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86–871PDF 2014

ELECTRIFY AFRICA ACT OF 2013

MARKUP

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

ON

H.R. 2548

FEBRUARY 27, 2014

Serial No. 113–117

Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs

(

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/ or

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/

(II)

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

EDWARD R. ROYCE, California, Chairman 

CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey 

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida 

DANA ROHRABACHER, California 

STEVE CHABOT, Ohio 

JOE WILSON, South Carolina 

MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas 

TED POE, Texas 

MATT SALMON, Arizona 

TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania 

JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina 

ADAM KINZINGER, Illinois 

MO BROOKS, Alabama 

TOM COTTON, Arkansas 

PAUL COOK, California 

GEORGE HOLDING, North Carolina 

RANDY K. WEBER SR., Texas 

SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania 

STEVE STOCKMAN, Texas 

RON DESANTIS, Florida 

DOUG COLLINS, Georgia 

MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina 

TED S. YOHO, Florida 

LUKE MESSER, Indiana 

ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York 

ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American 

Samoa 

BRAD SHERMAN, California 

GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York 

ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey 

GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia 

THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida 

BRIAN HIGGINS, New York 

KAREN BASS, California 

WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts 

DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island 

ALAN GRAYSON, Florida 

JUAN VARGAS, California 

BRADLEY S. SCHNEIDER, Illinois 

JOSEPH P. KENNEDY III, Massachusetts 

AMI BERA, California 

ALAN S. LOWENTHAL, California 

GRACE MENG, New York 

LOIS FRANKEL, Florida 

TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii 

JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas

AMY PORTER, Chief of Staff THOMAS SHEEHY, Staff Director

JASON STEINBAUM, Democratic Staff Director 

(III)

C O N T E N T S 

Page

MARKUP OF 

H.R. 2548, To establish a comprehensive United States Government policy 

to assist countries in sub-Saharan Africa to develop an appropriate mix 

of powersolutions for more broadly distributed electricity access in order 

to support poverty alleviation and drive economic growth, and for other 

purposes. ............................................................................................................... 2

Amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 2548 offered by the 

Honorable Edward R. Royce, a Representative in Congress from the 

State of California, and chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs, and 

the Honorable Eliot L. Engel, a Representative in Congress from the 

State of New York ............................................................................................ 19

Amendment to the amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 

2548 offered by the Honorable Mark Meadows, a Representative 

in Congress from the State of North Carolina ........................................ 50

LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD 

APPENDIX 

Markup notice .......................................................................................................... 56

Markup minutes ...................................................................................................... 57

Markup summary .................................................................................................... 59

(1)

ELECTRIFY AFRICA ACT OF 2013

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2014

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS,

Washington, DC. 

The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:06 a.m., in room 

2172 Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Edward Royce (chairman of the committee) presiding. 

Chairman ROYCE. The committee will come to order. I will ask 

members to take their seats. And pursuant to notice, we need 

today to mark up H.R. 2548, the Electrify Africa Act. And without 

objection, all members may have 5 legislative days to submit statements for the record or any extraneous materials for today’s bill. 

So I will now call up H.R. 2548. Without objection, the bill is considered read. 

The Royce-Engel amendment in the nature of a substitute that 

was provided to your offices Tuesday morning is considered base 

text for purposes of the markup and is open for amendment at any 

point. And after my brief remarks, I will recognize the ranking 

member, Mr. Engel from New York, and then any other members 

seeking recognition to speak on today’s bill. 

[The information referred to follows:]

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86871a-1.eps

118THCONGRESS H R 2548 1 srr SRSiRTO:-.J 

• • 

'1'0 estahlisll a comprellensive Cl1ited States Government policy to assist 

countries in sub-Saharan Africa to develop an appropriate mix of power 

solutions for more broadly distrihuted electricity access in order to support poverty alleviaLioll and drive economic [tt'owth, and for other purposes. 

IN TIlE HOUSE OF EEPI{ESENTATIVES 

JUN:F1 '37, 201:3 

Mr. HOYCE (for himsP]f, Mr. E;.;rGEL, Mr. SMITn of Kew ,Terst'y, and :.vIs. 

BAI:',,) introduced the following hill; whidl was referred to the Committee 

on Foreign ~iffairs, and ill addiLioll to the Committee OIl Fiml11cial Services, for a periwl to he suhsequelltly determined hy the Speaker, in each 

case for consideration of such pro;isiol1s as fall "ithin the jurisdiction of 

the commiLtee cOIH.:cmcd 

A BILL 

To establish a comprehensive United States Govennnent poliry to assist countries in sub-Saharan ~A.frica to dev-elop 

an appropriate mix of power solutions for more broadly 

distrihuted electricity access in order to snpport poverty 

alleviatiol1 and drive economic growth, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by {he Senale and IIouse of Represent a2 fives lifthe United States of America in ConYf'(:Rs assernblBil, 
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86871a-2.eps

2 

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the "ElectrifY ~L\frica Art 

3 of201:J". 

4 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

S The purpose of this Act is to improve access to af6 fordable, reliable elec·tricity in ~qJrica in order to unloek 

7 the pot.ential for economic growth, job creation, food ser11-

8 rity. improved health and education outcomes, and sns9 tainable poverty redndion. 

10 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

11 Congress fillds that12 (1) 5Hn,OOO,oOO people 111 sub-Saharan Africa, 

13 or 68 pereent of the population, do not have access 

14 to eleetrieity, a8 of 2010; 

1S (2) electrieity serviees are highly unreliable and 

16 remain at least tvviee as eAl)ensive compared to other 

17 emerging regions for the majority of people 'with ac18 cess to electricity ill sub-Saharan Africa; 

19 (:3) lack of access to electricity services dispro20 portionally affects women-who often shoulder the 

21 burden of seeking sources of heat and light such as 

22 dung, wood or charcoal and are often more eA1l08ed 

23 to the associated negative health imp3ets. "Vome1l 

24 and g'ids also face il1erease risks of assault from 

25 walking long di8tance" to gather fuel 8ouree,,; 
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86871a-3.eps

1 (4) people ,vithout aeeess to eleetridty are often 

2 trapped in RuhsiRtence lifestyles and are unable to 

3 work their ,yay out of poverty; 

4 (f)) a laek of eieetri('ity ('ontrilmtes to the high 

5 nse of inefficient and often highly polluting fuel 

6 sources for indoor cooking, heating, and lighting 

7 that produce toxic fumes resulting in more than 

8 3,000,000 annual prematnre deaths from respiratory 

9 disease, more aUllual deaths than from HIV!~:UDS 

10 and malaria in suh-Saharan Africa: 

11 (6) electricity access is crucial for the storage 

12 of vaccines and anti-retroviral and other lifesaving 

13 medical drugs, as well as the operation of mockrn 

14 lifesaving medical equipment; 

15 (7) electricity access can he used to improve 

16 food secnrity hy enahling post-harvest processmg, 

17 pumping, irrigation, dry g;rain storage, milling, re18 frigcration, and other uses; 

19 (8) eleetricity aeeess can provide improved 

20 lighting option::;, internet :wees::;, mobile phone 

21 char¢ng, and other new information and commu22 nicatioll technologies that call greatly improve health 

23 and education ontcomes as well as commercial p08si24 hilities; 
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86871a-4.eps

4 

1 (9) Africa'::; ('on::;umer lxwe of 1,000,000,000 

2 people is rapidly grnwing and ~will create increasing 

3 demand for United States goods, services, and tech4 nologies, bnt the enrrent Afriean eleetrieity defi(,it 

5 limits this gTowth in demand by restricting eco11omic 

6 grmvth on the continent; 

7 (10) approximately :iO Afriean countries face 

8 endemic power shortages, and nearly 70 percent of 

9 surveyed African businesses cite unreliable power as 

10 a major constraint to gTowth; 

11 (11) the Millenninm Challenge COlvoratioll's 

12 work in the energy sector shows high projected eeo13 nomic rates of returns that translate to sustainable 

14 economic growth and that the highest returns are 

15 projected when infrastructure improvements are COll16 pled with sig11ificant le¢slative and regulatory and 

17 in::;titutional policy reform::;; 

18 (12) in some countries, regulatory bottlenecks 

19 and legal cOl1strail1ts stifle the ability of private in20 vestment to assist in the generation and di::;tributioll 

21 of electricity; and 

22 (1:3) without new policies aud more effective i11-

23 vestrnents in electricity sertor enterprises to increase 

24 and expand elec.tricity access in sub-Saharan Africa, 

25 over 70 percent of the rural population, and 48 pe1'-
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86871a-5.eps

5 

1 cel1t of the total pOPluation, will remain without ac2 cess to electricity by 20:~(). 

3 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

4 CongTe::;::; de(~lare::; that it i::; the poliey of the 1~ nited 

5 States, in consultation with sub-Saharan African govern6 ments, to7 (1) encourage the installation of at least an aa8 ditional 20,000 megawatts of electrical pmver ill sub9 Saharan Africa by 2020; 

]0 (2) promote first-time access to electricity for 

11 at least 50,000,000 people in sub-Saharan Africa by 

12 2020 in both urban and 111ra1 areas; and 

13 (3) promote efficient institutional platforms to 

14 provide electrical service to rural aHd ulldel'served 

15 areas. 

16 SEC. 5. DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPREHENSIVE, MULTIYEAR 

17 STRATEGY. 

18 (a) STRATF.Gv.-The President shall establish a com19 preheusive, illtegrated. multiyear strategy to assist COUil20 trie::; in suh-Saharan Afriea to develop an appropriate mix 

21 of power solutions, including renewable energy, to provide 

22 sufficient electricity access to people living in rural and 

23 urban areas m order to alleviate poverty and drive eco24 nOllllC growth. Such strategy shall maintain sufficient 
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86871a-6.eps

6 

1 fle:l-.'ibility and remain responsive to teehno1og1eul ml1OVU2 tion in the power sector. 

3 (b) REPOHT.-

4 (1) IN GENERAL.-Not later than 180 days 

5 after the aate of the enactment of this Act, the 

6 President shall transmit to the appropriate congres7 siona1 committees a report setting forth the strategy 

8 described in subsectio1l (a). 

9 (2) HEPOR'l' CO.:.JTE.:.JTS.-The report relluired 

]0 by paragraph (1) shall include a discm:sio1l of the 

11 elements described in paragraph and should in12 elude a discussion of any additional elements 1'el13 evant to the strategy described in subsection (a). 

14 (:3) REPORT ELEMENTS.-The elemeuts 1'e15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

24 

ferred to in paragraph (2) are the following: 

(A) The general and specific o11iectives of 

the str1:ltegy deseribed in subseetion the e1'iteria for determining success of the strategy, 

and a description of the manner ill which the 

strategy will i11(,1'ease prodnd.ioll and improve 

access to electricity. 

(B) Development of plans and reg'illations 

at the national, regional, and local level to increase power production, strengthetl electrical 
8


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tnm::;mi:s::;ion and di:stribution infrastrueture, 

and improve access to electricity. 

(C) Administration plans to increase access 

to eledrieity, induding a deseription of how the 

strategy vvill address commercial and residential 

needs, as ,vell as urban and lura1 access. 

(D) Administration strategy to reduce 

waste and improve existing power generation 

through the use of a broad power mix and use 

of a distribnted generation model. 

(E) Administration policy on engaging and 

leveraging private sertor resources and public 

sector financing. 

(F) A description of the strategy for the 

transfer of relevant technology and skills to 

loeal partieipation in the long-term maintellanc~e 

and management of :such inve:stment:s to emmre 

power sector investments arc sustainable, ineluding the details of the programs to be undertaken to maximize United States (~ontribntions 

in the areas of teclmieal assistance and trainmg. 

(+) An identification of the relevant executive braueh agencies that will be involved ill earrying out the ::;trategy, the level and di::;tribution 
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of rei:iources that vvill be dedicated on an annual 

hasis among the sur,h agencies, the assignment 

of priorities to such agencies, a description of 

the role of ea(-h agell(T, and the types of programs that each agency ~will be undertaking. 

(H) A description of the mechanisms that 

,vill he utilized to coordinate the efforts of the 

relevant executive branch agencies ill carrying 

out the strateg·y to avoid duplieation of efforts, 

enhance coordination. and ensure that each 

ageney undertakes programs primarily in those 

areas where earh such agency has the greatest 

eq)Crt.ise, teclmieal capabilities, and potential 

for sueeess. 

(l) A description of the meehanisms to he 

established for monitoring and evaluating ll1-

creased electricity access development, for 

learning and transmitting best praetiees amollg 

relevant exeeutive brallell ageneies as well as 

among partieipating eonntrips, and for terminating unsueeessful programs. 

(J) A deserlption of the engagement pIau 

for working ,vith local commnnitieR benefitting 

from the projects and affeded by the projeets 
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as well as the environment and soeial imp ads 

of the projeets. 

(Ie) A description of the mechanisms that 

""vill be utilized to ensure greatpr eoordination 

between the United States and foreign governments, intenmtional organizations, African regional eeonomie ('ommnnities, international financial institutions, and private sector organizations. 

(I j) A description of how United States 

leadership will be used to enhance the overall 

internationnl response to prioritizing eleetrieity 

access for sub-Saharan Africa ,me] to strengthen coordination among' relevaut international 

forums such as the 08 and G20. 

CYr) An outline of how the Administration 

intends to partner ",'jtll foreign governments, 

the 'World Bank Group, tlw Africa11 Developmeut Bank Group, and the public sector to assi:,;t :,;nll-Saharan African (~ountrip:,; to eondnet 

project feasibility studies and facilitate project 

development. 

(N) A description of how the Administration intends to help facilitate transnational and 
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86871a-10.eps

10 

1 regional power and electrification project::; 

2 where appropriate. 

3 SEC. 6. USAID. 

4 (a) LOAN Gu~uL~"\""rEE8.-It it-; the sense of Congress 

5 that in pursuing the policy goals describer! in section 4, 

6 the Administrator of rSAID should iclentif~y and 

7 prioritize8 (1) where loan guarantC'es to local African fi9 nancia1 in::;titution::; would facilitate the involvement 

10 of such financial institutions in power projects in Af11 rica; and 

12 (2) where partnerships and grants for research, 

13 development, and c1eploYl11cnt of technology vvonld 

14 increase access to eleet.ricity ill 1'lirica. 

15 (b) ORANTS.-It is the sense of Congress that the 

16 Administrator of USAID, acting through rSAID's Bu17 reau for Africa and Economic Growth, Education and En18 vironnlent, should consider providing grants to19 (1) develop national, regiollal, aud local energy 

20 and eleetrieity poliey plans: 

21 (2) eXl)allcl distribution of eleet.ricity access to 

22 the poorest; and 

23 (B) huild a country's capacity to monitor and 

24 regulate the energy and eledricity sector. 
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86871a-11.eps

11 

1 rSAID DEFINED.-In this section, the term 

2 "lJSAID" means the Cniterl States Agency for lnter3 national Development. 

4 SEC. 7. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY. 

5 In pursuing the policy goals described m section 4, 

6 the Secretary of the Treasury should direct the United 

7 States Executive Director at eaeh institution in the W orlrl 

8 Bank (troup and the African Deyelopment Bank to usc 

9 the voice, Yote, and influence of the United States to en10 courage each such entity toII (1) commit to sig11ificantly increase power sec12 tor and electrification investments in sub-Saharan 

13 Africa: 

14 (2) consider energy needs of individuals where 

15 access to an electricity gTid is impra.ctical or cost16 prohibitive; 

17 (:3) enhance coordination with the private sector 

18 111 sub-Saharan Africa to increase access to elcc19 tricity; 

20 (4) provide te(~hnical assista.ll(~e to the regn21 latory authorities of sub-Saharan African govern22 meats to remove unnecessary barriers to iuvestment 

23 in commercially ,iahle projects, reduce trallRInission 

24 and distributiotl losses, encourage end-use efficiency, 
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86871a-12.eps

1" '" 

1 strengthen local markets, and unlock domestic 111-

2 vestrnent in the power sector; and 

3 (5) utilize clear, accountable, and metric-based 

4 targ'ets to measnre tlw effe(~tiveness of "nell projed", 

5 SEC. 8. OVERSEAS PRIVATE INVESTMENT CORPORATION. 

6 (a) IN GExEP""liJ,-The Overseas Private Investment 

7 Corporation shonld8 (1) in carrying out its programs and pnrsmng 

9 the policy goals described in sedion 4, place a pri10 ority on supporting investment ill the electricity sec11 tor of sub-Saharan Africa and implement procedures 

12 for e2..lledited review of and, where appropriate, ap13 proval of, applications by eligible investors for loans, 

14 loan guarantees, and insurance for suell illvestments; 

15 (2) to the extent permitted by its authorities. 

16 policies, and programs, support investments in 

17 projects that vvill18 (A) ma~ximize the 11llmber of people vVlth 

19 Hew access to electricity to support ecollomic 

20 development; 

21 (B) improve the transmission and clistribu22 tion of electricity; 

23 (C) provide reliable and low-cost electricity 

24 to people living ill !'Ural and urban commu25 nities; 
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86871a-13.eps

1" d 

1 (D) ~on~ider energy l1eed~ of individu1:Ils 

2 where access to an electricity grid is impractical 

3 or cost-prohibitive; and 

4 (E) rednee tran::;mis::;ion and di::;tribution 

5 losses and improve end-usc efficiency; 

6 (3) encourage small- and medium-sized enter7 prises and cooperative servire providers to partici8 pate ill illycstment aehvities ill sub-Saharan Africa; 

9 and 

10 (4) publish measurable development impacts of 

11 its investments. 

12 (11) AlVIE1'.'DlVIENTS.-Title IV of chapter 2 of part I 

13 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is amellded14 (1) iu section 23:3 (22 r.s.c. 2193)-

15 (A) ill subsection (b), by inserting after the 

16 sixth sentence the follmving new sentence: "Of 

17 the eight ~uch Directors, not more than SlX 

18 should lw of the same political party,"; and 

19 (B) by addiulz at the end the followiug' Hew 

20 snhsedion: 

21 "(e) INVESTMExT Am7ISORY COUKCIL.-The Board 

22 shall take prompt measures to illcrease the loan, guar23 antee, and insurance programs, and financial commit24 meIlts, of the Corporatioll ill sub-Saharan Africa, inelud25 ing through the use of an inve~tment advi~ory eoul1eil to 
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14 

1 a::;::;ist the Board in developing and implementing poli~ies, 

2 programs, and financial instrnments vvith respect to suh3 SaharallAfrica. In addition, the investment advisory (,OU11-

4 (~il Rhall make reeornmendationR to the Board on how the 

5 Corporation can facilitate greater snpport by the United 

6 States for trade and investment v(Tith and in sub-Saharan 

7 Africa. The investment advisory council shall terminate on 

8 December 31, 2017."; 

9 (2) in section 2:34(c) (22 U.S.C. 2194(c)), by 

1 0 inserting "eligible investors or" after "involve": 

11 (3) in section 235(a)(2) (22 r.s.c. 2195), by 

12 striking "'20(H" aml inserting "'201G"; and 

13 (4) ill section 239(e) (22 U.S.C. 2199(e)) to 

14 read as follows: 

15 "(e) INSPECTOR GENERAL.-The Board shall ap16 point and maintain an Inspector (Jeneral in the Corpora17 tion, in a~~ordan~e with the Im;pector General A~t of 1978 

18 U5 U.S.C. App.).". 

19 (c.) POLICY.-Not later than 180 days after the date 

20 of the enadment of thiR Ad, the Board of DireetorR ,md 

21 President of the Overseas Private Investment COlvoration 

22 are hereby directed to issue policy guidance that pennits 

23 significant investnwnt in the electricity sector of the poo1'-

24 est aud lowest pollution-emitting countries ill a develop25 rnent-driven and environmentally sen::;itive manner. 
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86871a-15.eps

15 

1 SEC. 9. TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT AGENCY. 

2 (a) l~ G-EXERAL.-The Director of the Trade and 

3 Development Agellcy should4 (1) promote United State::; private "e(~tor par5 ticipatioll in energy sector development projects in 

6 sub-Salmran Afriea through prqjeet preparation ac'-

7 tivities, induding feasibility studies, technical assist8 ance, pilot prQieets, reverse trade missions, C011-

9 fereneet-; and work::;hopt-;: ;-mel 

10 (2) seck opportunities to fund project prepam11 tioll activities that involve increased access to elec12 tricity, indnding pmver generation and trade capac13 ity building. 

14 (b) Focus.-In pun;uing· the poliey goals deseribed 

15 111 section 4, project preparation activities described in 

16 subsection (a) shonlcl focus on power generation using 

17 clean energy sources, improving the efficiency of t1'an8-

18 mission and distribution grids, illclnclillg on-gtid, off-gTid 

19 and mini-grid solutions, and promoting ellergy effieieney 

20 and demand-side management. 

21 SEC. 10. PROGRESS REPORT. 

22 Kot later than three years after the date of the enaet23 ment of this Aet, the President shall trammit to the Com24 mittee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatiyes 

25 and the Committee on Foreign Relation::; of the Senate 
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86871a-16.eps

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1 a report on progTess made toward achieving the policy 

2 goals deseriherl in section 4, including the follmving: 

3 (1) The number and t:n)e of policy and legisla4 tive ('hang-eo; implement.e(l in partner eountrie::; to 

5 support increased electricity generation and access 

6 since United States engagement, 

7 (2) A list of p(n"er sertor and electrification 

8 projects United State's (}overn11lellt instruments arc 

9 suppor1:.iug to achieve the policy guals described ill 

10 section 4, and for each such project11 (A) a description of how each such prqject 

12 fits into the national power plans of the partner 

13 countr,"; 

14 (B) the total cost of each such project and 

15 predicted United States Government contribu16 tions to such prqjects broken dOlHl by rnited 

17 State::; Government funding souree, including 

18 from the Overseas Private Invcstment Corpora19 tion, the Uuited States Agency for Iuteruatiollal 

20 Development, the Department of the Trea::;ury, 

21 and other appropriate United States (Joyern22 meut departmellts and agellcies; 

23 (C) the amount of artnal United States 

24 Government finaueing provided to sueh 

25 project::;, broken down by United State::; Govern-
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ment funding source, induding from the Overseas Private Investment C0l1)Oration, the 

rnited States "Agency for International Development, the Department of the Treasury, and 

other appropriate Cnited States Government 

departments and agencies: 

(D) the predicted electrical power capacity 

m megawatts of each prqject npon completion; 

(El expected environmental and social impacts from each project: 

(F) the number of individuals, businesses, 

schools, and health facilities that have gained 

electricity connections as a result of eaeh 

project at the time of such report; 

(0) the predicted n11m],er of individuals 

gaining electricity connections as a result of 

each project upon c.ompletion; and 

(H) the cnrrent operating electrical power 

capacity in megawatts of each project. 
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86871b-1.eps

AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE 

TO H.R. 2548 

OFFERED BY MR. ROYCE OF CALIFORNIA AND 

MR. ENGEL OF NEW YORK 

Strike all after the enactiug clause and insert the 

follmving: 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the "Electrify Africa Act 

3 of~014". 

4 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

S The purpose of this Act is to encourage the efforts 

6 of countrieR in Rub-Saharan Africa to improve acceRR to 

7 affordable and reliable electricity in Africa in order to 

8 unlock the potential for economic gTowth, job creation. 

9 food Recurity, improved health, education and environ10 mental outcomes, and poverty reduction. 

11 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

12 CongTess finds that13 (1) 589,000,000 people III sub-Saharan Africa, 

14 or () R pen~ent of the population, did not have a(~eess 

15 to electricity, as of 2010; 

16 (2) in sub-Saharan Africa, electricity servICes 

17 are highly unreliable and they are at leaRt tvvice aR 
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86871b-2.eps

2 

1 expensive for those with electricity access compared 

2 to other emerging markets; 

3 (3) laek of aecess to cleetrieity seY'Vlees 

4 disproportionally affects women and girls, who often 

5 shoulder the hurden of seeking sources of heat and 

6 light sueh as dung, wood or chareoal and arc often 

7 more e)qlOsed to the associated negative health im8 paets. Women and girls also face an increased risk 

9 of assault from walking long distances to gather fuel 

10 sources; 

II (4) access to electricity creates opportunities, 

12 including entrepreneurship, for people to work their 

13 way out of poverty; 

14 (5) a lack of eleetricity cOlltributes to the high 

15 use of inefficient and often highly polluting fuel 

16 sources for indoor cooking, heating, and lighting 

17 that produce toxic fumes resulting in more than 

18 ;),000,000 annual premature deaths from respiratory 

19 disease, more annual deaths than from HIV/AIDS 

20 and malaria in sub-Saharan Africa; 

21 ( G) eleetrieity aecess is (~rU(~ial for the cold stor22 age of vaccines and anti-rctroviral and other life23 saving' medical drug's, as well as the operation of 

24 modern lifesaving medical equipment; 
21


86871b-3.eps

3 

1 (7) electricity access can be used to improve 

2 food security by enabling post-harvest processing, 

3 pumping, inigation, dry grain storage, milling, re4 frigeration, and other uses; 

5 (S) reliahle electricity access can provide im6 proved lighting options and information and commu7 nication technologies, including Internet access and 

8 mobile phone charg'ing, that can greatly improve 

9 health, social, and education outcomes, as well as 

1 0 e(~onornie and eommereial po:,;:,;ibilitie:,;; 

II (B) sub-Saharan Africa's consumer base of 

12 nearly one billion people is rapidly gTovving and will 

13 create increasing demand for United States goods, 

14 services, and technolog1es, but the current electlicity 

15 deficit in sub-Saharan Africa limits this demand by 

16 restricting economic growth on the continent; 

17 (10) approximately 30 ~African countries face 

18 endemi(~ power :,;hortage:,;, and nearly 70 pereent of 

19 surveyed African businesses cite unreliable power as 

20 a major constraint to gTowth; 

21 (11) the Millennium Challenge Corporation':,; 

22 work in the energy sector shows high projected eco23 nomic rates of return that trallslate to sustainable 

24 economic gTowth and that the highest returns are 

25 projected when infrastnwture improvements arc cou-
22


86871b-4.eps

4 

1 pled with significant legislative, regulatory, institu2 tional, and policy reforms; 

3 (12) in many countries, weak govemance capac4 ity, reg'luatory bottlenecks, legal constraints, and 

5 lack of transparency and accountahility can stifle the 

6 ability of private investment to assist in the genera7 tion and distribution of electricity; and 

8 (1 B) vvithout new policies and more effective in9 vestments in electricity sector capacity to increase 

10 and eA1Jand eledrieity ae(~e::;::; in ::;ull-Saharan Afriea, 

II over 70 percent of the rural population, and 48 per12 cent of the total population, vvill potentially remain 

13 without access to electricity by 20BO. 

14 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

15 CongTess declares that it is the policy of the rnited 

16 States17 (1) in conslutation ,vith sub-Saharan ~African 

18 government::;, to eneourage the private ::;edor, inter19 national community, African Regional Economic 

20 Communities, philanthropies, civil society, and other 

21 government::; to promote22 (A) the installation of at least an addi23 tional 20,000 megawatts of electrical power ill 

24 sub-Saharan Africa by 2020 to support poverty 
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86871b-5.eps

5 

1 reduction, promote development outcomes, and 

2 drive economic grmvih; 

3 (B) first-time direct access to electricity 

4 for at least 50,000,000 people in sub-Saharan 

5 Africa by 2020 in both nrban and rural areas: 

6 (C) efficient institutional platforms with 

7 accountable governance to provide electrical 

8 service to rural and llnderserved areas; and 

9 (D) the necessary in-country legislative, 

10 regTuatory and policy reforrm; to make sneh exII pansion of electricity access possible; and 

12 (2) to encourage private sector and inter13 national support for construction of hydroelectric 

14 dams in sub-Saharan Africa that15 (A) offer low-cost clean energy consi::;tent 

16 vvith17 (i) the national security interests of 

18 the United States; and 

19 (ii) best international practices re20 garding social and environmental safe21 gnards, ill(~luding22 (1) engagement of local commu23 nities regarding the design, implemen24 tation, monitoring, and evaluation of 

25 such prqjeets; 
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86871b-6.eps

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2 

3 

4 

5 

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(II) the consideration of energy 

alternatives, induding distributed renewable energy; and 

(III) the development of appropriate mitigation measures; and 

6 (B) support partner country efforts. 

7 SEC. 5. DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPREHENSIVE, MULTIYEAR 

8 STRATEGY. 

9 (a) STItATEGY.-The President shall establish a COIn10 prehen::;ive, integTated, multiyear policy, partner::;hip, and 

II funding strategy to encourage countries in sub-Saharan 

12 Africa to develop an appropriate mix of power solutions, 

13 including renewable energy, to provide sufficient electricity 

14 access to people living in ]'ural and urban areas in order 

15 to alleviate poverty and drive economic gTowth. Such strat16 egy shall maintain sufficient flexibility and remain respon17 sive to teclmological innovation in the power sector. 

18 (Il) REPOll'l'.-

19 (1) IN UENERAh-Not later than 180 days 

20 after the elate of the enactment of this Act. the 

21 Pre::;ident ::;hall tran::;rnit to the appropriate eongTe::;-

22 si on al committees a rep01i setting forth the strategy 

23 described in subsection (a). 

24 (2) REPORT (X)~TE~T8.-The report required 

25 by paragraph (1) shall include a discussion of the 
25


86871b-7.eps

7 

1 elemeuts described iu paragraph (:3), and should in2 elude a discussion of any additional elements rel3 evant to the strategy described in subsection (a). 

4 (8) REPOH'l' ELEl\lEN'l'S.-The elements re5 ferred to in paragraph (2) are the following: 

6 (A) The general and specific oQ]ectives of 

7 the strategy described in subsection (a), the cri8 teria for determining S1lccess of the strategy, a 

9 description of the manner in which the strategy 

10 vvill ::mpport partner country efforts to increase 

II production and improve access to electricity, 

12 and criteria and indicators used to select part13 ner countries for focused engagement on the 

14 power sector. 

15 (B) Development, by partner countr.y gov16 ernments, of plans and regTuations at the na17 tional, regional, and local level to merease 

18 power produetion, strengthen existing ele(~trical 

19 transmission and distribution infrastructure, 

20 bolster accountable governance and oversight, 

21 and improve a(~cess to eleetri(~ity. 

22 (C) Administration plans to support pmi23 uer country efforts to increase uew access to 

24 electricity, including a description of how the 
26


86871b-8.eps

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strategy will address commercial aud resideutial 

needs, as well as urban and rural access. 

(D) Administration strategy to support 

partner country efforts to reduce government 

waste, fraud, and corruption, and improve existing power generation through improvement of 

existing transmission and distribution systems, 

as well as the use of a broad power mix, including renewable energy, and the use of a distributed generation model. 

(f<J) Administration policy to support pminer country efforts to attract private sector investment and puhlic sector resources. 

(F) A description of the Administration's 

strategy for the transfer of relevant technology, 

skills, and information to increase local participation in the long-term maintenance and management of the power ::;eetor to en::;ure inve::;tme11ts are sustainable and transparent, including details of the programs to be undeliaken to 

maximize United State::; eontribution::; in the 

areas of technical assistance and training. 

(G) A~l identification of the relevant executive branch agencies that will be involved in carrying out the strategy, the level and distribution 
27


86871b-9.eps

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of resources that will he dedicated on an annual 

basis among such agencies, timely and comprehensive publication of aid information and 

available tram;mi::;::;ion of re::;ource data consistent with Administration commitments to implement the transparency measures specified in 

the International Aid Tran::;parency Initiative 

by December 201 fi, the assignment of priorities 

to such agencies, a description of the role of 

eaeh tmeh ag'eney, and the t)'lle::; of program::; 

that each such agency ,,~ll undertake, 

(H) A de::;cription of the mechani::;m::; that 

will be utilized hy the Administration, including 

the Intel1lational Aid Transparency Initiative, 

to coordinate the effort::; of the relevant executive branch agencies in carrying out the strategy to avoid duplication of efforts, enhance coordination, and en::;ure that eaeh agen(~y undertakes programs primarily in those areas where 

each such agency has the greatest eA,])ertise, 

tedmieal eapahilitie::;, and potential for ::;ll(~(~e::;::;, 

(I) A description of the mechanisms that 

will be established by the Administration for 

monitoring and evaluating the strategy and its 

implementation, including procedures for lC'm'll-
28


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iug and sharing best practic.es among relevant 

executive branch agencies, as well as among 

pm·ticipating c01l1ltries, and for terminating 11nsucce::;sful program::;. 

(.1) A description of the Administration's 

eng-ag-ement plan, consistent ,\V~th international 

be::;t practice::;, to ensure local and affected comlln1l1ities are informed, consulted, and benefit 

from prqjects encourag-ecl by the Lnited States, 

a:,; well a:,; the environmental and :,;ocial irnpad.:,; 

of the projects. 

(K) A desc.ription of the mechani::;ms that 

v,~l he utilized to ensure greater coordination 

between the United States and foreign goveT'Ilments, international organizations, African regional economIC communities, international 

fora, the private sector, and civ~l society org-anization:,;. 

(lj) A description of how United States 

leadership will be used to enhance the overall 

international re:,;pon:,;e to prioritizing electricity 

access for sub-Saharan Africa and to strengthen coordination amon~t relevant international 

forums such as the Post-201fi Development 

Ag-enda and the 08 and 020, as well as the 
29


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status of efforts to support reforms that are 

being undertaken by partner country governme11ts. 

CH) An outline of how the Administration 

intends to partner with foreign governments, 

the international community, and other public 

sector entities, civil society gnmps, and the private sector to assist sub-Saharan African C011ntries to conduct comprehensive prqject feasibility studies and faeilitate proje(~t development. 

(N) A description of how the Administration intends to help facilitate transnational and 

regional power and electrification projects 

where appropriate. 

15 SEC. 6. USAID. 

16 (a) LOAN (+UARA"'-'TEE8.-lt is the sense of Congress 

17 that in pursuing the policy goals described in section 4, 

18 the Administrator of l~SAID should identify and 

19 prioriti)7;e20 (1) loan guarantees to local sub-Saharan Aft·i21 ean finan(~ial institutions that would fa(~ilitate the in22 volvcme11t of such financial institutions in power 

23 projects in sub-Saharau Africa; and 
30


86871b-12.eps

12 

1 (2) partnerships aud grauts for research, devel2 opment, and deploy-ment of technology that would 

3 mcrease access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa. 

4 (b) GHAN'l'S.-It is the sense of CongTess that the 

5 Administrator of lJS~LUD should consider providing grants 

6 to---

7 (1) support the development and implementa8 tion of national, regional, and local energy and elec9 tricity policy plans; 

10 (2) eAlmnd di::;tribution of eleetrieity ae(~e::;::; to 

II the poorest; and 

12 (:3) build a country'::; capac.ity to plan, monitor 

13 and regulate the energy and electricity sector. 

14 (c) rSATD DRFTNED.-Tn this section, the term 

15 "USAID" means the rnited States Agency for Inter16 national Development. 

17 SEC. 7. LEVERAGING INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT. 

18 In punming the policy goahi de::;erihed in ::;e(~tion 4. 

19 the President should direct the United States' representa20 tives to appropriate international bodies to use the influ21 ell(~e of the United Stateti, (~ontiititent ,vith the broad devel22 opment goals of the United States, to advocate that each 

23 such body24 (1) commit to significantly increase efforts to 

25 promote investment in well-designed power sector 
31


86871b-13.eps

13 

1 and electrification projects 1Il sub-Saharan Africa 

2 that Illcrease energy access, in partnership vvith the 

3 private sector and consistent with the host countries' 

4 ab80rptive capacity; 

5 (2) address energy needs of individuals and 

6 communities where access to an electricity grid is 

7 impractical or c08t-prohibitive; 

8 (8) enhance coordination with the private sector 

9 III sub-Saharan Africa to increase access to elec10 tricity; 

II (4) provide technical assistance to the regn12 latory authoritie8 of 8ub-Saharan African govern13 ments to remove Ullllecessary harriers to investment 

14 in otherwise commercially viable projects; and 

15 (5) utilize dear, accountable, and metric-ba8ed 

16 targets to measure the effectiveness of such projects. 

17 SEC. 8. OVERSEAS PRIVATE INVESTMENT CORPORATION. 

18 (a) IN (}E':\ERAL.-The Overseas Private Investment 

19 Corporation shonld20 (1) in carrying out its programs and pursuing 

21 the policy goals des(~ribed in sedion 4, place a pri22 ority on supporting investment in the electricity sec23 tor of sub-Saharan Africa, including· renewable en24 ergy, and implement procedures for expedited review 

25 of and, where appropriate, approval of, applications 
32


86871b-14.eps

14 

1 by eligible iuvestors for loans, loau guarantees, aud 

2 insnrance for such investments; 

3 (2) support. illvestments in projects alld partller 

4 country strategies to the e:x'tent permitted by its au5 thorities, policies, and programs, that vvill6 (A) maximize the number of people with 

7 new access to eleetricity to support economic 

8 development; 

9 (B) improve the generation, transmission, 

10 and distrii>ution of eleetrieity; 

II (C) prm~de reliable and low-cost electricity, 

12 induding renewable energy and on-grid, off13 grid, and multi-grid solutions, to people living 

14 in rural alld urball cOllnmmities; 

15 (D) consider energy needs of individuals 

16 where access to an electricity grid is impractical 

17 or cost-prohibitive; 

18 (E) reduee transmission and distribution 

19 losses and improve end-usc efficiency; and 

20 (F) reduce energy-related impediments to 

21 business and investment opportunity and SlW22 cess; 

23 (3) encourage locally-owned, micro, small- and 

24 medium-sized enterprises and cooperative service 
33


86871b-15.eps

15 

1 providers to partic.ipate III investment ac.tivities III 

2 sub-Saharan Africa; and 

3 (4) publish in all ac.c.essible digital format meas4 urable development impads of its investments, inS eluding appropriate quantifiahle metrics to measure 

6 energy ac.c.ess at the individual household, entelvrise, 

7 and eommunity level; and 

8 (5) publish in an ac.c.essible digital format the 

9 amount, type, loc.ation, duration, and measurable re10 suits, with links to relevant reports and displays on 

II an interac.tive map, where appropriate, of all OPIC 

12 investment::; and finane.ings. 

13 (b) MIENDlVIENT8.-Title IV of chapter 2 of part 1 

14 of the Foreign Assistanc.e Ac.t of 1961 is amended15 (1) in seetion 233 (22 r.s.c. 2193)-

16 (A) in subsection (h), by inserting after the 

17 sixth sentenc.e the follovving new sentenc.e: "Of 

18 the eight sueh Dire(~t()rs, not more than five 

19 should be of the same politic.al party."; and 

20 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

21 suhse(~tion: 

22 "(e) INI.TE8TlVfRXT Am7T80RY COTJKCTT,.-'I'he Board 

23 shall take prompt measures to inc.rease the loan, guar24 antee, and insurance programs, and financ~ial commit25 ments, of the C01voration in sub-Saharan Afric.a, inc.lud-
34


86871b-16.eps

16 

1 ing through the use of an investment advisory council to 

2 assist the Board in developing and implementing polir,ies, 

3 programs, and financial instruments ~with respect to sub4 Saharan Africa. In addition. the inve::;tment advi::;ory coun5 r,il shall make rer,ommendations to the Board on how the 

6 COlvoration can facilitate greater support by the United 

7 State::; for trade and inve::;tment with and in ::;ub-Saharan 

8 Africa. The illVestment advisory council shall terminate on 

9 December 31, 2017."; 

10 (2) in ::;ection 2:14(e) (22 U.S.C. 2194k)), by 

II inselting "eligible investors or" after "involve": 

12 (:3) in ::;ection 2:35(a)(2) (22 r.s.c. 2195), by 

13 striking "2007" and inselting "2017"; 

14 (4) in section 237(d) (22 U.S.C. 2197(d))-

15 (A) in paragraph (2), by in::;erting ", ::;y::;-

16 tems infrastrur,ture r,osts," after "outside the 

17 COlvoration"; and 

18 (TI) in paragTaph (:1), by inserting ", sy::;-

19 tems infrastructure costs," after "project-spe20 cific transaction costs"; and 

21 (fJ) by amending section 2:19(e) (22 1~.S.C. 

22 21 ~H)(e)) to read as follows: 

23 "(e) INSPECTOR GENEP""lL.-The Board shall ap24 point and maintain an lnsper,tor (+eneral in t.he COl1)ora-
35


86871b-17.eps

17 

1 tion, in accordance with the Inspector General Act of 1978 

2 (5 U.S.C. App.).". 

3 SEC. 9. TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT AGENCY. 

4 (a) I:.J GE':\EHAL.-The Diredor of the Trade and 

5 Development Agency should6 (1) promote United States private sector par7 tieipation in energy sedor development projects in 

8 sub-Saharan Africa through project preparation ac9 tivities, including feasibility studies at the project, 

10 seetor, and national level, tedmieal assistan(~e, pilot 

II projects, reverse trade missions, conferences and 

12 workshops: and 

13 (2) seek opportunities to fund project prepara14 tion activities that involve increased access to elec15 trieity, inducling power generation and trade eapae16 ity building. 

17 (b) Focus.-In pursuing the policy goals described 

18 III seetion 4, projeet preparation aetivities deserihed in 

19 subsection (a) should focus on power generation, including 

20 renewable energy, improving the efficiency of transmission 

21 and distribution grids, induding on-gTid, off-gTid and 

22 mini-gTid sohltions, and promoting energy efficiency and 

23 demand-side management. 
36


86871b-18.eps

18 

1 SEC. 10. PROGRESS REPORT. 

2 1\ ot later than three years after the date of the enact3 ment of this Act, the President shall transmit to the Com4 mittee on Foreign Affair::; of the lIouse of Hepresentatives 

5 and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, 

6 and post through appropriate digital means, a report on 

7 progress made toward aehieving the poli(~y goals defwribed 

8 in section 4, including the follovving: 

9 (1) The number, type, and status of policy, reg'-

10 ulatory, and legislative changes implemented in part11 ner countries to support increased electricity genera12 tion and acce88, and 8trengthen effective, account13 able governance of the electricity sector since C nited 

14 States engagement. 

15 (2) A li8t of power 8ector and electrification 

16 projects United States Government instruments are 

17 supporting to achieve the policy g'Oals described in 

18 section 4, and for each SUdl project19 (1\) a description of how each such project 

20 fits into the national power plans of the partner 

21 country; 

22 (B) the total cost of each such project and 

23 predicted United State8 Government eontribu24 tions, and actual gTants and other financing 

25 provided to such pn~iects, broken down by 

26 L"nited States Government funding 8ource, 1l1-
37


86871b-19.eps

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2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

II 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

19 

eluding from the Overseas Private Investment 

Corporation, the United States Agenr,y for 

International Development, the Department of 

the Treasury, and other appropriate rnited 

States Government departments and agencies; 

(C) the predicted electrical power capacity 

of eaeh project upon eompletion, vvith metries 

appropriate to the scale of electricity access 

being supplied, as well as total megawatts installed; 

(I)) compliance with international best 

praetie.es and eX1leeted environmental and ::;oeial 

impar,ts from ear,h projer,t: 

(E) the estimated llumber of women, men, 

poor eomrnunities, businesses, SdlOOls, and 

health far,ilities that have gained eler,tricity r,onnections as a result of each prqject at the time 

of sueh report; and 

(1<') the current operating electrical power 

capacity in wattage of each project. 

~L\.mend the title so as to read: "A bill to establish 

a comprehensive Cnited States Government policy to encourage the efforts of countries in sub-Saharan Africa to 

develop an appropriate mix of power solutions, inr,luding 

renewable energy, for more broadly distributed electrieity 

access in order to suppOli poverty reduction, promote de-
38

Chairman ROYCE. Ladies and gentlemen, when we flip a light 

switch in this country, we power up a computer or swipe a credit 

card, we take for granted that the electricity that we are going to 

need to do that function is going to be there. But imagine for a moment if our shops or our schools or our hospitals and our homes 

had absolutely no electricity, what would happen if you flipped that 

switch and nothing happened? Even the most industrious manufacturer would be very hard pressed to stay in business. The most 

dedicated surgeon would be powerless in a hospital to save lives. 

And unfortunately, this is the reality throughout most of sub-Saharan Africa. Seventy percent of Africans lack access to dependable 

electricity. 

The Electrify Africa Act is a response to this massive power 

shortage. It offers a market-based, strategic framework to bring affordable energy that is reliable to the 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa who currently have none. Why do we care? We care 

because jobs are at stake, also human lives are at stake. 

Now over all of Africa, the population is now about one billion. 

We have one billion consumers. The African continent has great 

economic potential. Last year, a bipartisan committee of a delegation here traveled to three countries, to Ghana, to Liberia, and Nigeria to see how these countries could make better use of the African Growth and Opportunity Act. I can tell you I and Greg Meeks 

have traveled in the past to these countries to see what could be 

done to create more economic growth. And we passed landmark 

legislation a decade ago in order to try to increase trade, increase 

opportunity, remove the barriers for exports from these countries 

to the U.S. But in all three of these countries, the production of 

goods for export was rendered nearly impossible by a lack of affordable energy, even where other countries in the region were doing 

well and where conditions were ripe for manufacturing, the problem is that the cost of running a plant on a diesel generator is simply prohibitive, not to mention the absence of electronic devices and 

Internet access now so critical to businesses and now very critical 

to education. 

This lack of electricity even has a direct impact on our nation’s 

spending. For example, the U.S. Embassy in Liberia spends—how 

much do you think they spend on their diesel generator there? 

$10,000 a day. That is why it is so impractical to think that small 

businesses are going to be set up to run and then have to rely on 

diesel generators. There is no usable grid in Liberia right now. 

When I chaired the Africa Subcommittee, I saw first hand how 

a lack of electricity stifles development. Women spend long days 


86871b-20.eps
39

searching for wood or searching for charcoal to provide heat for 

their families. Children study with light from highly flammable 

kerosene lamps and health risks are very high as a result. Cold 

storage of vaccines is almost impossible in this kind of a situation. 

Families resort to using inefficient and highly polluting sources of 

fuel and you can imagine what happens when the toxic fumes from 

those fuels waft through their homes. As a matter of fact, that 

causes more deaths in the region than HIV/AIDS and malaria combined. 

Many of this committee have spent years working to help transition African countries away from assistance into economic growth. 

The Electrify Africa Act mandates a clear and comprehensive U.S. 

policy so that the private sector can proceed with the certainty it 

needs to generate electricity in Africa at no cost, by the way, to the 

U.S. taxpayer. 

We need to be engaged. Where the United States has left a void 

for economic investment in Africa, China of course, steps in. China 

has directed $2 billion toward energy projects on the continent. If 

the United States wishes to tap into this potential consumer base, 

we must act now. So another point I would make for the members. 

And I want to thank Ranking Member Eliot Engel and Africa 

Subcommittee Chair Chris Smith and Ranking Member Karen 

Bass, in particular, for helping craft this bill which comes at a crucial moment in time. And I want to also recognize the wide range 

of support for the bill from the 35 African Ambassadors who have 

sent letters of support to us here on Capitol Hill to the private sector groups like Chamber of Commerce and the Corporate Council 

of Africa and advocacy groups like the ONE Campaign and I would 

just like to ask those members of the ONE Campaign who are with 

us, if they would just stand for a moment to be recognized as well. 

Thank you very much for your engagement on this issue and the 

assistance in trying to electrify Africa. 

And at the end of the day, I know the committee wants to see 

communities in sub-Saharan Africa flourish. This bill sets out a 

comprehensive, sustainable, market-based plan to bring hundreds 

of millions of Africans into the global economy. And I will now turn 

to our ranking member, Mr. Eliot Engel of New York for his opening statement. 

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding this markup of 

the Electrify Africa Act. I am very pleased and honored to be the 

lead Democratic cosponsor of this bipartisan legislation which addresses a critically important issue and let me say, did you ever see 

so many good looking, young people who stood up. I want to thank 

them for everything they are doing as well. It really makes me feel 

good when there are young people who are so involved. We have 

great hope for this country and for the future of the planet with 

young people being so heavily involved. 

Mr. Chairman, sub-Saharan Africa is one of the most energy-deficient regions of the world with nearly 70 percent of the population 

which is more than half a billion people lacking access to electricity. In some countries that figure is even higher. In DRC, 85 

percent of the population has no power; Kenya, 82 percent; Uganda, 92 percent. And those are really staggering statistics. The lack 

of reliable electricity has many negative consequences. In desperaVerDate 0ct 09 2002 11:55 Mar 25, 2014 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00043 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\_FULL\022714M\86871 SHIRL
40

tion, people burn anything they can find for heat and cooking: 

Wood, plastic, trash, and other toxic materials. These dirtier fuels 

cause greater harm to people’s health and to the environment. 

Rural populations living off the grid require kerosene and cooking 

fuel to be transported from larger cities, making essential commodities cost more for those who are already struggling to survive. 

Many businesses have had a hard time succeeding because they 

are forced to pour expensive diesel fuel into generators day and 

night or deal with constant power outages from unreliable electrical grids. Hospitals cannot provide adequate services because 

they are unable to provide consistent cold storage, light or power 

for life-saving devices and the list goes on and on. 

This bill begins to tackle these challenges in a comprehensive 

way. It directs the Executive Branch to develop a strategy to increase electrification in Africa and to employ U.S. assistance programs to help accomplish that goal. This long-term strategy will 

focus not only on building more power plants, but also on increasing African Government accountability and transparency improving 

regulatory environments and increasing access to electricity in 

rural and poor communities through small, renewal energy 

projects. 

Only by addressing all of these challenges together will people in 

Africa finally have access to electricity that will allow them to grow 

their economies and ultimately reduce their reliance on foreign aid. 

Mr. Chairman, I know that you know sub-Saharan Africa is filled 

with dynamic individuals trying to make their countries better and 

I believe this bill supports their entrepreneurial spirit. 

Mr. Chairman, our staffs have worked together in a bipartisan 

fashion which I am pleased to say has been the way we have run 

this committee. It has been a pleasure. We drafted this bill and refined it with a substitute now before us and we did it together. So 

Mr. Chairman, I appreciate your deep commitment to the people of 

sub-Saharan Africa and I look forward to working with you to move 

this bill forward. I yield back. 

Chairman ROYCE. Thank you, Mr. Engel, very much. And thank 

you for your assistance also in drafting the legislation. We will go 

now to any members seeking to speak. We will go first to Mr. Chris 

Smith of New Jersey. 

Mr. SMITH. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, 

and Eliot Engel, for crafting this excellent bill, the Electrify Africa 

Act. Congress’ interest in Africa is not only long standing and robust, but it is often varied. At times the focus is on peace and development, the mitigation of war. Sometimes it is more of an interest on trade. Others obviously, and all of us, I think, play a role 

in all of this. We believe education is the key to Africa’s future success. And of course, humanitarian issues and combating of things 

like malaria, HIV/AIDS and TB are very, very high on the agenda. 

But you know, all of this and all of the progress is held back by 

the lack of electricity. And this legislation isn’t a grant. It is not 

a brand new set of foreign aid initiatives. It calls for very serious 

cooperation and a strategy to electrify Africa, to use many of the 

advances we have made over the last several years with regards 

to electricity, best practices, of course, doing it in an environmentally sane and safe way letting us share that with Africa. Let 

41

us do it as partners. This legislation is an idea whose time has 

come and I thank the chairman for sponsoring it. 

Chairman ROYCE. Thank you, Mr. Smith. We now go to Karen 

Bass of California. 

Ms. BASS. Thank you, Chairman Royce and Ranking Member 

Engel for your hard work on this and I would like to associate myself with the comments of the ranking member Engel in terms of 

congratulating the chair on how the committee is run and the bipartisan way in which we have done legislation. 

With greater access to electricity, Africa has the capacity to grow 

its economies, facilitating greater volumes of intra-regional, transcontinental, and international trade. Greater access to electricity 

also enables countries to expand human capacity and address the 

critical challenges of under employment. Access to additional power 

will also help both individual countries and geographic regions address infrastructure challenges, all of which contribute to increasing the capacity of African nations and the continent as a whole. 

Greater access to electricity improves the quality of life for not 

only urban, but rural communities. In the absence of electricity, the 

ability to work, to run a household, or to do homework after dark 

is truly a challenging feat, especially in rural areas. Many of you 

may have heard the inspiring story of the young Kenyan engineering student, Mr. Evans Wadongo, one of CNN’s top heroes of 2010, 

who at the age of 19 literally transformed the lives of people in his 

village by developing a solar lamp. Ask why he spent so much time 

and money attempting to produce the lamp, Mr. Wadongo said he 

did so to improve the lives of people like himself and to ensure that 

no other student had to go through what he had to go through just 

to study. 

Mr. Wadongo’s eyesight is permanently damaged due to prolonged use of kerosene lamps and the irritation of his eyes from 

kerosene fumes. Reportedly, Mr. Wadongo hopes to produce some 

100,000 solar lamps by 2015. His story underscores the importance 

of balanced access to electrical power and the need to ensure that 

power is not simply directed to the economic sectors, but also to the 

rural and low-income communities where many bright students 

like Mr. Wadongo live. 

I think for all of us, it is very hard to imagine what it would be 

like to go through a day without electricity. I often think of the 

health challenges that this presents and the number of women on 

the continent who have to deliver children in the dark. 

In closing, I want to acknowledge the concerns raised by a number of organizations and express my appreciation to your staff, Mr. 

Chairman, for meeting with all of the advocacy groups and taking 

their concerns into consideration. I understand that their concerns 

are that renewables be included, that access to electricity be for the 

general population, and that we make sure that governance of the 

infrastructure is transparent. I yield back the balance of my time. 

Chairman ROYCE. Thank you, Congresswoman Bass. We will now 

go to Congressman Duncan of South Carolina. 

Mr. DUNCAN. I want to thank the chairman. You know, this is 

an interesting bill to me, being a pro-energy guy and thinking 

about improving the quality of lives for folks all around the globe, 

specifically in Africa today, but we can incorporate most third 

42

world countries and how do we improve the lives of folks that are 

using charcoal to cook with or wood or coal to heat their homes. 

Electricity does that. 

Electricity provides a way to keep food from spoiling for a long 

time. Electricity provides an ability for third world parents to educate their children and help them read after the sun goes down. It 

provides the air quality improvement. If you are cooking and heating with combustible products like coal or charcoal or wood, air 

quality is not as good. 

So I am supportive of this effort. But I want to mention to the 

committee one thing that I would hope the administration in embracing this bill would consider and that is small, modular reactors 

which is a new technology, but new to this day, but not new to the 

nuclear industry. It has been around a long time. Small modular 

reactors can power small cities, large neighborhoods, and in this 

case in Africa, small villages with a very stable 24/7 baseload 

power supply to meet the needs of the electrical components there. 

And if you think about—and I think about the African villages, 

but also the manufacturing processes that could come in to provide 

incomes and stability, I think about the moms and dads having 

fresh food in their refrigerators and cooking over electric stoves and 

that sort of thing. So there are a lot of things to think about when 

we think about electricity in third world countries and transmission lines and security and other things, especially with regard 

to small modular reactors that I know others that may not like nuclear power will raise the concern about proliferation of nuclear 

materials, but there are ways that can be used in that area. 

So I would hope that the administration would look at small 

modular reactors as a viable source and it is not all just hydro 

power. There are other ways that we can meet the needs. I think 

this is the right thing to try to support electrifying Africa and all 

of the third world to bring them up in their standard of liver and 

quality of life. And with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back. 

Chairman ROYCE. Thank you. We go now to Mr. Meeks of New 

York. 

Mr. MEEKS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. First, I want to join Mr. 

Engel and Ms. Bass in congratulating you. This is not new for you. 

You have been working to make sure that Africa receives the kind 

of investments and infrastructure from the time that you were the 

chair of the Subcommittee on Africa and you have conducted yourself here in a manner to make sure that that has become a reality. 

And so I want to thank you for your hard work and your diligence 

on this particular bill. 

I want to thank Ranking Member Engel who has consistently 

and constantly been working very hard to work in a bipartisan 

manner, making sure that his contributions to you and the way he 

listens and talks to members on our side of the rise on this committee. That makes this happen and that makes these things work. 

So I want to thank Mr. Engel and Mr. Smith, who is always on humanitarian causes and works hard in doing what he has to do. And 

in regards to this bill, I want to thank you, because it is a joint 

effort. 

And of course, my friend and colleague, Karen Bass, who I think 

of two things. Number one, I also think of my good friend who is 

43

looking down from heaven, Donald Payne, who had worked so hard 

and so tremendously for a long period of time on working on Africa 

and trying to see this happen and then the baton being passed to 

Karen Bass, who in her vision, says that we are going to work and 

she was going to work just as hard as Donald did. And every time 

I look up, there is something in my hand about Africa that Karen 

is producing to make sure that Africa is on the thoughts and the 

minds and the hearts of everybody. So I want to thank you. 

And of course, I want to thank Mr. Bono and the ONE Campaign 

who decided to utilize his celebrity to make sure it becomes on the 

lips of a lot of individuals. Sometimes if you don’t have a celebrity, 

what is going on in other parts of the world no one knows about. 

But the ONE Campaign and Mr. Bono decided that they were 

going to stay focused on this and bring the attention to the world. 

And that then also gives us the motivation on the committee to 

make sure that we get something and we do something right. And 

I think that is what we are doing here today. So I want to thank 

them. 

I am so excited to see that the committee takes this proactive action to increase U.S. engagement and investment in Africa. You 

know, years ago when one would discuss Africa often we only heard 

it characterized as the poorest continent on the planet. That is no 

longer the case. More often you hear about flourishing economic 

progress today. Six out of the top ten fastest growing economies in 

the world are in sub-Saharan Africa. Over the past decade it has 

been a six-fold increase in U.S. and foreign direct investment in 

sub-Saharan Africa to $39.5 billion. 

On June 30, 2013, in a speech in Capetown, South Africa, President Barack Obama remarked, ‘‘There is a historic shift taking 

place from poverty to growing, massive middle class.’’ Africa has a 

great story to tell, but more needs to be done for Africa to reach 

its full potential. Investments and key infrastructure such as reliable energy are vital to continuing African growth and development. 

President Obama’s Power Africa initiative capitalizes on the 

progress by leveraging international support, the private sector, 

and regional cooperation to dramatically increase electricity across 

Africa. The Electrify Africa Act will solidify ambitious goals for low 

cost, clean energy on the continent, including 20,000 megawatts of 

electrical power by 2020. 

I have hosted various seminars and trade events to encourage 

trade and investment in Africa. The Electrify Africa Act of 2014 

will bring the kind of confidence to investors that Africa has the 

capacity to support long-term economic growth and is a stable partner for private corporations, NGOs, international organizations, 

and entrepreneurs. Through this bill, more effective investments in 

the electricity sector will further enhance Africa’s trade capacity. 

And it will give children the ability to learn; hospitals, the opportunity to heal; families, the opportunity to come together; create 

jobs and opportunities for those who had none. 

I look forward to working with my colleagues on this committee 

to ensure Africa’s future continues to be as bright as the sun. 

Thank you, and I yield back. 

44

Chairman ROYCE. Thank you very much. We go now to Mr. Mo 

Brooks of Alabama. 

Mr. BROOKS. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I 

very much appreciate the altruistic motivations that I have heard 

in support of this legislation, but quite frankly I don’t believe 

America’s financial condition is such that it supports spending this 

money that we don’t have on these projects. The realities of America’s financial condition, quite frankly, are rather dire. Over the 

past 5 years we have averaged trillion-dollar deficits every single 

year. That has been our average. To put that in a different perspective, I would ask the members and the audience to think in terms 

of their personal finances. How long could each of us stay out of 

bankruptcy if year after year after year for 5 consecutive years, 30 

percent of our operational costs, what we spent to live on, was borrowed money? Yet that is the financial condition of the United 

States of America over the past 5 years. 

We have economic history that we can look at that tells us what 

the dire consequences are going to be if we continue on this path. 

You can look at Detroit and Stockton, major cities in the United 

States of America. They are in bankruptcy because of this tendency 

to spend money that you don’t have which politicians are also apt 

to do. Now in Detroit, they are bailing in bankruptcy whether retirees of the City of Detroit are going to receive the pensions that 

they earned during their lifetimes and that they now need during 

their elderly years. 

We can look at Spain and Greece, again, a couple of governments 

who have not had financial constraint and who have been spending 

money that they do not have. Their unemployment rate right now 

exceeds 25 percent in both of those nations. Now think about that 

for a moment. Those are unemployment rates because of financial 

irresponsibility that are worse than at any point in time during 

America’s Great Depression of the 1930s. 

You can look at Argentina and Venezuela if you want more examples of the consequences of the path that we are on, where in 

1 month their currency was devalued anywhere from 17, 18 percent 

on the low side to roughly 50 percent on the high side in 1 month. 

Of course, you are going to have economic adverse consequences 

from that or you can look at Puerto Rico, a part of the United 

States, which just 2 weeks ago Fitch downgraded their sovereign 

debt to junk bond status. 

Puerto Rico is going to be suffering for years, if not decades, because of the financial irresponsibility of their leadership or they 

didn’t properly prioritize and where they didn’t say no to good 

things, not because they don’t want to do those good things, but because they don’t have the money with which to do those good 

things. 

Let us be clear then. Every penny that is spent by America on 

building power plants and power lines in Africa is borrowed. It is 

money we do not have and money we do not have the ability to pay 

back. That having been said, there is some issue about whether 

this bill is going to cost American taxpayers money. I would direct 

everyone to Section 6 of the bill which is page 11 where we are 

going to be guaranteeing loans: ‘‘USAID should identify and 

prioritize loan guarantees to local sub-Saharan African financial inVerDate 0ct 09 2002 11:55 Mar 25, 2014 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00048 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\_FULL\022714M\86871 SHIRL
45

stitutions.’’ That is money that the United States of America is on 

the hook for. 

If you go to the very next paragraph, it is talking about partnerships and grants, again, taxpayer money that would have to be 

spent. If you want to look at Section 8 on page 13, the Overseas 

Private Investment Corporation, which by the way we appropriated 

$55 million for in FY 2012 and the President is asking for $72 million in 2014 in his budget proposal. That also is going to be assisting with investments that in turn cost money ultimately that may 

be American taxpayer money. 

Before I go any further, let me emphasize, USAID does not come 

cheap. We are talking $17 billion FY 2014, $17 billion. That is how 

much that is costing American taxpayers. Or if you want to go to 

Section 9, Director of Trade and Development, page 17 again, this 

one is talking about, if you will bear with me while I get to that 

page, ‘‘the Director of Trade and Development Agency should promote United States private sector participation in energy sector development.’’ That is administration. That is going to cost money for 

us to do that. ‘‘Seek opportunities to fund project preparation activities including power generation.’’ There is a whole slew of 

things that are going to cost, but the bottom line is this, there is 

no way that anyone can say that this is not going to cost American 

taxpayers money. It is. Money that we don’t have. 

You can make the argument that the money is going to be spent 

anyways, and that we ought to spend it on this program which is 

a separate argument. But I would submit in response that once you 

lock this legislation in it is going to be very difficult to cut the 

funding to conform to the financial circumstances that we face as 

a nation. So I admire the altruism that is expressed so far. I regret 

that because of our nation’s financial condition I cannot support 

spending American taxpayer dollars on power lines and power 

plants in Africa. 

Chairman ROYCE. To recognize myself, of course, what this bill 

is about is giving the private sector in the United States the certainty it needs to go in and create in Africa products that are 

American-made products that create American jobs over the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. And if we go through the 

scoring of the CBO, this, in fact, is a proposal that not only does 

not cost, this is one of the few proposals that we are going to pass 

that actually is scored to bring revenues into the Federal coffers 

here in the United States. Why is that so? Because when you give 

American companies the certainty that they can go and invest, 

they do so. They create the synergy of the new jobs and the new 

economic relationship and to put this in context, this is something 

of a race in Africa between the private sector, the U.S. going in and 

investing, and China going in and investing in a very different 

way. 

When the U.S. goes in, we have a certain template that we are 

attempting to sell here, market economy, an open economy, not sole 

sourcing products, but opening up to the international market. The 

rule of law becomes part of this because over AGOA, this is part 

of the thesis of what we do when we engage with African states, 

recognizing the rule of law, recognizing an independent court sysVerDate 0ct 09 2002 11:55 Mar 25, 2014 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00049 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\_FULL\022714M\86871 SHIRL
46

tem, and now providing energy, uninterrupted energy in order to 

be able to entice additional U.S. investment in the subcontinent. 

So at the end of the day, when we look at the CBO report and 

it shows a return of tens of millions of dollars on these projects, 

I would argue that this is a very wise investment for the United 

States to make. And I know Mr. Sherman seeks recognition from 

California, thank you. 

Mr. SHERMAN. I want to associate myself with the chairman’s 

opening statement and just about everything else that has been 

said there. In response to the gentleman from Alabama, as the 

chairman points out, this bill has no additional cost. We have an 

obligation to spend our foreign development dollars as effectively as 

possible and I am proud to be one of many cosponsors of this bill 

because this bill will help us be more efficient. 

It involves using existing loan guarantee authority, encouraging 

the World Bank and the African Development Bank to use their 

dollars to focus on electricity. And as to the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, we have had hearings in our subcommittee 

on this. As a technical matter, $72 million is appropriated this year 

or will be under the President’s request, but that is a bookkeeping 

entry. 

Over the years, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation 

has returned more money to the Treasury than it has received. 

And I am confident that the guarantee fees that it will charge to 

guarantee debt to finance projects, to electrify Africa will again be 

part of their success in earning a profit for the United States 

Treasury. 

So even if one is not an enthusiastic supporter of foreign aid, I 

happen to be, but not everyone is, this bill represents the very efficient use of a small amount of money that would be spent anyway 

to do something that is important for Africa as well, illustrated in 

the comments here and also very important for African global 

trade. I yield back. 

Chairman ROYCE. Yes, if the gentleman yields back, I would 

point out that what we are actually talking about here is a template. For some time now, this country has been moving away from 

aid, the U.S. has been moving away from aid to trade with Africa. 

But to now say that we are going to move away from trade and 

investment in Africa with respect to the OPIC template which 

again is giving U.S. firms the security they need to go in, they are 

paying fees. And I just want the members to understand this. The 

fees that the companies pay to go in in order to make these investments is what covers the cost. And the structure of that fee system 

is such that according to the Congressional Budget Office, there is 

a return on investment. In other words, there is net revenues flowing in going forward to the U.S. Treasury when contrasted with the 

expenditures. It is a net revenue of tens of millions of dollars. 

So with that said, let me recognize who is next in the queue and 

that is Mr. Gerry Connolly of Virginia. 

Mr. CONNOLLY. I thank the chairman, and I associate myself 

with his remarks. I also thank our colleague from Alabama, Mr. 

Brooks, for giving voice to the alternative view of the United 

States’ role in the world. What he basically said was the goals contained in the markup today and the legislation today an the markVerDate 0ct 09 2002 11:55 Mar 25, 2014 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00050 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\_FULL\022714M\86871 SHIRL
47

up are altruistic and worthy in that regard, but we can’t afford 

them. 

This zero sum gain view of the United States’ role in the world, 

I would argue, is very dangerous. It is a false choice to tell the 

American people we cannot continue to afford to be engaged in the 

world. And even when things are financed, self-financed, we still 

can’t afford them in that point of view. In fact, we need to retreat. 

I find it ironic that electrification in Africa, for example, is referred to as an altruistic endeavor. Indeed, Mr. Brooks’ own home 

state of Alabama was a prime beneficiary of rural electrification 

during the New Deal. And I am sure his constituents are grateful 

that a different administration at a time of far greater economic 

stress than today, made that investment in his citizens, in his 

state, in his economy. And the return on that investment has been 

profound. 

When we talk a zero sum gain about the United States retreating from the world, we give up on the idea that an investment can 

have a return on it. When the United States makes an investment 

in other people, in other places, it is not only altruism, I would say 

to my colleague, it is also enlightened self-interest because the return in terms of economic activity, in terms of trade, in terms of 

investment both ways, is going to be considerable. It is a minor investment relative to the return we are going to see in 20 or 30 

years’ time. It is not just altruism. It is also enlightened self-interest. 

And in fact, I would argue it is about our own future and our 

children’s future because as the chairman indicated, if we don’t do 

it, there are others more than willing to make those investments 

because they do see the return, the Chinese chief among them. And 

I don’t want to be the person who has to answer the next generation why is the Africa-Chinese trade the dominant trade in that 

part of the world and we don’t even have a slice of it? And the answer is because somebody, somewhere 20 years before said because 

we can’t afford it. It is a false choice and I hope this committee will 

reject that choice, although I commend my colleague for making it 

quite clear what that choice is. With that, I yield back, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman ROYCE. We now go to Mr. Ted Yoho of Florida. 

Mr. YOHO. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and my sentiments were 

similar to Mr. Brooks in the beginning, but as I studied this, when 

you see OPIC, OPIC has a self-sustaining basis at no net cost to 

the American taxpayers. It is generated net profits of $272 million 

on Fiscal Year 2012 which has helped reduce the Federal budget 

deficit for the 35th consecutive year in a row. 

And today, OPIC has supported nearly 200 billion of investment 

in more than 4,000 projects around the world and it has generated 

$75 billion in U.S. exports and supported more than 277,000 American jobs. And I have been looking for a way and I know this committee has and I do commend you for the leadership you have had 

and the bipartisan support we have had on this committee of a way 

to have a paradigm shift in our foreign aid. And if this is a way 

that we can invest and not give aid to corrupt governments, but invest and it generates money to the American taxpayers, I am in 

support of it. And I yield back. Thank you. 

48

Chairman ROYCE. Do any other members seek—oh, yes. Mr. 

Cicilline. Sorry, sir. 

Mr. CICILLINE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I, too, would like to 

begin by recognizing and thanking you and Ranking Member Engel 

for the bipartisan way in which you have approached this important issue and for continuing to educate members of this committee 

and the general public on the importance of supporting the energy 

sector in Africa. 

I would also like to acknowledge the contributions of our subcommittee chair, Congressman Smith, and the passionate and determined and relentless advocacy and leadership of our Ranking 

Member Karen Bass who has been such a strong advocate, not only 

for this piece of legislation but for so many issues important to Africa. 

In sub-Saharan Africa, almost 600 million people do not have access to electricity. This, of course, presents challenges not only to 

quality of life, but also health, educational opportunities, and safety. In particular, women and girls are at greater risk of physical 

violence without street lamps and phones. And many children are 

not able to attend school because they are needed to complete tasks 

at home and those who are lucky enough to go to school, often can’t 

study in the evenings after the sun goes down. And their health 

outcome and wellness are compromised as many have mentioned 

without electricity. 

In addition to the obvious impact on quality of life, it is also critical that energy be provided if the full potential of Africa is to be 

realized. According to the African Development Bank, Africa’s economy is growing faster than that of any other continent. At the 

same time, in 2012, USAID assistance to 42 African countries totaled $8.1 billion. We cannot expect African countries to be able to 

fully take ownership of their own successes and failures and reach 

their full growth potential until and unless they establish basic dependable and comprehensive infrastructure. 

A coordinated U.S. strategy to improve access to modern electricity will boost African economic growth and security. It will also 

increase U.S. investment in a rapidly-growing continent. And I am 

proud to be one of many cosponsors of this act and really just want 

to end by saying that this is an action that is not only in the best 

interest of the countries on the continent, but also in the best interest of the national security interest of our country and the longterm economic well-being of this country. I urge my colleagues to 

support its passage. And with that, I yield back. 

Chairman ROYCE. Thank you, Mr. Cicilline. We go now to Mr. 

Meadows of North Carolina. 

Mr. MEADOWS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for 

your leadership as well as Ranking Member Engel. I have had the 

opportunity to work with Ms. Bass on this particular issue as well 

and so my hats off to so many. 

In an environment where fiscal—as my good friend from Alabama, he and I both share our concerns over the fiscal responsibility of our Government. I would like to point out and associate 

my remarks with my good friend from Florida, Mr. Yoho. OPIC is 

one of the few things, one of the few agencies within the Federal 

Government that actually provides a return. 

49

And if you look at some of the most difficult times in terms of 

foreign governments, either in North Africa or the Middle East, in 

terms of having a difficult time with the political stability, even in 

spite of that environment, since 2009, OPIC has returned over 

$800 million to the general Treasury. So if in the most difficult of 

times they can provide a positive return, I think that it is the kind 

of risk as a small business owner that I would love to have that 

model to continue to work, providing return to general Treasury. 

And as we start to work these things together, I have met with 

Ambassadors from all over Africa. And their big concern quite 

frankly is is that America is not playing and not investing in African countries like China is. And if we are going to compete globally 

we need to unleash the private sector to allow them to invest in 

these countries in a real and full way, and embrace the kind of relationship that we have with many of our friends in Africa. 

And so I wholeheartedly support this bill and appreciate the 

work of so many in leadership who have moved this bill forward. 

And you can count on my support. I yield back. 

Chairman ROYCE. I thank the gentleman. Any other members 

seeking recognition. If not, are there any amendments to the base 

text? 

Mr. Meadows, do you have an amendment at the desk? 

Mr. MEADOWS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, I do have an amendment at the desk. 

Chairman ROYCE. Than I will ask the Clerk to read that amendment. 

Ms. MARTER. Amendment to the amendment in the nature of a 

substitute to H.R. 2548 offered by Mr. Meadows of North Carolina. 

Page 17 after line 2, insert the following: See annual consumer satisfaction survey and report, one survey, a, in general, for each of 

calendar years 2014 through 2016, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation shall conduct a survey of private entities that 

sponsor or are involved in projects that are insured, reinsured, 

guaranteed or financed by the Corporation regarding the level of 

satisfaction of such entities with the operations and procedures of 

the Corporation with respect to such projects. 

[The information referred to follows:]

50


86871c-1.eps

AMENDMENT TO THE AMENDMENT IN THE 

NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE TO H.R. 2548 

OFFERED BY MR. MEADOWS OF NORTH 

CAROLINA 

Page 17, after line 2, insert the follmving: 

1 (c) ~~'{~TAL CO~8UlVIER SATISFACTION SURVEY AND 

2 REPOR'l'.-

3 (1) SURVEY.-

4 (A) I~ CmKERAh-For each of calendar 

5 years 2014 through 2016, the Overseas Private 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

II 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

Investment Corporation shall conduct a survey 

of private entities that sponsor or are involved 

in projects that are insured, reinsured, gllaranteed, or finaneed by the Corporation regarding 

the level of satisfaction of such entities with the 

operations and procedures of the Corporation 

with respec.t to such prqjects. 

(B) PRIORITY.-The survey shall be primarily foem,ed on United States small businesses and businesses that sponsor or are involved in projects \vith a cost of less than 

$20,000,000 (as adjusted for inflation). 

(2) REPOR.T.-
51


86871c-2.eps

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

2 

(A) IN GENERAL.-Not later than eaeh of 

,July 1, 2015, ,July 1, 2016, and ,July 1, 2017, 

the Corporation should submit to the (~ongressional committees specified in subparag-raph (C) 

a report on the results of the survey required 

under paragraph (1). 

(B) 1\L~TTER8 TO BE INCLUDED.-The report should indude the Corporation's plans to 

revise its operations and procedures based on 

concerns raised in the results of the SUl\Tey, if 

appropriate. 

(C) FORlvT.-The report shall be submitted 

in undassified form and shall not disdose any 

confidential business information. 

(D) Co~cmESSIO~AL CO:\IMITTEES SPECI-

}'IED.-The congressiollal committees specified 

in this subparagraph are-

(i) the Committee on Appropriations 

and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

the House of Representatives; and 

(ii) the Committee on Appropriations 

and the Committee on Foreign R.elations 

of the Sellute. 
52

Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Chairman, could I move that this amendment 

be considered read? 

Chairman ROYCE. Without objection. The Chair reserves a point 

of order and recognizes the author to briefly explain his amendment. 

Mr. MEADOWS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is a very simple 

amendment that really becomes a tool to hopefully allow the Overseas Private Investment Corporation to conduct annual surveys to 

report back to this committee and other appropriate committees 

within Congress in terms of the level of satisfaction, potential problems, or potential improvements that might be suggested either 

that they have taken or that we might consider legislatively to improve really the focus on small businesses. It only pertains to those 

small businesses or businesses that are sponsored with projects 

that cost less than $20 million. It just provides an issue where we 

can start to evaluate the effectiveness of this program and be a 

more effective body here in terms of addressing the needs and making it streamlined in terms of the return that I previously spoke 

about, hopefully making that one that we can count on on a regular 

basis going forward and with that I would be open to answer any 

questions. 

Chairman ROYCE. Do any members seek recognition to speak on 

the amendment? Yes, Mr. Grayson of Florida. 

Mr. GRAYSON. Thanks. If I understand this amendment properly, 

what it is is it is depicting as a consumer satisfaction survey a survey of entities who benefit from OPIC as it is used in the term here 

in the amendment, private entities that sponsor or are involved in 

projects with OPIC. I am not sure that is a good idea. I don’t think 

that resembles people’s conventional view of what a consumer satisfaction survey is. 

Also, I am concerned about the potential cost of this. OPIC operates at a profit, in part, because it is not tied down by what 

amounts to an unfunded mandate like this one. I haven’t heard any 

discussion yet of what this would cost. If we load down OPIC with 

unfunded mandates, then presumably OPIC will stop being profitable. 

I have some points of order that I would like to raise, Mr. Chairman. Should I raise them now during this time or wait until debate 

is over? 

Chairman ROYCE. I think now might be the time, Mr. Grayson, 

that you want to raise any point of order you might have. 

Mr. GRAYSON. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. First, I am concerned 

about the germaneness of this amendment, both with regard to 

Rule 5(b)(3) and in general. I note that this amendment doesn’t 

contain the word Africa, nor the word electricity in it. It may be 

a good idea on its own. I tend to think not. But this seems to me 

to be something that is properly presented to committee as a standalone bill and is not germane to Electrify Africa Act. 

Chairman ROYCE. If I could respond to that point at this moment, Mr. Grayson? 

Mr. GRAYSON. yes. 

Chairman ROYCE. In my consultation here with the parliamentarian, he tells me that because of the subject in Section 8 of the 

base text, this amendment is germane. The rationale is this. The 

53

subject in the base text speaks to the issue of OPIC as a whole in 

sections of that language, but not exclusively to African electrification. So it would be germane under that reading. 

Mr. GRAYSON. Well, Mr. Chairman, I would also like to raise a 

point of order concerning this being a second order amendment. We 

are now looking at amendment to the amendment in the nature of 

a substitute. Does the committee entertain second, third, and 

fourth order amendments? 

Chairman ROYCE. Let me give you again the parliamentarian’s 

view on this. The Meadows amendment is subject to second degree 

amendment because the amendment in the nature of a substitute 

is base text rather than an amendment. 

Mr. GRAYSON. Can the chairman clarify that further for future 

reference? 

Chairman ROYCE. The ANS is base text as though it was the introduced text of the bill itself. So it is not an amendment. And I 

think that is usually the way an amendment in the nature of a 

substitute, once it is accepted is treated. 

Mr. GRAYSON. Mr. Chairman, that raises an interesting general 

point and I am asking now not just for this context, but for future 

reference, does that mean that an amendment in the nature of a 

substitute is counted as base text whether or not it meets the 48-

hour notice rule? 

Chairman ROYCE. It did meet the 48-hour notice rule. 

Mr. GRAYSON. If it had not met the 48-hour notice rule, would 

that still be the case? 

Chairman ROYCE. We would not, under committee rules in that 

situation put it as base text. We would have to consider it instead 

as an amendment. 

Mr. GRAYSON. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, that is very helpful 

and will be interesting in future context. I would also like to raise 

a point of order concerning the committee’s jurisdiction over this 

particular amendment, both with regard to the fact that it applies 

to OPIC as a stand-alone and that it seems to involve the expenditure of appropriated funds. 

Chairman ROYCE. Well, yes, according to the House parliamentarian, OPIC is within, clearly, the jurisdiction of this committee. 

We have authority oversight over OPIC and jurisdiction over OPIC. 

So the amendment would be in order. 

Mr. GRAYSON. All right, thank you for those rulings. I will continue to object to this amendment on the basis that it amounts to 

an unfunded mandate against OPIC and should have properly been 

brought as a stand-alone bill for the committee’s perusal and not 

as a last-minute amendment. Thank you. I yield back. 

Chairman ROYCE. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Do other 

members wish to seek recognition to speak on this amendment? 

The Chair withdraws the point of order and I would point out to 

just recognize myself for a minute, OPIC is already doing much of 

what is requested I think in this amendment. And I wonder, returning to the author of the amendment, Mr. Meadows, would you 

like to respond? 

Mr. MEADOWS. You know, I enjoy a good relationship and wholeheartedly support the efforts of OPIC and have worked with them 

both privately and certainly encouraging other members to support 

54

not only their efforts, but the efforts in general to promote overseas 

private investment. This particular function becomes something 

that would make this a function of an obligatory requirement to report annually to Congress on efforts that they are taking, something that quite frankly under the current leadership that they are 

doing now, however, with change of the administration and the potential change in leadership within that particular corporation, 

that could change. And so this promotes an activity that I think 

that we are enjoying now and more codifies it and makes it official. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman ROYCE. For my remaining time, upon some reflection, 

I think the survey, arguably, would then require OPIC to provide 

some information here that might be pretty useful, that could help 

improve their operation and their relevance to small business and 

of course, at the end of the day, small business remains the largest 

employer in the United States. So from that standpoint, this information could be useful and I am told that they do surveys currently. 

So my presumption is that this would fit within the framework 

of what they are currently doing without tremendous additional 

cost, but probably with the added benefit of being useful to small 

business in the United States. And from that standpoint, I am prepared to support the amendment and appreciate the gentleman’s 

effort. But if there is no further request for recognition, the question will occur on Mr. Meadows’ amendment. 

All of those in favor say aye. 

All those opposed say no. 

In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it. The amendment is 

agreed to and we will go now to a recorded vote. Let me also—without objection, H.R. 2548, as amended. Hearing no further amendments to this measure, the question occurs on agreeing to H.R. 

2548, as amended. All those in favor say aye. 

All those opposed, no. 

In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it. The bill, as amended, is agreed to. Without objection, H.R. 2548 is ordered favorably 

reported. It will be reported as a single amendment in the nature 

of a substitute. Staff is directed to make any technical and conforming changes and that concludes business for today. 

I want to thank Ranking Member Engel and all of our committee 

members for their constitutions and assistance to today’s markup. 

And in addition, I would like to thank Nilmini Rubin. I would like 

to thank our other staff members here, Worku Gachou and Jackie 

Quinones for their support on this legislation. Thank you very 

much. We stand adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 11:01 a.m., the committee was adjourned.] 

(55)

A P P E N D I X 

MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD

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86871n.eps

FULL COMMITTEE MARKUP NOTICE 

COMMlTTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATiVES 

WASHINGTON, DC 20515-6128 

Edward R. Royce (R-CA), Chairman 

February 27, 2014 

TO: MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

You are respectfully requested to attend an OPEN meeting of the Committee on Foreign 

Affairs, to be held in Room 2172 of the Rayburn House Ofilce Building (and available live on 

the Committee website at hUp/iwwwJ'oreignAffui('LhQYJ!e.gov) 

DATE: Thursday, February 27, 2014 

TIME: 10:00 a.m. 

MARKlJPOF: H.R. 2548, Electrify Africa Act of2013 

By Direction of the Chairman 
57


86871m-1.eps

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINUTES OF FULL COMMITTEE MARKUP 

Day __ ~~~h~u~~~,d~a~V _____ Date, ______ ~02~~~2~7/~1~4~ ____ Room, ______ ~2~1~72~ ____ _ 

Starting Time 10:06 P.M. Ending Time 11:01 A.M. 

Recesses :---.!Lj ( __ to -l ~to __ ) ( __ to __ ) ~to __ ) ~to __ )( __ to __ ) 

Presiding Member(s) 

Rep. Edward R. Royce, Chairman 

Check all of the following that apply: 

Open Session [Z] 

Executive (closed) Session 0 T clevised [Z] 

Electronically Recorded (taped) [Z] 

Stenographic Record [Z] 

BILLS FOR MARKUP: (Include bill number(s) and title(,) of legislation.) 

Hil. 2548 

COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: 

See Attendance Sheet. 

NON-COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: 

None. 

STATEMENTS FOR THE RECORD: (List any statements submittedfiif" the record) 

None. 

ACTIONS TAKEN DURING THE MARKUP: (Attach copies of legislation and amendments.) 

See Markap Summary. 

RECORDED VOTES TAKEN (FOR MARKUP): (Attach final vote tally sheet listing each memher) 

TIME SCHEDULED TO RECONVENE ______ __ 

or 

TIME ADJOURNED 11:01 A.M. 

Doug i nderson, General Counsel 
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86871m-2.eps

PHbSH,'vl 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

FULL COMMl1'1HMARKUP 

ME\11Jl!H PHbS},'Nl MH11JbR 

Edward R Royce. CA X Eliot L Engel. NY 

Christopher H. Smith. NJ Eni F.H. Faleomavaega AS 

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. FL X Brad Shenman. CA 

Dana Rohrabacher, CA X Gregory W. Meeks, NY 

Steve Chabot, OH Albia Sires. NJ 

Joe Wilson. SC X Gerald E. Connolly, VA 

Michael T McCauL TX Theodore E. Deutch, FL 

Ted Poe. TX Brian Higgins, NY 

Matt Salmon. AZ Karen Bass, CA 

Tom Marino_ PA William Keating, MA 

JetI Dllllean. SC X David Cicilline. RJ 

Adam Kinzinger, IL X Alan Grayson. FL 

Mo Brooks. AL X Juan Vargas, CA 

Tom Cotton_ AR Bradley S Schneider, I L 

Paul Cook. CA Joseph P. Kennedv III, MA 

George Holding. NC Ami Bera. CA 

Randy K. Weber. Sf.. TX X Alan S. Lowenthal, CA 

Scott Pcrry, PA X Grace Mcng, NY 

Steve Stockman. TX X Lois Frankel, FL 

Ron DeSantis, FL X Tulsi Gabbard. HI 

Doug Collins. GA X Joaquin Castro, TX 

Mark Meadows. NC 

Ted S. Yoho. FL 

Luke Messer. IN 
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86871s.eps

2/27/14 Foreign Affairs Committee Markup Summary 

The Chair called up H.R. 2548 for consideration by the Committee. 

H.R 2548 (Royce), "Electrify Africa Act of2014" 

By unanimous consent, Royce-Engel 73 (an amendment in the nature of a substitute 

previously provided to Members of the Committee) was considered the base text; 

a. Rep. Meadows offered an amendment, Meadows 29, agreed to by voice vote. 

H.R 2548, as amended, was agreed to by voice vote, and ordered favorably reported to the House by 

unanimous consent. 

The Committee adjourned.