II 

Calendar No. 246 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 832 

To enhance the transparency and accelerate the impact of programs under 

the African Growth and Opportunity Act and the Millennium Challenge 

Corporation, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 5 (legislative day, APRIL 4), 2017 

Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. COONS, Mr. PETERS, Mr. MURPHY, and Mr. BOOKER) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

OCTOBER 17, 2017 

Reported by Mr. CORKER, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To enhance the transparency and accelerate the impact of 

programs under the African Growth and Opportunity 

Act and the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and for 

other purposes. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘African Growth and 

3 Opportunity Act and Millennium Challenge Act Mod4 ernization Act’’ or the ‘‘AGOA and MCA Modernization 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

7 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

TITLE I—ENHANCEMENT OF THE AFRICAN GROWTH AND 

OPPORTUNITY ACT 

Sec. 101. Statement of policy. 

Sec. 102. Definitions. 

Sec. 103. Activities in support of transparency. 

Sec. 104. Activities in support of trade capacity building. 

TITLE II—MODERNIZATION OF THE MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE 

CORPORATION 

Sec. 201. Candidacy status. 

Sec. 202. Carryover authority for private sector members of board of directors. 

Sec. 203. Additional reporting to the board on the treatment of civil society in 

an eligible country. 

Sec. 204. Concurrent compacts under the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003. 

Sec. 205. Public notification of entering into a compact. 

Sec. 206. Disclosure. 

Sec. 207. Restriction on the use of assistance under section 616. 

Sec. 208. Study on subnational compacts. 

8 TITLE I—ENHANCEMENT OF THE 

9 AFRICAN GROWTH AND OP10 PORTUNITY ACT 

11 SEC. 101. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

12 It is the policy of the United States to support ef13 forts— 


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1 (1) to improve the rule of law, promote free and 

2 fair elections, strengthen and expand the private sec3 tor, and fight corruption in sub-Saharan Africa; and 

4 (2) to promote the role of women in social, po5 litical, and economic development in sub-Saharan 

6 Africa. 

7 SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this title: 

9 (1) AGOA WEBSITE.—The term ‘‘AGOA 

10 website’’ means the website created by the President 

11 under section 103 to collect and disseminate infor12 mation regarding the African Growth and Oppor13 tunity Act (19 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.). 

14 (2) ELIGIBLE SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN COUN15 TRY.—The term ‘‘eligible sub-Saharan African coun16 try’’ means a country that the President has deter17 mined meets the eligibility requirements set forth in 

18 section 104 of the African Growth and Opportunity 

19 Act (19 U.S.C. 3703). 

20 SEC. 103. ACTIVITIES IN SUPPORT OF TRANSPARENCY. 

21 (a) AGOA WEBSITE.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall establish 

23 a publicly available Internet website for the collec24 tion and dissemination of information regarding the 


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1 African Growth and Opportunity Act (title I of Pub2 lic Law 106–200). 

3 (2) CONTENTS.—The President shall publish, 

4 on the AGOA website, the information described in 

5 paragraph (1), including— 

6 (A) information and technical assistance 

7 provided at United States Agency for Inter8 national Development regional trade hubs; and 

9 (B) a link to the websites of United States 

10 embassies located in eligible sub-Saharan Afri11 can countries. 

12 (3) ACTIONS BY UNITED STATES EMBASSIES.— 

13 The Secretary of State should direct United States 

14 embassies located in eligible sub-Saharan African 

15 countries— 

16 (A) to encourage such countries to use the 

17 benefits available under the African Growth and 

18 Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.); and 

19 (B) to include a link to the AGOA website 

20 on the websites of such diplomatic missions. 

21 (b) AGOA FORUM.—After each meeting of the 

22 United States—Sub-Saharan Africa Trade and Economic 

23 Cooperation Forum, the President should publish on the 

24 AGOA website— 


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1 (1) the outcomes of the meeting of the Forum, 

2 including any commitments made by member coun3 tries and the private sector; and 

4 (2) an assessment of progress made with re5 spect to any commitments made by member coun6 tries and the private sector from the previous meet7 ing of the Forum. 

8 (c) OTHER INFORMATION.—The President should— 

9 (1) disseminate the information required under 

10 this section to the public in a digital format; and 

11 (2) publish such information on the AGOA 

12 website. 

13 SEC. 104. ACTIVITIES IN SUPPORT OF TRADE CAPACITY 

14 BUILDING. 

15 The President should— 

16 (1) develop and implement policies that— 

17 (A) encourage and facilitate cross-bound18 ary cooperation among eligible sub-Saharan Af19 rican countries in order to facilitate trade; and 

20 (B) encourage the provision of technical 

21 assistance to eligible sub-Saharan African coun22 tries to establish and sustain adequate trade ca23 pacity development; 

24 (2) provide specific training for businesses in el25 igible sub-Saharan African countries and governVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Oct 17, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S832.RS S832

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1 ment trade officials of such countries on accessing 

2 the benefits under the African Growth and Oppor3 tunity Act and other trade preference programs; 

4 (3) provide capacity building for African entre5 preneurs and trade associations on production strat6 egies, quality standards, formation of cooperatives, 

7 market research, and market development; 

8 (4) provide capacity building training to pro9 mote diversification of African products and value10 added processing; and 

11 (5) provide capacity building and technical as12 sistance funding for African businesses and institu13 tions to help such businesses and institutions comply 

14 with United States counter-terrorism initiatives and 

15 policies. 

16 TITLE II—MODERNIZATION OF 

17 THE MILLENNIUM CHAL18 LENGE CORPORATION 

19 SEC. 201. CANDIDACY STATUS. 

20 (a) LOW INCOME COUNTRIES.—Section 606(a) of the 

21 Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7705(a)) 

22 is amended— 

23 (1) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ‘‘(3)’’ and 

24 inserting ‘‘(4)’’; 

25 (2) in paragraph (2)— 


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1 (A) by amending the paragraph heading to 

2 read as follows: ‘‘FISCAL YEARS 2005 THROUGH

3 2012’’; and 

4 (B) by striking ‘‘fiscal year 2005 or a sub5 sequent fiscal year’’ and inserting ‘‘each of the 

6 fiscal years 2005 through 2012’’; 

7 (3) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para8 graph (4); and 

9 (4) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(3) FISCAL YEAR 2013 AND SUBSEQUENT FIS12 CAL YEARS.—A country shall be a candidate country 

13 for purposes of eligibility for assistance for fiscal 

14 year 2013 or a subsequent fiscal year if the coun15 try— 

16 ‘‘(A) has a per capita income not greater 

17 than the lower middle income country threshold 

18 established by the International Bank for Re19 construction and Development for such fiscal 

20 year; 

21 ‘‘(B) is among the 75 countries identified 

22 by the International Bank for Reconstruction 

23 and Development as having the lowest per cap24 ita income; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) meets the requirements under para2 graph (1)(B).’’. 

3 (b) LOWER MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIES.—Section 

4 606(b) of the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 

5 U.S.C. 7705(b)) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

7 (A) by amending the paragraph heading to 

8 read as follows: ‘‘FISCAL YEARS 2006 THROUGH

9 2012’’; and 

10 (B) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

11 (A), by striking ‘‘fiscal year 2006 or a subse12 quent fiscal year’’ and inserting ‘‘each of the 

13 fiscal years 2006 through 2012’’; 

14 (2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para15 graph (3); and 

16 (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(2) FISCAL YEAR 2013 AND SUBSEQUENT FIS19 CAL YEARS.—In addition to the countries described 

20 in subsection (a), a country shall be a candidate 

21 country for purposes of eligibility for assistance for 

22 fiscal year 2013 or a subsequent fiscal year if the 

23 country— 

24 ‘‘(A) has a per capita income not greater 

25 than the lower middle income country threshold 


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1 established by the International Bank for Re2 construction and Development for the fiscal 

3 year; 

4 ‘‘(B) is not among the 75 countries identi5 fied by the International Bank for Reconstruc6 tion and Development as having the lowest per 

7 capita income; and 

8 ‘‘(C) meets the requirements under sub9 section (a)(1)(B).’’. 

10 (c) RECLASSIFICATION.—Section 606 of the Millen11 nium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7705) is amend12 ed— 

13 (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub14 section (d); and 

15 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(c) TREATMENT OF COUNTRIES WITH PER CAPITA

18 INCOME CHANGES.—A country qualifying for candidate 

19 status under this section with a per capita income that 

20 changes during the fiscal year such that the country would 

21 be reclassified from a low income country to a lower mid22 dle income country or from a lower middle income country 

23 to a low income country shall retain its candidacy status 

24 in its former income classification for such fiscal year and 

25 the two subsequent fiscal years.’’. 


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1 SEC. 202. CARRYOVER AUTHORITY FOR PRIVATE SECTOR 

2 MEMBERS OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS. 

3 Section 604(c)(4)(B) of the Millennium Challenge 

4 Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7703(c)(4)(B)) is amended to read 

5 as follows: 

6 ‘‘(B) OTHER MEMBERS.—Each member of 

7 the Board described in paragraph (3)(B)— 

8 ‘‘(i) shall be appointed for a term of 

9 3 years; 

10 ‘‘(ii) may be reappointed for a term of 

11 an additional 2 years; and 

12 ‘‘(iii) may continue to serve in each 

13 such appointment until the earlier of— 

14 ‘‘(I) the date on which his or her 

15 successor is appointed; or 

16 ‘‘(II) the date that is one year 

17 after the expiration of his or her ap18 pointment or reappointment, as the 

19 case may be.’’. 

20 SEC. 203. ADDITIONAL REPORTING TO THE BOARD ON THE 

21 TREATMENT OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN AN ELIGI22 BLE COUNTRY. 

23 Section 607 of the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 

24 (22 U.S.C. 7706) is amended— 

25 (1) in subsection (b)(1)— 


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1 (A) in subparagraph (D), by striking 

2 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

3 (B) in subparagraph (E), by adding ‘‘and’’ 

4 at the end; and 

5 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(F) the quality of the civil society ena7 bling environment;’’; 

8 (2) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as 

9 subsections (e) and (f), respectively; and 

10 (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(d) REPORTING ON TREATMENT OF CIVIL SOCI13 ETY.—Before the Board selects an eligible country for a 

14 Compact under subsection (c), the Corporation shall pro15 vide information to the Board regarding the country’s 

16 treatment of civil society, including classified information, 

17 as appropriate. The information shall include an assess18 ment and analysis of factors, including— 

19 ‘‘(1) any relevant laws governing the formation 

20 or establishment of a civil society organization, par21 ticularly laws intended to curb the activities of for22 eign civil society organizations; 

23 ‘‘(2) any relevant laws governing the operations 

24 of a civil society organization, particularly those laws 


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1 seeking to define or otherwise regulate the actions of 

2 foreign civil society organizations; 

3 ‘‘(3) laws relating to the legal status of civil so4 ciety organizations, including laws which effectively 

5 discriminate against foreign civil society organiza6 tions as compared to similarly situated domestic or7 ganizations; 

8 ‘‘(4) laws regulating the freedom of expression 

9 and peaceful assembly; and 

10 ‘‘(5) laws regulating the usage of the Internet, 

11 particularly by foreign civil society organizations.’’. 

12 SEC. 204. CONCURRENT COMPACTS UNDER THE MILLEN13 NIUM CHALLENGE ACT OF 2003. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 609 of the Millennium 

15 Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7708) is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (k), by striking the first sen17 tence; 

18 (2) by redesignating subsection (k) as sub19 section (l); and 

20 (3) by inserting after subsection (j) the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(k) CONCURRENT COMPACTS.—An eligible country 

23 that has entered into and has in effect a Compact under 

24 this section may enter into and have in effect at the same 


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1 time not more than one additional Compact in accordance 

2 with the requirements under this title if— 

3 ‘‘(1) one or both of the Compacts are or will be 

4 for purposes of regional economic integration, in5 creased regional trade, or cross-border collabora6 tions; and 

7 ‘‘(2) the Board determines that the country is 

8 making considerable and demonstrable progress in 

9 implementing the terms of the existing Compact and 

10 supplementary agreements thereto.’’. 

11 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

12 613(b)(2)(A) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 7712(b)(2)(A)) is 

13 amended by striking ‘‘the’’ before ‘‘Compact’’ and insert14 ing ‘‘any’’. 

15 (c) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by this 

16 section shall apply with respect to Compacts entered into 

17 between the United States and an eligible country under 

18 the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 before, on, or after 

19 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

20 SEC. 205. PUBLIC NOTIFICATION OF ENTERING INTO A 

21 COMPACT. 

22 Section 610 of the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 

23 (22 U.S.C. 7709) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 610. CONGRESSIONAL AND PUBLIC NOTIFICATION. 

2 ‘‘(a) CONGRESSIONAL CONSULTATIONS AND NOTIFI3 CATIONS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board, acting through 

5 the Chief Executive Officer, shall consult with and 

6 notify the appropriate congressional committees not 

7 later than 15 days before taking any of the actions 

8 described in paragraph (2). 

9 ‘‘(2) ACTIONS DESCRIBED.—The actions de10 scribed in this paragraph are— 

11 ‘‘(A) providing assistance for an eligible 

12 country under section 609(g); 

13 ‘‘(B) commencing negotiations with an eli14 gible country to provide assistance for— 

15 ‘‘(i) a Compact under section 605; or 

16 ‘‘(ii) an agreement under section 616; 

17 ‘‘(C) signing such a Compact or agree18 ment; and 

19 ‘‘(D) terminating assistance under such a 

20 Compact or agreement. 

21 ‘‘(3) ECONOMIC JUSTIFICATION.—Any notifica22 tion relating to the intent to negotiate or sign a 

23 Compact shall include a report describing the pro24 jected economic justification for the Compact, in25 cluding, as applicable— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the expected economic rate of return 

2 of the Compact; 

3 ‘‘(B) a cost-benefit analysis of the Com4 pact; 

5 ‘‘(C) a description of the impact on bene6 ficiary populations; 

7 ‘‘(D) the likelihood that the investment will 

8 catalyze private sector investments; and 

9 ‘‘(E) any other applicable economic factors 

10 that justify each project to be funded under 

11 such a Compact to the extent practicable and 

12 appropriate. 

13 ‘‘(4) RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN.—Not later than 

14 60 days before signing each concurrent Compact, as 

15 authorized under section 609, the Board, acting 

16 through the Chief Executive Officer, shall consult 

17 with and provide to the appropriate congressional 

18 committees— 

19 ‘‘(A) an assessment and, as appropriate, 

20 the identification of potential measures to miti21 gate risks, of— 

22 ‘‘(i) the countries’ commitment to re23 gional integration and cross-border co24 operation and capacity to carry out com25 mitments; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) political and policy risks, includ2 ing risks that could affect country eligi3 bility; 

4 ‘‘(iii) risks associated with realizing 

5 economic returns; 

6 ‘‘(iv) time and completion risks; and 

7 ‘‘(v) cost and financial risks; and 

8 ‘‘(B) an assessment of measures to be 

9 taken to mitigate any identified risks, includ10 ing— 

11 ‘‘(i) securing other potential donors to 

12 finance projects or parts of projects as 

13 needed; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) partnering with regional organi15 zations to support and oversee effective 

16 cross-border cooperation. 

17 ‘‘(b) CONGRESSIONAL AND PUBLIC NOTIFICATION

18 AFTER ENTERING INTO A COMPACT.—Not later than 10 

19 days after entering into a Compact with an eligible coun20 try, the Board, acting through the Chief Executive Officer, 

21 shall— 

22 ‘‘(1) publish the text of the Compact on the 

23 Web Site of the Corporation; 


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1 ‘‘(2) provide the appropriate congressional com2 mittees with a detailed summary of the Compact 

3 and, upon request, the text of the Compact; and 

4 ‘‘(3) publish in the Federal Register a detailed 

5 summary of the Compact and a notice of availability 

6 of the text of the Compact on the Web Site of the 

7 Corporation.’’. 

8 SEC. 206. DISCLOSURE. 

9 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR TIMELY DISCLOSURE.—Sec10 tion 612(a) of the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 

11 U.S.C. 7711(a)) is amended— 

12 (1) in the subsection heading, by inserting 

13 ‘‘TIMELY’’ before ‘‘DISCLOSURE’’; and 

14 (2) in the matter preceding paragraph (1)— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘The Corporation’’ and in16 serting ‘‘Not later than 90 days after the last 

17 day of each fiscal quarter, the Corporation’’; 

18 and 

19 (B) by striking ‘‘on at least a quarterly 

20 basis,’’. 

21 (b) DISSEMINATION.—Section 612(b) of the Millen22 nium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7711(b)) is 

23 amended to read as follows: 

24 ‘‘(b) DISSEMINATION.—The Board, acting through 

25 the Chief Executive Officer, shall make the information 


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1 required to be disclosed under subsection (a) available to 

2 the public— 

3 ‘‘(1) by publishing it on the website of the Cor4 poration; 

5 ‘‘(2) by providing notice of the availability of 

6 such information in the Federal Register; and 

7 ‘‘(3) by any other methods that the Board de8 termines to be appropriate.’’. 

9 SEC. 207. RESTRICTION ON THE USE OF ASSISTANCE 

10 UNDER SECTION 616. 

11 Section 616(d) of the Millennium Challenge Act of 

12 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7715(d)) is amended to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(d) FUNDING.— 

14 ‘‘(1) LIMITATION.—Not more than 10 percent 

15 of the amounts made available to carry out this Act 

16 for a fiscal year may be made available to carry out 

17 this section. 

18 ‘‘(2) RESTRICTION RELATING TO ASSIST19 ANCE.—None of the funds authorized to carry out 

20 the purposes of this Act shall be available for assist21 ance under this section to a country that does not 

22 qualify as a candidate country under section 606 for 

23 the fiscal year during which such assistance is pro24 vided.’’. 


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1 SEC. 208. STUDY ON SUBNATIONAL COMPACTS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

3 date of the enactment of this Act, the Board of the Millen4 nium Challenge Corporation, acting through the Chief Ex5 ecutive Officer, shall submit a study to the appropriate 

6 congressional committees that assesses the feasibility and 

7 desirability of developing partnerships at the subnational 

8 level within candidate countries that would be complemen9 tary to, and, as applicable, concurrent with, any Millen10 nium Challenge Corporation national-level or regional in11 vestments. 

12 (b) CONTENT.—The study required under subsection 

13 (a) shall examine— 

14 (1) the extent to which targeting investments at 

15 the subnational level might provide new opportuni16 ties for reducing poverty through economic growth; 

17 (2) the extent to which traditional approaches 

18 to defining poverty may not adequately capture the 

19 nature of poverty within a country; 

20 (3) the types of subnational entities that might 

21 be appropriate partners for subnational Millennium 

22 Challenge Corporation compacts; 

23 (4) how candidates for subnational partners 

24 might best be identified; and 


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1 (5) what role each national government should 

2 play in creating or implementing a subnational part3 nership. 

4 (c) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.— 

5 In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional com6 mittees’’ means— 

7 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

8 Senate; 

9 (2) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

10 Senate; 

11 (3) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

12 House of Representatives; and 

13 (4) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

14 House of Representatives. 

15 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

16 This Act may be cited as the African Growth and Op17 portunity Act and Millennium Challenge Act Moderniza18 tion Act or the ‘‘AGOA and MCA Modernization Act’’. 

19 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

20 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

TITLE I—ENHANCEMENT OF THE AFRICAN GROWTH AND 

OPPORTUNITY ACT 

Sec. 101. Statement of policy. 

Sec. 102. Definitions. 

Sec. 103. Activities in support of transparency. 

Sec. 104. Activities in support of trade capacity building. 


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TITLE II—MODERNIZATION OF THE MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE 

CORPORATION 

Sec. 201. Candidacy status. 

Sec. 202. Carryover authority for private sector members of board of directors. 

Sec. 203. Additional reporting to the board on the treatment of civil society in 

an eligible country. 

Sec. 204. Concurrent compacts under the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003. 

Sec. 205. Public notification of entering into a compact. 

Sec. 206. Disclosure. 

Sec. 207. Restriction on the use of assistance under section 616. 

Sec. 208. Study on subnational compacts. 

1 TITLE I—ENHANCEMENT OF THE 

2 AFRICAN GROWTH AND OP3 PORTUNITY ACT 

4 SEC. 101. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

5 It is the policy of the United States to support ef6 forts— 

7 (1) to improve the rule of law, promote free and 

8 fair elections, strengthen and expand the private sec9 tor, and fight corruption in sub-Saharan Africa; and 

10 (2) to promote the role of women in social, polit11 ical, and economic development in sub-Saharan Afri12 ca. 

13 SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this title: 

15 (1) AGOA WEBSITE.—The term ‘‘AGOA website’’ 

16 means the website created by the President under sec17 tion 103 to collect and disseminate information re18 garding the African Growth and Opportunity Act (19 

19 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.). 


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1 (2) ELIGIBLE SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN COUN2 TRY.—The term ‘‘eligible sub-Saharan African coun3 try’’ means a country that the President has deter4 mined meets the eligibility requirements set forth in 

5 section 104 of the African Growth and Opportunity 

6 Act (19 U.S.C. 3703). 

7 SEC. 103. ACTIVITIES IN SUPPORT OF TRANSPARENCY. 

8 (a) AGOA WEBSITE.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall establish 

10 a publicly available Internet website for the collection 

11 and dissemination of information regarding the Afri12 can Growth and Opportunity Act (title I of Public 

13 Law 106–200). 

14 (2) CONTENTS.—The President shall publish, on 

15 the AGOA website, the information described in para16 graph (1), including— 

17 (A) information and technical assistance 

18 provided at United States Agency for Inter19 national Development regional trade hubs; and 

20 (B) a link to the websites of United States 

21 embassies located in eligible sub-Saharan Afri22 can countries. 

23 (3) ACTIONS BY UNITED STATES EMBASSIES.— 

24 The Secretary of State should direct United States 


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1 embassies located in eligible sub-Saharan African 

2 countries— 

3 (A) to encourage such countries to use the 

4 benefits available under the African Growth and 

5 Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.); and 

6 (B) to include a link to the AGOA website 

7 on the websites of such diplomatic missions. 

8 (b) AGOA FORUM.—After each meeting of the United 

9 States – Sub-Saharan Africa Trade and Economic Co10 operation Forum, the President should publish on the 

11 AGOA website— 

12 (1) the outcomes of the meeting of the Forum, in13 cluding any commitments made by member countries 

14 and the private sector; and 

15 (2) an assessment of progress made with respect 

16 to any commitments made by member countries and 

17 the private sector from the previous meeting of the 

18 Forum. 

19 (c) OTHER INFORMATION.—The President should— 

20 (1) disseminate the information required under 

21 this section to the public in a digital format; and 

22 (2) publish such information on the AGOA 

23 website. 


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1 SEC. 104. ACTIVITIES IN SUPPORT OF TRADE CAPACITY 

2 BUILDING. 

3 The President should— 

4 (1) develop and implement policies that— 

5 (A) encourage and facilitate cross-boundary 

6 cooperation among eligible sub-Saharan African 

7 countries in order to facilitate trade; and 

8 (B) encourage the provision of technical as9 sistance to eligible sub-Saharan African coun10 tries to establish and sustain adequate trade ca11 pacity development; 

12 (2) provide specific training for businesses in eli13 gible sub-Saharan African countries and government 

14 trade officials of such countries on accessing the bene15 fits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act 

16 and other trade preference programs; 

17 (3) provide capacity building for African entre18 preneurs and trade associations on production strate19 gies, quality standards, formation of cooperatives, 

20 market research, and market development; 

21 (4) provide capacity building training to pro22 mote diversification of African products and value23 added processing; and 

24 (5) provide capacity building and technical as25 sistance funding for African businesses and institu26 tions to help such businesses and institutions comply 


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1 with United States counter-terrorism initiatives and 

2 policies. 

3 TITLE II—MODERNIZATION OF 

4 THE MILLENNIUM CHAL5 LENGE CORPORATION 

6 SEC. 201. CANDIDACY STATUS. 

7 (a) LOW INCOME COUNTRIES.—Section 606(a) of the 

8 Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7705(a)) is 

9 amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ‘‘(3)’’ and 

11 inserting ‘‘(4)’’; 

12 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

13 (A) by amending the paragraph heading to 

14 read as follows: ‘‘FISCAL YEARS 2005 THROUGH

15 2012’’; and 

16 (B) by striking ‘‘fiscal year 2005 or a subse17 quent fiscal year’’ and inserting ‘‘each of the fis18 cal years 2005 through 2012’’; 

19 (3) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para20 graph (4); and 

21 (4) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(3) FISCAL YEAR 2013 AND SUBSEQUENT FISCAL

24 YEARS.—A country shall be a candidate country for 


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1 purposes of eligibility for assistance for fiscal year 

2 2013 or a subsequent fiscal year if the country— 

3 ‘‘(A) has a per capita income not greater 

4 than the lower middle income country threshold 

5 established by the International Bank for Recon6 struction and Development for such fiscal year; 

7 ‘‘(B) is among the 75 countries identified 

8 by the International Bank for Reconstruction 

9 and Development as having the lowest per capita 

10 income; and 

11 ‘‘(C) meets the requirements under para12 graph (1)(B).’’. 

13 (b) LOWER MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIES.—Section 

14 606(b) of the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 

15 7705(b)) is amended— 

16 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

17 (A) by amending the paragraph heading to 

18 read as follows: ‘‘FISCAL YEARS 2006 THROUGH

19 2012’’; and 

20 (B) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

21 (A), by striking ‘‘fiscal year 2006 or a subse22 quent fiscal year’’ and inserting ‘‘each of the fis23 cal years 2006 through 2012’’; 

24 (2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para25 graph (3); and 


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1 (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(2) FISCAL YEAR 2013 AND SUBSEQUENT FISCAL

4 YEARS.—In addition to the countries described in 

5 subsection (a), a country shall be a candidate country 

6 for purposes of eligibility for assistance for fiscal year 

7 2013 or a subsequent fiscal year if the country— 

8 ‘‘(A) has a per capita income not greater 

9 than the lower middle income country threshold 

10 established by the International Bank for Recon11 struction and Development for the fiscal year; 

12 ‘‘(B) is not among the 75 countries identi13 fied by the International Bank for Reconstruc14 tion and Development as having the lowest per 

15 capita income; and 

16 ‘‘(C) meets the requirements under sub17 section (a)(1)(B).’’. 

18 (c) RECLASSIFICATION.—Section 606 of the Millen19 nium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7705) is amended— 

20 (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection 

21 (d); and 

22 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(c) TREATMENT OF COUNTRIES WITH PER CAPITA

25 INCOME CHANGES.—A country qualifying for candidate 


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1 status under this section with a per capita income that 

2 changes during the fiscal year such that the country would 

3 be reclassified from a low income country to a lower middle 

4 income country or from a lower middle income country to 

5 a low income country shall retain its candidacy status in 

6 its former income classification for such fiscal year and the 

7 two subsequent fiscal years.’’. 

8 SEC. 202. CARRYOVER AUTHORITY FOR PRIVATE SECTOR 

9 MEMBERS OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS. 

10 Section 604(c)(4)(B) of the Millennium Challenge Act 

11 of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7703(c)(4)(B)) is amended to read as 

12 follows: 

13 ‘‘(B) OTHER MEMBERS.—Each member of 

14 the Board described in paragraph (3)(B)— 

15 ‘‘(i) shall be appointed for a term of 3 

16 years; 

17 ‘‘(ii) may be reappointed for a term of 

18 an additional 2 years; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) may continue to serve in each 

20 such appointment until the earlier of— 

21 ‘‘(I) the date on which his or her 

22 successor is appointed; or 

23 ‘‘(II) the date that is one year 

24 after the expiration of his or her apVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Oct 17, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S832.RS S832

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1 pointment or reappointment, as the 

2 case may be.’’. 

3 SEC. 203. ADDITIONAL REPORTING TO THE BOARD ON THE 

4 TREATMENT OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN AN ELIGI5 BLE COUNTRY. 

6 Section 607 of the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 

7 (22 U.S.C. 7706) is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (b)(1)— 

9 (A) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

10 at the end; 

11 (B) in subparagraph (E), by adding ‘‘and’’ 

12 at the end; and 

13 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(F) the quality of the civil society enabling 

15 environment;’’; 

16 (2) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as 

17 subsections (e) and (f), respectively; and 

18 (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(d) REPORTING ON TREATMENT OF CIVIL SOCIETY.— 

21 For the 7-year period beginning on the date of the enact22 ment of this subsection, before the Board selects an eligible 

23 country for a Compact under subsection (c), the Corpora24 tion shall provide information to the Board regarding the 

25 country’s treatment of civil society, including classified inVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Oct 17, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S832.RS S832

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1 formation, as appropriate. The information shall include 

2 an assessment and analysis of factors, including— 

3 ‘‘(1) any relevant laws governing the formation 

4 or establishment of a civil society organization, par5 ticularly laws intended to curb the activities of for6 eign civil society organizations; 

7 ‘‘(2) any relevant laws governing the operations 

8 of a civil society organization, particularly those laws 

9 seeking to define or otherwise regulate the actions of 

10 foreign civil society organizations; 

11 ‘‘(3) laws relating to the legal status of civil soci12 ety organizations, including laws which effectively 

13 discriminate against foreign civil society organiza14 tions as compared to similarly situated domestic or15 ganizations; 

16 ‘‘(4) laws regulating the freedom of expression 

17 and peaceful assembly; and 

18 ‘‘(5) laws regulating the usage of the Internet, 

19 particularly by foreign civil society organizations.’’. 

20 SEC. 204. CONCURRENT COMPACTS UNDER THE MILLEN21 NIUM CHALLENGE ACT OF 2003. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 609 of the Millennium 

23 Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7708) is amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (k), by striking the first sen25 tence; 


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1 (2) by redesignating subsection (k) as subsection 

2 (l); and 

3 (3) by inserting after subsection (j) the following: 

4 ‘‘(k) CONCURRENT COMPACTS.—An eligible country 

5 that has entered into and has in effect a Compact under 

6 this section may enter into and have in effect at the same 

7 time not more than one additional Compact in accordance 

8 with the requirements under this title if— 

9 ‘‘(1) one or both of the Compacts are or will be 

10 for purposes of regional economic integration, in11 creased regional trade, or cross-border collaborations; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(2) the Board determines that the country is 

14 making considerable and demonstrable progress in 

15 implementing the terms of the existing Compact and 

16 supplementary agreements thereto.’’. 

17 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 613(b)(2)(A) 

18 of such Act (22 U.S.C. 7712(b)(2)(A)) is amended by strik19 ing ‘‘the’’ before ‘‘Compact’’ and inserting ‘‘any’’. 

20 (c) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by this 

21 section shall apply with respect to Compacts entered into 

22 between the United States and an eligible country under 

23 the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 before, on, or after 

24 the date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 205. ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATIONS FOR SUBSEQUENT 

2 COMPACTS. 

3 Section 607(a) of the Millennium Challenge Act of 

4 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7706(a)) is amended by adding at the end 

5 the following: ‘‘A determination whether a country is eligi6 ble for a subsequent, non-concurrent Millennium Challenge 

7 Compact shall also be based, to the extent practicable, on 

8 significantly improved performance across eligibility cri9 teria in subsection (b) that, at a minimum, are relevant 

10 to the preceding Compact, compared to the country’s per11 formance against such eligibility criteria when selected for 

12 the preceding Compact.’’. 

13 SEC. 206. PUBLIC NOTIFICATION OF ENTERING INTO A 

14 COMPACT. 

15 Section 610 of the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 

16 (22 U.S.C. 7709) is amended to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 610. CONGRESSIONAL AND PUBLIC NOTIFICATION. 

18 ‘‘(a) CONGRESSIONAL CONSULTATIONS AND NOTIFICA19 TIONS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board, acting through 

21 the Chief Executive Officer, shall consult with and no22 tify the appropriate congressional committees not 

23 later than 15 days before taking any of the actions 

24 described in paragraph (2). 

25 ‘‘(2) ACTIONS DESCRIBED.—The actions de26 scribed in this paragraph are— 


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1 ‘‘(A) providing assistance for an eligible 

2 country under section 609(g); 

3 ‘‘(B) commencing negotiations with an eli4 gible country to provide assistance for— 

5 ‘‘(i) a Compact under section 605; or 

6 ‘‘(ii) an agreement under section 616; 

7 ‘‘(C) signing such a Compact or agreement; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(D) terminating assistance under such a 

10 Compact or agreement. 

11 ‘‘(3) ECONOMIC JUSTIFICATION.—Any notifica12 tion relating to the intent to negotiate or sign a Com13 pact shall include a report describing the projected 

14 economic justification for the Compact, including, as 

15 applicable— 

16 ‘‘(A) the expected economic rate of return of 

17 the Compact; 

18 ‘‘(B) a cost-benefit analysis of the Compact; 

19 ‘‘(C) a description of the impact on bene20 ficiary populations; 

21 ‘‘(D) the likelihood that the investment will 

22 catalyze private sector investments; and 

23 ‘‘(E) any other applicable economic factors 

24 that justify each project to be funded under such 


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1 a Compact to the extent practicable and appro2 priate. 

3 ‘‘(4) RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN.—Not later than 

4 60 days before signing each concurrent Compact, as 

5 authorized under section 609, the Board, acting 

6 through the Chief Executive Officer, shall consult with 

7 and provide to the appropriate congressional commit8 tees— 

9 ‘‘(A) an assessment and, as appropriate, the 

10 identification of potential measures to mitigate 

11 risks, of— 

12 ‘‘(i) the countries’ commitment to re13 gional integration and cross-border coopera14 tion and capacity to carry out commit15 ments; 

16 ‘‘(ii) political and policy risks, includ17 ing risks that could affect country eligi18 bility; 

19 ‘‘(iii) risks associated with realizing 

20 economic returns; 

21 ‘‘(iv) time and completion risks; and 

22 ‘‘(v) cost and financial risks; and 

23 ‘‘(B) an assessment of measures to be taken 

24 to mitigate any identified risks, including— 


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1 ‘‘(i) securing other potential donors to 

2 finance projects or parts of projects as need3 ed; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) partnering with regional organi5 zations to support and oversee effective 

6 cross-border cooperation. 

7 ‘‘(b) CONGRESSIONAL AND PUBLIC NOTIFICATION

8 AFTER ENTERING INTO A COMPACT.—Not later than 10 

9 days after entering into a Compact with an eligible coun10 try, the Board, acting through the Chief Executive Officer, 

11 shall— 

12 ‘‘(1) publish the text of the Compact on the Web 

13 Site of the Corporation; 

14 ‘‘(2) provide the appropriate congressional com15 mittees with a detailed summary of the Compact and, 

16 upon request, the text of the Compact; and 

17 ‘‘(3) publish in the Federal Register a detailed 

18 summary of the Compact and a notice of availability 

19 of the text of the Compact on the Web Site of the Cor20 poration.’’. 

21 SEC. 207. DISCLOSURE. 

22 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR TIMELY DISCLOSURE.—Sec23 tion 612(a) of the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 

24 U.S.C. 7711(a)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in the subsection heading, by inserting 

2 ‘‘TIMELY’’ before ‘‘DISCLOSURE’’; and 

3 (2) in the matter preceding paragraph (1)— 

4 (A) by striking ‘‘The Corporation’’ and in5 serting ‘‘Not later than 90 days after the last 

6 day of each fiscal quarter, the Corporation’’; and 

7 (B) by striking ‘‘on at least a quarterly 

8 basis,’’. 

9 (b) DISSEMINATION.—Section 612(b) of the Millen10 nium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7711(b)) is amended 

11 to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(b) DISSEMINATION.—The Board, acting through the 

13 Chief Executive Officer, shall make the information re14 quired to be disclosed under subsection (a) available to the 

15 public— 

16 ‘‘(1) by publishing it on the website of the Cor17 poration; 

18 ‘‘(2) by providing notice of the availability of 

19 such information in the Federal Register; and 

20 ‘‘(3) by any other methods that the Board deter21 mines to be appropriate.’’. 

22 SEC. 208. RESTRICTION ON THE USE OF ASSISTANCE 

23 UNDER SECTION 616. 

24 Section 616(d) of the Millennium Challenge Act of 

25 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7715(d)) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(d) FUNDING.— 

2 ‘‘(1) LIMITATION.—Not more than 10 percent of 

3 the amounts made available to carry out this Act for 

4 a fiscal year may be made available to carry out this 

5 section. 

6 ‘‘(2) RESTRICTION RELATING TO ASSISTANCE.— 

7 None of the funds authorized to carry out the pur8 poses of this Act shall be available for assistance 

9 under this section to a country that does not qualify 

10 as a candidate country under section 606 for the fis11 cal year during which such assistance is provided.’’. 

12 SEC. 209. STUDY ON SUBNATIONAL COMPACTS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

14 date of the enactment of this Act, the Board of the Millen15 nium Challenge Corporation, acting through the Chief Ex16 ecutive Officer, shall submit a study to the appropriate con17 gressional committees that assesses the feasibility and desir18 ability of developing partnerships at the subnational level 

19 within candidate countries that would be complementary 

20 to, and, as applicable, concurrent with, any Millennium 

21 Challenge Corporation national-level or regional invest22 ments. 

23 (b) CONTENT.—The study required under subsection 

24 (a) shall examine— 


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1 (1) the extent to which targeting investments at 

2 the subnational level might provide new opportunities 

3 for reducing poverty through economic growth; 

4 (2) the extent to which traditional approaches to 

5 defining poverty may not adequately capture the na6 ture of poverty within a country; 

7 (3) the types of subnational entities that might 

8 be appropriate partners for subnational Millennium 

9 Challenge Corporation compacts; 

10 (4) how candidates for subnational partners 

11 might best be identified; and 

12 (5) what role each national government should 

13 play in creating or implementing a subnational part14 nership. 

15 (c) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.—In 

16 this section, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional commit17 tees’’ means— 

18 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

19 Senate; 

20 (2) the Committee on Appropriations of the Sen21 ate; 

22 (3) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

23 House of Representatives; and 

24 (4) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

25 House of Representatives. 


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Calendar No. 246 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 832 

A BILL 

To enhance the transparency and accelerate the imCorporation, and for other purposes. Opportunity Act and the Millennium Challenge pact of programs under the African Growth and 

OCTOBER 17, 2017 

Reported with an amendment 


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