I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1702 

To authorize assistance for affordable housing and sustainable urban 

development in developing countries, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 25, 2009 

Mr. MILLER of North Carolina (for himself, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. 

CASTLE, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. ELLISON, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, and Mr. 

JACKSON of Illinois) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To authorize assistance for affordable housing and sustainable urban development in developing countries, and for 

other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Shelter, Land, and 

5 Urban Management (SLUM) Assistance Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) Approximately 51 percent of the world’s 

9 population currently lives in cities of all sizes and 


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1 produces the majority of the world’s economic out2 put. 

3 (2) Approximately one billion people currently 

4 live in slums, and more than half of this population 

5 is under the age of 25. 

6 (3) It is estimated that by 2030 the number of 

7 people living in slums will double. 

8 (4) Slums are characterized by inadequate ac9 cess to safe water, sanitation, and other essential in10 frastructure, overcrowding, poorly structured hous11 ing, and insecure residential and property ownership 

12 status. 

13 (5) Eighty-eight percent of all disease is caused 

14 by unsafe drinking water, inadequate sanitation, and 

15 poor hygiene and almost 50 percent of all people in 

16 developing countries suffer health problems caused 

17 by water and sanitation deficits. 

18 (6) Over 1.1 billion people lack adequate access 

19 to safe water and nearly 2.5 billion lack access to 

20 sanitation services. 

21 (7) The costs of diseases and productivity losses 

22 linked to water and sanitation in less developed 

23 countries amount to two percent of gross domestic 

24 product and up to five percent in sub-Saharan Afri25 ca. 


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1 (8) Insecure lease and real property ownership 

2 tenure often subject slum dwellers to arbitrary, often 

3 supra-market rents, forced evictions, threats, and 

4 harassment. 

5 (9) In 2007, approximately five million people 

6 were subject to forced evictions, and projections 

7 show that the number of forced evictions are likely 

8 to increase to between 40 million and 70 million in 

9 the next 20 years. 

10 (10) Insecurity of tenure severely inhibits eco11 nomic development by undermining investment in12 centives and constraining the growth of credit mar13 kets, imperils the ability of families to achieve sus14 tainable livelihoods and assured access to shelter, 

15 and often contributes to conflict over property 

16 rights. 

17 (11) Women make up 66 percent of the world’s 

18 work force, but own less than 15 percent of the 

19 property globally. 

20 (12) Women are affected disproportionally by 

21 forced evictions and insecure tenure as a result of 

22 gender discrimination, often including gender-biased 

23 laws that define women as legal minors or otherwise 

24 prevent them from acquiring and securing land, 

25 property, and housing lease or ownership rights, 


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1 making them more vulnerable to poverty, violence, 

2 and sexual abuse. 

3 (13) Adequate housing and universal access to 

4 basic shelter serve as catalysts for social and demo5 cratic development. 

6 (14) The 2006 National Security Strategy 

7 states, ‘‘America’s national interests and moral val8 ues drive us in the same direction: to assist the 

9 world’s poor citizens and least developed nations and 

10 help integrate them into the global economy.’’. 

11 (15) Goal 7 Target 11 of the Millennium Devel12 opment Goals sets the target that ‘‘By 2020, to have 

13 achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at 

14 least 100 million slum-dwellers.’’. 

15 (16) The United States formerly provided sig16 nificant levels of overseas development assistance for 

17 shelter and affordable housing, but in recent years 

18 this amount has declined. 

19 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

20 It should be the policy of the United States— 

21 (1) to establish and implement, as a major ob22 jective of United States overseas development assist23 ance strategy, particularly in developing countries, 

24 programs that foster improved urban management, 

25 that foster sustainable urban development, that inVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:53 Mar 26, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1702.IH H1702

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1 crease the security of real property tenure, and that 

2 expand access to basic shelter, affordable urban 

3 housing, and essential urban services and infrastruc4 ture, particularly by the poor and others who lack 

5 such access in whole or in part; 

6 (2) to allocate increased levels of United States 

7 bilateral assistance for programs described in para8 graph (1); and 

9 (3) in order to prevent waste and duplication in 

10 the use of United States overseas development as11 sistance with respect to the programs described in 

12 paragraph (1) and in order to foster cooperative re13 lations with foreign governments, intergovernmental 

14 organizations, and private business and nonprofit 

15 entities that singly or jointly support or implement 

16 programs similar to those described in paragraph 

17 (1), to seek and actively support innovative inter18 national mechanisms designed to increase coordina19 tion and mutual complementarity in the planning, fi20 nancing, and implementation of sustainable urban 

21 development policies and programs implemented by 

22 the United States and other donors described in this 

23 paragraph. 


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1 SEC. 4. ASSISTANCE TO PROVIDE AFFORDABLE HOUSING 

2 AND SUSTAINABLE URBAN DEVELOPMENT IN 

3 DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. 

4 (a) PURPOSES OF ASSISTANCE.—The purposes of as5 sistance under this section are to— 

6 (1) support economically and environmentally 

7 sustainable and administratively feasible urban so8 cioeconomic growth, development, and poverty reduc9 tion efforts and to produce improved health and 

10 other basic quality of life indicators for residents of 

11 slums, other densely populated, impoverished urban 

12 areas, and urban areas experiencing rapid popu13 lation growth in developing countries, including by 

14 increasing— 

15 (A) access to basic shelter and affordable 

16 housing, particularly by residents of slums and 

17 similar densely populated, impoverished urban 

18 areas; 

19 (B) affordable and equitable access to safe 

20 water, sanitation, and solid waste removal serv21 ices, and shared communal infrastructure, such 

22 as sidewalks, roads, public lighting; 

23 (C) access to and security of land and 

24 other real property use, lease, and ownership 

25 rights and legal recognition and protections 

26 thereof by all income groups, including by supVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:53 Mar 26, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1702.IH H1702

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1 porting efforts to enhance the effectiveness of 

2 transaction and dispute resolution systems, eq3 uitable and sustainable national land policies, 

4 and enhanced land administration services; and 

5 (D) support for efforts to enhance the ca6 pacity of developing country governments, in7 cluding regional and municipal governments, to 

8 plan and manage urban growth in an operation9 ally and financially effective and transparent, 

10 participatory, and accountable manner, to pur11 sue policy reforms that foster such objectives, 

12 and to provide urban services and infrastruc13 ture, such as basic water and sanitation, trans14 port, solid waste removal, and electrical power 

15 service delivery, including in impoverished 

16 urban zones; and 

17 (2) achieve the objectives described in para18 graph (1) by— 

19 (A) promoting the growth of functional, 

20 commercially oriented housing markets in tar21 get countries and expanding access to individual 

22 and institutional investment capital and financ23 ing for housing and municipal infrastructure, 

24 including by public-private partnerships, munic25 ipal bonds, micro-credit financing, and 


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1 strengthening national and regional public or 

2 private institutions involved in the regulation or 

3 provision of finance of such purposes; 

4 (B) supporting institutional, procedural, 

5 and legal reforms that seek to enhance the 

6 rights and access to shelter, urban infrastruc7 ture and services, and property ownership and 

8 lease rights of groups that are socioeconomically 

9 vulnerable or marginalized, or subject to dis10 crimination, including women, children, the 

11 poor, and people living in urban slums and in12 formal settlements; 

13 (C) prioritizing support for cross-sectoral, 

14 multi-purpose projects that simultaneously ad15 vance one or more of the objectives described in 

16 subparagraphs (A) and (B); and 

17 (D) promoting partnerships between the 

18 public and private sectors and community-based 

19 organizations to plan and implement projects 

20 described in subparagraph (C). 

21 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE.—To carry out 

22 the purposes of subsection (a), the President is author23 ized— 

24 (1) to furnish technical assistance and financial 

25 support to developing countries, to include, as approVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:53 Mar 26, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1702.IH H1702

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1 priate, diverse means of support, including technical 

2 or financial assistance to public-private partnerships, 

3 grants, direct loans, seed credit, contracted technical 

4 services, investment insurance, loan guarantees, and 

5 other forms of assistance; 

6 (2) to carry out paragraph (1) during fiscal 

7 year 2009 through the use of existing United States 

8 Government programs, implementing authorities, 

9 and organizations, including— 

10 (A) specialized organizational units of the 

11 United States Agency for International Devel12 opment, including the Urban Programs Team 

13 (EGAT/PR/UP), the Development Credit Au14 thority (EGAT/DC/DCA), the Land Resources 

15 Management Team (EGAT/NRM/LRM), the 

16 Water Team (EGAT/NRM/W), the Office of In17 frastructure and Engineering (EGAT/IE), and 

18 the Engineering Services Team (EGAT/I&E/ 

19 ES); 

20 (B) the Millennium Challenge Corporation 

21 (MCC); and 

22 (C) other United States Government agen23 cies with relevant technical expertise or policy 

24 mandates pertaining to urban development and 

25 housing in foreign countries; and 


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1 (3) to strengthen and enhance the operational 

2 capabilities and capacities of United States Govern3 ment programs, implementing authorities, and orga4 nizations described in subparagraphs (A), (B), and 

5 (C) of paragraph (2) in furtherance of the purposes 

6 and objectives described in subsection (a)(1), includ7 ing efforts to increase their manpower, diversity of 

8 expertise, and levels of funding, and to enhance their 

9 ability to jointly coordinate and collaborate in car10 rying out such purposes and objectives. 

11 SEC. 5. AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND SUSTAINABLE URBAN 

12 DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY. 

13 (a) STRATEGY.—The President, acting through the 

14 Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United 

15 States Agency for International Development, shall de16 velop a strategy to provide affordable housing and sustain17 able urban development in developing countries. 

18 (b) CONSULTATION.—The strategy required by sub19 section (a) shall be developed in part through a process 

20 of consultation between the Administrator of the United 

21 States Agency for International Development and the 

22 heads of units of such Agency and other United States 

23 Government agencies with relevant technical expertise or 

24 policy mandates pertaining to urban development and 

25 housing in foreign countries, and shall draw upon best 


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1 practices and successful models of urban development un2 dertaken or developed by international intergovernmental 

3 organizations, international finance institutions, recipient 

4 countries, United States and international nongovern5 mental organizations, and other appropriate entities. 

6 (c) CONTENT.—The strategy required by the sub7 section (a) shall include or address— 

8 (1) a review and assessment of existing or past 

9 United States programs and foreign assistance strat10 egies designed to increase access to basic shelter and 

11 affordable housing in developing countries, extending 

12 affordable and equitable access to safe water, sanita13 tion, and solid waste removal services, and shared 

14 communal infrastructure, such as sidewalks, roads, 

15 public lighting, enhancing security of real property 

16 use, lease, and ownership rights; 

17 (2) a review and assessment of small scale, 

18 grassroots, and community-based efforts that have 

19 successfully improved access to basic shelter and 

20 urban services; 

21 (3) a process to define short- and long-term ob22 jectives and performance measures by which 

23 progress should be measured; 

24 (4) measures necessary to improve and expand 

25 United States programs and foreign assistance stratVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:53 Mar 26, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1702.IH H1702

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1 egies in existence on the date of enactment of this 

2 Act that address urban development issues in for3 eign countries; 

4 (5) operational plans to improve the ability of 

5 United States foreign assistance agencies to develop 

6 and implement programs described in section 4 of 

7 this Act, including through support for innovative 

8 international mechanisms; 

9 (6) a plan for integrating into the broader stra10 tegic foreign assistance plans of the Department of 

11 State and United Stated Agency for International 

12 Development the programs and objectives described 

13 in section 4 of this Act; and 

14 (7) a plan for providing long-term United 

15 States support for sustainable urban growth and de16 velopment initiatives in developing countries involv17 ing a process of regular coordination between United 

18 States Government agencies with relevant technical 

19 expertise or policy mandates, where appropriate, in20 cluding the United States Agency for International 

21 Development, the Department of Housing and 

22 Urban Development, the Department of the Treas23 ury, and the Overseas Private Investment Corpora24 tion, and drawing upon the expertise, whenever pos25 sible, of United States-based mayors and profesVerDate Nov 24 2008 02:53 Mar 26, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1702.IH H1702

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1 sionals in community, public and banking sectors, 

2 major United States private foundations, and United 

3 Nations organizations and multilateral development 

4 banks, among others. 

5 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 12 months after the 

6 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State 

7 shall submit to Congress a report that describes the strat8 egy required by subsection (a). 

9 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

10 There are authorized to be appropriated for fiscal 

11 year 2009 and each subsequent fiscal year such sums as 

12 may be necessary to carry out this Act. 

Æ 


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