I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 3568
To provide assistance to address long-term food production and rural
development needs in Afghanistan and the Central Asian Republics.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
DECEMBER 20, 2001
Mr. BEREUTER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on International Relations
A BILL
To provide assistance to address long-term food production
and rural development needs in Afghanistan and the
Central Asian Republics.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Afghanistan and Cen-
tral Asian Republics Sustainable Food Production Act of
2001’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that—
(1) abject poverty and the inability to produce
food, even at the subsistence level, in the rural,
mountainous areas of Afghanistan and the Central
Asian Republics have plagued the region for over 20
years;
(2) extended food shortages in this region have
resulted in the consumption of seed supplies and
breeding livestock necessary to continue farming and
food production;
(3) ongoing and violent conflict in the region
has badly damaged or destroyed the basic irrigation
systems necessary for food production;
(4) despite the delivery of over $185,000,000 in
aid from the United States in fiscal year 2001 to-
ward humanitarian assistance needs in Afghanistan,
millions of people remain at risk of severe malnutri-
tion and starvation in the short- and long-terms;
(5) on October 4, 2001, President George W.
Bush announced that the people of Afghanistan, and
the governments of Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan,
Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan will receive an addi-
tional $320,000,000 humanitarian assistance pack-
age for emergency food and refugee assistance to ad-
dress the region’s immediate needs during the war
on terrorism; and
(6) in addition to addressing short-term emer-
gency assistance needs in Afghanistan and the
mountainous regions of the Central Asian Republics,
addressing the long-term food production and rural
development issues in region will be critical to at-
taining some stability in the region.
SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE.
(a) ASSISTANCE.—The Administrator of the United
States Agency for International Development shall provide
assistance in accordance with the provisions of this Act
to develop sustainable food production for Afghanistan
and the mountainous regions of other countries of Central
Asia through restocking seed, replacing breeding livestock,
restoring basic irrigation systems, and providing access to
credit for food production, processing, or marketing enter-
prises through rural microenterprise loan programs.
(b) PROGRAM OBJECTIVES.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—In providing assistance
under subsection (a), the Administrator shall provide
only grants to nongovernmental organizations for
the purpose of carrying out the activities described
in paragraph (2) in Afghanistan and the other coun-
tries of Central Asia in accordance with this section.
(2) ACTIVITIES SUPPORTED.—
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Among the activities
for which the Administrator may provide grants
shall be—
(i) procurement of seed for local food
production;
(ii) replacement of breeding livestock;
(iii) restoration of basic irrigation sys-
tems;
(iv) establishment of access to credit
for food production, processing, or mar-
keting enterprises through rural micro-
enterprise loan programs; and
(v) providing technical assistance.
(B) LIMITATION.—Amounts received under
a grant shall not be used to carry out activities
related to emergencies or disasters.
(3) APPLICATIONS.—A nongovernmental orga-
nization that desires to receive a grant under this
section shall submit an application for the grant to
the Administrator. The application should be devel-
oped by the nongovernmental organization in close
consultation with local indigenous entities, or associ-
ated persons of a village or villages, located in the
country within which the activities supported by the
grant will be carried out.
(4) IMPLEMENTATION
OF
PROGRAM
OBJEC-
TIVES.—In carrying out the objectives of paragraph
(1), the Administrator shall—
(A) coordinate the activities with govern-
ments of other countries authorized to receive
grants under this section, local and regional
governments of such countries, nongovern-
mental organizations operating in such coun-
tries, and private donors;
(B) provide minimal supplementary grants
for associated administrative costs to the na-
tional and regional governments of the country
for which grants to nongovernmental organiza-
tions are approved under this section;
(C) provide oversight of grants disbursed
under this section, including procedures under
which a nongovernmental organization that mis-
uses grant funds or otherwise fails to ade-
quately carry out the activities described in
paragraph (2) should be disqualified from re-
ceiving additional grants under this section for
not less than 1 year; and
(D) coordinate efforts with national, re-
gional, and local government officials to conduct
an annual review of disbursement of grant
funds and the effectiveness of activities carried
out with grant funds.
(c) RESTRICTION RELATING TO THE USE OF UNITED
STATES FUNDS IN AFGHANISTAN.—Funds made available
under this Act shall not be used during a fiscal year for
any activity in Afghanistan which is described in sub-
section (b)(2) unless the Secretary of State certifies for
the fiscal year that there has been substantial progress
made toward the establishment of a government in Af-
ghanistan that meets the following requirements:
(1) The government includes broad representa-
tion from the diverse ethnic and religious groups of
Afghanistan, including both men and women from
such groups.
(2) The government does not sponsor terrorism
or harbor terrorists.
(3) The government demonstrates a strong and
determined commitment to eliminating the produc-
tion of opium-producing poppies.
(4) The government meets the conditions out-
lined in the United Nations Universal Declaration of
Human Rights.
SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATION.
It is the sense of the Congress that the Administrator
should establish—
(1) criteria for the selection of projects to re-
ceive support under this Act;
(2) standards and criteria regarding qualifica-
tions of recipients of such support;
(3) such rules and procedures as may be nec-
essary for projects that receive support under this
Act;
(4) such rules and procedures as may be nec-
essary to ensure transparency and accountability in
the grant-making process; and
(5) criteria for an annual review process for all
projects receiving grants.
SEC. 5. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.
(a) ANNUAL REPORTS BY ADMINISTRATOR.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after
the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually
thereafter for the subsequent 4 fiscal years, the Ad-
ministrator shall submit to the appropriate commit-
tees of Congress a report on the implementation of
this Act.
(2) REPORT ELEMENTS.—The report shall in-
clude a description of—
(A) the programs, projects, and activities
supported by grants made under this Act;
(B) the criteria that have been established
that are used to determine the programs and
activities that should be assisted by grants
made under this Act;
(C) an assessment regarding the extent to
which the Government of Afghanistan does or
does not meet the requirements of section 3(c)
for that fiscal year; and
(D) with respect to a fiscal year for which
Afghanistan is eligible to receive a grant under
section 3, the impact of programming on food
production and rural development in Afghani-
stan.
(b) GAO REPORT ON EFFECTIVENESS.—Not later
than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act,
the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit
to the appropriate committees of Congress a report evalu-
ating the effectiveness of grants made under this Act, in-
cluding the effectiveness of the programs, projects, and
activities described in subsection (a)(2)(A) in building sus-
tainable food production and rural microenterprise loans
in the countries authorized to receive grants under this
section.
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
In addition to any other funds authorized to be ap-
propriated for bilateral programs related to sustainable
food production and microenterprise systems, there is au-
thorized to be appropriated to the Administrator
$25,000,000 for fiscal year 2002 and $50,000,000 for
each of the fiscal years 2003 through 2006 to carry out
this Act. Of the amount appropriated pursuant to the au-
thorization of appropriations under the preceding sentence
for a fiscal year 60 percent should be designated for
grants for Afghanistan.
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-
trator’’ means the Administrator of the United
States Agency for International Development.
(2) APPROPRIATE
COMMITTEES.—The term
‘‘appropriate committees’’ means the Committee on
Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropria-
tions of the Senate and the Committee on Inter-
national Relations and the Committee on Appropria-
tions of the House of Representatives.
(3) OTHER
COUNTRIES
OF
CENTRAL
ASIA.—
The term ‘‘other countries of Central Asia’’ means
Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan,
and Uzbekistan.
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