medium-term temporary 

4 school structures; and 

5 (N) coordinates activities with the Millen6 nium Challenge Corporation and other agencies 

7 to assure the optimal efficiency and effective8 ness of United States efforts; 

9 (2) to encourage all international donors to con10 tribute and coordinate in a transparent manner and 

11 report all contributions through international mecha12 nisms to enable the most efficient allocation of all 

13 reconstruction resources; 

14 (3) to ensure that ongoing development invest15 ments in health, education, economic growth, food 

16 security, and other areas continue, where appro17 priate, and are not diverted to other purposes; 

18 (4) to affirm and build a long-term partnership 

19 with Nepal in support of providing a foundation for 

20 economic growth and sustainability through invest21 ments— 

22 (A) in essential infrastructure, including 

23 transport, financial services, and energy; 

24 (B) to rebuild Nepal’s competitiveness and 

25 private sector in order to foster employment 


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1 generation, including policies to encourage in2 vestment and open world consumer markets to 

3 Nepalese exports; 

4 (C) in food security and rural and agricul5 tural development, particularly of food staples 

6 and other crops that provide economic growth 

7 and build lasting food security; and 

8 (D) that recognize and address how obsta9 cles related to gender limit, hinder, or suppress 

10 the economic productivity and gain of women; 

11 (5) to ensure, with the Government of Nepal, 

12 that affected children are protected from potential 

13 violence, abuse, neglect, and exploitation and have 

14 the ability to access child protection services, includ15 ing psychosocial support; 

16 (6) to support, in coordination with other do17 nors— 

18 (A) the institutional development and ca19 pacity building of the Government of Nepal at 

20 the national, local, and community levels so 

21 that the Government of Nepal can ensure basic 

22 services for its population, including health 

23 care, education, and other basic social services; 


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1 (B) contributions to a multilateral trust 

2 fund that will be established to enhance the re3 construction and rebuilding of Nepal; 

4 (C) the Government and people of Nepal to 

5 lead the vision for reconstruction and rebuilding 

6 of Nepal; and 

7 (D) communities to fully participate in the 

8 recovery and reconstruction process, by employ9 ing local labor, as appropriate, and consulting 

10 local leaders, affected communities, and civil so11 ciety for their experience and vision; and 

12 (7) to address the stateless populations in 

13 Nepal, including Tibetan communities, who— 

14 (A) are least likely to receive support 

15 through the regular government systems; and 

16 (B) may have particularly greater or dif17 ferent needs. 

18 SEC. 5. TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of 

20 funds, the President may provide technical and financial 

21 assistance for programs that— 

22 (1) improve Nepal’s basic infrastructure fol23 lowing the earthquakes in affected communities; 

24 (2) support economic growth, including through 

25 agriculture and small-scale enterprise opportunities; 


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1 (3) promote health and basic education pro2 grams; and 

3 (4) support democracy programs that promote 

4 political reforms, as appropriate, including strength5 ening democratic institutions and rule of law. 

6 (b) FAST-TRACK OF INVESTMENT FEASIBILITY AND

7 ASSESSMENT STUDIES.—The Director of the United 

8 States Trade and Development Agency may proactively 

9 explore and provide accelerated response in Nepal for— 

10 (1) project identification and investment anal11 yses; 

12 (2) trade capacity building and sector develop13 ment activities, including technical assistance and 

14 feasibility studies that support investments in infra15 structure that contribute to overseas development; 

16 and 

17 (3) trade capacity building and sector develop18 ment assistance supporting the establishment of in19 dustry standards, rules, regulations, market liberal20 ization, and other policy reform, with a particular 

21 focus on engineering and construction. 

22 SEC. 6. REPORTS. 

23 (a) REPORT ON IMPACT OF DISASTER RISK REDUC24 TION EFFORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 

25 the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit 


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1 a report to the appropriate congressional committees 

2 that— 

3 (1) assesses the effectiveness of United States 

4 investments in Nepal in disaster risk reduction and 

5 earthquake resilience during the 20-year period end6 ing on the date of the enactment of this Act; and 

7 (2) includes a set of recommendations for how 

8 the efficiency and effectiveness of disaster risk and 

9 recovery programs can be improved in Nepal and 

10 other countries with substantial disaster risk and re11 covery programming. 

12 (b) REPORT ON HUMANITARIAN RELIEF EFFORTS.— 

13 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of 

14 this Act, the Administrator, in consultation with the Sec15 retary of Defense, shall submit a report to the appropriate 

16 congressional committees that— 

17 (1) describes the cost, effectiveness, timeliness, 

18 and impact of the international humanitarian and 

19 reconstruction assistance provided to Nepal; and 

20 (2) includes an assessment of the efforts of the 

21 United States to prevent corruption during the hu22 manitarian response and reconstruction work. 

23 (c) REPORT ON IMPEDIMENTS TO NEPAL’S RECOV24 ERY.—Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact25 ment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in coordination 


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1 with the Administrator of the United States Agency for 

2 International Development and the heads of other appro3 priate departments and agencies, shall submit a report to 

4 the appropriate congressional committees that includes— 

5 (1) a description of the impediments to Nepal’s 

6 recovery efforts, including the flow of goods and 

7 services to and from Nepal; 

8 (2) a strategy to address and mitigate political, 

9 diplomatic, and economic challenges to reconstruc10 tion efforts, including ensuring the efficient use, and 

11 timely distribution, of United States Government as12 sistance; 

13 (3) an assessment of the impact of any impedi14 ments to energy resources, tourism, medical care, 

15 educational institutions, and the housing sector; 

16 (4) an assessment of the effects of these im17 pediments to ongoing United States Government as18 sistance programs throughout Nepal, including those 

19 not directly related to earthquake recovery activities; 

20 and 

21 (5) a detailed summary of any United States 

22 Government bilateral and multilateral efforts to en23 list bilateral or multilateral support to mitigate polit24 ical, diplomatic, and economic challenges to Nepal’s 

25 recovery. 


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1 (d) QUARTERLY BRIEFINGS.—The Secretary of 

2 State, in coordination with the Administrator of the 

3 United States Agency for International Development and 

4 the heads of any other appropriate departments and agen5 cies, shall provide quarterly briefings through the end of 

6 fiscal year 2018 to the appropriate congressional commit7 tees on the efforts of the United States Government to 

8 ensure the efficient and effective distribution of United 

9 States assistance to contribute to Nepal’s recovery and to 

10 carry out the objectives of this Act. 

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