[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 62 (Friday, March 30, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19360-19361]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-7607]


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MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION

[MCC 12-04]


Report on Countries That Are Candidates for Millennium Challenge 
Account Eligibility in Fiscal Year 2012 and Countries That Would Be 
Candidates but for Legal Prohibitions

AGENCY: Millennium Challenge Corporation.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Section 608(d) of the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 (the 
``Act'') requires the Millennium Challenge Corporation to publish a 
report that identifies countries that are ``candidate countries'' for 
Millennium Challenge Account assistance during FY 2012. In December 
2011, Congress enacted changes in MCC's FY 2012 appropriation that 
redefined candidate countries for FY 2012 as part of the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act, 2012 (Pub. L. 112-74) (the ``Appropriations 
Act'').\1\ While this does not affect the

[[Page 19361]]

compact or threshold program eligibility decisions made at the December 
2011 MCC Board meeting, it does alter the income classification of some 
candidate countries. As such, it is necessary for MCC to revise its FY 
2012 Candidate Country Report. This revised report incorporates the new 
definitions and the subsequent reclassification of countries. The 
report is set forth in full below and updates the report published 
November 8, 2011 (76 FR 69291).
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    \1\ The changes to the Act enacted in the Appropriations Act 
only apply to the FY 2012 selection process. The relevant language 
would need to be included in next year's appropriations act or in an 
amendment to the Act in order for these changes to continue beyond 
FY 2012.

    Dated: March 26, 2012.
Melvin F. Williams, Jr.,
VP/General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Millennium Challenge 
Corporation.

Report on Countries That Are Candidates for Millennium Challenge 
Account Eligibility for Fiscal Year 2012 and Countries That Would Be 
Candidates but for Legal Prohibitions

Summary

    This report to Congress is provided in accordance with section 
608(a) of the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003, as amended, 22 U.S.C. 
7701, 7707(a) (the ``Act''). The Act authorizes the provision of 
Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) assistance for countries that enter 
into a Millennium Challenge Compact with the United States to support 
policies and programs that advance the progress of such countries to 
achieve lasting economic growth and poverty reduction. The Act requires 
the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) to take a number of steps in 
selecting countries with which MCC will seek to enter into a compact, 
including (a) determining the countries that will be eligible for MCA 
assistance for fiscal year 2012 (FY 2012) based on a country's 
demonstrated commitment to (i) just and democratic governance, (ii) 
economic freedom, and (iii) investments in its people; and (b) 
considering the opportunity to reduce poverty and generate economic 
growth in the country. These steps include the submission of reports to 
the congressional committees specified in the Act and the publication 
of notices in the Federal Register that identify:

    The countries that are ``candidate countries'' for MCA 
assistance for FY 2012 based on their per capita income levels and 
their eligibility to receive assistance under U.S. law and countries 
that would be candidate countries but for specified legal 
prohibitions on assistance (section 608(a) of the Act);
    The criteria and methodology that the MCC Board of Directors 
(Board) will use to measure and evaluate the relative policy 
performance of the ``candidate countries'' consistent with the 
requirements of subsections (a) and (b) of section 607 of the Act in 
order to determine ``MCA eligible countries'' from among the 
``candidate countries'' (section 608(b) of the Act); and
    The list of countries determined by the Board to be ``MCA 
eligible countries'' for FY 2012, identification of such countries 
with which the Board will seek to enter into compacts, and a 
justification for such eligibility determination and selection for 
compact negotiation (section 608(d) of the Act).

    This report is the first of three required reports listed above. 
This report was initially published in September 2011. In December 
2011, Congress enacted changes in MCC's FY 2012 appropriation that 
redefined candidate countries for FY 2012 as part of the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act, 2012 (Pub. L. 112-74) (the ``Appropriations 
Act'').\2\ While this does not affect the compact or threshold program 
eligibility decisions made at the December 2011 MCC Board meeting, it 
does alter the income classification of some candidate countries. As 
such, it is necessary for MCC to revise its FY 2012 Candidate Country 
Report. This revised report incorporates the new definitions and the 
subsequent reclassification of countries.
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    \2\ The changes to the Act enacted in the Appropriations Act 
only apply to the FY 2012 selection process. The relevant language 
would need to be included in next year's appropriations act or in an 
amendment to the Act in order for these changes to continue beyond 
FY 2012.
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Candidate Countries for FY 2012

    The Act requires the identification of all countries that are 
candidates for MCA assistance for FY 2012 and the identification of all 
countries that would be candidate countries but for specified legal 
prohibitions on assistance. Due to provisions in the Appropriations 
Act, the FY 2012 candidate pool must be structured differently than in 
past years. The new provisions define low income as the 75 poorest 
countries and provide for gradual graduation from the low income to 
lower middle income category. This year's newly-issued candidate list 
will establish the baseline of those countries for purposes of 
determining income levels. The provisions of the Appropriations Act 
that supplant Sections 606 (a) and (b) of the Act provide that for FY 
2012, a country shall be a candidate for MCA assistance if it:
    Meets one of the following tests:

    Has a per capita income that is not greater than the World 
Bank's lower middle income country threshold for such fiscal year 
($3,975 GNI per capita for FY12); and is among the 75 lowest per 
capita income countries, as identified by the World Bank; or
    Has a per capita income that is not greater than the World 
Bank's lower middle income country threshold for such fiscal year 
($3,975 GNI per capita for FY12); but is not among the 75 lowest per 
capita income countries as identified by the World Bank;

and

    Is not ineligible to receive U.S. economic assistance under part 
I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, (the ``Foreign 
Assistance Act''), by reason of the application of the Foreign 
Assistance Act or any other provision of law.

    Pursuant to section 606(c) of the Act, the Board identified the 
following countries as candidate countries under the Act for FY 2012 at 
its March 22, 2012 meeting. In so doing, the Board referred to the 
prohibitions on assistance as applied to countries in the Department of 
State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 
2012 (SFOAA), Public Law 112-74, Div. I. All section references 
identified as prohibitions on assistance to a given country are taken 
from Title VII of the FY 2012 SFOAA, unless another statue is 
identified.

[FR Doc. 2012-7607 Filed 3-29-12; 8:45 am]
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