109TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1315

AN ACT

To require a report on progress toward the Millennium

Development Goals, 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 ‘‘International Coopera5 tion to Meet the Millennium Development Goals Act of

6 2005’’.
 †

2

S 1315 ES

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 Congress makes the following findings:

3 (1) At the United Nations Millennium Summit

4 in 2000, the United States joined more than 180

5 other countries in committing to work toward goals

6 to improve life for the world’s poorest people by

7 2015.

8 (2) Such goals include reducing the proportion

of people living on less than $1 per day by 1 9 ⁄2, reducing child mortality by 2 10 ⁄3, and assuring basic

11 education for all children, while sustaining the envi12 ronment upon which human life depends.

13 (3) At the 2002 International Conference on

14 Financing for Development, the United States rep15 resentative reiterated the support of the United

16 States for the Millennium Development Goals and

17 advocated, along with other international partici18 pants, for a stronger focus on measurable outcomes

19 derived from a global partnership between developed

20 and developing countries.

21 (4) On March 22, 2002, President Bush stated,

22 ‘‘We fight against poverty because hope is an answer

23 to terror. We fight against poverty because oppor24 tunity is a fundamental right to human dignity. We

25 fight against poverty because faith requires it and

26 conscience demands it. We fight against poverty
†

3

S 1315 ES

1 with a growing conviction that major progress is

2 within our reach.’’.

3 (5) The 2002 National Security Strategy of the

4 United States notes that ‘‘a world where some live

5 in comfort and plenty, while half of the human race

6 lives on less than $2 per day, is neither just nor sta7 ble. Including all of the world’s poor in an expanding

8 circle of development and opportunity is a moral im9 perative and one of the top priorities of U.S. inter10 national policy’’.

11 (6) The National Commission on Terrorist At12 tacks Upon the United States concluded that the

13 Government of the United States must offer an ex14 ample of moral leadership in the world and offer

15 parents and their children a vision of the future that

16 emphasizes individual educational and economic op17 portunity as essential to the efforts of the United

18 States to defeat global terrorism.

19 (7) The summit of the Group of Eight held

20 during July 2005, the United Nations summit held

21 during September 2005, and the Sixth Ministerial

22 Conference of the World Trade Organization sched23 uled to be held during December 2005 have provided

24 and will provide opportunities to measure and con-
†

4

S 1315 ES

1 tinue to pursue progress on the Millennium Develop2 ment Goals.

3 (8) The summit of the Group of Eight held

4 July 6 through July 8, 2005, in Gleneagles, Scot5 land, brought together the countries that can make

6 the greatest contribution to alleviating extreme pov7 erty in Africa, the region of the world where extreme

8 poverty is most prevalent.

9 (9) On June 11, 2005, the United States

10 helped secure the agreement of the Group of Eight

11 Finance Ministers to cancel 100 percent of the debt

12 obligations owed to the World Bank, African Devel13 opment Bank, and International Monetary Fund by

14 countries that are eligible for debt relief under the

15 Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, the initia16 tive established in 1996 by the World Bank and the

17 International Monetary Fund for the purpose of re18 ducing the debt burdens of the world’s poorest coun19 tries, or under the Enhanced HIPC Initiative, as de20 fined in section 1625 of the International Financial

21 Institutions Act (22 U.S.C. 262p–8), which are poor

22 countries that are on the path to reform.

23 (10) The report prepared by the Commission

24 for Africa and issued by Prime Minister Tony Blair

25 on March 11, 2005, entitled ‘‘Our Common Inter-
†

5

S 1315 ES

1 est’’, called for coherence and coordination in the de2 velopment of an overarching package of actions to be

3 carried out by the countries of Africa and the inter4 national community to address the complex inter5 locking issues that challenge the continent, many of

6 which have already been addressed individually in

7 previous summits and under the Africa Action Plan

8 enacted by the Group of Eight.

9 (11) The United States has recognized the need

10 for strengthened economic and trade opportunities,

11 as well as increased financial and technical assist12 ance to Africa and other countries burdened by ex13 treme poverty, through significant initiatives in re14 cent years, including—

15 (A) the African Growth and Opportunity

16 Act (19 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.) that has opened

17 United States markets to thousands of products

18 from Africa;

19 (B) the President’s Emergency Plan for

20 AIDS Relief developed under section 101 of the

21 United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS,

22 Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003 (22

23 U.S.C. 7611), the major focus of which has

24 been on African countries;
†

6

S 1315 ES

1 (C) the Millennium Challenge Corporation

2 established under section 604 of the Millennium

3 Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7703) that is

4 in the process of committing new and signifi5 cant levels of assistance to countries, including

6 countries in Africa, that are poor but show

7 great promise for boosting economic growth and

8 bettering the lives of their people; and

9 (D) the cancellation by the United States

10 of 100 percent of the bilateral debt owed to the

11 Untied States by countries eligible for debt re12 lief under the Enhanced HIPC Initiative.

13 (12) The report prepared by the Commission

14 for Africa entitled ‘‘Our Common Interest’’ includes

15 the following findings:

16 (A) The people of Africa must demonstrate

17 the leadership necessary to address the govern18 ance challenges they face, setting priorities that

19 ensure the development of effective civil and po20 lice services, independent judiciaries, and strong

21 parliaments, all of which reinforce a stable and

22 predictable economic environment attractive to

23 investment.

24 (B) Many leaders in Africa have pursued

25 personal self-interest rather than national goals,
†

7

S 1315 ES

1 a tendency that has been in some instances ex2 acerbated and abetted by the manipulation of

3 foreign governments pursuing their own agenda

4 in the region to the detriment of the people of

5 Africa.

6 (C) More violent conflict has occurred in

7 Africa during the period between 1965 and

8 2005 than occurred in any other continent dur9 ing that period, and the countries of Africa

10 must engage on the individual, national, and re11 gional level to prevent and manage conflict.

12 (D) The capacity to trade is constrained by

13 a derelict or nonexistent infrastructure in most

14 African countries as well as by the double-edged

15 sword of tariff and nontariff barriers to trade

16 that complicate markets and discourage invest17 ment both within and beyond the continent.

18 (E) The local resources for investment in

19 people and the institutions necessary for good

20 governance have been squandered, misappro21 priated, and, to an increasingly devastating ef22 fect, spent on servicing debt to the developed

23 world. Such resources should be reoriented to

24 serve the needs of the people through the use
†

8

S 1315 ES

1 of debt forgiveness and support for institutional

2 reform and internal capacity building.

3 (F) Failing to prevent conflict in Africa re4 sults in incalculable costs to African develop5 ment and expense to the international commu6 nity and the investment in preventing conflict is

7 a fraction of such costs and expenses, in

8 human, security, and financial terms.

9 (G) Despite difficulties, there is optimism

10 and energy reflected in the scope of activities of

11 individuals such as 2004 Nobel Peace Prize re12 cipient, Wangari Maathai, as well as those of

13 improved regional organizations such as the Af14 rican Union and the New Partnership for Eco15 nomic Development’s Peer Review Mechanism,

16 and subregional entities such as the Economic

17 Community of West African States, the Inter18 Governmental Authority on Development, and

19 the potential of the Southern African Develop20 ment Community.

21 (H) Political reform in Africa has pro22 duced results. For example, while in 1985 coun23 tries of sub-Saharan Africa ruled by dictators

24 were the norm, by 2005 dictatorships are a mi25 nority and democracy has new life with govern-
†

9

S 1315 ES

1 ments chosen by the people increasing fourfold

2 since 1991.

3 (13) The report prepared by the Commission

4 for Africa entitled ‘‘Our Common Interest’’ includes

5 the following recommendations:

6 (A) At this vital moment when

7 globalization and growth, technology and trade,

8 and mutual security concerns allow, and com9 mon humanity demands, a substantial tangible

10 and coherent package of actions should imme11 diately be taken by the international commu12 nity, led by the most industrialized countries, in

13 partnership with the countries of Africa, to ad14 dress the poverty and underdevelopment of the

15 African continent.

16 (B) The people of Africa must take respon17 sibility and show courageous leadership in ad18 dressing problems and taking ownership of solu19 tions as the means for ensuring sustainable de20 velopment, while implementing governance re21 form as an underlying prerequisite for foreign

22 assistance effectiveness.

23 (C) Each developed country has unique

24 strengths and capacity to add value to a com25 prehensive assistance plan and should join their
†

10

S 1315 ES

1 individual efforts to a coherent whole that is

2 more efficient and responsive to Africa and the

3 people of Africa.

4 (D) The international community must

5 honor existing commitments to strengthen Afri6 can peacekeeping capacity and go beyond those

7 commitments to invest in more effective preven8 tion and nonmilitary means to resolve conflict

9 through such regional organizations as the Afri10 can Union and the subregional Economic Com11 munity for West African States.

12 (E) A massive investment in physical in13 frastructure should be made to support com14 merce, extend governance, and provide opportu15 nities for education, healthcare, investment and

16 growth.

17 (F) Donors and the governments of the

18 countries of Africa should devote substantial in19 vestment in the men and women of Africa

20 through the education and health sectors, ena21 bling and extending recent gains made to reach

22 far more broadly into remote regions.

23 (G) The public sector should actively en24 gage the private sector in driving growth

25 through partnerships by reforming the laws, bu-
†

11

S 1315 ES

1 reaucracy, and infrastructure necessary to

2 maintain a climate that fosters investment by

3 developing public-private centers of excellence to

4 pursue such reforms.

5 (H) The countries of Africa must maxi6 mize the participation of women in both busi7 ness and government, protect the rights of

8 women, and work to increase the number of

9 women in leadership positions so as to cap10 italize on the ability of women to deliver scarce

11 resources effectively and fairly.

12 (I) The international community must

13 work together to dismantle trade barriers, in14 cluding the immediate elimination of trade-dis15 torting commodity support.

16 (J) International donors should strengthen

17 multilateral institutions in Africa to respond

18 appropriately to local and regional crises as well

19 as to promote economic development and ensure

20 the people of Africa are granted a stronger

21 voice in international forums.

22 (K) The international community must

23 join in providing creative incentives for commer24 cial firms to research and develop products that

25 improve water, sanitation, health, and the envi-
†

12

S 1315 ES

1 ronment in ways that would dramatically reduce

2 suffering and increase productive life-spans in

3 Africa.

4 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

5 In this Act:

6 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT7 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com8 mittees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Relations

9 of the Senate and the Committee on International

10 Relations of the House of Representatives.

11 (2) GROUP OF EIGHT.—The term ‘‘Group of

12 Eight’’ means the forum for addressing international

13 economic, political, and social issues attended by

14 representatives of Canada, France, Germany, Italy,

15 Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United

16 States.

17 (3) MILLENNIUMDEVELOPMENT GOALS.—The

18 term ‘‘Millennium Development Goals’’ means the

19 goals set out in United Nations Millennium Declara20 tion, resolution 55/2 adopted by the General Assem21 bly of the United Nations on September 8, 2000.

22 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

23 It is the sense of Congress that—

24 (1) the President should continue to provide the

25 leadership shown at the summit of the Group of
†

13

S 1315 ES

1 Eight held in July 2005 at Gleneagles, Scotland, to

2 continue to encourage other countries to develop a

3 true partnership to pursue the Millennium Develop4 ment Goals;

5 (2) the President should urge the Group of

6 Eight to consider the findings and recommendations

7 contained in the report prepared by the Commission

8 for Africa entitled ‘‘Our Common Interest’’, in part9 nership with the nations of Africa, for the develop10 ment of Africa;

11 (3) the Group of Eight, as well as governments

12 of the countries of Africa and regional organizations

13 of such governments, should reaffirm and honor the

14 commitments made in the Africa Action Plan en15 acted by the Group of Eight in previous years; and

16 (4) the international community should con17 tinue to build upon the progress made at the summit

18 of the Group of Eight in July 2005 and the United

19 Nations summit in September 2005 toward achiev20 ing the Millennium Development Goals, and should

21 further enable such progress at the Sixth Ministerial

22 conference of the World Trade Organization sched23 uled for December 2005.
†

14

S 1315 ES

1 SEC. 5. REPORT.

2 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 60 days after the

3 date of the conclusion of the Sixth Ministerial Conference

4 of the World Trade Organization that is scheduled to be

5 held in Hong Kong from December 13 through December

6 18, 2005, the Secretary of State in consultation with other

7 appropriate United States and international agencies shall

8 submit a report to the appropriate congressional commit9 tees on the progress the international community is mak10 ing toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

11 (b) CONTENT.—The report required by subsection

12 (a) shall include the following:

13 (1) A review of the commitments made by the

14 United States and other members of the inter15 national community at the summit of the Group of

16 Eight in July 2005, the United Nations summit in

17 September 2005, and the Sixth Ministerial Con18 ference of the World Trade Organization scheduled

19 for December 2005, that pertain to the ability of the

20 developing world to achieve the Millennium Develop21 ment Goals.

22 (2) A review of United States policies and

23 progress toward achieving the Millennium Develop24 ment Goals by 2015, as well as policies to provide

25 continued leadership in achieving such goals by

26 2015.
†

15

S 1315 ES

1 (3) An evaluation, to the extent possible, of the

2 contributions of other national and international ac3 tors in achieving the Millennium Development Goals

4 by 2015.

5 (4) An assessment of the likelihood that the

6 Millennium Development Goals will be achieved.

Passed the Senate December 22 (legislative day, December 21), 2005.

Attest:

Secretary.
109TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1315

AN ACT

To require a report on progress toward the Millennium Development Goals, and for other purposes.