II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1928 

To establish a review of United States multilateral aid. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 5, 2017 

Mr. CORKER (for himself, Mr. COONS, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. KAINE, Mr. RUBIO, 

Mr. BENNET, Mr. ISAKSON, and Mr. CASEY) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To establish a review of United States multilateral aid. 

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 ‘‘Multilateral Aid Re5 view Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

7 The purpose of this Act is to establish a United 

8 States Multilateral Aid Review (in this Act referred to as 

9 the ‘‘Review’’) to publicly assess the value of United States 

10 Government investments in multilateral entities. 


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1 SEC. 3. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE2 FINED. 

3 In this Act, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional com4 mittees’’ means— 

5 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations and 

6 the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and 

7 (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 

8 Committee on Financial Services, and the Com9 mittee on Appropriations of the House of Represent10 atives. 

11 SEC. 4. OBJECTIVES. 

12 The objectives of the Review are as follows: 

13 (1) Provide a tool to guide the United States 

14 Government’s decision making and prioritization 

15 with regard to funding multilateral entities and to 

16 provide a methodological basis for allocating scarce 

17 budgetary resources to entities that advance relevant 

18 United States foreign policy objectives. 

19 (2) Incentivize improvements in the perform20 ance of multilateral entities to achieve better out21 comes on the ground in developing, fragile, and cri22 sis-afflicted regions. 

23 (3) Protect United States taxpayer investments 

24 in foreign assistance by improving transparency with 

25 regard to the funding of multilateral entities. 


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1 SEC. 5. SCOPE. 

2 The Review shall include in its assessment multilat3 eral entities to which the United States Government con4 tributes voluntary or assessed funding, whether cash or 

5 in-kind, including the following entities: 

6 (1) The World Bank Group, including the 

7 International Bank for Reconstruction and Develop8 ment, the International Development Association, 

9 and the International Finance Corporation. 

10 (2) The regional development banks, including 

11 the Asian Development Bank, the African Develop12 ment Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, 

13 the European Bank for Reconstruction and Develop14 ment, and the North American Development Bank. 

15 (3) Climate Investment Funds. 

16 (4) The Food and Agriculture Organization. 

17 (5) Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. 

18 (6) The Global Environment Facility. 

19 (7) The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuber20 culosis and Malaria. 

21 (8) The Great Lakes Fishery Commission. 

22 (9) The Green Climate Fund. 

23 (10) The Inter-American Institute for Coopera24 tion for Agriculture. 

25 (11) The International Civil Aviation Organiza26 tion. 


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1 (12) The International Committee of the Red 

2 Cross. 

3 (13) The International Fund for Agricultural 

4 Development. 

5 (14) The International Labour Organization. 

6 (15) The International Organization for Migra7 tion. 

8 (16) The International Telecommunication 

9 Union. 

10 (17) The Joint UN Program on HIV/AIDS. 

11 (18) The Multilateral Fund for the Implemen12 tation of the Montreal Protocol. 

13 (19) The Office of the United Nations High 

14 Commissioner for Human Rights. 

15 (20) The Office of the United Nations High 

16 Commissioner for Refugees. 

17 (21) The Organisation for Economic Co-oper18 ation and Development. 

19 (22) The Organization of American States. 

20 (23) The Pacific Forum Fisheries Agency. 

21 (24) The Pan American Health Organization. 

22 (25) The United Nations Children’s Fund. 

23 (26) The United Nations Department of Eco24 nomic and Social Affairs. 


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1 (27) The United Nations Development Pro2 gramme. 

3 (28) The United Nations Entity for Gender 

4 Equality and the Empowerment of Women. 

5 (29) The United Nations Environment Pro6 gramme. 

7 (30) The United Nations Framework Conven8 tion on Climate Change. 

9 (31) The United Nations Office for Project 

10 Services. 

11 (32) The United Nations Office for the Coordi12 nation of Humanitarian Affairs. 

13 (33) The United Nations Office on Drugs and 

14 Crime. 

15 (34) The United Nations Population Fund. 

16 (35) The United Nations Relief and Works 

17 Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. 

18 (36) The United Nations Voluntary Fund for 

19 Victims of Torture. 

20 (37) The World Food Program. 

21 (38) The World Health Organization. 

22 (39) The World Meteorological Organization. 

23 SEC. 6. TRIENNIAL REPORT ON REVIEW. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than twenty-one months 

25 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 


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1 three years thereafter, the United States Multilateral Aid 

2 Review Task Force established under section 7, in regular 

3 consultation with the Peer Review Group established 

4 under section 8, shall submit to the appropriate congres5 sional committees a final report on the findings of the Re6 view. The Secretary of State shall publish the report on 

7 the Internet website of the Department of State within 

8 seven days of submitting the report to the appropriate 

9 congressional committees. 

10 (b) METHODOLOGY.— 

11 (1) USE OF CRITERIA.—The Task Force shall 

12 establish an analytical framework and assessment 

13 scorecard for the Review using the criteria set forth 

14 in subsection (c). 

15 (2) CONSULTATION WITH CONGRESS.—Not 

16 later than 120 days after the date of the enactment 

17 of this Act, the Task Force shall submit the method18 ology for the initial Review to the appropriate con19 gressional committees. The Task Force may not pro20 ceed with the Review until 30 days after submission 

21 of the methodology to the appropriate congressional 

22 committees, taking into consideration the views of 

23 the Chairmen and Ranking Members of each of the 

24 appropriate congressional committees. For each sub25 sequent Review, the Task Force shall consult with 


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1 the Chairmen and Ranking Members of each of the 

2 appropriate congressional committees regarding any 

3 changes to the methodology. 

4 (c) ASSESSMENT CRITERIA.—The assessment score5 card shall include the following criteria: 

6 (1) RELATIONSHIP OF STATED GOALS TO AC7 TUAL RESULTS.—The extent to which the stated 

8 mission, goals, and objectives of the entity have been 

9 achieved during the review period, including— 

10 (A) an identification of the stated mission, 

11 goals, and objectives of each entity; 

12 (B) an evaluation of the major projects 

13 and programs selected for implementation by 

14 the entity in comparison with the stated mis15 sion, goals, and objectives of the entity; 

16 (C) an evaluation of whether the major 

17 projects and programs selected by the entity 

18 within the given review period were more likely 

19 than not to further the achievement of the stat20 ed mission, goals, and objectives of the entity; 

21 (D) an evaluation of the extent to which 

22 the major selected projects and programs met 

23 their own stated implementation timelines and 

24 achieved declared results; and 


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1 (E) an evaluation of whether the entity op2 timizes resources to achieve the stated mission, 

3 goals, and objectives of the entity. 

4 (2) RESPONSIBLE MANAGEMENT.—The extent 

5 to which management of the entity follows best man6 agement practices, including— 

7 (A) an evaluation of the ratio of manage8 ment and administrative expenses to program 

9 expenses, including an evaluation of entity re10 sources spent on nonprogrammatic expenses; 

11 (B) an evaluation of program expense 

12 growth, including a comparison of the annual 

13 growth of program expenses to the annual 

14 growth of management and administrative ex15 penses; and 

16 (C) an evaluation of whether the entity has 

17 established appropriate levels of senior manage18 ment compensation. 

19 (3) ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY.— 

20 The extent to which the policies and procedures of 

21 the entity follow best practices of accountability and 

22 transparency, taking into consideration credible re23 porting regarding unauthorized conversion or diver24 sion of entity resources, and including— 


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1 (A) an evaluation of whether the entity has 

2 established and enforced appropriate auditing 

3 procedures; 

4 (B) an evaluation of the whether the entity 

5 has established and enforced appropriate rules 

6 to reduce the risk of conflicts of interest among 

7 the senior leadership of the entity; 

8 (C) an evaluation of whether the entity has 

9 established and enforced appropriate whistle10 blower policies; 

11 (D) an evaluation of whether the entity 

12 has established and maintained appropriate 

13 records retention policies and guidelines; 

14 (E) an evaluation of whether the entity has 

15 established and maintained best practices with 

16 respect to transparency and public disclosure; 

17 and 

18 (F) an evaluation of whether the entity has 

19 established and maintained best practices with 

20 respect to disclosure of the compensation of 

21 senior leadership officials. 

22 (4) ALIGNMENT WITH UNITED STATES FOREIGN

23 POLICY OBJECTIVES.—The extent to which the poli24 cies and practices of the entity align with relevant 

25 United States foreign policy objectives, including— 


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1 (A) an evaluation of the entity’s stated 

2 mission, goals, and objectives in comparison to 

3 relevant United States foreign policy objectives; 

4 (B) an evaluation of whether continued 

5 participation by the United States in the entity 

6 contributes a net benefit towards achieving rel7 evant United States foreign policy objectives, 

8 including the reasons for the conclusion; and 

9 (C) an evaluation of any divergence be10 tween the actions of the entity and relevant 

11 United States foreign policy objectives. 

12 (5) MULTILATERAL APPROACH COMPARED TO

13 BILATERAL APPROACH.—The extent to which pur14 suing relevant United States foreign policy objectives 

15 through a multilateral approach is effective and cost16 efficient compared to a bilateral approach, includ17 ing— 

18 (A) an evaluation of whether relevant 

19 United States foreign policy objectives are effec20 tively pursued through the entity, compared to 

21 existing or potential bilateral approaches; and 

22 (B) an evaluation of whether relevant 

23 United States foreign policy objectives are pur24 sued on a cost-effective basis through the entiVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:02 Oct 11, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1928.IS S1928

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1 ty, compared to existing or potential bilateral 

2 approaches. 

3 (6) REDUNDANCIES AND OVERLAP.—The extent 

4 to which the mission, goals, and objectives of the en5 tity overlap with the mission, goals, and objectives of 

6 other multilateral institutions to which United 

7 States Government entities contribute voluntary or 

8 assessed funding, whether cash or in-kind, includ9 ing— 

10 (A) an identification of significant 

11 redundancies or overlap with the mission, goals, 

12 and objectives of other multilateral entities to 

13 which United States Government entities con14 tribute voluntary or assessed funding, whether 

15 cash or in-kind; and 

16 (B) a comparison of the extent to which 

17 relevant United States foreign policy objectives 

18 are effectively pursued on a cost-effective basis 

19 through each of the overlapping entities. 

20 SEC. 7. UNITED STATES MULTILATERAL REVIEW TASK 

21 FORCE. 

22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President shall establish 

23 an interagency Multilateral Review Task Force (referred 

24 to in this Act as the ‘‘Task Force’’) to review and assess 

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1 fied in section 5 and to develop and transmit to the appro2 priate congressional committees the reports required 

3 under section 6. 

4 (b) LEADERSHIP.—The Task Force shall be chaired 

5 by the Secretary of State. The Secretary may delegate his 

6 or her responsibilities under this Act to an appropriate 

7 senior Senate-confirmed official. 

8 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—The President may appoint to 

9 the interagency Task Force senior Senate-confirmed offi10 cials from the Department of State, the Department of 

11 the Treasury, the United States Agency for International 

12 Development, the Office of Management and Budget, and 

13 any other relevant executive branch department or agency. 

14 (d) CONSULTATION.—In the preparation of each re15 port under section 6, including the initial review of meth16 odology, the Task Force shall consult regularly with the 

17 Peer Review Group established under section 8. 

18 SEC. 8. UNITED STATES MULTILATERAL AID REVIEW PEER 

19 REVIEW GROUP. 

20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the 

21 United States Multilateral Aid Review Peer Review Group 

22 (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Peer Review Group’’). 

23 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 


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1 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Peer Review Group 

2 shall be composed of 8 nongovernmental volunteer 

3 members, of whom— 

4 (A) 2 shall be appointed by the majority 

5 leader of the Senate; 

6 (B) 2 shall be appointed by the minority 

7 leader of the Senate; 

8 (C) 2 shall be appointed by the Speaker of 

9 the House of Representatives; and 

10 (D) 2 shall be appointed by the minority 

11 leader of the House of Representatives. 

12 (2) APPOINTMENT CRITERIA.—The members of 

13 the Peer Review Group shall have appropriate exper14 tise and knowledge of the multilateral entities sub15 ject to the Review established by this Act. In making 

16 appointments to the Peer Review Group, potential 

17 conflicts of interest should be taken into account. 

18 (3) DATE.—The initial appointments of the 

19 members of the Peer Review Group shall be made 

20 not later than 100 days after the date of the enact21 ment of this Act, and the terms of such appoint22 ments shall begin on that date. 

23 (4) CHAIRMAN AND VICE CHAIRMAN.—The Peer 

24 Review Group shall select a Chairman and Vice 


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1 Chairman from among the members of the Peer Re2 view Group. 

3 (c) EXPERT ANALYSIS.—The Peer Review Group 

4 shall meet regularly with the Task Force, including re5 garding the initial review of methodology, to offer their 

6 expertise of the funding and performance of multilateral 

7 entities. 

8 (d) REVIEW OF REPORT.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days be10 fore submitting each report required under section 

11 6(a), the Task Force shall transmit a draft of the 

12 report to the Peer Review Group and the appro13 priate congressional committees. 

14 (2) REVIEW.—The Peer Review Group shall re15 view the draft report submitted under paragraph (1) 

16 and provide to the Task Force and the appropriate 

17 congressional committees not later than 90 days be18 fore the submission of each report required under 

19 section 6(a) the following: 

20 (A) An analysis of the conclusions of the 

21 report. 

22 (B) An analysis of the established meth23 odologies used to reach conclusions in the re24 port. 


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1 (C) An analysis of the evidence used to 

2 reach conclusions in the report. 

3 (D) Any additional comments to improve 

4 the evaluations and analysis of the report. 

5 (e) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT; VACANCIES.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each member of the Peer 

7 Review Group shall be appointed for a 6-year term 

8 and may be reappointed under subsection (b)(1) for 

9 one additional term. 

10 (2) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the Peer Re11 view Group— 

12 (A) shall not affect the powers of the Peer 

13 Review Group; and 

14 (B) shall be filled in the same manner as 

15 the original appointment. 

16 (f) MEETINGS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Peer Review Group 

18 shall meet at the call of the Chairman. 

19 (2) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 120 

20 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

21 Peer Review Group shall hold its first meeting. 

22 (3) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of 

23 the Peer Group shall constitute a quorum, but a 

24 lesser number of members may hold meetings. 


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1 SEC. 9. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITIES. 

2 The authorities and requirements provided under this 

3 Act shall terminate 11 years after the date of the enact4 ment of this Act. 

Æ 


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