[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 68 (Monday, April 9, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21111-21112]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-8443]


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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 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: April 3, 2012.
Henry C. Pitney,
Acting 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.


[[Page 21112]]


    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 statute is 
identified.

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Candidate Countries: Low Income Category
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Afghanistan*                              Liberia
Bangladesh                                Malawi
Benin                                     Mali
Bhutan                                    Mauritania
Bolivia                                   Micronesia
Burkina Faso                              Moldova
Burundi                                   Mongolia
Cambodia*                                 Mozambique
Cameroon*                                 Nepal
Central African Republic*                 Nicaragua*
Chad*                                     Niger*
Comoros                                   Nigeria
C[ocirc]te D'Ivoire*                      Pakistan
Congo, Democratic Republic of*            Papua New Guinea
Congo, Republic of the                    Philippines
Djibouti                                  Rwanda
Egypt, Arab Republic*                     Sao Tome and
                                          Principe
Ethiopia*                                 Senegal
Gambia, The                               Sierra Leone
Georgia                                   Solomon Islands
Ghana                                     Somalia*
Guatemala                                 Sri Lanka
Guinea*                                   Swaziland*
Guinea-Bissau*                            Tajikistan*
Haiti                                     Tanzania
Honduras                                  Timor-Leste
India                                     Togo
Indonesia                                 Tuvalu
Iraq                                      Uganda
Kenya                                     Vanuatu
Kiribati                                  Vietnam
Kyrgyz Republic*                          Yemen*
Lao PDR                                   Zambia
Lesotho                                   ..............................
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Candidate Countries: Lower Middle Income Category
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Angola*                                   Marshall Islands
Armenia                                   Morocco
Belize                                    Paraguay
Cape Verde                                Samoa
El Salvador                               Tonga
Guyana                                    Turkmenistan*
Kosovo                                    Ukraine
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* Countries are currently prohibited from assistance due to Section 7031
  of the SFOAA, which prohibits assistance to governments where there is
  a lack of financial management and budget transparency. However, with
  minor exception, they are expected to receive waivers. Where waivers
  are granted, these countries will be considered candidate countries
  for FY 2012.

Countries That Would Be Candidate Countries but for Legal Prohibitions 
That Prohibit Assistance

    Countries that would be considered candidate countries for FY 2012, 
but are ineligible to receive United States economic assistance under 
part I of the Foreign Assistance Act by reason of the application of 
any provision of the Foreign Assistance Act or any other provision of 
law are listed below. As noted above, this list is based on legal 
prohibitions against economic assistance that apply as of December 
2011.

Prohibited Countries: Low Income Category

    Burma is subject to numerous restrictions, including but not 
limited to section 570 of the FY 1997 Foreign Operations, Export 
Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act (Pub. L. 104-208), 
which prohibits assistance to the government of Burma until it makes 
measurable and substantial progress in improving human rights practices 
and implementing democratic government, and due to its status as a 
major drug-transit or major illicit drug producing country for FY 2012 
(Presidential Determination No. 2011-16 (9/15/2011).).
    Eritrea is subject to restrictions due to its status as a Tier III 
country under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, as amended, 22 
U.S.C. section 7101 et seq.
    Madagascar is subject to section 7008 of the SFOAA, which prohibits 
assistance to the government of a country whose duly elected head of 
government is deposed by military coup or decree and also section 
7031(b) regarding budget transparency.
    North Korea is subject to numerous restrictions, including section 
7007 of the SFOAA which prohibits any direct assistance to the 
government.
    Sudan is subject to numerous restrictions, including but not 
limited to section 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act which prohibits 
assistance to governments supporting international terrorism, section 
7012 of the SFOAA and section 620(q) of the Foreign Assistance Act, 
both of which prohibit assistance to countries in default in payment to 
the U.S. in certain circumstances, section 7008 of the SFOAA, which 
prohibits assistance to the government of a country whose duly elected 
head of government is deposed by military coup or decree, and section 
7043(f).
    Syria is subject to numerous restrictions, including but not 
limited to 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act which prohibits 
assistance to governments supporting international terrorism, section 
7007 of the SFOAA which prohibits direct assistance, and section 7012 
of the SFOAA and section 620(q) of the Foreign Assistance Act, both of 
which prohibit assistance to countries in default in payment to the 
U.S. in certain circumstances.
    Uzbekistan's central government is subject to section 7076(a) of 
the FY 2009 SFOAA, which is carried forward by section 7063 of the FY 
2012 SFOAA. This may be waived for six months at a time by the 
Secretary of State. The restriction limits the provision of funds 
(other than expanded international military education and training 
funds).
    Zimbabwe is subject to several restrictions, including section 
7043(j)(2) which prohibits assistance (except for macroeconomic growth 
assistance) to the central government of Zimbabwe, unless the Secretary 
of State determines and reports to Congress that the rule of law has 
been restored in Zimbabwe.

Prohibited Countries: Lower Middle Income Category

    Fiji is subject to section 7008 of the SFOAA, which prohibits 
assistance to the government of a country whose duly elected head of 
government is deposed by military coup or decree.
    Countries identified above as candidate countries, as well as 
countries that would be considered candidate countries but for the 
applicability of legal provisions that prohibit U.S. economic 
assistance, may be the subject of future statutory restrictions or 
determinations, or changed country circumstances, that affect their 
legal eligibility for assistance under part I of the Foreign Assistance 
Act by reason of application of the Foreign Assistance Act or any other 
provision of law for FY 2012.

[FR Doc. 2012-8443 Filed 4-6-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9211-03-P