II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 618 

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

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 17, 2011 

Mr. KERRY (for himself, Mr. MCCAIN, and Mr. LIEBERMAN) introduced the 

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

Foreign Relations 

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 4 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) ADDITIONAL USAID NON-VOTING BOARD

2 MEMBER.—The President shall appoint 1 official or 

3 employee of the United States Agency for Inter4 national Development as an additional non-voting 

5 member of the Board. 

6 (4) ADDITIONAL NON-GOVERNMENT NON-VOT7 ING BOARD MEMBERS.— 

8 (A) AUTHORITY TO APPOINT.—Upon the 

9 recommendation of the Board of Directors, the 

10 President may appoint up to 2 additional non11 voting members to the Board of Directors in 

12 addition to the members specified in paragraphs 

13 (1) and (3), of which not more than 1 may be 

14 a non-citizen of the United States. 

15 (B) NGO COMMUNITY.—One of the addi16 tional nonvoting Board members shall be from 

17 the nongovernmental organization community, 

18 with significant prior experience in development 

19 and an understanding of development policy 

20 priorities for Egypt. 

21 (C) TECHNICAL EXPERTISE.—One of the 

22 additional non-voting Board members shall have 

23 extensive demonstrated industry, sector, or 

24 technical experience and expertise in a priority 

25 investment sector for the Fund. 


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1 (c) GRANTS.— 

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

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

4 prior fiscal years, making appropriations for the De5 partment of State, foreign operations, and related 

6 programs, including funds previously obligated, that 

7 are otherwise available for such purposes, notwith8 standing any other provision of law— 

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

10 section 103 through the Egyptian-American 

11 Enterprise Fund; and 

12 (B) to pay for the administrative expenses 

13 of the Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund, 

14 which shall not exceed 5 percent of the amounts 

15 made available for the Fund. 

16 (2) ELIGIBLE PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS.— 

17 Grants awarded under this section may only be used 

18 for programs and projects that support the purposes 

19 set forth in section 103. 

20 (3) COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—Grants may not be 

22 awarded to the Egyptian-American Enterprise 

23 Fund under this section unless the Fund agrees 

24 to comply with the requirements under this sec25 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 liquidate its assets and dissolve 

6 not later than December 31, 2021, unless the 

7 Secretary of State, in consultation with the Ad8 ministrator of the United States Agency for 

9 International Development, and after consulta10 tion with the appropriate congressional commit11 tees, determines that the Fund should be ex12 tended. 

13 (C) PREVENTION OF MONEY LAUNDERING

14 AND TERRORIST FINANCING.—The grant agree15 ment between the United States Agency for 

16 International Development and the Egyptian17 American Enterprise Fund shall state that the 

18 Fund shall comply with procedures specified by 

19 the Secretary of State to ensure that grant 

20 funds are not provided by the Fund to or 

21 through any individual, private or government 

22 entity, or educational institution that advocates, 

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

24 money laundering or terrorist activity or, with 

25 respect to a private entity or educational instiVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:24 Mar 23, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S618.IS S618

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1 tution, that has as a principal officer of the en2 tity’s governing board or governing board of 

3 trustees any individual that has been deter4 mined to be involved in or advocating money 

5 laundering or terrorist activity or determined to 

6 be a member of a designated foreign terrorist 

7 organization. 

8 (D) DISPOSITION OF ASSETS.—The assets 

9 of the Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund at 

10 the time the Fund is dissolved shall be returned 

11 to the General Fund of the United States 

12 Treasury and used to reduce the debt of the 

13 United States. 

14 (d) NOTIFICATION.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 15 days be16 fore designating an organization to operate as the 

17 Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund pursuant to 

18 subsection (a), the President shall provide the infor19 mation described in paragraph (2) to the Chairman 

20 and Ranking Member of the appropriate congres21 sional committees. 

22 (2) INFORMATION.—The information described 

23 in this paragraph is— 


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1 (A) the identity of the organization to be 

2 designated to operate as the Egyptian-American 

3 Enterprise Fund pursuant to subsection (a); 

4 (B) the names and qualifications of the in5 dividuals who will comprise the initial Board of 

6 Directors; and 

7 (C) the procedures referred to in sub8 section (c)(3)(C) that will apply to the Egyp9 tian-American Enterprise Fund for purposes of 

10 curtailing money-laundering and terrorist fi11 nancing activities. 

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

13 after the entry into force of the initial grant agreement 

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

15 prepare and make available to the public on an Internet 

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

17 activities during the previous year, including— 

18 (1) a description of each investment or project 

19 supported by the Fund, including each type of as20 sistance provided in accordance with section 103(2); 

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

22 company or project; 

23 (3) the amounts of additional private invest24 ments made in each company or project; and 


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

2 by the Fund in connection with each such company 

3 or project. 

4 SEC. 105. REPORTS. 

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

6 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annu7 ally thereafter until the Fund is dissolved, the Fund shall 

8 submit to the appropriate congressional committees a re9 port detailing the administrative expenses of the Fund. 

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

11 date of the enactment of this Act, and every 3 years there12 after until the Fund is dissolved, the Comptroller General 

13 of the United States shall submit to the appropriate con14 gressional committees a report assessing the activities of 

15 the Fund in achieving the stated goals of promoting pri16 vate sector investment and employment in Egypt and iden17 tifying those institutional or regulatory constraints that 

18 inhibit a more effective application of Fund resources. 

19 SEC. 106. OPERATION PROVISIONS. 

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

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

22 of the Support for East European Democracy (SEED) 

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

24 to the Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund in the same 


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1 manner as such provisions apply to Enterprise Funds des2 ignated pursuant to subsection (d) of such section. 

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

4 Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund and other payments 

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

6 the Fund without further appropriation by Congress. 

7 SEC. 107. BEST PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES. 

8 To the maximum extent practicable, the Board of Di9 rectors of the Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund should 

10 adopt the best practices and procedures used by Enter11 prise Funds, including those for which funding has been 

12 made available pursuant to section 201 of the Support for 

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

14 U.S.C. 5421). 

15 SEC. 108. EXPERIENCE OF OTHER ENTERPRISE FUNDS. 

16 In implementing this title, the President shall ensure 

17 that the Articles of Incorporation of the Egyptian-Amer18 ican Enterprise Fund (including provisions specifying the 

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

20 the terms of United States Government grant agreements 

21 with the Fund, and United States Government oversight 

22 of the Fund are, to the maximum extent practicable, con23 sistent with the Articles of Incorporation of, the terms of 

24 grant agreements with, and the oversight of the Enter25 prise Funds established pursuant to section 201 of the 


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1 Support for East European Democracy (SEED) Act of 

2 1989 (22 U.S.C. 5421) and comparable provisions of law. 

3 TITLE II—TUNISIAN-AMERICAN 

4 ENTERPRISE FUND 

5 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 

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

7 Enterprise Fund Act’’. 

8 SEC. 202. PURPOSE AND FINDINGS. 

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

10 a transition to democracy in Tunisia that is successful, 

11 lasting, and reflective of the aspirations of the Tunisian 

12 people for greater economic opportunity and political free13 dom through the creation of a Tunisian-American Enter14 prise Fund that will support economic prosperity through 

15 financial investment and technical assistance to small- and 

16 medium-sized enterprises. 

17 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find18 ings: 

19 (1) The United States and Tunisia have a 

20 strong, long-standing bilateral relationship. 

21 (2) Tunisia— 

22 (A) plays an important strategic role in 

23 promoting peace and security in North Africa, 

24 the broader Middle East, and elsewhere; and 


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1 (B) has been, and continues to be, a re2 gional center for foreign investment and tour3 ism. 

4 (3) On December 18, 2010, after the self-immo5 lation of a young street vendor, Mohamed Bouazizi, 

6 protests broke out in Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia. 

7 (4) The protests, which quickly spread across 

8 Tunisia, involved peaceful demonstrators calling 

9 for— 

10 (A) a new government; 

11 (B) free and fair elections; 

12 (C) significant political reforms; 

13 (D) greater economic opportunity; and 

14 (E) an end to government corruption. 

15 (5) The protests culminated in the ouster of 

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

17 2011, inspiring democracy activists throughout the 

18 region and around the world. 

19 (6) The United States has a strong interest 

20 in— 

21 (A) an orderly and peaceful transition to 

22 democracy in Tunisia; and 

23 (B) assisting the people of Tunisia to form 

24 a representative and democratic political and 

25 economic system that respects universal values. 


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1 (7) Tunisia— 

2 (A) has a well-educated and secular popu3 lation that displayed extraordinary determina4 tion in forcing President Ben Ali to abdicate; 

5 and 

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

7 democratic transition. 

8 (8) In 2010— 

9 (A) the inflation rate in Tunisia was ap10 proximately 4.4 percent; 

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

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

13 product (GDP); and 

14 (C) according to The Peterson Institute of 

15 Economics, Tunisia was the only country in the 

16 region in which per capita incomes have gradu17 ally converged with the industrial democracies 

18 of the Organization of Economic Cooperation 

19 and Development (OECD). 

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

21 2010–2011 Global Competitiveness Report— 

22 (A) Tunisia ranks first in competitiveness 

23 among African nations; and 

24 (B) Tunisia’s most problematic factor for 

25 doing business is lack of access to financing. 


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1 (10) According to the International Monetary 

2 Fund (IMF), Tunisia had weathered the global eco3 nomic crisis well, having entered the crisis with 

4 strong fundamentals. 

5 (11) As a result of the dramatic events in Tuni6 sia during January 2011— 

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

8 near standstill and continues to feel lingering 

9 effects; 

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

11 (C) tourism revenues, which are respon12 sible for an estimated 8.6 percent of direct con13 tribution to Tunisia’s GDP, have dropped an 

14 estimated 40 percent compared to the previous 

15 year; 

16 (D) industrial output and investment activ17 ity in Tunisia are experiencing significant 

18 short-term reductions; and 

19 (E) the value of the Tunisian stock market 

20 fell by 14 percent. 

21 (12) The Fitch Rating Agency concluded, ‘‘Al22 though the transition to democracy could well im23 prove confidence in the long-term, political upheaval 

24 has worsened the short-term outlook for the econ25 omy, public finances and financial system’’. 


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1 (13) Analysts estimate that the recent events in 

2 Tunisia— 

3 (A) will increase government deficits in 

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

5 government spending; and 

6 (B) has shaken the Tunisian economy, al7 though Tunisia’s medium-term growth outlook 

8 remains relatively good. 

9 (14) According to IMF’s Middle East and Cen10 tral Asia Department— 

11 (A) Tunisia’s tourism and foreign direct 

12 investment (FDI) inflows will continue to de13 cline, which will negatively impact the rest of 

14 the Tunisian economy; 

15 (B) recent events in Tunisia have illus16 trated the need for more inclusive growth and 

17 better governance in Tunisia; and 

18 (C) it is important to recognize that the 

19 Tunisian society has enduring strengths. 

20 (15) The World Bank estimates that Tunisian 

21 banks may face stress as second round effects of the 

22 slowdown in businesses and investment permeate. 

23 (16) Foreign direct investment, which is a cru24 cial component of Tunisia’s economic health, created 

25 24 percent of the new jobs in 2009, according to 


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1 Tunisia’s Ministry of Planning and International 

2 Cooperation. 

3 (17) According to the African Development 

4 Bank— 

5 (A) Tunisia has pursued governance re6 forms in an effort to increase FDI and boost 

7 local enterprises; and 

8 (B) Small- and medium-sized enterprises 

9 in Tunisia require support to access finance 

10 outside of the traditional lines of credit because 

11 sources of finance for enterprises in Tunisia are 

12 weak. 

13 (18) According to the most recent official esti14 mates— 

15 (A) the unemployment rate in Tunisia is 

16 13 percent; 

17 (B) the youth unemployment rate is 30.7 

18 percent; and 

19 (C) 51 percent of the population of Tunisia 

20 is younger than 30 years of age. 

21 (19) To help foster and support the fledgling 

22 private sector after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Con23 gress, through enactment of the Support for East 

24 European Democracy (SEED) Act of 1989 (22 

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


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

2 $1,200,000,000 for the United States Agency for 

3 International Development (USAID) to establish 10 

4 new investment funds (collectively known as the 

5 ‘‘Enterprise Funds’’) throughout Central and East6 ern Europe and the former Soviet Union. 

7 (20) The Enterprise Funds— 

8 (A) channeled funding into more than 500 

9 enterprises in 19 countries; 

10 (B) leveraged an additional 

11 $5,000,000,000 in private investment capital 

12 from outside the United States Government; 

13 (C) provided substantial development cap14 ital where supply was limited; 

15 (D) created or sustained more than 

16 260,000 jobs through investment and develop17 ment activities; 

18 (E) funded $74,000,000 in technical as19 sistance to strengthen the private sector; and 

20 (F) are expected to recoup 137 percent of 

21 the original USAID funding. 

22 (21) Enterprise Funds established in partner23 ship with United States partners, such as Poland, 

24 Hungary, Albania, Russia, and other European 


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1 countries, have proven beneficial to the economies of 

2 such countries. 

3 (22) Creating a similar fund in close partner4 ship with the people of Tunisia would— 

5 (A) help sustain and expand reform efforts 

6 in Tunisia; 

7 (B) empower Tunisian entrepreneurs with 

8 the resources required to create urgently needed 

9 employment opportunities; 

10 (C) help reinforce financial institutions 

11 within the country; 

12 (D) provide debt and equity investment for 

13 commercially viable SMEs; and 

14 (E) make the investment environment 

15 more attractive to domestic and international 

16 investors. 

17 SEC. 203. PURPOSES OF TUNISIAN-AMERICAN ENTERPRISE 

18 FUND. 

19 The purposes of the Tunisian-American Enterprise 

20 Fund are— 

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

22 while considering the development impact of invest23 ments and profitability of those investments, par24 ticularly in small- and medium-sized enterprises, and 


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1 joint ventures with participants from the United 

2 States and Tunisia; 

3 (2) to promote policies and practices conducive 

4 to strengthening the private sector in Tunisia 

5 through measures including loans, microloans, equity 

6 investments, insurance, guarantees, grants, feasi7 bility studies, technical assistance, training for busi8 nesses receiving investment capital, and other meas9 ures; 

10 (3) to promote good corporate governance and 

11 transparency in Tunisia, foster competition, catalyze 

12 productivity improvements in existing businesses, 

13 and strengthen local capital markets; and 

14 (4) to promote security through job creation in 

15 the private sector in Tunisia and to further the cre16 ation of a middle class in Tunisia. 

17 SEC. 204. TUNISIAN-AMERICAN ENTERPRISE FUND. 

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President is authorized 

19 to establish or designate a private, nonprofit organization 

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

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

22 this title after determining that such organization has 

23 been established for the purposes specified in section 203. 

24 The President should make such designation only after 


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1 consultation with the leadership of each House of Con2 gress. 

3 (b) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.— 

4 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Tunisian-American 

5 Enterprise Fund shall be governed by a Board of 

6 Directors, which shall be comprised of 4 private citi7 zens of the United States and 3 private citizens of 

8 Tunisia, appointed by the President of the United 

9 States in consultation with the Government of Tuni10 sia. 

11 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—Members of the Board 

12 of Directors shall be selected from among people 

13 who have had successful business careers and dem14 onstrated experience and expertise in international 

15 and particularly emerging markets investment activi16 ties, such as private equity or venture capital invest17 ment, banking, finance, strategic business con18 sulting, or entrepreneurial business creation, and 

19 backgrounds in priority business sectors of the 

20 Fund. 

21 (3) ADDITIONAL USAID NON-VOTING BOARD

22 MEMBER.—The President shall appoint 1 official or 

23 employee of the United States Agency for Inter24 national Development as an additional non-voting 

25 member of the Board. 


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1 (4) ADDITIONAL NON-GOVERNMENT NON-VOT2 ING BOARD MEMBERS.— 

3 (A) AUTHORITY TO APPOINT.—Upon the 

4 recommendation of the Board of Directors, the 

5 President may appoint up to 2 additional non6 voting members to the Board of Directors in 

7 addition to the members specified in paragraphs 

8 (1) and (3), of which not more than one may 

9 be a non-citizen of the United States. 

10 (B) NGO COMMUNITY.—One of the addi11 tional nonvoting Board members shall be from 

12 the nongovernmental organization community, 

13 with significant prior experience in development 

14 and an understanding of development policy 

15 priorities for Tunisia. 

16 (C) TECHNICAL EXPERTISE.—One of the 

17 additional non-voting Board members shall have 

18 extensive demonstrated industry, sector, or 

19 technical experience and expertise in a priority 

20 investment sector for the Fund. 

21 (c) GRANTS.— 

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

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

24 prior fiscal years, making appropriations for the De25 partment of State, foreign operations, and related 


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1 programs, including funds previously obligated, that 

2 are otherwise available for such purposes, notwith3 standing any other provision of law— 

4 (A) to carry out the purposes specified in 

5 section 203 through the Tunisian-American En6 terprise Fund; and 

7 (B) to pay for the administrative expenses 

8 of the Tunisian-American Enterprise Fund, 

9 which shall not exceed 5 percent of the funds 

10 made available for the Fund. 

11 (2) ELIGIBLE PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS.— 

12 Grants awarded under this section may only be used 

13 for programs and projects that support the purposes 

14 set forth in section 203. 

15 (3) COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—Grants may not be 

17 awarded to the Tunisian-American Enterprise 

18 Fund under this section unless the Fund agrees 

19 to comply with the requirements under this sec20 tion. 

21 (B) GRANT AGREEMENT.—The grant 

22 agreement between the United States Agency 

23 for International Development and the Tuni24 sian-American Enterprise Fund shall state that 

25 the Fund shall liquidate its assets and dissolve 


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1 not later than December 31, 2021, unless the 

2 Secretary of State, in consultation with the Ad3 ministrator of the United States Agency for 

4 International Development, and after consulta5 tion with the appropriate congressional commit6 tees, determines that the Fund should be ex7 tended. 

8 (C) PREVENTION OF MONEY LAUNDERING

9 AND TERRORIST FINANCING.—The grant agree10 ment between the United States Agency for 

11 International Development and the Tunisian12 American Enterprise Fund shall state that the 

13 Fund shall comply with procedures specified by 

14 the Secretary of State to ensure that grant 

15 funds are not provided by the Fund to or 

16 through any individual, private or government 

17 entity, or educational institution that advocates, 

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

19 money laundering or terrorist activity or, with 

20 respect to a private entity or educational insti21 tution, that has as a principal officer of the en22 tity’s governing board or governing board of 

23 trustees any individual that has been deter24 mined to be involved in or advocating money 

25 laundering or terrorist activity or determined to 


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1 be a member of a designated foreign terrorist 

2 organization. 

3 (D) DISPOSITION OF ASSETS.—The assets 

4 of the Tunisian-American Enterprise Fund at 

5 the time the Fund is dissolved shall be returned 

6 to the General Fund of the United States 

7 Treasury and used to reduce the debt of the 

8 United States. 

9 (d) NOTIFICATION.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 15 days be11 fore designating an organization to operate as the 

12 Tunisian-American Enterprise Fund pursuant to 

13 subsection (a), the President shall provide the infor14 mation described in paragraph (2) to the Chairman 

15 and Ranking Member of the appropriate congres16 sional committees. 

17 (2) INFORMATION.—The information described 

18 in this paragraph is— 

19 (A) the identity of the organization to be 

20 designated to operate as the Tunisian-American 

21 Enterprise Fund pursuant to subsection (a); 

22 (B) the names and qualifications of the in23 dividuals who will comprise the initial Board of 

24 Directors; and 


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1 (C) the procedures referred to in sub2 section (c)(3)(C) that will apply to the Tuni3 sian-American Enterprise Fund for purposes of 

4 curtailing money-laundering and terrorist fi5 nancing activities. 

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

7 after the entry into force of the initial grant agreement 

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

9 prepare and make available to the public on an Internet 

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

11 activities during the previous year, including— 

12 (1) a description of each investment or project 

13 supported by the Fund, including each type of as14 sistance provided in accordance with section 203(2); 

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

16 company or project; 

17 (3) the amounts of additional private invest18 ments made in each company or project; and 

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

20 by the Fund in connection with each such company 

21 or project. 

22 SEC. 205. REPORTS. 

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

24 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annu25 ally thereafter until the Fund is dissolved, the Fund shall 


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1 submit to the appropriate congressional committees a re2 port detailing the administrative expenses of the Fund. 

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

4 date of the enactment of this Act, and every 3 years there5 after until the Fund is dissolved, the Comptroller General 

6 of the United States shall submit to the appropriate con7 gressional committees a report assessing the activities of 

8 the Fund in achieving the stated goals of promoting pri9 vate sector investment and employment in Tunisia and 

10 identifying those institutional or regulatory constraints 

11 that inhibit a more effective application of Fund resources. 

12 SEC. 206. OPERATION PROVISIONS. 

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

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

15 of the Support for East European Democracy (SEED) 

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

17 to the Tunisian-American Enterprise Fund in the same 

18 manner as such provisions apply to Enterprise Funds des19 ignated pursuant to subsection (d) of such section. 

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

21 Tunisian-American Enterprise Fund and other payments 

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

23 the Fund without further appropriation by Congress. 


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1 SEC. 207. BEST PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES. 

2 To the maximum extent practicable, the Board of Di3 rectors of the Tunisian-American Enterprise Fund should 

4 adopt the best practices and procedures used by Enter5 prise Funds, including those for which funding has been 

6 made available pursuant to section 201 of the Support for 

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

8 U.S.C. 5421). 

9 SEC. 208. EXPERIENCE OF OTHER ENTERPRISE FUNDS. 

10 In implementing this title, the President shall ensure 

11 that the Articles of Incorporation of the Tunisian-Amer12 ican Enterprise Fund (including provisions specifying the 

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

14 the terms of United States Government grant agreements 

15 with the Fund, and United States Government oversight 

16 of the Fund are, to the maximum extent practicable, con17 sistent with the Articles of Incorporation of, the terms of 

18 grant agreements with, and the oversight of the Enter19 prise Funds established pursuant to section 201 of the 

20 Support for East European Democracy (SEED) Act of 

21 1989 (22 U.S.C. 5421) and comparable provisions of law. 

Æ 


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