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[114th Congress Public Law 191]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

[[Page 665]]

         FOREIGN AID TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2016

[[Page 130 STAT. 666]]

Public Law 114-191
114th Congress

                                 An Act

 
   To direct the President to establish guidelines for covered United 
States foreign assistance programs, and for other purposes. <<NOTE: July 
                       15, 2016 -  [H.R. 3766]>> 

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE: Foreign Aid 
Transparency and Accountability Act of 2016. 22 USC 2151 note. 22 USC 
2394c note.>> 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Foreign Aid Transparency and 
Accountability Act of 2016''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 
                Senate;
                    (B) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
                    (C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
                Representatives; and
                    (D) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
                Representatives.
            (2) Evaluation.--The term ``evaluation'' means, with respect 
        to a covered United States foreign assistance program, the 
        systematic collection and analysis of information about the 
        characteristics and outcomes of the program, including projects 
        conducted under such program, as a basis for--
                    (A) making judgments and evaluations regarding the 
                program;
                    (B) improving program effectiveness; and
                    (C) informing decisions about current and future 
                programming.
            (3) Covered united states foreign assistance.--The term 
        ``covered United States foreign assistance'' means assistance 
        authorized under--
                    (A) part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 
                U.S.C. 2151 et seq.), except for--
                          (i) title IV of chapter 2 of such part 
                      (relating to the Overseas Private Investment 
                      Corporation); and
                          (ii) chapter 3 of such part (relating to 
                      International Organizations and Programs);
                    (B) chapter 4 of part II of the Foreign Assistance 
                Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2346 et seq.; relating to 
                Economic Support Fund);
                    (C) the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 
                7701 et seq.); and
                    (D) the Food for Peace Act (7 U.S.C. 1721 et seq.).

[[Page 130 STAT. 667]]

SEC. 3. <<NOTE: Evaluation. Coordination. 22 USC 2394c note.>>  
                    GUIDELINES FOR COVERED UNITED STATES FOREIGN 
                    ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS.

    (a) Purposes.--The purposes of this section are to--
            (1) evaluate the performance of covered United States 
        foreign assistance and its contribution to the policies, 
        strategies, projects, program goals, and priorities undertaken 
        by the Federal Government;
            (2) support and promote innovative programs to improve 
        effectiveness; and
            (3) coordinate the monitoring and evaluation processes of 
        Federal departments and agencies that administer covered United 
        States foreign assistance.

    (b) <<NOTE: Deadline.>>  Establishment of Guidelines.--Not later 
than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
President shall set forth guidelines, according to best practices of 
monitoring and evaluation studies and analyses, for the establishment of 
measurable goals, performance metrics, and monitoring and evaluation 
plans that can be applied with reasonable consistency to covered United 
States foreign assistance.

    (c) Objectives of Guidelines.--
            (1) In general.--The guidelines established pursuant to 
        subsection (b) shall provide direction to Federal departments 
        and agencies that administer covered United States foreign 
        assistance on--
                    (A) monitoring the use of resources;
                    (B) evaluating the outcomes and impacts of covered 
                United States foreign assistance projects and programs; 
                and
                    (C) applying the findings and conclusions of such 
                evaluations to proposed project and program design.
            (2) Objectives.--The guidelines established pursuant to 
        subsection (b) shall provide direction to Federal departments 
        and agencies that administer covered United States foreign 
        assistance on how to--
                    (A) establish annual monitoring and evaluation 
                objectives and timetables to plan and manage the process 
                of monitoring, evaluating, analyzing progress, and 
                applying learning toward achieving results;
                    (B) <<NOTE: Plans.>>  develop specific project 
                monitoring and evaluation plans, including measurable 
                goals and performance metrics, and to identify the 
                resources necessary to conduct such evaluations, which 
                should be covered by program costs;
                    (C) <<NOTE: Applicability.>>  apply rigorous 
                monitoring and evaluation methodologies to such 
                programs, including through the use of impact 
                evaluations, ex-post evaluations, or other methods, as 
                appropriate, that clearly define program logic, inputs, 
                outputs, intermediate outcomes, and end outcomes;
                    (D) disseminate guidelines for the development and 
                implementation of monitoring and evaluation programs to 
                all personnel, especially in the field, who are 
                responsible for the design, implementation, and 
                management of covered United States foreign assistance 
                programs;
                    (E) establish methodologies for the collection of 
                data, including baseline data to serve as a reference 
                point against which progress can be measured;
                    (F) evaluate, at least once in their lifetime, all 
                programs whose dollar value equals or exceeds the median

[[Page 130 STAT. 668]]

                program size for the relevant office or bureau or an 
                equivalent calculation to ensure the majority of program 
                resources are evaluated;
                    (G) conduct impact evaluations on all pilot programs 
                before replicating, or conduct performance evaluations 
                and provide a justification for not conducting an impact 
                evaluation when such an evaluation is deemed 
                inappropriate or impracticable;
                    (H) develop a clearinghouse capacity for the 
                collection, dissemination, and preservation of knowledge 
                and lessons learned to guide future programs for United 
                States foreign assistance personnel, implementing 
                partners, the donor community, and aid recipient 
                governments;
                    (I) <<NOTE: Reports.>>  internally distribute 
                evaluation reports;
                    (J) <<NOTE: Public information. Recommenda- 
                tions. Deadline.>>  publicly report each evaluation, 
                including an executive summary, a description of the 
                evaluation methodology, key findings, appropriate 
                context, including quantitative and qualitative data 
                when available, and recommendations made in the 
                evaluation within 90 days after the completion of the 
                evaluation;
                    (K) undertake collaborative partnerships and 
                coordinate efforts with the academic community, 
                implementing partners, and national and international 
                institutions, as appropriate, that have expertise in 
                program monitoring, evaluation, and analysis when such 
                partnerships provide needed expertise or significantly 
                improve the evaluation and analysis;
                    (L) ensure verifiable, reliable, and timely data, 
                including from local beneficiaries and stakeholders, are 
                available to monitoring and evaluation personnel to 
                permit the objective evaluation of the effectiveness of 
                covered United States foreign assistance programs, 
                including an assessment of assumptions and limitations 
                in such evaluations; and
                    (M) ensure that standards of professional evaluation 
                organizations for monitoring and evaluation efforts are 
                employed, including ensuring the integrity and 
                independence of evaluations, permitting and encouraging 
                the exercise of professional judgment, and providing for 
                quality control and assurance in the monitoring and 
                evaluation process.

    (d) President's Report.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit a report to the 
appropriate congressional committees that contains a detailed 
description of the guidelines established pursuant to subsection (b). 
The report shall be submitted in unclassified form, but it may contain a 
classified annex.
    (e) Comptroller General's Report.--The Comptroller General of the 
United States shall, not later than 18 months after the report required 
by subsection (d) is submitted to Congress, submit to the appropriate 
congressional committees a report that--
            (1) <<NOTE: Analysis.>>  analyzes the guidelines established 
        pursuant to subsection (b); and
            (2) <<NOTE: Assessments.>>  assesses the implementation of 
        the guidelines by the agencies, bureaus, and offices that 
        implement covered United States foreign assistance as outlined 
        in the President's budget request.

[[Page 130 STAT. 669]]

SEC. 4. <<NOTE: 22 USC 2394c.>>  INFORMATION ON COVERED UNITED 
                    STATES FOREIGN ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS.

    (a) <<NOTE: Deadlines.>>  Publication of Information.--
            (1) <<NOTE: Public information.>>  Update of existing 
        website.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment 
        of this Act, the Secretary of State shall update the Department 
        of State's website, ``ForeignAssistance.gov'', to make publicly 
        available comprehensive, timely, and comparable information on 
        covered United States foreign assistance programs, including all 
        information required under subsection (b) that is available to 
        the Secretary of State.
            (2) Information sharing.--Not later than 2 years after the 
        date of the enactment of this Act, and quarterly thereafter, the 
        head of each Federal department or agency that administers 
        covered United States foreign assistance shall provide the 
        Secretary of State with comprehensive information about the 
        covered United States foreign assistance programs carried out by 
        such department or agency.
            (3) Updates to website.--Not later than 2 years after the 
        date of the enactment of this Act, and quarterly thereafter, the 
        Secretary of State shall publish, on the 
        ``ForeignAssistance.gov'' website or through a successor online 
        publication, the information provided under subsection (b).

    (b) Matters To Be Included.--
            (1) In general.--The information described in subsection 
        (a)--
                    (A) shall be published for each country on a 
                detailed basis, such as award-by-award; or
                    (B) if assistance is provided on a regional level, 
                shall be published for each such region on a detailed 
                basis, such as award-by-award.
            (2) Types of information.--
                    (A) In general.--To ensure the transparency, 
                accountability, and effectiveness of covered United 
                States foreign assistance programs, the information 
                described in subsection (a) shall include--
                          (i) links to all regional, country, and sector 
                      assistance strategies, annual budget documents, 
                      congressional budget justifications, and 
                      evaluations in accordance with section 3(c)(2)(J);
                          (ii) basic descriptive summaries for covered 
                      United States foreign assistance programs and 
                      awards under such programs; and
                          (iii) obligations and expenditures.
                    (B) <<NOTE: Deadline. Web posting.>>  Publication.--
                Each type of information described in subparagraph (A) 
                shall be published or updated on the appropriate website 
                not later than 90 days after the date on which the 
                information is issued.
                    (C) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this paragraph 
                may be construed to require a Federal department or 
                agency that administers covered United States foreign 
                assistance to provide any information that does not 
                relate to, or is not otherwise required by, the covered 
                United States foreign assistance programs carried out by 
                such department or agency.
            (3) <<NOTE: Determinations.>>  Report in lieu of 
        inclusion.--

[[Page 130 STAT. 670]]

                    (A) <<NOTE: Consultation.>>  Health or security of 
                implementing partners.--If the head of a Federal 
                department or agency, in consultation with the Secretary 
                of State, makes a determination that the inclusion of a 
                required item of information online would jeopardize the 
                health or security of an implementing partner or program 
                beneficiary or would require the release of proprietary 
                information of an implementing partner or program 
                beneficiary, the head of the Federal department or 
                agency shall provide such determination in writing to 
                the appropriate congressional committees, including the 
                basis for such determination.
                    (B) National interests of the united states.--If the 
                Secretary of State makes a determination that the 
                inclusion of a required item of information online would 
                be detrimental to the national interests of the United 
                States, the Secretary of State shall provide such 
                determination, including the basis for such 
                determination, in writing to the appropriate 
                congressional committees.
                    (C) Form.--Information provided under this paragraph 
                may be provided in classified form, as appropriate.
            (4) <<NOTE: Consultation. Deadline. Reports.>>  Failure to 
        comply.--If a Federal department or agency fails to comply with 
        the requirements under paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of subsection 
        (a), or subsection (c), with respect to providing information 
        described in subsection (a), and the information is not subject 
        to a determination under subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph 
        (3) not to make the information publicly available, the Director 
        of the Office of Management and Budget, in consultation with the 
        head of such department or agency, not later than one year after 
        the date of the enactment of this Act, shall submit a 
        consolidated report to the appropriate congressional committees 
        that includes, with respect to each required item of information 
        not made publicly available--
                    (A) a detailed explanation of the reason for not 
                making such information publicly available; and
                    (B) <<NOTE: Public information.>>  a description of 
                the department's or agency's plan and timeline for--
                          (i) making such information publicly 
                      available; and
                          (ii) ensuring that such information is made 
                      publicly available in subsequent years.

    (c) <<NOTE: Time period.>>  Scope of Information.--The online 
publication required under subsection (a) shall, at a minimum--
            (1) in each of the fiscal years 2016 through 2019, provide 
        the information required under subsection (b) for fiscal years 
        2015 through the current fiscal year; and
            (2) for fiscal year 2020 and each fiscal year thereafter, 
        provide the information required under subsection (b) for the 
        immediately preceding 5 fiscal years in a fully searchable form.

    (d) <<NOTE: Deadline.>>  Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of 
Congress that the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United 
States Agency for International Development should coordinate the 
consolidation of processes and data collection and presentation for the 
Department of State's website, ``ForeignAssistance.gov'', and the United 
States Agency for International Development's website,

[[Page 130 STAT. 671]]

``Explorer.USAID.gov'', to the extent that is possible to maximize 
efficiencies, no later than the end of fiscal year 2018.

    Approved July 15, 2016.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.R. 3766 (S. 2184):
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD:
                                                        Vol. 161 (2015):
                                    Dec. 8, considered and passed House.
                                                        Vol. 162 (2016):
                                    June 28, considered and passed 
                                        Senate, amended.
                                    July 5, House concurred in Senate 
                                        amendments.

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