II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 682 

To authorize the establishment of a Social Investment and Economic Development Fund for the Americas to provide assistance to reduce poverty 

and foster increased economic opportunity in the countries of the Western 

Hemisphere, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 17, 2005 

Mr. DODD introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To authorize the establishment of a Social Investment and 

Economic Development Fund for the Americas to provide 

assistance to reduce poverty and foster increased economic opportunity in the countries of the Western Hemisphere, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Social Investment and 

5 Economic Development Fund for the Americas Act of 

6 2005’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) The historic economic, political, cultural, 

4 and geographic relationships among the countries of 

5 the Western Hemisphere are unique and of con6 tinuing special significance to the United States. 

7 (2) The interests of the countries of the West8 ern Hemisphere are more interrelated today than 

9 ever before. Consequently, sound economic, social, 

10 and democratic progress in each of the countries 

11 continues to benefit other countries, and lack of it 

12 in any country may have serious repercussions in 

13 others. 

14 (3) Following the historic Summits of the 

15 Americas, the 1994 Summit in Miami, the 1998 

16 Summit in Santiago, Chile, the 2001 Summit in 

17 Quebec City, Canada, and the 2004 Special Summit 

18 in Monterrey, Mexico, the heads of state of the 

19 countries of the Western Hemisphere accepted the 

20 formidable challenge of economic and social integra21 tion in and between their respective countries. 

22 (4) To make progress toward economic and so23 cial integration, there is a compelling need to focus 

24 on the social development of the people of the Amer25 icas which, in turn, will promote the economic and 

26 political development of the region. 
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1 (5) Investment in social development in the 

2 Americas, including investment in human and social 

3 capital, specifically in education, health, housing, 

4 and labor markets with the goal of combating social 

5 exclusion and social ills, will consolidate political de6 mocracy and the rule of law and promote regional 

7 economic integration and trade in the region. 

8 (6) The challenge of achieving economic inte9 gration between one of the world’s most developed 

10 economies and some of the poorest and most vulner11 able countries requires a special effort to promote 

12 social equality, develop skills, and modernize the in13 frastructure in poorer countries that will enable the 

14 people of these countries to maximize the amount of 

15 benefits accrued from economic integration. 

16 (7) The particular challenge facing social and 

17 economic development in Latin America is the his18 toric and persistent highly unequal distribution of 

19 wealth. Latin America suffers from the most un20 equal distribution of wealth in the world with huge 

21 inequities in the distribution of assets including edu22 cation, land, and credit. 

23 (8) Latin America also confronts the challenge 

24 of an increasing number of poor people. As of today, 

25 approximately one-third of the population lives in 
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1 poverty and increasing numbers live in extreme pov2 erty. Poverty exists in all Latin American countries 

3 but 70 percent of the region’s poor live in the five 

4 largest middle-income countries. 

5 (9) Marginalized groups, including indigenous 

6 populations, people of African descent, women, peo7 ple with disabilities, and rural populations, are so8 cially excluded and suffer from poverty, stigma, and 

9 discrimination. 

10 (10) Democratic values are dominant through11 out the Americas, and nearly all governments in the 

12 region have come to power through democratic elec13 tions. 

14 (11) Nonetheless, existing democratic govern15 ments and their constituent institutions remain frag16 ile and face critical challenges including effective 

17 democratic civilian authority over these institutions, 

18 including the military, the consolidation or establish19 ment of independent judicial institutions and the 

20 rule of law, and the elimination of corruption. 

21 (12) The prosperity, security, and well-being of 

22 the United States is linked directly to peace, pros23 perity, and democracy in the Americas. The entire 

24 region benefits by reducing poverty, strengthening 

25 the middle class, and promoting the rule of law 
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1 which will also increase markets for United States 

2 goods and create a better environment for regional 

3 investment by United States businesses. 

4 (13) Section 101 of the Foreign Assistance Act 

5 of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151) establishes as a principal 

6 objective of United States foreign assistance the 

7 ‘‘encouragement and sustained support of the people 

8 of developing countries in their efforts to acquire the 

9 knowledge and resources essential to development 

10 and to build the economic, political, and social insti11 tutions which will improve the quality of their lives’’. 

12 (14) It is in the national interests of the United 

13 States to assist developing countries in the Western 

14 Hemisphere as they implement the economic and po15 litical policies which are necessary to achieve equi16 table economic growth. 

17 (15) The Summit of the Americas has directly 

18 charged the multilateral institutions of the Americas, 

19 including the Organization of American States 

20 (OAS), the Inter-American Development Bank 

21 (IADB), and the Inter-American Agency for Co22 operation and Development with mobilizing private23 public sector partnerships among industry and civil 

24 society to help achieve equitable development objec25 tives. 
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1 (16) By supporting the purposes and objectives 

2 of development and applying such purposes and ob3 jectives to the Americas, a Social Investment and 

4 Economic Development Fund for the Americas has 

5 the potential to advance the national interests of the 

6 United States and directly improve the lives of the 

7 poor and marginalized groups, encourage broad8 based economic growth while protecting the environ9 ment, build human capital and knowledge, support 

10 meaningful participation in democracy, and promote 

11 peace and justice in the Americas. 

12 (b) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 

13 United States— 

14 (1) to promote market-based principles, eco15 nomic integration, social development, and trade in 

16 and between countries of the Americas by— 

17 (A) nurturing public-private partnerships 

18 and microenterprise development; 

19 (B) improving the quality of life and in20 vesting in human capital, specifically targeting 

21 education, health and disease prevention, nutri22 tion, and housing; 

23 (C) strengthening the rule of law through 

24 improved efficiency and transparency in govern-
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1 ment services and increasing civil society par2 ticipation in government; and 

3 (D) reducing poverty and eliminating the 

4 exclusion of marginalized populations, including 

5 people of African descent, indigenous groups, 

6 women, and people with disabilities; and 

7 (2) to establish an investment fund for the 

8 Western Hemisphere to advance the national inter9 ests of the United States, directly improve the lives 

10 of the poor and marginalized, encourage broad-based 

11 economic growth while protecting the environment, 

12 build human capital and knowledge, support mean13 ingful participation in democratic institutions and 

14 processes, and promote peace and justice in the 

15 Americas. 

16 SEC. 3. AMENDMENT TO FOREIGN ASSISTANCE ACT OF 

17 1961. 

18 Part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 

19 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

20 the following: 
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1 ‘‘CHAPTER 13—SOCIAL INVESTMENT AND 

2 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND FOR 

3 THE AMERICAS 

4 ‘‘SEC. 499H. AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE. 

5 ‘‘(a) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 

6 United States— 

7 ‘‘(1) to promote market-based principles, eco8 nomic integration, social development, and trade in 

9 and between countries of the Americas by— 

10 ‘‘(A) nurturing public-private partnerships 

11 and microenterprise development; 

12 ‘‘(B) improving the quality of life and in13 vesting in human capital, specifically targeting 

14 education, health and disease prevention, nutri15 tion, and housing; 

16 ‘‘(C) strengthening the rule of law through 

17 improved efficiency and transparency in govern18 ment services and increasing civil society par19 ticipation in government; and 

20 ‘‘(D) reducing poverty and eliminating the 

21 exclusion of marginalized populations, including 

22 people of African descent, indigenous groups, 

23 women, and people with disabilities; and 

24 ‘‘(2) to establish an investment fund for the 

25 Western Hemisphere to advance the national inter-
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1 ests of the United States, directly improve the lives 

2 of the poor and marginalized, encourage broad-based 

3 economic growth while protecting the environment, 

4 build human capital and knowledge, support mean5 ingful participation in democratic institutions and 

6 processes, and promote peace and justice in the 

7 Americas. 

8 ‘‘(b) IN GENERAL.—The President, acting through 

9 the Administrator of the United States Agency for Inter10 national Development, shall provide assistance to reduce 

11 poverty and foster increased economic opportunity in the 

12 countries of the Western Hemisphere by— 

13 ‘‘(1) nurturing public-private partnerships and 

14 microenterprise development; 

15 ‘‘(2) improving the quality of life and investing 

16 in human capital, specifically targeting education, 

17 health and disease prevention, nutrition, and hous18 ing; 

19 ‘‘(3) strengthening the rule of law through im20 proved efficiency and transparency in government 

21 services and increasing civil society participation in 

22 government; and 

23 ‘‘(4) reducing poverty and eliminating the ex24 clusion of marginalized populations, including people 
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1 of African descent, indigenous groups, women, and 

2 people with disabilities. 

3 ‘‘(c) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Assistance under 

4 this chapter may be provided on such other terms and con5 ditions as the President may determine, consistent with 

6 the goal of promoting economic and social development. 

7 ‘‘SEC. 499I. TECHNICAL REVIEW COMMITTEE. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is established within the 

9 United States Agency for International Development a 

10 technical review committee. 

11 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President, by and with 

13 the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint 

14 to serve on the technical review committee— 

15 ‘‘(A) individuals with technical expertise 

16 with respect to the development projects, in17 cluding grassroots development of Latin Amer18 ica and the Caribbean; and 

19 ‘‘(B) citizens of the United States with 

20 technical expertise with respect to development 

21 projects and business experience. 

22 ‘‘(2) CRITERIA FOR APPOINTMENT.—Technical 

23 expertise shall be the sole criterion in making ap24 pointments to the technical review committee. 
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1 ‘‘(c) DUTIES.—The technical review committee shall 

2 review all projects proposed for funding using assistance 

3 provided under section 499H(a), and make recommenda4 tions to the President with respect to the guidelines to 

5 be used in evaluating project proposals and the suitability 

6 of the proposed projects for funding. 

7 ‘‘(d) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—A member of the 

8 technical review committee shall not be permitted to re9 view an application submitted by an organization with 

10 which the member has been or is affiliated. 

11 ‘‘SEC. 499J. CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE. 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A country that receives assist13 ance under this chapter shall establish a Consultative 

14 Committee to make recommendations regarding how such 

15 assistance should be used to carry out the policy set out 

16 in section 499H(a). 

17 ‘‘(b) MEMBERSHIP.—A Consultative Committee 

18 should include individuals from civil society organizations 

19 that represent or have experience in working in the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(1) Marginalized populations. 

22 ‘‘(2) Trade and small farmer unions. 

23 ‘‘(3) Rural development and agrarian reform. 

24 ‘‘(4) Microenterprise and grassroots develop25 ment. 
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1 ‘‘(5) Access to government social services. 

2 ‘‘(6) Rule of law and government reform. 

3 ‘‘(c) DUTIES.—A Consultative Committee for a coun4 try shall— 

5 ‘‘(1) make recommendations to the technical re6 view committee established under section 499I and 

7 to the appropriate country mission of the United 

8 States Agency for International Development on 

9 projects proposed to receive assistance under section 

10 499H(a) that affect such country; 

11 ‘‘(2) have access documents and other informa12 tion related to project proposals and funding deci13 sions that affect such country; and 

14 ‘‘(3) develop and publish rules and procedures 

15 under which the Committee will carry out its duties. 

16 ‘‘(d) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—A member of the 

17 Consultative Committee may not be permitted to review 

18 an application submitted by an organization with which 

19 the member has been or is affiliated. 

20 ‘‘SEC. 499K. REPORT. 

21 ‘‘The President shall prepare and transmit to the 

22 Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, the Com23 mittee on International Relations of the House of Rep24 resentatives, and other appropriate congressional commit25 tees an annual report on the specific programs, projects, 
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1 and activities carried out under this chapter during the 

2 preceding year, including an evaluation of the results of 

3 such programs, projects, and activities. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 499L. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap6 propriated to carry out this chapter $250,000,000 for 

7 each of the fiscal years 2006 through 2010. 

8 ‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITIES.—Amounts appro9 priated pursuant to subsection (a)— 

10 ‘‘(1) may be referred to as the ‘United States 

11 Social Investment and Economic Development Fund 

12 for the Americas’; 

13 ‘‘(2) are authorized to remain available until ex14 pended; and 

15 ‘‘(3) are in addition to amounts otherwise avail16 able for such purposes. 

17 ‘‘(c) FUNDING LIMITATION.—Not more than 7 per18 cent of the amounts appropriated pursuant to subsection 

19 (a) for a fiscal year may be used for administrative ex20 penses.’’. 

21 SEC. 4. AMENDMENT TO THE INTER-AMERICAN DEVELOP22 MENT BANK ACT. 

23 The Inter-American Development Bank Act (22 

24 U.S.C. 283 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 

25 following: 
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1 ‘‘SEC. 39. SOCIAL INVESTMENT AND ECONOMIC DEVELOP2 MENT FUND FOR THE AMERICAS. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treasury 

4 shall instruct the United States Executive Director of the 

5 Bank to use the voice, vote, and influence of the United 

6 States to urge the Bank to establish an account to be 

7 known as the ‘Social Investment and Economic Develop8 ment Fund for the Americas’ (in this section referred to 

9 as the ‘Fund’), which is to be operated and administered 

10 by the Board of Executive Directors of the Bank con11 sistent with subsection (b). The United States Governor 

12 of the Bank may vote for a resolution transmitted by the 

13 Board of Executive Directors which provides for the estab14 lishment of such an account, and the operation and admin15 istration of the account consistent with subsection (b). 

16 ‘‘(b) GOVERNING RULES.— 

17 ‘‘(1) USE OF FUNDS.—The Fund shall be used 

18 to provide assistance to reduce poverty and foster in19 creased economic opportunity in the countries of the 

20 Western Hemisphere by— 

21 ‘‘(A) nurturing public-private partnerships 

22 and microenterprise development; 

23 ‘‘(B) improving the quality of life and in24 vesting in human capital, specifically targeting 

25 education, health and disease prevention, nutri26 tion, and housing; 
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1 ‘‘(C) strengthening the rule of law through 

2 improved efficiency and transparency in govern3 ment services and increasing civil society par4 ticipation in government; and 

5 ‘‘(D) reducing poverty and eliminating the 

6 exclusion of marginalized populations, including 

7 people of African descent, indigenous groups, 

8 women, and people with disabilities. 

9 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION FOR FUNDING THROUGH A

10 COMPETITIVE PROCESS.—Any interested person or 

11 organization may submit an application for funding 

12 by the Fund. 

13 ‘‘(3) TECHNICAL REVIEW COMMITTEE.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Fund shall have 

15 a technical review committee. 

16 ‘‘(B) MEMBERSHIP.— 

17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Board of Ex18 ecutive Directors of the Bank shall appoint 

19 to serve on the technical review committee 

20 individuals with technical expertise with re21 spect to the development of Latin America 

22 and the Caribbean. 

23 ‘‘(ii) CRITERIA FOR APPOINTMENT.— 

24 Technical expertise shall be the sole cri-
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1 terion in making appointments to the tech2 nical review committee. 

3 ‘‘(C) DUTIES.—The technical review com4 mittee shall review all projects proposed for 

5 funding by the Fund, and make recommenda6 tions to the Board of Executive Directors of the 

7 Bank with respect to the guidelines to be used 

8 in evaluating project proposals and the suit9 ability of the proposed projects for funding. 

10 ‘‘(D) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—A mem11 ber of the technical review committee shall not 

12 be permitted to review an application submitted 

13 by an organization with which the member has 

14 been or is affiliated. 

15 ‘‘(4) REVIEW OF PROPOSED PROJECTS.—Not 

16 more frequently than once each year, the Board of 

17 Executive Directors of the Bank shall review and 

18 make decisions on applications for projects to be 

19 funded by the Fund, in accordance with procedures 

20 which provide for transparency. The Board of Exec21 utive Directors shall provide advance notice to all in22 terested parties of any date on which such a review 

23 will be conducted. 

24 ‘‘(5) CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE.— 
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each country that re2 ceives assistance under this section shall estab3 lish a Consultative Committee to make rec4 ommendations regarding how such assistance 

5 should be used to carry out the policy set out 

6 in section 2(b) of the Social Investment and 

7 Economic Development Fund for the Americas 

8 Act of 2005. 

9 ‘‘(B) MEMBERSHIP.—A Consultative Com10 mittee should include individuals from civil soci11 ety organizations that represent or have experi12 ence in the following: 

13 ‘‘(i) Marginalized populations. 

14 ‘‘(ii) Trade and small farmer unions. 

15 ‘‘(iii) Rural development and agrarian 

16 reform. 

17 ‘‘(iv) Microenterprise and grassroots 

18 development. 

19 ‘‘(v) Access to government social serv20 ices. 

21 ‘‘(vi) Rule of law and government re22 form. 

23 ‘‘(C) DUTIES.—A Consultative Committee 

24 in a country shall— 
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1 ‘‘(i) make recommendations to the 

2 technical review committee established 

3 under paragraph (3) and appropriate coun4 try representative of the Bank on projects 

5 to receive assistance provided under this 

6 section that affect such country; 

7 ‘‘(ii) have access documents and other 

8 information related to project proposals 

9 and funding decisions that affect such 

10 country; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) develop and publish rules and 

12 procedures under which the Committee will 

13 carry out its duties. 

14 ‘‘(D) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—A mem15 ber of a Consultative Committee may not be 

16 permitted to review an application submitted by 

17 an organization with which the member has 

18 been or is affiliated. 

19 ‘‘(c) CONTRIBUTION AUTHORITY.—To the extent and 

20 in the amounts provided in advance in appropriations 

21 Acts, the United States Governor of the Bank may con22 tribute $1,250,000,000 to the Fund. 

23 ‘‘(d) LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORIZATION OF APPRO24 PRIATIONS.— 
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the contribution au2 thorized by subsection (c), there are authorized to be 

3 appropriated for payment to the Secretary of the 

4 Treasury $250,000,000 for each fiscal year begin5 ning with the fiscal year in which the resolution de6 scribed in subsection (a) is adopted. 

7 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITIES.—Amounts ap8 propriated pursuant to paragraph (1)— 

9 ‘‘(A) are authorized to remain available 

10 until expended; and 

11 ‘‘(B) are in addition to amounts otherwise 

12 available for such purposes. 

13 ‘‘(3) FUNDING LIMITATION.—Not more than 7 

14 percent of the amounts appropriated pursuant to 

15 paragraph (1) for a fiscal year may be used for ad16 ministrative expenses.’’. 

17 SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

18 It is the sense of Congress that— 

19 (1) the countries of the Western Hemisphere 

20 should collectively provide assistance equal to the 

21 amount of United States bilateral assistance pro22 vided under chapter 13 of part I of the Foreign As23 sistance Act of 1961, as added by section 3 of this 

24 Act, and multilateral assistance provided by the So25 cial Investment and Economic Development Fund 
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1 for the Americas under section 39 of the Inter2 American Development Bank Act, as added by sec3 tion 4 of this Act, for the same purpose for which 

4 such assistance was provided; 

5 (2) funds authorized to be appropriated to 

6 carry out this Act or the amendments made by this 

7 Act should be in addition to funds otherwise made 

8 available on an annual basis to countries in the 

9 Americas pursuant to other United States foreign 

10 assistance programs; and 

11 (3) it should be the policy of the United States 

12 to seek to increase the amount of assistance pro13 vided to the countries of the Americas from the 

14 United States and other members of the Inter-Amer15 ican Development Bank for a fiscal year beginning 

16 after the date of the enactment of this Act to an 

17 amount that is more than such amount provided 

18 during fiscal years beginning prior to such date. 

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