II 

Calendar No. 357 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1882 

To support the sustainable recovery and rebuilding of Nepal following the 

recent, devastating earthquakes near Kathmandu. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 29, 2015 

Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Mr. KIRK, Mr. MARKEY, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, and 

Mrs. FEINSTEIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

FEBRUARY 2, 2016 

Reported by Mr. CORKER, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To support the sustainable recovery and rebuilding of Nepal 

following the recent, devastating earthquakes near 

Kathmandu. 

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 ‘‘Nepal Recovery Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

6 In this Act: 


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1 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT2 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com3 mittees’’ means— 

4 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

5 the Senate; 

6 (B) the Committee on Appropriations of 

7 the Senate; 

8 (C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

9 the House of Representatives; and 

10 (D) the Committee on Appropriations of 

11 the House of Representatives. 

12 (2) INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITU13 TION.—The term ‘‘international financial institu14 tion’’ means— 

15 (A) each of the institutions listed in sec16 tion 1701(c)(2) of the International Financial 

17 Institutions Act (22 U.S.C. 262r(c)(2)); and 

18 (B) the International Development Fund 

19 for Agricultural Development. 

20 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

21 Congress makes the following findings: 

22 (1) On April 25, 2015, an earthquake meas23 uring 7.8 on the Richter scale and a subsequent 

24 earthquake on May 12 measuring 7.3 on the Richter 

25 scale and numerous aftershocks— 


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1 (A) devastated Kathmandu, Nepal and the 

2 surrounding areas; 

3 (B) killed more than 8,700 people; 

4 (C) injured hundreds of thousands addi5 tional people; 

6 (D) destroyed or damaged more than 

7 770,000 homes, leaving the families who had 

8 been living in those homes without shelter; 

9 (E) damaged or destroyed more than 

10 47,000 classrooms; 

11 (F) damaged or destroyed over 1,000 

12 health facilities including primary health care 

13 centers and birthing centers; 

14 (G) left many people with newly acquired 

15 disabilities, including lost limbs and other phys16 ical and mental trauma; 

17 (H) severely impacted livelihoods and food 

18 security for millions of people, including the de19 struction of stockpiled grains and the loss of 

20 more than 17,000 cattle and 40,000 smaller do21 mesticated animals; and 

22 (I) disrupted social structures and families 

23 through death, injury, and relocation. 


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1 (2) The earthquake devastated Nepal’s infra2 structure, including homes, offices, factories, roads, 

3 bridges, communications, and other facilities. 

4 (3) American citizens were also killed in the 

5 widespread destruction caused by the earthquake. 

6 (4) Six American service members and 2 mem7 bers of the Nepalese Army lost their lives in a heli8 copter accident while working to relieve the suffering 

9 of the Nepalese people following the earthquake. 

10 (5) The World Bank and the Government of 

11 Nepal conducted a post disaster needs assessment 

12 that estimated almost $6,700,000,000 in sector spe13 cific damage, losses, and recovery needs. 

14 (6) In Nepal, which is one of the poorest coun15 tries in the world— 

16 (A) an estimated 25 percent of the popu17 lation lives on less than $1.25 per day; 

18 (B) there is a 46-percent unemployment 

19 rate, with the majority of the population en20 gaged in subsistence agriculture; 

21 (C) only 25 percent of Nepalese participate 

22 in the formal banking system, with the majority 

23 of Nepalese severely lacking access to credit 

24 and financial services, making accessing credit 

25 for rebuilding difficult; and 


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1 (D) has one of the slowest economic 

2 growth rates in the region. 

3 (7) Nepal bears a significant burden of national 

4 debt, which hinders recovery. 

5 (8) Some of the investments created from loans 

6 to Nepal were lost in the earthquake, but the coun7 try is still obligated to pay off the loans. 

8 (9) The geography of Nepal poses a significant 

9 challenge to relief, reconstruction, and development 

10 that requires extraordinary efforts and assets to 

11 overcome. 

12 (10) The United States Government, the Gov13 ernment of Nepal, and civil society organizations 

14 have invested in disaster risk reduction efforts for 

15 nearly 20 years. Those efforts have reduced suf16 fering and prevented greater loss of life and prop17 erty. 

18 (11) In recent years, the Government and peo19 ple of Nepal have taken important steps forward to 

20 resolve civil conflict, reconcile, and promote economic 

21 growth and development. 

22 (12) Nepal has qualified for the Millennium 

23 Challenge Corporation Threshold Program and has 

24 been selected for a Millennium Challenge CorporaVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:16 Feb 03, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1882.RS S1882

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1 tion Compact, based on its performance on key se2 lection criteria. 

3 (13) United States trade preference programs, 

4 which extend duty-free tariff treatment, could accel5 erate Nepal’s efforts to reestablish economic growth. 

6 (14) The earthquake has significantly increased 

7 the costs and uncertainty of doing business in 

8 Nepal. 

9 (15) A strong and unequivocal commitment 

10 from the United States is needed— 

11 (A) to help Nepal offset the costs of doing 

12 business in Nepal; 

13 (B) to preserve the gains made with 

14 United States assistance; and 

15 (C) to encourage buyers and investors to 

16 stand with Nepal through this crisis. 

17 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

18 It is the policy of the United States, in partnership 

19 with the Government of Nepal and in coordination with 

20 the international community— 

21 (1) to support the sustainable recovery and re22 building of Nepal in a manner that— 

23 (A) encourages greater economic growth; 

24 (B) embraces the independence, resilience, 

25 and democratic governance of Nepal; 


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1 (C) supports collaboration with the Gov2 ernment of Nepal and consultation with Nepa3 lese and international civil society and including 

4 the participation of affected communities in 

5 planning and implementing recovery and recon6 struction; 

7 (D) is transparent and equitably reaches 

8 the most severely affected communities, particu9 larly those in hard-to-reach areas or who are 

10 otherwise marginalized; 

11 (E) dedicates significant resources to ad12 dressing the vulnerability of young girls and 

13 boys who are often at much higher risk of traf14 ficking, sexual exploitation, child labor, and 

15 other forms of abuse during emergencies; 

16 (F) prohibits the participation of the 

17 United States in any construction effort, which 

18 uses forced or child labor, unregistered recruit19 ment agencies, or pays wages through means 

20 other than directly to the laborer or to their 

21 bank account; 

22 (G) promotes— 

23 (i) the utilization of full-time, Nepa24 lese laborers that are paid not less than a 

25 living wage; and 


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1 (ii) compliance with Nepalese labor 

2 law and International Labor Organization 

3 core labor standards, including workplace 

4 health and safety; 

5 (H) incorporates the potential of women 

6 and men to contribute equally and to their max7 imum efficiency; 

8 (I) harnesses the energy of youth, who 

9 make up 33 percent of Nepal’s population, to 

10 rebuild Nepal; 

11 (J) rebuilds in ways that foster resilience 

12 to future earthquakes, landslides, and other 

13 natural disasters that threaten Nepal; 

14 (K) enables a rapid return to school for 

15 children, including the rapid construction and 

16 effective utilization of medium term temporary 

17 school structures; and 

18 (L) coordinates activities with the Millen19 nium Challenge Corporation and other agencies 

20 to assure the optimal effectiveness of United 

21 States efforts. 

22 (2) to strongly encourage the completion and 

23 ratification of a new constitution that will serve as 

24 a strong foundation for Nepal to build back the sysVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:16 Feb 03, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1882.RS S1882

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1 tems and infrastructure even better than before the 

2 disaster; 

3 (3) to encourage all international donors to con4 tribute and coordinate in a transparent manner and 

5 report all contributions through international mecha6 nisms to enable the most efficient allocation of all 

7 reconstruction resources; 

8 (4) to ensure that previously ongoing develop9 ment investments in health, education, economic 

10 growth, food security, and other areas continue, 

11 where appropriate, and are not diverted to other 

12 purposes, and additional resources are dedicated for 

13 earthquake recovery; 

14 (5) to support debt relief for the Government of 

15 Nepal in order to expand and hasten government-led 

16 reconstruction; 

17 (6) to affirm and build a long-term partnership 

18 with Nepal in support of providing a foundation for 

19 economic growth and sustainability through invest20 ments— 

21 (A) in essential infrastructure, including 

22 transport, financial services, and energy; 

23 (B) to rebuild Nepal’s competitiveness and 

24 private sector in order to foster employment 

25 generation, including policies to encourage inVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:16 Feb 03, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1882.RS S1882

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1 vestment and open world consumer markets to 

2 Nepalese exports; 

3 (C) in food security and rural and agricul4 tural development, particularly of food staples 

5 and other crops that provide economic growth 

6 and build lasting food security; and 

7 (D) that recognize and address how obsta8 cles related to gender limit, hinder, or suppress 

9 the economic productivity and gain of women; 

10 (7) to reduce barriers to fast and effective re11 covery and reconstruction including by limiting or 

12 eliminating unnecessary importation duties or re13 strictions on relief and recovery commodities that 

14 will be provided to Nepalese in need and not sold; 

15 (8) to ensure, with the Government of Nepal, 

16 that affected children are protected from potential 

17 violence, abuse, neglect, and exploitation and have 

18 the ability to access child protection services, includ19 ing psychosocial support; 

20 (9) to support, in coordination with other do21 nors— 

22 (A) the institutional development and ca23 pacity building of the Government of Nepal at 

24 the national, local, and community levels so 

25 that the Government of Nepal can ensure basic 


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1 services for its population, including health 

2 care, education, and other basic social services; 

3 (B) significant contributions to a multilat4 eral trust fund that will be established to en5 hance the reconstruction and rebuilding of 

6 Nepal; 

7 (C) the Government and people of Nepal to 

8 lead the vision for reconstruction and rebuilding 

9 of Nepal; and 

10 (D) communities to fully participate in the 

11 recovery and reconstruction process, by employ12 ing local labor and consulting local leaders, af13 fected communities, and civil society for their 

14 experience and vision; 

15 (10) to address the stateless populations in 

16 Nepal displaced by the earthquake including people 

17 who— 

18 (A) are least likely to receive support 

19 through the regular government systems; and 

20 (B) may have particularly greater needs; 

21 (11) to prioritize the provision of excess defense 

22 articles, including small aircraft, to Nepal to assist 

23 in search, relief, and rescue efforts related to earth24 quakes and future humanitarian crises; and 


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1 (12) to utilize every regulatory and administra2 tive flexibility available to minimize bureaucratic re3 quirements and expedite all relief and recovery ac4 tions. 

5 SEC. 5. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE. 

6 (a) DEBT RELIEF FOR NEPAL.— 

7 (1) CANCELLATION OF DEBT.—The Secretary 

8 of the Treasury should direct the United States Ex9 ecutive Director to each international financial insti10 tution to advocate, by voice and vote, in such institu11 tion— 

12 (A) the cancellation of any and all remain13 ing debt obligations of Nepal, including debt ob14 ligations incurred after the date of the enact15 ment of this Act; 

16 (B) the provision of debt service relief for 

17 all remaining payments of Nepal until the debt 

18 can be cancelled; and 

19 (C) to the extent practicable, the extension 

20 of any new assistance to Nepal primarily in the 

21 form of grants instead of loans. 

22 (2) SECURING OTHER RELIEF FOR NEPAL.— 

23 The Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of 

24 State should use all appropriate diplomatic influence 


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1 to secure the cancellation of any and all remaining 

2 bilateral debt of Nepal. 

3 (b) TRUST FUND FOR INFRASTRUCTURE INVEST4 MENT.—The Secretary of the Treasury should support the 

5 creation and utilization of a World Bank trust fund for 

6 Nepal that would leverage potential United States con7 tributions and promote bilateral donations to such a fund 

8 for the purpose of promoting transparency, donor coordi9 nation, and Nepalese ownership, and consultation with 

10 civil society, particularly when making investments in Ne11 pal’s infrastructure, such as— 

12 (1) electric grids; 

13 (2) roads; 

14 (3) water and sanitation facilities; 

15 (4) agricultural infrastructure, 

16 (5) historical heritage sites; and 

17 (6) other critical infrastructure projects. 

18 (c) NEPAL RECOVERY PRIVATE INVESTMENT

19 FUND.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The United States Govern21 ment may establish a Nepal Recovery Private Invest22 ment Fund (referred to in this subsection as the 

23 ‘‘Fund’’), made available from existing appropria24 tions, to provide loans, equity investments and other 


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1 forms of support to small- and medium-sized private 

2 enterprises with the purpose of— 

3 (A) promoting the development of Nepal’s 

4 private sector, particularly small- and medium5 sized enterprises; 

6 (B) promoting and testing innovative poli7 cies and practices to strengthen Nepal’s private 

8 sector; 

9 (C) enhancing domestic engineering, con10 struction, and accounting capacity; 

11 (D) advancing good governance and trans12 parency in Nepal, particularly within the pri13 vate sector; 

14 (E) creating jobs; and 

15 (F) fostering greater adherence to Nepal’s 

16 tax code. 

17 (2) SEED CAPITALIZATION.—The United States 

18 Agency for International Development may provide a 

19 seed investment to capitalize the funds to be 

20 matched or exceeded by investments from private eq21 uity firms, as well as private funds raised from other 

22 limited investors. 

23 (3) ADMINISTRATION.—The Fund shall be ad24 ministered by an entity, either established or des25 ignated by the United States Government for this 


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1 purpose, which is under the supervision of a board 

2 of directors consisting of 4 private citizens from the 

3 United States and 3 private citizens from Nepal. 

4 (4) DURATION.—The Fund should liquidate its 

5 assets and dissolve not later than April 25, 2030, 

6 unless the Secretary of State determines that the 

7 Fund should be extended. Any long-term profits 

8 from the Fund shall be used in Nepal to further the 

9 purposes of disaster risk reduction and prepared10 ness. 

11 (d) FAST-TRACK OF INVESTMENT FEASIBILITY AND

12 ASSESSMENT STUDIES.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the United 

14 States Trade and Development Agency shall 

15 proactively explore and may provide accelerated re16 sponse in Nepal for— 

17 (A) project identification and investment 

18 analyses; 

19 (B) trade capacity building and sector de20 velopment activities, including technical assist21 ance and feasibility studies that support invest22 ments in infrastructure that contribute to over23 seas development; and 

24 (C) trade capacity building and sector de25 velopment assistance supporting the establishVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:16 Feb 03, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1882.RS S1882

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1 ment of industry standards, rules, regulations, 

2 market liberalization, and other policy reform 

3 with a particular focus on engineering and con4 struction. 

5 SEC. 6. REPORTS. 

6 (a) REPORT ON IMPACT OF DISASTER RISK REDUC7 TION EFFORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 

8 the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the United 

9 States Agency for International Development (referred to 

10 in this section as the ‘‘Administrator’’) shall submit a re11 port to the appropriate congressional committees that— 

12 (1) analyzes how the United States investments 

13 in Nepal during the last 20 years in disaster risk re14 duction and earthquake resilience saved lives, re15 duced suffering, and reduced property damage and 

16 economic losses during the earthquake and subse17 quent aftershocks; and 

18 (2) includes a set of recommendations for how 

19 disaster risk and recovery programs can be improved 

20 in Nepal and other countries with substantial dis21 aster risk and recovery programming. 

22 (b) REPORT ON HUMANITARIAN RELIEF EFFORTS.— 

23 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of 

24 this Act, the Administrator, in consultation with the Sec25 retary of Defense, shall submit a report to the appropriate 


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1 congressional committees that describes the cost, effective2 ness, timeliness, and impact of the international humani3 tarian assistance provided to Nepal. 

4 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

5 (a) AMOUNTS AUTHORIZED.—In addition to funding 

6 previously dedicated to development in Nepal and any 

7 international disaster assistance resources made available 

8 for immediate humanitarian response activities, there are 

9 authorized to be appropriated, either as part of the regular 

10 appropriation process or as part of supplementary appro11 priations, to carry out the policies and objectives set forth 

12 in this Act— 

13 (1) $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2016; 

14 (2) $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2017; and 

15 (3) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2018. 

16 (b) TRANSFERS.—Of the amounts appropriated for 

17 each fiscal year pursuant to subsection (a)— 

18 (1) the Department of the Treasury and the 

19 United States Agency for International Development 

20 may contribute to a multi-donor trust fund for re21 construction and recovery expenses related to Nepal 

22 following the earthquake of April 25, 2015, subject 

23 to the regular notification procedures of the appro24 priate congressional committees; and 


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1 (2) amounts may be transferred to the ‘‘Devel2 opment Credit Authority’’ account of the United 

3 States Agency for International Development for the 

4 cost of direct loans and loan guarantees, notwith5 standing the otherwise applicable dollar limitations 

6 on transfers to such account. 

7 (c) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts appro8 priated for each fiscal year pursuant to subsection (a) 

9 shall remain available until expended. 

10 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

11 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Nepal Recovery Act’’. 

12 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

13 In this Act: 

14 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis15 trator’’ means the Administrator of the United States 

16 Agency for International Development. 

17 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT18 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional commit19 tees’’ means— 

20 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

21 the Senate; 

22 (B) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

23 Senate; 

24 (C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

25 House of Representatives; and 


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1 (D) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

2 House of Representatives. 

3 (3) INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTION.— 

4 The term ‘‘international financial institution’’ 

5 means— 

6 (A) each of the institutions listed in section 

7 1701(c)(2) of the International Financial Insti8 tutions Act (22 U.S.C. 262r(c)(2)); and 

9 (B) the International Development Fund for 

10 Agricultural Development. 

11 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

12 Congress makes the following findings: 

13 (1) On April 25, 2015, an earthquake measuring 

14 7.8 on the Richter scale and a subsequent earthquake 

15 on May 12 measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale and 

16 numerous aftershocks— 

17 (A) devastated Kathmandu, Nepal and the 

18 surrounding areas; 

19 (B) killed more than 8,700 people; 

20 (C) injured hundreds of thousands addi21 tional people; 

22 (D) destroyed or damaged more than 

23 770,000 homes, leaving the families who had 

24 been living in those homes without shelter; 


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1 (E) damaged or destroyed more than 47,000 

2 classrooms; 

3 (F) damaged or destroyed over 1,000 health 

4 facilities including primary health care centers 

5 and birthing centers; 

6 (G) left many people with newly acquired 

7 disabilities, including lost limbs and other phys8 ical and mental trauma; 

9 (H) severely impacted livelihoods and food 

10 security for millions of people, including the de11 struction of stockpiled grains and the loss of 

12 more than 17,000 cattle and 40,000 smaller do13 mesticated animals; and 

14 (I) disrupted social structures and families 

15 through death, injury, and relocation. 

16 (2) The earthquake devastated Nepal’s infra17 structure, including homes, offices, factories, roads, 

18 bridges, communications, and other facilities. 

19 (3) American citizens were also killed in the 

20 widespread destruction caused by the earthquake. 

21 (4) Six American service members and 2 mem22 bers of the Nepalese Army lost their lives in a heli23 copter accident while working to relieve the suffering 

24 of the Nepalese people following the earthquake. 


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1 (5) The World Bank and the Government of 

2 Nepal conducted a post disaster needs assessment that 

3 estimated almost $6,700,000,000 in sector specific 

4 damage, losses, and recovery needs. 

5 (6) In Nepal, which is one of the poorest coun6 tries in the world— 

7 (A) an estimated 25 percent of the popu8 lation lives on less than $1.25 per day; 

9 (B) there is a 46 percent unemployment 

10 rate, with the majority of the population engaged 

11 in subsistence agriculture; 

12 (C) only 25 percent of Nepalese participate 

13 in the formal banking system, with the majority 

14 of Nepalese severely lacking access to credit and 

15 financial services, making accessing credit for re16 building difficult; and 

17 (D) has 1 of the slowest economic growth 

18 rates in the region. 

19 (7) The geography of Nepal poses a significant 

20 challenge to relief, reconstruction, and development 

21 that requires extraordinary efforts and assets to over22 come. 

23 (8) The United States Government, the Govern24 ment of Nepal, and civil society organizations have 

25 invested in disaster risk reduction efforts for nearly 


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1 20 years. Those efforts have reduced suffering and 

2 prevented greater loss of life and property. 

3 (9) In recent years, the Government and people 

4 of Nepal have taken important steps forward to re5 solve civil conflict, reconcile, and promote economic 

6 growth and development. 

7 (10) Nepal has qualified for the Millennium 

8 Challenge Corporation Threshold Program and has 

9 been selected for a Millennium Challenge Corporation 

10 Compact, based on its performance on key selection 

11 criteria. 

12 (11) The earthquake has significantly increased 

13 the costs and uncertainty of doing business in Nepal. 

14 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

15 It is the policy of the United States, in partnership 

16 with the Government of Nepal and in coordination with 

17 the international community— 

18 (1) to support the sustainable recovery and re19 building of Nepal in a manner that— 

20 (A) encourages greater economic growth; 

21 (B) embraces the independence, resilience, 

22 and democratic governance of Nepal; 

23 (C) supports collaboration with the Govern24 ment of Nepal and consultation with Nepalese 

25 and international civil society and including the 


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1 participation of affected communities in plan2 ning and implementing recovery and reconstruc3 tion; 

4 (D) ensures that the National Reconstruc5 tion Authority institutes strong internal account6 ing and accountability measures; 

7 (E) seeks to reach the most severely affected 

8 communities, particularly those who live in 

9 hard-to-reach areas or who are otherwise 

10 marginalized; 

11 (F) seeks to address the vulnerability of 

12 young girls and boys who are often at much 

13 higher risk of trafficking, sexual exploitation, 

14 child labor, and other forms of abuse during 

15 emergencies; 

16 (G) prohibits the participation of the 

17 United States in any construction effort, which 

18 uses forced or child labor, unregistered recruit19 ment agencies, or pays wages through means 

20 other than directly to the laborer or to their bank 

21 account; 

22 (H) promotes compliance with Nepalese 

23 labor law and internationally recognized core 

24 labor standards, as set forth in the International 

25 Labor Organization Declaration on FundaVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:16 Feb 03, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1882.RS S1882

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1 mental Principles and Rights at Work and its’ 

2 follow-up; 

3 (I) harnesses the energy of youth, who make 

4 up 33 percent of Nepal’s population, to rebuild 

5 Nepal; 

6 (J) includes regulatory reforms that im7 prove the environment for investors; 

8 (K) supports the role of women in the recon9 struction and recovery effort; 

10 (L) rebuilds in ways that foster resilience to 

11 future earthquakes, landslides, and other natural 

12 disasters that threaten Nepal; 

13 (M) enables a rapid return to school for 

14 children, including the rapid construction and 

15 effective utilization of medium term temporary 

16 school structures; and 

17 (N) coordinates activities with the Millen18 nium Challenge Corporation and other agencies 

19 to assure the optimal efficiency and effectiveness 

20 of United States’ efforts. 

21 (2) to encourage all international donors to con22 tribute and coordinate in a transparent manner and 

23 report all contributions through international mecha24 nisms to enable the most efficient allocation of all re25 construction resources; 


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1 (3) to ensure that ongoing development invest2 ments in health, education, economic growth, food se3 curity, and other areas continue, where appropriate, 

4 and are not diverted to other purposes; 

5 (4) to affirm and build a long-term partnership 

6 with Nepal in support of providing a foundation for 

7 economic growth and sustainability through invest8 ments— 

9 (A) in essential infrastructure, including 

10 transport, financial services, and energy; 

11 (B) to rebuild Nepal’s competitiveness and 

12 private sector in order to foster employment gen13 eration, including policies to encourage invest14 ment and open world consumer markets to Nepa15 lese exports; 

16 (C) in food security and rural and agricul17 tural development, particularly of food staples 

18 and other crops that provide economic growth 

19 and build lasting food security; and 

20 (D) that recognize and address how obsta21 cles related to gender limit, hinder, or suppress 

22 the economic productivity and gain of women; 

23 (5) to ensure, with the Government of Nepal, 

24 that affected children are protected from potential vio25 lence, abuse, neglect, and exploitation and have the 


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1 ability to access child protection services, including 

2 psychosocial support; 

3 (6) to support, in coordination with other do4 nors— 

5 (A) the institutional development and ca6 pacity building of the Government of Nepal at 

7 the national, local, and community levels so that 

8 the Government of Nepal can ensure basic serv9 ices for its population, including health care, 

10 education, and other basic social services; 

11 (B) contributions to a multilateral trust 

12 fund that will be established to enhance the re13 construction and rebuilding of Nepal; 

14 (C) the Government and people of Nepal to 

15 lead the vision for reconstruction and rebuilding 

16 of Nepal; and 

17 (D) communities to fully participate in the 

18 recovery and reconstruction process, by employ19 ing local labor, as appropriate, and consulting 

20 local leaders, affected communities, and civil so21 ciety for their experience and vision; and 

22 (7) to address the stateless populations in Nepal, 

23 including Tibetan communities, who— 

24 (A) are least likely to receive support 

25 through the regular government systems; and 


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1 (B) may have particularly greater or dif2 ferent needs. 

3 SEC. 5. TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of funds, 

5 the President may provide technical and financial assist6 ance for programs that— 

7 (1) improve Nepal’s basic infrastructure fol8 lowing the earthquakes in affected communities; 

9 (2) support economic growth, including through 

10 agriculture and small-scale enterprise opportunities; 

11 (3) promote health and basic education pro12 grams; and 

13 (4) support democracy programs that promote 

14 political reforms, as appropriate, including strength15 ening democratic institutions and rule of law. 

16 (b) FAST-TRACK OF INVESTMENT FEASIBILITY AND

17 ASSESSMENT STUDIES.—The Director of the United States 

18 Trade and Development Agency may proactively explore 

19 and provide accelerated response in Nepal for— 

20 (1) project identification and investment anal21 yses; 

22 (2) trade capacity building and sector develop23 ment activities, including technical assistance and 

24 feasibility studies that support investments in infra25 structure that contribute to overseas development; and 


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1 (3) trade capacity building and sector develop2 ment assistance supporting the establishment of in3 dustry standards, rules, regulations, market liberal4 ization, and other policy reform, with a particular 

5 focus on engineering and construction. 

6 SEC. 6. REPORTS. 

7 (a) REPORT ON IMPACT OF DISASTER RISK REDUC8 TION EFFORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 

9 the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit 

10 a report to the appropriate congressional committees that— 

11 (1) assesses the effectiveness of United States in12 vestments in Nepal in disaster risk reduction and 

13 earthquake resilience during the 20-year period end14 ing on the date of the enactment of this Act; and 

15 (2) includes a set of recommendations for how 

16 the efficiency and effectiveness of disaster risk and re17 covery programs can be improved in Nepal and other 

18 countries with substantial disaster risk and recovery 

19 programming. 

20 (b) REPORT ON HUMANITARIAN RELIEF EFFORTS.— 

21 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of 

22 this Act, the Administrator, in consultation with the Sec23 retary of Defense, shall submit a report to the appropriate 

24 congressional committees that— 


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1 (1) describes the cost, effectiveness, timeliness, 

2 and impact of the international humanitarian and 

3 reconstruction assistance provided to Nepal; and 

4 (2) includes an assessment of the efforts of the 

5 United States to prevent corruption during the hu6 manitarian response and reconstruction work. 

7 (c) REPORT ON IMPEDIMENTS TO NEPAL’S RECOV8 ERY.—Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact9 ment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in coordination 

10 with the Administrator of the United States Agency for 

11 International Development and the heads of other appro12 priate departments and agencies, shall submit a report to 

13 the appropriate congressional committees that includes— 

14 (1) a description of the impediments to Nepal’s 

15 recovery efforts, including the flow of goods and serv16 ices to and from Nepal; 

17 (2) a strategy to address and mitigate political, 

18 diplomatic, and economic challenges to reconstruction 

19 efforts, including ensuring the efficient use, and time20 ly distribution, of United States Government assist21 ance; 

22 (3) an assessment of the impact of any impedi23 ments to energy resources, tourism, medical care, edu24 cational institutions, and the housing sector; 


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1 (4) an assessment of the effects of these impedi2 ments to ongoing United States Government assist3 ance programs throughout Nepal, including those not 

4 directly related to earthquake recovery activities; and 

5 (5) a detailed summary of any United States 

6 Government bilateral and multilateral efforts to enlist 

7 bilateral or multilateral support to mitigate political, 

8 diplomatic, and economic challenges to Nepal’s recov9 ery. 

10 (d) QUARTERLY BRIEFINGS.—The Secretary of State, 

11 in coordination with the Administrator of the United States 

12 Agency for International Development and the heads of any 

13 other appropriate departments and agencies, shall provide 

14 quarterly briefings through the end of fiscal year 2018 to 

15 the appropriate congressional committees on the efforts of 

16 the United States Government to ensure the efficient and 

17 effective distribution of United States assistance to con18 tribute to Nepal’s recovery and to carry out the objectives 

19 of this Act. 

20 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro22 priated to carry out the policies and objectives set forth in 

23 this Act, $90,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2017 and 2018. 

24 (b) TRANSFERS.—Amounts appropriated for each fis25 cal year pursuant to subsection (a)— 


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1 (1) may be contributed by the Administrator and 

2 the Secretary of the Treasury to a multi-donor trust 

3 fund for reconstruction and recovery expenses related 

4 to Nepal following the earthquake of April 25, 2015, 

5 subject to the regular notification procedures of the 

6 appropriate congressional committees; and 

7 (2) may be transferred to the ‘‘Development 

8 Credit Authority’’ account of the United States Agen9 cy for International Development for the cost of direct 

10 loans and loan guarantees. 

11 (c) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts appropriated 

12 for each fiscal year pursuant to subsection (a) shall remain 

13 available until expended. 


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Calendar No. 357 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1882 

A BILL 

To support the sustainable recovery and rebuilding 

quakes near Kathmandu. of Nepal following the recent, devastating earthFEBRUARY 2, 2016 

Reported with an amendment 


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