I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2237 

To promote the strengthening of the private sector in Egypt and Tunisia. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 16, 2011 

Mr. SCHIFF introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To promote the strengthening of the private sector in Egypt 

and Tunisia. 

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

3 SECTION 1. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES 

4 DEFINED. 

5 In this Act, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional com6 mittees’’ means— 

7 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

8 Senate; 

9 (2) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

10 Senate; 


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1 (3) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

2 House of Representatives; and 

3 (4) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

4 House of Representatives. 

5 TITLE I—EGYPT-AMERICAN 

6 ENTERPRISE FUND 

7 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 

8 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Egyptian-American 

9 Enterprise Fund Act’’. 

10 SEC. 102. PURPOSE AND FINDINGS. 

11 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this title is to support 

12 a transition to democracy in Egypt that is successful, last13 ing, and reflective of the aspirations of the Egyptian peo14 ple for greater economic opportunity and political freedom 

15 through the creation of an Egyptian-American Enterprise 

16 Fund that will support economic prosperity through finan17 cial investment and technical assistance to small- and me18 dium-sized enterprises. 

19 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find20 ings: 

21 (1) The United States and Egypt have a 

22 strong, long-standing bilateral relationship. 

23 (2) Egypt— 

24 (A) plays an important role in— 

25 (i) global and regional politics; and 


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1 (ii) the broader Middle East and 

2 North Africa; and 

3 (B) has been an intellectual, economic, and 

4 cultural center of the Arab world for many 

5 years. 

6 (3) On January 25, 2011, demonstrations 

7 began throughout Egypt in which thousands of pro8 testers peacefully called for— 

9 (A) a new government; 

10 (B) free and fair elections; 

11 (C) significant constitutional and political 

12 reforms; 

13 (D) greater economic opportunity; and 

14 (E) an end to government corruption. 

15 (4) The demonstrators’ perseverance in the face 

16 of violence and intimidation— 

17 (A) culminated in the February 11, 2011 

18 resignation of President Hosni Mubarak; and 

19 (B) inspired democracy activists through20 out the region and around the world. 

21 (5) The United States has a strong interest 

22 in— 

23 (A) an orderly and peaceful transition to 

24 democracy in Egypt; and 


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1 (B) assisting the people of Egypt to form 

2 a representative and democratic political and 

3 economic system that respects universal values. 

4 (6) Egypt— 

5 (A) has a well-developed civil society and 

6 governing institutions; and 

7 (B) was well-served by— 

8 (i) the extraordinary determination 

9 shown by the people of Egypt in forcing 

10 President Mubarak to abdicate; and 

11 (ii) the restraint demonstrated by the 

12 Egyptian military. 

13 (7) In 2010— 

14 (A) the inflation rate in Egypt was ap15 proximately 11 percent; and 

16 (B) Egypt’s foreign debt was equal to 16 

17 percent of its $216,000,000,000 gross domestic 

18 product (GDP). 

19 (8) As a result of the dramatic events in Egypt 

20 in February 2011— 

21 (A) Egypt’s economy was brought to a 

22 near standstill and continues to experience lin23 gering effects; 


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1 (B) widespread strikes slowed down 

2 Egypt’s manufacturing output and banks closed 

3 down for intermittent periods; and 

4 (C) the value of the Egyptian stock market 

5 fell by 16 percent in the 2 days before it was 

6 closed on January 30, 2011. 

7 (9) According to analyst estimates, as a result 

8 of recent events in Egypt— 

9 (A) forecasted growth for Egypt’s GDP 

10 has dropped from 6 percent to between 3.1 and 

11 3.5 percent; 

12 (B) the amount of workers’ remittances 

13 coming into Egypt will likely decline; 

14 (C) the amount of regional securities pur15 chased by foreign investors will likely decrease, 

16 which will require fiscal deficits to be financed 

17 by domestic banks and reduce the availability of 

18 credit for private sector borrowers; 

19 (D) heightened political uncertainty will 

20 likely lead to a downturn in tourism, which ac21 counts for 8.2 percent of Egypt’s GDP and 7 

22 percent of Egypt’s direct employment; and 

23 (E) foreign direct investment (FDI) in 

24 Egypt is predicted to decrease. 


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1 (10) The most recent official estimates of the 

2 unemployment rate in Egypt is 9.2 percent. Unoffi3 cial estimates of the current unemployment rate in 

4 Egypt range between 15 and 20 percent. The unem5 ployment rate for Egyptian youth is estimated at 

6 24.8 percent. Egyptian women, who are more af7 fected by spikes in unemployment, face an unem8 ployment rate of nearly 25 percent compared to the 

9 6.7 percent unemployment rate for Egyptian men. 

10 (11) An estimated 61 percent of the population 

11 of Egypt is younger than 30 years of age. 

12 (12) Private sector employment in Egypt in13 creased from 11,000,000 to 15,100,000 between 

14 1999 and 2007. 

15 (13) According to the International Finance 

16 Corporation’s 2009 ‘‘SME Banking Knowledge 

17 Guide’’— 

18 (A) the small and medium enterprise 

19 (SME) market in Egypt was estimated at 

20 160,000; 

21 (B) of these firms, about 98 percent em22 ployed fewer than 50 people; 

23 (C) Egypt had an estimated 2,400,000 

24 microenterprises; and 


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1 (D) 68 percent of the SMEs in Egypt have 

2 bank accounts, but only 12 percent of those 

3 with bank accounts had taken out loans. 

4 (14) A challenge for SMEs is that they are not 

5 always considered a significant customer base for 

6 banks and services don’t meet the unique needs of 

7 this market segment. 

8 (15) According to the Government of Egypt’s 

9 Small and Medium Enterprise Development Unit, 

10 SMEs constitute nearly 75 percent of private sector 

11 employment. 

12 (16) According to the World Bank report enti13 tled ‘‘Access to Finance and Economic Growth in 

14 Egypt’’— 

15 (A) even before the recent political events 

16 in Egypt, private-sector credit to GDP in Egypt 

17 was modest compared to other developing 

18 economies; 

19 (B) private credit as a share of total credit 

20 has been declining; 

21 (C) the distribution of bank financing is 

22 uneven, with most loans going to large and 

23 well-established enterprises; and 

24 (D) as a consequence, family-owned firms 

25 and SMEs, which represent the majority of 


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1 firms in Egypt, rely heavily on the informal 

2 market. 

3 (17) To help foster and support the fledgling 

4 private sector after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Con5 gress, through enactment of the Support for East 

6 European Democracy (SEED) Act of 1989 (22 

7 U.S.C. 5401 et seq.) and the FREEDOM Support 

8 Act (22 U.S.C. 5801 et seq.), authorized nearly 

9 $1,200,000,000 for the United States Agency for 

10 International Development (USAID) to establish 10 

11 new investment funds (collectively known as the 

12 ‘‘Enterprise Funds’’) throughout Central and East13 ern Europe and the former Soviet Union. 

14 (18) The Enterprise Funds— 

15 (A) channeled funding into more than 500 

16 enterprises in 19 countries; 

17 (B) leveraged an additional 

18 $5,000,000,000 in private investment capital 

19 from outside the United States Government; 

20 (C) provided substantial development cap21 ital where supply was limited; 

22 (D) created or sustained more than 

23 260,000 jobs through investment and develop24 ment activities; 


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1 (E) funded $74,000,000 in technical as2 sistance to strengthen the private sector; and 

3 (F) are expected to recoup 137 percent of 

4 the original USAID funding. 

5 (19) Enterprise funds established in partner6 ship with United States partners, such as Poland, 

7 Hungary, Albania, Russia, and other European 

8 countries, have proven beneficial to the economies of 

9 such countries. 

10 (20) Creating a similar fund in close partner11 ship with the people of Egypt would help sustain 

12 and expand reform efforts in Egypt and empower 

13 Egyptian entrepreneurs with the resources required 

14 to create urgently needed employment opportunities. 

15 (21) Establishing an enterprise fund for Egypt 

16 would— 

17 (A) help reinforce financial institutions 

18 within the country; 

19 (B) provide debt and equity investment for 

20 commercially viable SMEs; and 

21 (C) make the investment environment 

22 more attractive to domestic and international 

23 investors. 


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1 SEC. 103. PURPOSES OF EGYPTIAN-AMERICAN ENTERPRISE 

2 FUND. 

3 The purposes of the Egyptian-American Enterprise 

4 Fund are— 

5 (1) to promote the private sector in Egypt, 

6 while considering the development impact of invest7 ments and profitability of those investments, par8 ticularly in small- and medium-sized enterprises, and 

9 joint ventures with participants from the United 

10 States and Egypt; 

11 (2) to promote policies and practices conducive 

12 to strengthening the private sector in Egypt through 

13 measures including loans, microloans, equity invest14 ments, insurance, guarantees, grants, feasibility 

15 studies, technical assistance, training for businesses 

16 receiving investment capital, and other measures; 

17 (3) to promote good corporate governance and 

18 transparency in Egypt, foster competition, catalyze 

19 productivity improvements in existing businesses, 

20 and strengthen local capital markets; and 

21 (4) to promote security through job creation in 

22 the private sector in Egypt and to further the cre23 ation of a middle class in Egypt. 

24 SEC. 104. EGYPTIAN-AMERICAN ENTERPRISE FUND. 

25 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President is authorized 

26 to establish or designate a private, nonprofit organization 


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1 (to be known as the ‘‘Egyptian-American Enterprise 

2 Fund’’) to receive funds and support made available under 

3 this title after determining that such organization has 

4 been established for the purposes specified in section 103. 

5 The President should make such designation only after 

6 consultation with the leadership of each House of Con7 gress. 

8 (b) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.— 

9 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Egyptian-American 

10 Enterprise Fund shall be governed by a Board of 

11 Directors, which shall be comprised of 6 private citi12 zens of the United States and 3 private citizens of 

13 Egypt, appointed by the President of the United 

14 States in consultation with the Government of 

15 Egypt. 

16 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—Members of the Board 

17 of Directors shall be selected from among people 

18 who have had successful business careers and dem19 onstrated experience and expertise in international 

20 and particularly emerging markets investment activi21 ties, such as private equity or venture capital invest22 ment, banking, finance, strategic business con23 sulting, or entrepreneurial business creation, and 

24 backgrounds in priority business sectors of the 

25 Fund. 


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1 (3) UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT LIAISON TO

2 THE BOARD.—The President shall appoint the 

3 United States Ambassador to Egypt, or the Ambas4 sador’s designee, as a liaison to the Board. 

5 (4) NON-GOVERNMENT LIAISONS TO THE

6 BOARD.— 

7 (A) AUTHORITY TO APPOINT.—Upon the 

8 recommendation of the Board of Directors, the 

9 President may appoint up to 2 additional liai10 sons to the Board of Directors in addition to 

11 the members specified in paragraphs (1) and 

12 (3), of which not more than 1 may be a non13 citizen of the United States. 

14 (B) NGO COMMUNITY.—One of the addi15 tional liaisons to the Board should be from the 

16 nongovernmental organization community, with 

17 significant prior experience in development and 

18 an understanding of development policy prior19 ities for Egypt. 

20 (C) TECHNICAL EXPERTISE.—One of the 

21 additional liaisons to the Board should have ex22 tensive demonstrated industry, sector, or tech23 nical experience and expertise in a priority in24 vestment sector for the Fund. 

25 (c) GRANTS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President may use 

2 funds appropriated by any Act, in this fiscal year or 

3 prior fiscal years, making appropriations for the De4 partment of State, foreign operations, and related 

5 programs, including funds previously obligated, that 

6 are otherwise available for such purposes, notwith7 standing any other provision of law— 

8 (A) to carry out the purposes set forth in 

9 section 103 through the Egyptian-American 

10 Enterprise Fund; and 

11 (B) to pay for the administrative expenses 

12 of the Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund, 

13 which should not exceed 5 percent of the 

14 amounts made available for the Fund. 

15 (2) ELIGIBLE PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS.— 

16 Grants awarded under this section may only be used 

17 for programs and projects that support the purposes 

18 set forth in section 103. 

19 (3) COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Grants may not be 

21 awarded to the Egyptian-American Enterprise 

22 Fund under this section unless the Fund agrees 

23 to comply with the requirements under this sec24 tion. 


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1 (B) GRANT AGREEMENT.—The grant 

2 agreement between the United States Agency 

3 for International Development and the Egyp4 tian-American Enterprise Fund shall state that 

5 the Fund shall end its reinvestment cycle not 

6 later than December 31, 2021, unless the Sec7 retary of State, in consultation with the Admin8 istrator of the United States Agency for Inter9 national Development, and after consultation 

10 with the appropriate congressional committees, 

11 determines that the Fund should be extended. 

12 (C) PREVENTION OF MONEY LAUNDERING

13 AND TERRORIST FINANCING.—The grant agree14 ment between the United States Agency for 

15 International Development and the Egyptian16 American Enterprise Fund shall state that the 

17 Fund shall comply with procedures specified by 

18 the Secretary of State to ensure that grant 

19 funds are not provided by the Fund to or 

20 through any individual, private or government 

21 entity, or educational institution that advocates, 

22 plans, sponsors, engages in, or has engaged in, 

23 money laundering or terrorist activity or, with 

24 respect to a private entity or educational insti25 tution, that has as a principal officer of the enVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:54 Jun 21, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2237.IH H2237

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1 tity’s governing board or governing board of 

2 trustees any individual that has been deter3 mined to be involved in or advocating money 

4 laundering or terrorist activity or determined to 

5 be a member of a designated foreign terrorist 

6 organization. 

7 (D) DISPOSITION OF ASSETS.—The assets 

8 of the Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund at 

9 the time the Fund is dissolved shall be returned 

10 to the General Fund of the United States 

11 Treasury and used to reduce the debt of the 

12 United States. 

13 (d) NOTIFICATION.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 15 days be15 fore designating an organization to operate as the 

16 Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund pursuant to 

17 subsection (a), the President shall provide the infor18 mation described in paragraph (2) to the Chairman 

19 and Ranking Member of the appropriate congres20 sional committees. 

21 (2) INFORMATION.—The information described 

22 in this paragraph is— 

23 (A) the identity of the organization to be 

24 designated to operate as the Egyptian-American 

25 Enterprise Fund pursuant to subsection (a); 


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1 (B) the names and qualifications of the in2 dividuals who will comprise the initial Board of 

3 Directors; and 

4 (C) the procedures referred to in sub5 section (c)(3)(C) that will apply to the Egyp6 tian-American Enterprise Fund for purposes of 

7 curtailing money-laundering and terrorist fi8 nancing activities. 

9 (e) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE.—Not later than 1 year 

10 after the entry into force of the initial grant agreement 

11 under this section, and annually thereafter, the Fund shall 

12 prepare and make available to the public on an Internet 

13 Web site administered by the Fund a report on the Fund’s 

14 activities during the previous year, including— 

15 (1) a description of each investment or project 

16 supported by the Fund, including each type of as17 sistance provided in accordance with section 103(2); 

18 (2) the amounts invested by the Fund in each 

19 company or project; 

20 (3) the amounts of additional private invest21 ments made in each company or project; and 

22 (4) the amounts of any profits or losses realized 

23 by the Fund in connection with each such company 

24 or project. 


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1 SEC. 105. REPORTS. 

2 (a) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Not later than 1 

3 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annu4 ally thereafter until the Fund is dissolved, the Fund shall 

5 submit to the appropriate congressional committees a re6 port detailing the administrative expenses of the Fund. 

7 (b) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the 

8 date of the enactment of this Act, and every 3 years there9 after until the Fund is dissolved, the Comptroller General 

10 of the United States shall submit to the appropriate con11 gressional committees a report assessing the activities of 

12 the Fund in achieving the stated goals of promoting pri13 vate sector investment and employment in Egypt and iden14 tifying those institutional or regulatory constraints that 

15 inhibit a more effective application of Fund resources. 

16 SEC. 106. OPERATION PROVISIONS. 

17 (a) APPLICABLE PROVISIONS.—Subsections (d)(5), 

18 (g), (h), (i), (k), (l), (m), (n), (o), and (p) of section 201 

19 of the Support for East European Democracy (SEED) 

20 Act of 1989 (22 U.S.C. 5421) shall apply with respect 

21 to the Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund in the same 

22 manner as such provisions apply to Enterprise Funds des23 ignated pursuant to subsection (d) of such section. 

24 (b) REINVESTMENT.—Returns on investments of the 

25 Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund and other payments 


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1 to the Fund may be reinvested in projects carried out by 

2 the Fund without further appropriation by Congress. 

3 SEC. 107. BEST PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES. 

4 To the maximum extent practicable, the Board of Di5 rectors of the Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund should 

6 adopt the best practices and procedures used by Enter7 prise Funds, including those for which funding has been 

8 made available pursuant to section 201 of the Support for 

9 East European Democracy (SEED) Act of 1989 (22 

10 U.S.C. 5421). 

11 SEC. 108. EXPERIENCE OF OTHER ENTERPRISE FUNDS. 

12 In implementing this title, the President shall ensure 

13 that the Articles of Incorporation of the Egyptian-Amer14 ican Enterprise Fund (including provisions specifying the 

15 responsibilities of the Board of Directors of the Fund), 

16 the terms of United States Government grant agreements 

17 with the Fund, and United States Government oversight 

18 of the Fund are, to the maximum extent practicable, con19 sistent with the Articles of Incorporation of, the terms of 

20 grant agreements with, and the oversight of the Enter21 prise Funds established pursuant to section 201 of the 

22 Support for East European Democracy (SEED) Act of 

23 1989 (22 U.S.C. 5421) and comparable provisions of law. 


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1 TITLE II—TUNISIAN-AMERICAN 

2 ENTERPRISE FUND 

3 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Tunisian-American 

5 Enterprise Fund Act’’. 

6 SEC. 202. PURPOSE AND FINDINGS. 

7 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this title is to support 

8 a transition to democracy in Tunisia that is successful, 

9 lasting, and reflective of the aspirations of the Tunisian 

10 people for greater economic opportunity and political free11 dom through the creation of a Tunisian-American Enter12 prise Fund that will support economic prosperity through 

13 financial investment and technical assistance to small- and 

14 medium-sized enterprises. 

15 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find16 ings: 

17 (1) The United States and Tunisia have a 

18 strong, long-standing bilateral relationship. 

19 (2) Tunisia— 

20 (A) plays an important strategic role in 

21 promoting peace and security in North Africa, 

22 the broader Middle East, and elsewhere; and 

23 (B) has been, and continues to be, a re24 gional center for foreign investment and tour25 ism. 


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1 (3) On December 18, 2010, after the self-immo2 lation of a young street vendor, Mohamed Bouazizi, 

3 protests broke out in Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia. 

4 (4) The protests, which quickly spread across 

5 Tunisia, involved peaceful demonstrators calling 

6 for— 

7 (A) a new government; 

8 (B) free and fair elections; 

9 (C) significant political reforms; 

10 (D) greater economic opportunity; and 

11 (E) an end to government corruption. 

12 (5) The protests culminated in the ouster of 

13 President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali on January 14, 

14 2011, inspiring democracy activists throughout the 

15 region and around the world. 

16 (6) The United States has a strong interest 

17 in— 

18 (A) an orderly and peaceful transition to 

19 democracy in Tunisia; and 

20 (B) assisting the people of Tunisia to form 

21 a representative and democratic political and 

22 economic system that respects universal values. 

23 (7) Tunisia— 

24 (A) has a well-educated and secular popu25 lation that displayed extraordinary determinaVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:54 Jun 21, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2237.IH H2237

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1 tion in forcing President Ben Ali to abdicate; 

2 and 

3 (B) is well-positioned to make a successful 

4 democratic transition. 

5 (8) In 2010— 

6 (A) the inflation rate in Tunisia was ap7 proximately 4.4 percent; 

8 (B) Tunisia’s foreign debt was equal to 46 

9 percent of its $44,000,000,000 gross domestic 

10 product (GDP); and 

11 (C) according to The Peterson Institute of 

12 Economics, Tunisia was the only country in the 

13 region in which per capita incomes have gradu14 ally converged with the industrial democracies 

15 of the Organization of Economic Cooperation 

16 and Development (OECD). 

17 (9) According to the World Economic Forum’s 

18 2010–2011 Global Competitiveness Report— 

19 (A) Tunisia ranks first in competitiveness 

20 among African nations; and 

21 (B) Tunisia’s most problematic factor for 

22 doing business is lack of access to financing. 

23 (10) According to the International Monetary 

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1 nomic crisis well, having entered the crisis with 

2 strong fundamentals. 

3 (11) As a result of the dramatic events in Tuni4 sia during January 2011— 

5 (A) Tunisia’s economy was brought to a 

6 near standstill and continues to feel lingering 

7 effects; 

8 (B) Tunisia’s debt rating was downgraded; 

9 (C) tourism revenues, which are respon10 sible for an estimated 8.6 percent of direct con11 tribution to Tunisia’s GDP, have dropped an 

12 estimated 40 percent compared to the previous 

13 year; 

14 (D) industrial output and investment activ15 ity in Tunisia are experiencing significant 

16 short-term reductions; and 

17 (E) the value of the Tunisian stock market 

18 fell by 14 percent. 

19 (12) The Fitch Rating Agency concluded, ‘‘Al20 though the transition to democracy could well im21 prove confidence in the long-term, political upheaval 

22 has worsened the short-term outlook for the econ23 omy, public finances and financial system’’. 

24 (13) Analysts estimate that the recent events in 

25 Tunisia— 


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1 (A) will increase government deficits in 

2 Tunisia for the next 2 years, due in part to new 

3 government spending; and 

4 (B) has shaken the Tunisian economy, al5 though Tunisia’s medium-term growth outlook 

6 remains relatively good. 

7 (14) According to IMF’s Middle East and Cen8 tral Asia Department— 

9 (A) Tunisia’s tourism and foreign direct 

10 investment (FDI) inflows will continue to de11 cline, which will negatively impact the rest of 

12 the Tunisian economy; 

13 (B) recent events in Tunisia have illus14 trated the need for more inclusive growth and 

15 better governance in Tunisia; and 

16 (C) it is important to recognize that the 

17 Tunisian society has enduring strengths. 

18 (15) The World Bank estimates that Tunisian 

19 banks may face stress as second round effects of the 

20 slowdown in businesses and investment permeate. 

21 (16) Foreign direct investment, which is a cru22 cial component of Tunisia’s economic health, created 

23 24 percent of the new jobs in 2009, according to 

24 Tunisia’s Ministry of Planning and International 

25 Cooperation. 


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1 (17) According to the African Development 

2 Bank— 

3 (A) Tunisia has pursued governance re4 forms in an effort to increase FDI and boost 

5 local enterprises; and 

6 (B) Small- and medium-sized enterprises 

7 in Tunisia require support to access finance 

8 outside of the traditional lines of credit because 

9 sources of finance for enterprises in Tunisia are 

10 weak. 

11 (18) According to the most recent official esti12 mates— 

13 (A) the unemployment rate in Tunisia is 

14 13 percent; 

15 (B) the youth unemployment rate is 30.7 

16 percent; and 

17 (C) 51 percent of the population of Tunisia 

18 is younger than 30 years of age. 

19 (19) To help foster and support the fledgling 

20 private sector after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Con21 gress, through enactment of the Support for East 

22 European Democracy (SEED) Act of 1989 (22 

23 U.S.C. 5401 et seq.) and the FREEDOM Support 

24 Act (22 U.S.C. 5801 et seq.), authorized nearly 

25 $1,200,000,000 for the United States Agency for 


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1 International Development (USAID) to establish 10 

2 new investment funds (collectively known as the 

3 ‘‘Enterprise Funds’’) throughout Central and East4 ern Europe and the former Soviet Union. 

5 (20) The Enterprise Funds— 

6 (A) channeled funding into more than 500 

7 enterprises in 19 countries; 

8 (B) leveraged an additional 

9 $5,000,000,000 in private investment capital 

10 from outside the United States Government; 

11 (C) provided substantial development cap12 ital where supply was limited; 

13 (D) created or sustained more than 

14 260,000 jobs through investment and develop15 ment activities; 

16 (E) funded $74,000,000 in technical as17 sistance to strengthen the private sector; and 

18 (F) are expected to recoup 137 percent of 

19 the original USAID funding. 

20 (21) Enterprise Funds established in partner21 ship with United States partners, such as Poland, 

22 Hungary, Albania, Russia, and other European 

23 countries, have proven beneficial to the economies of 

24 such countries. 


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1 (22) Creating a similar fund in close partner2 ship with the people of Tunisia would— 

3 (A) help sustain and expand reform efforts 

4 in Tunisia; 

5 (B) empower Tunisian entrepreneurs with 

6 the resources required to create urgently needed 

7 employment opportunities; 

8 (C) help reinforce financial institutions 

9 within the country; 

10 (D) provide debt and equity investment for 

11 commercially viable SMEs; and 

12 (E) make the investment environment 

13 more attractive to domestic and international 

14 investors. 

15 SEC. 203. PURPOSES OF TUNISIAN-AMERICAN ENTERPRISE 

16 FUND. 

17 The purposes of the Tunisian-American Enterprise 

18 Fund are— 

19 (1) to promote the private sector in Tunisia, 

20 while considering the development impact of invest21 ments and profitability of those investments, par22 ticularly in small- and medium-sized enterprises, and 

23 joint ventures with participants from the United 

24 States and Tunisia; 


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1 (2) to promote policies and practices conducive 

2 to strengthening the private sector in Tunisia 

3 through measures including loans, microloans, equity 

4 investments, insurance, guarantees, grants, feasi5 bility studies, technical assistance, training for busi6 nesses receiving investment capital, and other meas7 ures; 

8 (3) to promote good corporate governance and 

9 transparency in Tunisia, foster competition, catalyze 

10 productivity improvements in existing businesses, 

11 and strengthen local capital markets; and 

12 (4) to promote security through job creation in 

13 the private sector in Tunisia and to further the cre14 ation of a middle class in Tunisia. 

15 SEC. 204. TUNISIAN-AMERICAN ENTERPRISE FUND. 

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President is authorized 

17 to establish or designate a private, nonprofit organization 

18 (to be known as the ‘‘Tunisian-American Enterprise 

19 Fund’’) to receive funds and support made available under 

20 this title after determining that such organization has 

21 been established for the purposes specified in section 203. 

22 The President should make such designation only after 

23 consultation with the leadership of each House of Con24 gress. 

25 (b) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.— 


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1 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Tunisian-American 

2 Enterprise Fund shall be governed by a Board of 

3 Directors, which shall be comprised of 4 private citi4 zens of the United States and 6 private citizens of 

5 Tunisia, appointed by the President of the United 

6 States in consultation with the Government of Tuni7 sia. 

8 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—Members of the Board 

9 of Directors shall be selected from among people 

10 who have had successful business careers and dem11 onstrated experience and expertise in international 

12 and particularly emerging markets investment activi13 ties, such as private equity or venture capital invest14 ment, banking, finance, strategic business con15 sulting, or entrepreneurial business creation, and 

16 backgrounds in priority business sectors of the 

17 Fund. 

18 (3) UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT LIAISON TO

19 THE BOARD.—The President shall appoint the 

20 United States Ambassador to Tunisia, or the Am21 bassador’s designee, as a liaison to the Board. 

22 (4) NON-GOVERNMENT LIAISONS TO THE

23 BOARD.— 

24 (A) AUTHORITY TO APPOINT.—Upon the 

25 recommendation of the Board of Directors, the 


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1 President may appoint up to 2 additional liai2 sons to the Board of Directors in addition to 

3 the members specified in paragraphs (1) and 

4 (3), of which not more than one may be a non5 citizen of the United States. 

6 (B) NGO COMMUNITY.—One of the addi7 tional liaisons to the Board should be from the 

8 nongovernmental organization community, with 

9 significant prior experience in development and 

10 an understanding of development policy prior11 ities for Tunisia. 

12 (C) TECHNICAL EXPERTISE.—One of the 

13 additional liaisons to the Board should have ex14 tensive demonstrated industry, sector, or tech15 nical experience and expertise in a priority in16 vestment sector for the Fund. 

17 (c) GRANTS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President may use 

19 funds appropriated by any Act, in this fiscal year or 

20 prior fiscal years, making appropriations for the De21 partment of State, foreign operations, and related 

22 programs, including funds previously obligated, that 

23 are otherwise available for such purposes, notwith24 standing any other provision of law— 


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1 (A) to carry out the purposes specified in 

2 section 203 through the Tunisian-American En3 terprise Fund; and 

4 (B) to pay for the administrative expenses 

5 of the Tunisian-American Enterprise Fund, 

6 which should not exceed 5 percent of the funds 

7 made available for the Fund. 

8 (2) ELIGIBLE PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS.— 

9 Grants awarded under this section may only be used 

10 for programs and projects that support the purposes 

11 set forth in section 203. 

12 (3) COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—Grants may not be 

14 awarded to the Tunisian-American Enterprise 

15 Fund under this section unless the Fund agrees 

16 to comply with the requirements under this sec17 tion. 

18 (B) GRANT AGREEMENT.—The grant 

19 agreement between the United States Agency 

20 for International Development and the Tuni21 sian-American Enterprise Fund shall state that 

22 the Fund shall end its reinvestment cycle not 

23 later than December 31, 2021, unless the Sec24 retary of State, in consultation with the Admin25 istrator of the United States Agency for InterVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:54 Jun 21, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2237.IH H2237

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1 national Development, and after consultation 

2 with the appropriate congressional committees, 

3 determines that the Fund should be extended. 

4 (C) PREVENTION OF MONEY LAUNDERING

5 AND TERRORIST FINANCING.—The grant agree6 ment between the United States Agency for 

7 International Development and the Tunisian8 American Enterprise Fund shall state that the 

9 Fund shall comply with procedures specified by 

10 the Secretary of State to ensure that grant 

11 funds are not provided by the Fund to or 

12 through any individual, private or government 

13 entity, or educational institution that advocates, 

14 plans, sponsors, engages in, or has engaged in, 

15 money laundering or terrorist activity or, with 

16 respect to a private entity or educational insti17 tution, that has as a principal officer of the en18 tity’s governing board or governing board of 

19 trustees any individual that has been deter20 mined to be involved in or advocating money 

21 laundering or terrorist activity or determined to 

22 be a member of a designated foreign terrorist 

23 organization. 

24 (D) DISPOSITION OF ASSETS.—The assets 

25 of the Tunisian-American Enterprise Fund at 


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1 the time the Fund is dissolved shall be returned 

2 to the General Fund of the United States 

3 Treasury and used to reduce the debt of the 

4 United States. 

5 (d) NOTIFICATION.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 15 days be7 fore designating an organization to operate as the 

8 Tunisian-American Enterprise Fund pursuant to 

9 subsection (a), the President shall provide the infor10 mation described in paragraph (2) to the Chairman 

11 and Ranking Member of the appropriate congres12 sional committees. 

13 (2) INFORMATION.—The information described 

14 in this paragraph is— 

15 (A) the identity of the organization to be 

16 designated to operate as the Tunisian-American 

17 Enterprise Fund pursuant to subsection (a); 

18 (B) the names and qualifications of the in19 dividuals who will comprise the initial Board of 

20 Directors; and 

21 (C) the procedures referred to in sub22 section (c)(3)(C) that will apply to the Tuni23 sian-American Enterprise Fund for purposes of 

24 curtailing money-laundering and terrorist fi25 nancing activities. 


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1 (e) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE.—Not later than 1 year 

2 after the entry into force of the initial grant agreement 

3 under this section, and annually thereafter, the Fund shall 

4 prepare and make available to the public on an Internet 

5 Web site administered by the Fund a report on the Fund’s 

6 activities during the previous year, including— 

7 (1) a description of each investment or project 

8 supported by the Fund, including each type of as9 sistance provided in accordance with section 203(2); 

10 (2) the amounts invested by the Fund in each 

11 company or project; 

12 (3) the amounts of additional private invest13 ments made in each company or project; and 

14 (4) the amounts of any profits or losses realized 

15 by the Fund in connection with each such company 

16 or project. 

17 SEC. 205. REPORTS. 

18 (a) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Not later than 1 

19 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annu20 ally thereafter until the Fund is dissolved, the Fund shall 

21 submit to the appropriate congressional committees a re22 port detailing the administrative expenses of the Fund. 

23 (b) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the 

24 date of the enactment of this Act, and every 3 years there25 after until the Fund is dissolved, the Comptroller General 


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1 of the United States shall submit to the appropriate con2 gressional committees a report assessing the activities of 

3 the Fund in achieving the stated goals of promoting pri4 vate sector investment and employment in Tunisia and 

5 identifying those institutional or regulatory constraints 

6 that inhibit a more effective application of Fund resources. 

7 SEC. 206. OPERATION PROVISIONS. 

8 (a) APPLICABLE PROVISIONS.—Subsections (d)(5), 

9 (g), (h), (i), (k), (l), (m), (n), (o), and (p) of section 201 

10 of the Support for East European Democracy (SEED) 

11 Act of 1989 (22 U.S.C. 5421) shall apply with respect 

12 to the Tunisian-American Enterprise Fund in the same 

13 manner as such provisions apply to Enterprise Funds des14 ignated pursuant to subsection (d) of such section. 

15 (b) REINVESTMENT.—Returns on investments of the 

16 Tunisian-American Enterprise Fund and other payments 

17 to the Fund may be reinvested in projects carried out by 

18 the Fund without further appropriation by Congress. 

19 SEC. 207. BEST PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES. 

20 To the maximum extent practicable, the Board of Di21 rectors of the Tunisian-American Enterprise Fund should 

22 adopt the best practices and procedures used by Enter23 prise Funds, including those for which funding has been 

24 made available pursuant to section 201 of the Support for 


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1 East European Democracy (SEED) Act of 1989 (22 

2 U.S.C. 5421). 

3 SEC. 208. EXPERIENCE OF OTHER ENTERPRISE FUNDS. 

4 In implementing this title, the President shall ensure 

5 that the Articles of Incorporation of the Tunisian-Amer6 ican Enterprise Fund (including provisions specifying the 

7 responsibilities of the Board of Directors of the Fund), 

8 the terms of United States Government grant agreements 

9 with the Fund, and United States Government oversight 

10 of the Fund are, to the maximum extent practicable, con11 sistent with the Articles of Incorporation of, the terms of 

12 grant agreements with, and the oversight of the Enter13 prise Funds established pursuant to section 201 of the 

14 Support for East European Democracy (SEED) Act of 

15 1989 (22 U.S.C. 5421) and comparable provisions of law. 

Æ 


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