SEC. 3. ACTIONS TO IMPROVE GENDER POLICIES OF THE 
UNITED 
STATES 
AGENCY 
FOR 
INTER-
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT. 
(a) DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION POLICY.—It shall be 
the development cooperation policy of the United States— 
(1) to reduce gender disparities in access to, con-
trol over, and benefit from economic, social, political, 
and cultural resources, wealth, opportunities, and 
services; 
(2) to strive to eliminate gender-based violence 
and mitigate its harmful effects on individuals and 
communities through efforts to develop standards and 
capacity to reduce gender-based violence in the work-
place and other places where women conduct work; 
(3) to support activities that secure private prop-
erty rights and land tenure for women in developing 
countries, including legal frameworks to give women 
equal rights to own, register, use, profit from, and in-
herit land and property, legal literacy to exercise 
these rights, and capacity of law enforcement and 
community leaders to enforce such rights; and 
(4) to increase the capability of women and girls 
to realize their rights, determine their life outcomes, 
assume leadership roles, and influence decision-mak-
ing in households, communities, and societies. 
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(b) ACTIONS.—In order to advance the policy described 
in subsection (a), the Administrator of the United States 
Agency for International Development shall ensure that— 
(1) strategies, projects, and activities of the 
Agency are shaped by a gender analysis and, when 
applicable, use standard indicators to provide one 
measure of success of such strategies, projects, and ac-
tivities; and 
(2) gender equality and female empowerment is 
integrated throughout the Agency’s Program Cycle 
and related processes for purposes of strategic plan-
ning, project design and implementation, and moni-
toring and evaluation. 
(c) GENDER ANALYSIS DEFINED.—In this section, the 
term ‘‘gender analysis’’— 
(1) means a socio-economic analysis of available 
or gathered quantitative and qualitative information 
to identify, understand, and explain gaps between 
men and women which typically involves exam-
ining— 
(A) differences in the status of women and 
men and their differential access to and control 
over assets, resources, opportunities, and services; 
(B) the influence of gender roles, structural 
barriers, and norms on the division of time be-
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tween paid employment, unpaid work (including 
subsistence production and care for family mem-
bers), and volunteer activities; 
(C) the influence of gender roles, structural 
barriers, and norms on leadership roles and deci-
sion making; constraints, opportunities, and 
entry points for narrowing gender gaps and em-
powering women; and 
(D) potential differential impacts of devel-
opment policies and programs on men and 
women, including unintended or negative con-
sequences; and 
(2) includes conclusions and recommendations to 
enable development policies and programs to narrow 
gender gaps and improve the lives of women and 
girls. 
SEC. 4. DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE FOR MICRO, SMALL 
AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES. 
(a) FINDINGS AND POLICY.—Section 251 of the For-
eign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2211) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘microenterprise’’ and in-
serting ‘‘micro, small and medium-sized enter-
prise’’; 
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(B) by striking ‘‘and in the development’’ 
and inserting ‘‘, in the development’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end before the period 
the following: ‘‘, and in the economic empower-
ment of the poor, especially women’’; 
(2) in paragraph (2)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘microenterprise’’ and in-
serting ‘‘micro, small and medium-sized enter-
prise’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end before the period 
the following: ‘‘, particularly those enterprises 
owned, managed, and controlled by women’’; 
(3) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘microenter-
prises’’ and inserting ‘‘micro, small and medium- 
sized enterprises’’; 
(4) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘microenter-
prise’’ and inserting ‘‘micro, small and medium-sized 
enterprise’’; 
(5) in paragraph (5)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘should continue’’ and in-
serting ‘‘should continue and be expanded’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘microenterprise and micro-
finance development assistance’’ and inserting 
‘‘development assistance for micro, small and 
medium-sized enterprises’’; and 
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(6) in paragraph (6)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘have been successful’’ and 
inserting ‘‘have had some success’’; 
(B) by striking ‘‘microenterprise programs’’ 
and inserting ‘‘development assistance for micro, 
small and medium-sized enterprises’’; and 
(C) by striking ‘‘, such as countries in 
Latin America’’. 
(b) AUTHORIZATION; IMPLEMENTATION; TARGETED 
ASSISTANCE.—Section 252 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 
1961 (22 U.S.C. 2211a) is amended as follows: 
(1) In subsection (a)— 
(A) in the matter preceding paragraph 
(1)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘credit, savings, and 
other services’’ and inserting ‘‘credit, in-
cluding the use of innovative credit scoring 
models, savings, financial technology, finan-
cial literacy, insurance, property rights, 
and other services’’; and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘microfinance and mi-
croenterprise clients’’ and inserting ‘‘micro, 
small and medium-sized enterprise clients’’; 
(B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘micro-
finance and microenterprise clients’’ and insert-
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ing ‘‘micro, small and medium-sized enterprise 
clients, particularly those clients owned, man-
aged, and controlled by women’’; 
(C) in paragraph (2)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘microenterprises’’ and 
inserting ‘‘micro, small and medium-sized 
enterprises’’; and 
(ii) by inserting ‘‘acquire United 
States goods and services,’’ after ‘‘United 
States markets,’’; 
(D) in paragraph (3)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘microfinance and mi-
croenterprise institutions’’ and inserting 
‘‘financial intermediaries’’; 
(ii) by striking ‘‘microfinance and mi-
croenterprise clients’’ and inserting ‘‘micro, 
small and medium-sized enterprises’’; and 
(iii) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(E) in paragraph (4)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘microfinance and mi-
croenterprise clients and institutions’’ and 
inserting ‘‘micro, small and medium-sized 
enterprises, financial intermediaries, and 
capital markets’’; and 
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(ii) by striking ‘‘the poor and very 
poor.’’ and inserting ‘‘the poor and very 
poor, especially women;’’; and 
(F) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(5) assistance for the purpose of promoting the 
economic empowerment of women, including through 
increased access to financial resources and improving 
property rights, inheritance rights, and other legal 
protections; and 
‘‘(6) assistance for the purpose of scaling up evi-
dence-based graduation approaches, which include 
targeting the very poor and households in ultra-pov-
erty, consumption support, promotion of savings, 
skills training, and asset transfers.’’. 
(2) In subsection (b)— 
(A) in paragraph (1) to read as follows: 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be es-
tablished within the Agency an office to support the 
Agency’s efforts to broaden and deepen local financial 
markets, expand access to appropriate financial prod-
ucts and services, and support the development of 
micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. The Office 
shall be headed by a Director who shall possess tech-
nical expertise and ability to offer leadership in the 
field of financial sector development.’’; 
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(B) in paragraph (2)— 
(i) in subparagraph (B)— 
(I) by striking ‘‘USE OF CENTRAL 
FUNDING
MECHANISMS.—’’ and all 
that follows through ‘‘In order to en-
sure’’ and inserting ‘‘USE OF CENTRAL 
FUNDING
MECHANISMS.—In order to 
ensure’’; 
(II) by striking ‘‘the office shall’’ 
and all that follows through ‘‘and other 
practitioners’’ and inserting ‘‘the office 
shall provide coordination and support 
for field-implemented programs, in-
cluding through targeted core support 
for micro, small and medium-sized en-
terprises and local financial markets’’; 
and 
(III) by striking clause (ii); 
(ii) in subparagraph (C)— 
(I) by inserting ‘‘, particularly by 
protecting the use and funding of local 
organizations in countries in which the 
Agency invests,’’ after ‘‘and sustain-
ability’’; and 
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(II) by inserting ‘‘, especially 
women’’ after ‘‘the poor and very 
poor’’; and 
(C) by striking paragraph (3). 
(3) In subsection (c)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘all microenterprise re-
sources’’ and inserting ‘‘all micro, small and me-
dium-sized enterprise resources’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘clients who are very poor.’’ 
and all that follows and inserting ‘‘activities 
that reach the very poor, and 50 percent of all 
small and medium-sized enterprise resources 
shall be targeted to activities that reach enter-
prises owned, managed, and controlled by 
women.’’. 
(c) MONITORING SYSTEM.—Section 253(b) of the For-
eign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2211b(b)) is amend-
ed— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘, including 
goals on a gender disaggregated basis, such as im-
provements in employment, access to financial serv-
ices, enterprise development, earnings and control 
over income, and property and land rights,’’ after 
‘‘performance goals’’; 
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(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘include per-
formance indicators’’ and all that follows through 
‘‘the achievement’’ and inserting ‘‘incorporate Agency 
planning and reporting processes and indicators to 
measure or assess the achievement’’; and 
(3) by striking paragraph (4). 
(d) POVERTY MEASUREMENT METHODS.—Section 254 
of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2211c) 
is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 254. POVERTY MEASUREMENT METHODS. 
‘‘The Administrator of the Agency, in consultation 
with financial intermediaries and other appropriate orga-
nizations, should have in place at least one method for im-
plementing partners to use to assess poverty levels of their 
current incoming or prospective clients.’’. 
(e) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITIES.—Section 255 of the 
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2211d) is amend-
ed— 
(1) by striking ‘‘assistance for microenterprise 
development assistance’’ and inserting ‘‘development 
assistance for micro, small and medium-sized enter-
prises’’; and 
(2) by striking ‘‘and, to the extent applicable’’ 
and all that follows and inserting a period. 
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(f) MICROENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT CREDITS.—Sec-
tion 256 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 
2212) is amended— 
(1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘MICRO-
ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT CREDITS’’ and in-
serting ‘‘DEVELOPMENT
CREDITS
FOR
MICRO, 
SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES’’; 
(2) in subsection (a)— 
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘micro- 
and small enterprises’’ and inserting ‘‘micro, 
small and medium-sized enterprises’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘micro-
enterprises’’ and inserting ‘‘micro, small and 
medium-sized enterprises’’; 
(3) in subsection (b), in the matter preceding 
paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘and other financial 
services’’ after ‘‘credit’’; 
(4) by striking ‘‘microenterprise households’’ 
each place it appears and inserting ‘‘micro, small 
and medium-sized enterprises and households’’; and 
(5) by striking ‘‘microfinance institutions’’ each 
place it appears and inserting ‘‘financial inter-
mediaries’’. 
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(h) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—Subsection (b) of section 
258 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2214) 
is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(b) CONTENTS.—To the extent practicable, the report 
should contain the following: 
‘‘(1) Information about assistance provided 
under section 252, including— 
‘‘(A) the amount of each grant or other form 
of assistance; 
‘‘(B) the name and type of each inter-
mediary and implementing partner organization 
receiving assistance; 
‘‘(C) the name of each country receiving as-
sistance; and 
‘‘(D) the methodology used to ensure compli-
ance with the targeted assistance requirements in 
subsection (c) of such section. 
‘‘(2) The percentage of assistance provided under 
section 252 disaggregated by income level, including 
for the very poor, and gender. 
‘‘(3) The estimated number of individuals that 
received assistance provided under section 252 
disaggregated by income level, including for the very 
poor, and gender, and by type of assistance, including 
loans, training, and business development services. 
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‘‘(4) The results of the monitoring system re-
quired under section 253. 
‘‘(5) Information about any method in place to 
assess poverty levels under section 254.’’. 
(i) DEFINITIONS.—Section 259 of the Foreign Assist-
ance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2214a) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘Committee on 
International Relations’’ and inserting ‘‘Committee 
on Foreign Affairs’’; 
(2) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘microenter-
prises’’ and inserting ‘‘micro, small and medium- 
sized enterprises’’; 
(3) in paragraph (6)— 
(A) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘mi-
croenterprise institution’’ and inserting ‘‘micro, 
small and medium-sized enterprise institution’’; 
and 
(B) in subparagraph (F), by striking 
‘‘microfinance institution’’ and inserting ‘‘finan-
cial intermediary’’; 
(4) in paragraph (7) to read as follows: 
‘‘(7) MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTER-
PRISE INSTITUTION.—The term ‘micro, small and me-
dium-sized enterprise institution’ means an entity 
that provides services, including finance, training, or 
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business development services, for micro, small and 
medium-sized enterprises in foreign countries.’’; 
(5) in paragraph (8) to read as follows: 
‘‘(8) FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARY.—The term ‘fi-
nancial intermediary’ means the entity that acts as 
the intermediary between parties in a financial 
transaction, such as a bank, credit union, investment 
fund, a village savings and loan group, or an institu-
tion that provides financial services to a micro, small 
or medium-sized enterprise.’’; 
(6) by striking paragraph (9); 
(7) by redesignating paragraphs (10) through 
(14) as paragraphs (9) through (13), respectively; 
(8) in paragraph (9) (as redesignated), by strik-
ing ‘‘of microenterprise development’’; 
(9) in paragraph (10) to read as follows: 
‘‘(10) PRACTITIONER
INSTITUTION.—The term 
‘practitioner institution’ means a not-for-profit enti-
ty, financial intermediary, information and commu-
nications technology firm with a mobile money plat-
form, a village and savings loan group, or any other 
entity that provides financial or business development 
services authorized under section 252 that benefits 
micro, small and medium-sized enterprise clients.’’; 
(10) in paragraph (12) (as redesignated)— 
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(A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘UNITED 
STATES-SUPPORTED
MICROFINANCE
INSTITU-
TION’’ and inserting ‘‘UNITED
STATES-SUP-
PORTED FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARY’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘United States-supported 
microfinance institution’’ and inserting ‘‘United 
States-supported financial intermediary’’; 
(11) in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (13) (as 
redesignated) to read as follows: 
‘‘(B) living below the International Poverty 
Line, as defined by the International Bank for 
Reconstruction and Development and the Inter-
national Development Association (collectively 
referred to as the ‘World Bank’).’’. 
(j) TECHNICAL
AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
Title VI of chapter 2 of part I of the Foreign Assistance 
Act of 1961 is amended as follows: 
(1) In the title heading, by striking ‘‘MICROEN-
TERPRISE DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE’’ and 
inserting ‘‘DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE FOR 
MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM–SIZED ENTER-
PRISES’’. 
(2) In the heading for subtitle C, by striking 
‘‘United States Microfinance Loan Facility’’ and in-
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serting ‘‘United States Micro, Small and Medium- 
Sized Microfinance Loan Facility’’. 
SEC. 5. REPORT AND BRIEFING BY UNITED STATES AGENCY 
FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 
United States Agency for International Development shall 
provide a briefing and submit to the Committee on Foreign 
Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report on the imple-
mentation of this Act and the amendments made by this 
Act, including actions to improve the gender policies of the 
United States Agency for International Development pursu-
ant to section 3. 
(b) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The report required under 
paragraph (1) shall be posted and made available on a text- 
based, searchable, and publicly-available internet website. 
SEC. 6. REPORT BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE 
UNITED STATES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than two years after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 
of the United States shall submit to the Committee on For-
eign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report on devel-
opment assistance for micro, small and medium-sized enter-
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prises administered by the United States Agency for Inter-
national Development. 
(b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The report required 
under subsection (a) shall include an assessment of the fol-
lowing: 
(1) What is known about the impact of such de-
velopment assistance on the economies of developing 
countries. 
(2) The extent to which such development assist-
ance is targeting women and the very poor, including 
what is known about how such development assistance 
benefits women. 
(3) The extent to which the United States Agency 
for International Development has developed a meth-
odology used to ensure compliance with the targeted 
assistance requirement in section 252(c) of the For-
eign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended by section 4 
of this Act, and the quality of such methodology. 
(4) The monitoring system required in section 
253(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as 
amended by section 4 of this Act, including the qual-
ity of such monitoring system. 
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Union Calendar No. 553 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5480 
[Report No. 115–718] 
A BILL 
To improve programs and activities relating to 
women’s entrepreneurship and economic em-
powerment that are carried out by the United 
States Agency for International Development, 
and for other purposes. 
JUNE 8, 2018 
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 
and ordered to be printed 
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