II 

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, and Mr. COONS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

5 Opportunity Act and Millennium Challenge Act Mod6 ernization Act’’ or the ‘‘AGOA and MCA Modernization 

7 Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 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. 

3 TITLE I—ENHANCEMENT OF THE 

4 AFRICAN GROWTH AND OP5 PORTUNITY ACT 

6 SEC. 101. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

7 It is the policy of the United States to support ef8 forts— 

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

10 fair elections, strengthen and expand the private sec11 tor, and fight corruption in sub-Saharan Africa; and 

12 (2) to promote the role of women in social, po13 litical, and economic development in sub-Saharan 

14 Africa. 


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1 SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this title: 

3 (1) AGOA WEBSITE.—The term ‘‘AGOA 

4 website’’ means the website created by the President 

5 under section 103 to collect and disseminate infor6 mation regarding the African Growth and Oppor7 tunity Act (19 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.). 

8 (2) ELIGIBLE SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN COUN9 TRY.—The term ‘‘eligible sub-Saharan African coun10 try’’ means a country that the President has deter11 mined meets the eligibility requirements set forth in 

12 section 104 of the African Growth and Opportunity 

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

14 SEC. 103. ACTIVITIES IN SUPPORT OF TRANSPARENCY. 

15 (a) AGOA WEBSITE.— 

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

17 a publicly available Internet website for the collec18 tion and dissemination of information regarding the 

19 African Growth and Opportunity Act (title I of Pub20 lic Law 106–200). 

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

22 on the AGOA website, the information described in 

23 paragraph (1), including— 

24 (A) information and technical assistance 

25 provided at United States Agency for Inter26 national Development regional trade hubs; and 


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

2 embassies located in eligible sub-Saharan Afri3 can countries. 

4 (3) ACTIONS BY UNITED STATES EMBASSIES.— 

5 The Secretary of State should direct United States 

6 embassies located in eligible sub-Saharan African 

7 countries— 

8 (A) to encourage such countries to use the 

9 benefits available under the African Growth and 

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

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

12 on the websites of such diplomatic missions. 

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

14 United States—Sub-Saharan Africa Trade and Economic 

15 Cooperation Forum, the President should publish on the 

16 AGOA website— 

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

18 including any commitments made by member coun19 tries and the private sector; and 

20 (2) an assessment of progress made with re21 spect to any commitments made by member coun22 tries and the private sector from the previous meet23 ing of the Forum. 

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


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1 (1) disseminate the information required under 

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

3 (2) publish such information on the AGOA 

4 website. 

5 SEC. 104. ACTIVITIES IN SUPPORT OF TRADE CAPACITY 

6 BUILDING. 

7 The President should— 

8 (1) develop and implement policies that— 

9 (A) encourage and facilitate cross-bound10 ary cooperation among eligible sub-Saharan Af11 rican countries in order to facilitate trade; and 

12 (B) encourage the provision of technical 

13 assistance to eligible sub-Saharan African coun14 tries to establish and sustain adequate trade ca15 pacity development; 

16 (2) provide specific training for businesses in el17 igible sub-Saharan African countries and govern18 ment trade officials of such countries on accessing 

19 the benefits under the African Growth and Oppor20 tunity Act and other trade preference programs; 

21 (3) provide capacity building for African entre22 preneurs and trade associations on production strat23 egies, quality standards, formation of cooperatives, 

24 market research, and market development; 


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1 (4) provide capacity building training to pro2 mote diversification of African products and value3 added processing; and 

4 (5) provide capacity building and technical as5 sistance funding for African businesses and institu6 tions to help such businesses and institutions comply 

7 with United States counter-terrorism initiatives and 

8 policies. 

9 TITLE II—MODERNIZATION OF 

10 THE MILLENNIUM CHAL11 LENGE CORPORATION 

12 SEC. 201. CANDIDACY STATUS. 

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

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

15 is amended— 

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

17 inserting ‘‘(4)’’; 

18 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

19 (A) by amending the paragraph heading to 

20 read as follows: ‘‘FISCAL YEARS 2005 THROUGH

21 2012’’; and 

22 (B) by striking ‘‘fiscal year 2005 or a sub23 sequent fiscal year’’ and inserting ‘‘each of the 

24 fiscal years 2005 through 2012’’; 


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1 (3) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para2 graph (4); and 

3 (4) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(3) FISCAL YEAR 2013 AND SUBSEQUENT FIS6 CAL YEARS.—A country shall be a candidate country 

7 for purposes of eligibility for assistance for fiscal 

8 year 2013 or a subsequent fiscal year if the coun9 try— 

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

11 than the lower middle income country threshold 

12 established by the International Bank for Re13 construction and Development for such fiscal 

14 year; 

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

16 by the International Bank for Reconstruction 

17 and Development as having the lowest per cap18 ita income; and 

19 ‘‘(C) meets the requirements under para20 graph (1)(B).’’. 

21 (b) LOWER MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIES.—Section 

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

23 U.S.C. 7705(b)) is amended— 

24 (1) in paragraph (1)— 


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1 (A) by amending the paragraph heading to 

2 read as follows: ‘‘FISCAL YEARS 2006 THROUGH

3 2012’’; and 

4 (B) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

5 (A), by striking ‘‘fiscal year 2006 or a subse6 quent fiscal year’’ and inserting ‘‘each of the 

7 fiscal years 2006 through 2012’’; 

8 (2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para9 graph (3); and 

10 (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(2) FISCAL YEAR 2013 AND SUBSEQUENT FIS13 CAL YEARS.—In addition to the countries described 

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

15 country for purposes of eligibility for assistance for 

16 fiscal year 2013 or a subsequent fiscal year if the 

17 country— 

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

19 than the lower middle income country threshold 

20 established by the International Bank for Re21 construction and Development for the fiscal 

22 year; 

23 ‘‘(B) is not among the 75 countries identi24 fied by the International Bank for ReconstrucVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:53 Apr 11, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S832.IS S832

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1 tion and Development as having the lowest per 

2 capita income; and 

3 ‘‘(C) meets the requirements under sub4 section (a)(1)(B).’’. 

5 (c) RECLASSIFICATION.—Section 606 of the Millen6 nium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7705) is amend7 ed— 

8 (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub9 section (d); and 

10 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol11 lowing: 

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

13 INCOME CHANGES.—A country qualifying for candidate 

14 status under this section with a per capita income that 

15 changes during the fiscal year such that the country would 

16 be reclassified from a low income country to a lower mid17 dle income country or from a lower middle income country 

18 to a low income country shall retain its candidacy status 

19 in its former income classification for such fiscal year and 

20 the two subsequent fiscal years.’’. 

21 SEC. 202. CARRYOVER AUTHORITY FOR PRIVATE SECTOR 

22 MEMBERS OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS. 

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

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

25 as follows: 


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

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

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

4 3 years; 

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

6 an additional 2 years; and 

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

8 such appointment until the earlier of— 

9 ‘‘(I) the date on which his or her 

10 successor is appointed; or 

11 ‘‘(II) the date that is one year 

12 after the expiration of his or her ap13 pointment or reappointment, as the 

14 case may be.’’. 

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

16 TREATMENT OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN AN ELIGI17 BLE COUNTRY. 

18 Section 607 of the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 

19 (22 U.S.C. 7706) is amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (b)(1)— 

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

22 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

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

24 at the end; and 

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


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1 ‘‘(F) the quality of the civil society ena2 bling environment;’’; 

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

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

5 (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(d) REPORTING ON TREATMENT OF CIVIL SOCI8 ETY.—Before the Board selects an eligible country for a 

9 Compact under subsection (c), the Corporation shall pro10 vide information to the Board regarding the country’s 

11 treatment of civil society, including classified information, 

12 as appropriate. The information shall include an assess13 ment and analysis of factors, including— 

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

15 or establishment of a civil society organization, par16 ticularly laws intended to curb the activities of for17 eign civil society organizations; 

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

19 of a civil society organization, particularly those laws 

20 seeking to define or otherwise regulate the actions of 

21 foreign civil society organizations; 

22 ‘‘(3) laws relating to the legal status of civil so23 ciety organizations, including laws which effectively 

24 discriminate against foreign civil society organizaVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:53 Apr 11, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S832.IS S832

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1 tions as compared to similarly situated domestic or2 ganizations; 

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

4 and peaceful assembly; and 

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

6 particularly by foreign civil society organizations.’’. 

7 SEC. 204. CONCURRENT COMPACTS UNDER THE MILLEN8 NIUM CHALLENGE ACT OF 2003. 

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

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

11 (1) in subsection (k), by striking the first sen12 tence; 

13 (2) by redesignating subsection (k) as sub14 section (l); and 

15 (3) by inserting after subsection (j) the fol16 lowing: 

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

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

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

20 time not more than one additional Compact in accordance 

21 with the requirements under this title if— 

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

23 for purposes of regional economic integration, in24 creased regional trade, or cross-border collabora25 tions; and 


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

2 making considerable and demonstrable progress in 

3 implementing the terms of the existing Compact and 

4 supplementary agreements thereto.’’. 

5 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

6 613(b)(2)(A) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 7712(b)(2)(A)) is 

7 amended by striking ‘‘the’’ before ‘‘Compact’’ and insert8 ing ‘‘any’’. 

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

10 section shall apply with respect to Compacts entered into 

11 between the United States and an eligible country under 

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

13 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

14 SEC. 205. PUBLIC NOTIFICATION OF ENTERING INTO A 

15 COMPACT. 

16 Section 610 of the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 

17 (22 U.S.C. 7709) is amended to read as follows: 

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

19 ‘‘(a) CONGRESSIONAL CONSULTATIONS AND NOTIFI20 CATIONS.— 

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

22 the Chief Executive Officer, shall consult with and 

23 notify the appropriate congressional committees not 

24 later than 15 days before taking any of the actions 

25 described in paragraph (2). 


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1 ‘‘(2) ACTIONS DESCRIBED.—The actions de2 scribed in this paragraph are— 

3 ‘‘(A) providing assistance for an eligible 

4 country under section 609(g); 

5 ‘‘(B) commencing negotiations with an eli6 gible country to provide assistance for— 

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

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

9 ‘‘(C) signing such a Compact or agree10 ment; and 

11 ‘‘(D) terminating assistance under such a 

12 Compact or agreement. 

13 ‘‘(3) ECONOMIC JUSTIFICATION.—Any notifica14 tion relating to the intent to negotiate or sign a 

15 Compact shall include a report describing the pro16 jected economic justification for the Compact, in17 cluding, as applicable— 

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

19 of the Compact; 

20 ‘‘(B) a cost-benefit analysis of the Com21 pact; 

22 ‘‘(C) a description of the impact on bene23 ficiary populations; 

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

25 catalyze private sector investments; and 


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1 ‘‘(E) any other applicable economic factors 

2 that justify each project to be funded under 

3 such a Compact to the extent practicable and 

4 appropriate. 

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

6 60 days before signing each concurrent Compact, as 

7 authorized under section 609, the Board, acting 

8 through the Chief Executive Officer, shall consult 

9 with and provide to the appropriate congressional 

10 committees— 

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

12 the identification of potential measures to miti13 gate risks, of— 

14 ‘‘(i) the countries’ commitment to re15 gional integration and cross-border co16 operation and capacity to carry out com17 mitments; 

18 ‘‘(ii) political and policy risks, includ19 ing risks that could affect country eligi20 bility; 

21 ‘‘(iii) risks associated with realizing 

22 economic returns; 

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

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


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

2 taken to mitigate any identified risks, includ3 ing— 

4 ‘‘(i) securing other potential donors to 

5 finance projects or parts of projects as 

6 needed; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) partnering with regional organi8 zations to support and oversee effective 

9 cross-border cooperation. 

10 ‘‘(b) CONGRESSIONAL AND PUBLIC NOTIFICATION

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

12 days after entering into a Compact with an eligible coun13 try, the Board, acting through the Chief Executive Officer, 

14 shall— 

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

16 Web Site of the Corporation; 

17 ‘‘(2) provide the appropriate congressional com18 mittees with a detailed summary of the Compact 

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

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

21 summary of the Compact and a notice of availability 

22 of the text of the Compact on the Web Site of the 

23 Corporation.’’. 


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1 SEC. 206. DISCLOSURE. 

2 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR TIMELY DISCLOSURE.—Sec3 tion 612(a) of the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 

4 U.S.C. 7711(a)) is amended— 

5 (1) in the subsection heading, by inserting 

6 ‘‘TIMELY’’ before ‘‘DISCLOSURE’’; and 

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

8 (A) by striking ‘‘The Corporation’’ and in9 serting ‘‘Not later than 90 days after the last 

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

11 and 

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

13 basis,’’. 

14 (b) DISSEMINATION.—Section 612(b) of the Millen15 nium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7711(b)) is 

16 amended to read as follows: 

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

18 the Chief Executive Officer, shall make the information 

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

20 the public— 

21 ‘‘(1) by publishing it on the website of the Cor22 poration; 

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

24 such information in the Federal Register; and 

25 ‘‘(3) by any other methods that the Board de26 termines to be appropriate.’’. 


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1 SEC. 207. RESTRICTION ON THE USE OF ASSISTANCE 

2 UNDER SECTION 616. 

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

4 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7715(d)) is amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(d) FUNDING.— 

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

7 of the amounts made available to carry out this Act 

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

9 this section. 

10 ‘‘(2) RESTRICTION RELATING TO ASSIST11 ANCE.—None of the funds authorized to carry out 

12 the purposes of this Act shall be available for assist13 ance under this section to a country that does not 

14 qualify as a candidate country under section 606 for 

15 the fiscal year during which such assistance is pro16 vided.’’. 

17 SEC. 208. STUDY ON SUBNATIONAL COMPACTS. 

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

19 date of the enactment of this Act, the Board of the Millen20 nium Challenge Corporation, acting through the Chief Ex21 ecutive Officer, shall submit a study to the appropriate 

22 congressional committees that assesses the feasibility and 

23 desirability of developing partnerships at the subnational 

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1 nium Challenge Corporation national-level or regional in2 vestments. 

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

4 (a) shall examine— 

5 (1) the extent to which targeting investments at 

6 the subnational level might provide new opportuni7 ties for reducing poverty through economic growth; 

8 (2) the extent to which traditional approaches 

9 to defining poverty may not adequately capture the 

10 nature of poverty within a country; 

11 (3) the types of subnational entities that might 

12 be appropriate partners for subnational Millennium 

13 Challenge Corporation compacts; 

14 (4) how candidates for subnational partners 

15 might best be identified; and 

16 (5) what role each national government should 

17 play in creating or implementing a subnational part18 nership. 

19 (c) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.— 

20 In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional com21 mittees’’ means— 

22 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

23 Senate; 

24 (2) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

25 Senate; 


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1 (3) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

2 House of Representatives; and 

3 (4) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

4 House of Representatives. 

Æ 


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