I

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3827

To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to provide for the establishment

of a Women in Enterprise Development Program to support the economic

empowerment of women in developing countries.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JULY 16, 1996

Ms. WATERS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on International Relations

A BILL

To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to provide

for the establishment of a Women in Enterprise Development Program to support the economic empowerment

of women in developing countries.

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 ‘‘Women in Enterprise

5 Development Act of 1996’’.
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1 SEC. 2. WOMEN IN ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT.

2 Chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act

3 of 1961 is amended by inserting after section 113 the fol4 lowing:

5 ‘‘SEC. 114. WOMEN IN ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT.

6 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—In carrying

7 out this part, the Administrator of the Agency for Inter8 national Development shall establish and implement a

9 Women in Enterprise Development Program.

10 ‘‘(b) DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM.—This program

11 shall provide funding and other support for projects hav12 ing the following 3 interrelated components:

13 ‘‘(1) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—The provision of

14 financial assistance to women—

15 ‘‘(A) to support the creation of small to

16 medium-size businesses in which women can

17 readily participate;

18 ‘‘(B) to foster investment in businesses

19 substantially owned or managed by women; and

20 ‘‘(C) to enable such women to further their

21 education.

22 ‘‘(2) EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE.—The provi23 sion of assistance to encourage and support efforts

24 of indigenous educational institutions, and where ap25 propriate other organizations—
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1 ‘‘(A) to encourage women to participate in

2 the processes of local and national government,

3 and to stimulate the interest of women in busi4 ness;

5 ‘‘(B) to prepare women for involvement in

6 government and business;

7 ‘‘(C) to provide opportunities for women to

8 gain practical experience in government and

9 business through internships or on-the-job ap10 prenticeships while in school;

11 ‘‘(D) to provide women with remedial as12 sistance whenever necessary; and

13 ‘‘(E) to identify women with leadership po14 tential to serve as role models, and to assist

15 such women in furthering their education and

16 obtaining suitable positions in the public or pri17 vate sector.

18 Assistance under this paragraph shall encourage the

19 development and implementation of guidelines to be

20 used by secondary and postsecondary education in21 stitutions to achieve the objectives described in sub22 paragraphs (A) through (E) through the develop23 ment of appropriate curricula and other means.

24 ‘‘(3) INFORMATION ASSISTANCE.—The provi25 sion of assistance to support the creation or expan-
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1 sion of local resource centers which offer to women

2 interested in careers in business, government, or re3 lated fields—

4 ‘‘(A) courses in accounting, bookkeeping,

5 and elementary marketing practices, and other

6 courses; and

7 ‘‘(B) workshops, informational materials,

8 career counseling, and assistance in the local

9 community.

10 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR FINANCIAL ASSIST11 ANCE.—The Administrator of the Agency for Inter12 national Development shall develop criteria for identifying

13 the women who are eligible to receive financial assistance

14 under subsection (b)(1).

15 ‘‘(d) INITIAL FUNDING LEVEL.—The Congress urges

16 the Administrator of the Agency for International Devel17 opment, in carrying out this section during fiscal year

18 1997, to use not less than an amount equal to 10 percent

19 of the amount made available under this part for assist20 ance for micro-enterprise development.

21 ‘‘(e) ANNUAL REPORTS.—The annual congressional

22 presentation materials on economic assistance shall in23 clude a description of the assistance being provided under

24 this section, including the amount that was provided for

25 such assistance during preceding fiscal year, the amount
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1 estimated to be provided during the current fiscal year,

2 and the amount proposed for the coming fiscal year.’’.

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