I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2299 
To establish a review of United States multilateral aid. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 12, 2019 
Mr. BUCK (for himself and Mr. MCCAUL) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
A BILL 
To establish a review of United States multilateral aid. 
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 ‘‘Multilateral Aid Re-
view Act of 2019’’. 
SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 
The purpose of this Act is to establish a United 
States Multilateral Aid Review (in this Act referred to as 
the ‘‘Review’’) to publicly assess the value of United States 
Government investments in multilateral entities. 
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SEC. 3. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE-
FINED. 
In this Act, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means— 
(1) the Committee on Foreign Relations and 
the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and 
(2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 
Committee on Financial Services, and the Com-
mittee on Appropriations of the House of Represent-
atives. 
SEC. 4. OBJECTIVES. 
The objectives of the Review are as follows: 
(1) Provide a tool to guide the United States 
Government’s decisionmaking and prioritization with 
regard to funding multilateral entities and to provide 
a methodological basis for allocating scarce budg-
etary resources to entities that advance relevant 
United States foreign policy objectives. 
(2) Incentivize improvements in the perform-
ance of multilateral entities to achieve better out-
comes on the ground in developing, fragile, and cri-
sis-afflicted regions. 
(3) Protect United States taxpayer investments 
in foreign assistance by improving transparency with 
regard to the funding of multilateral entities. 
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SEC. 5. SCOPE. 
The Review shall include in its assessment multilat-
eral entities to which the United States Government con-
tributes voluntary or assessed funding, whether cash or 
in-kind. 
SEC. 6. TRIENNIAL REPORT ON REVIEW. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than twenty-one months 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 
three years thereafter, the United States Multilateral Aid 
Review Task Force established under section 7, in regular 
consultation with the Peer Review Group established 
under section 8, shall submit to the appropriate congres-
sional committees a final report on the findings of the Re-
view. The Secretary of State shall publish the report on 
the internet website of the Department of State within 
seven days of submitting the report to the appropriate 
congressional committees. 
(b) METHODOLOGY.— 
(1) USE OF CRITERIA.—The Task Force shall 
establish an analytical framework and assessment 
scorecard for the Review using the criteria set forth 
in subsection (c). 
(2) CONSULTATION
WITH
CONGRESS.—Not 
later than 120 days after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Task Force shall submit the method-
ology for the initial Review to the appropriate con-
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gressional committees. The Task Force may not pro-
ceed with the Review until 30 days after submission 
of the methodology to the appropriate congressional 
committees, taking into consideration the views of 
the Chairmen and Ranking Members of each of the 
appropriate congressional committees. For each sub-
sequent Review, the Task Force shall consult with 
the Chairmen and Ranking Members of each of the 
appropriate congressional committees regarding any 
changes to the methodology. 
(c) ASSESSMENT CRITERIA.—The assessment score-
card shall include the following criteria: 
(1) RELATIONSHIP OF STATED GOALS TO AC-
TUAL
RESULTS.—The extent to which the stated 
mission, goals, and objectives of the entity have been 
achieved during the review period, including— 
(A) an identification of the stated mission, 
goals, and objectives of each entity; 
(B) an evaluation of the major projects 
and programs selected for implementation by 
the entity in comparison with the stated mis-
sion, goals, and objectives of the entity; 
(C) an evaluation of whether the major 
projects and programs selected by the entity 
within the given review period were more likely 
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respect to disclosure of the compensation of 
senior leadership officials. 
(4) ALIGNMENT WITH UNITED STATES FOREIGN 
POLICY OBJECTIVES.—The extent to which the poli-
cies and practices of the entity align with relevant 
United States foreign policy objectives, including— 
(A) an evaluation of the entity’s stated 
mission, goals, and objectives in comparison to 
relevant United States foreign policy objectives; 
(B) an evaluation of whether continued 
participation by the United States in the entity 
contributes a net benefit towards achieving rel-
evant United States foreign policy objectives, 
including the reasons for the conclusion; and 
(C) an evaluation of any divergence be-
tween the actions of the entity and relevant 
United States foreign policy objectives. 
(5) MULTILATERAL APPROACH COMPARED TO 
BILATERAL APPROACH.—The extent to which pur-
suing relevant United States foreign policy objectives 
through a multilateral approach is effective and cost- 
efficient compared to a bilateral approach, includ-
ing— 
(A) an evaluation of whether relevant 
United States foreign policy objectives are effec-
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tively pursued through the entity, compared to 
existing or potential bilateral approaches; and 
(B) an evaluation of whether relevant 
United States foreign policy objectives are pur-
sued on a cost-effective basis through the enti-
ty, compared to existing or potential bilateral 
approaches. 
(6) REDUNDANCIES AND OVERLAP.—The extent 
to which the mission, goals, and objectives of the en-
tity overlap with the mission, goals, and objectives of 
other multilateral institutions to which United 
States Government entities contribute voluntary or 
assessed funding, whether cash or in-kind, includ-
ing— 
(A) 
an 
identification 
of 
significant 
redundancies or overlap with the mission, goals, 
and objectives of other multilateral entities to 
which United States Government entities con-
tribute voluntary or assessed funding, whether 
cash or in-kind; and 
(B) a comparison of the extent to which 
relevant United States foreign policy objectives 
are effectively pursued on a cost-effective basis 
through each of the overlapping entities. 
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SEC. 7. UNITED STATES MULTILATERAL REVIEW TASK 
FORCE. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President shall establish 
an interagency Multilateral Review Task Force (referred 
to in this Act as the ‘‘Task Force’’) to review and assess 
United States participation in multilateral entities identi-
fied in section 5 and to develop and transmit to the appro-
priate congressional committees the reports required 
under section 6. 
(b) LEADERSHIP.—The Task Force shall be chaired 
by the Secretary of State. The Secretary may delegate his 
or her responsibilities under this Act to an appropriate 
senior Senate-confirmed official. 
(c) MEMBERSHIP.—The President may appoint to 
the interagency Task Force senior Senate-confirmed offi-
cials from the Department of State, the Department of 
the Treasury, the United States Agency for International 
Development, the Office of Management and Budget, and 
any other relevant executive branch department or agency. 
(d) CONSULTATION.—In the preparation of each re-
port under section 6, including the initial review of meth-
odology, the Task Force shall consult regularly with the 
Peer Review Group established under section 8. 
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SEC. 8. UNITED STATES MULTILATERAL AID REVIEW PEER 
REVIEW GROUP. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the 
United States Multilateral Aid Review Peer Review Group 
(referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Peer Review Group’’). 
(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 
(1) COMPOSITION.—The Peer Review Group 
shall be composed of 8 nongovernmental volunteer 
members, of whom— 
(A) two shall be appointed by the majority 
leader of the Senate; 
(B) two shall be appointed by the minority 
leader of the Senate; 
(C) two shall be appointed by the Speaker 
of the House of Representatives; and 
(D) two shall be appointed by the minority 
leader of the House of Representatives. 
(2) APPOINTMENT CRITERIA.—The members of 
the Peer Review Group shall have appropriate exper-
tise and knowledge of the multilateral entities sub-
ject to the Review established by this Act. In making 
appointments to the Peer Review Group, potential 
conflicts of interest should be taken into account. 
(3) DATE.—The initial appointments of the 
members of the Peer Review Group shall be made 
not later than 100 days after the date of the enact-
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ment of this Act, and the terms of such appoint-
ments shall begin on that date. 
(4) CHAIRMAN AND VICE CHAIRMAN.—The Peer 
Review Group shall select a Chairman and Vice 
Chairman from among the members of the Peer Re-
view Group. 
(c) EXPERT ANALYSIS.—The Peer Review Group 
shall meet regularly with the Task Force, including re-
garding the initial review of methodology, to offer their 
expertise of the funding and performance of multilateral 
entities. 
(d) REVIEW OF REPORT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days be-
fore submitting each report required under section 
6(a), the Task Force shall transmit a draft of the 
report to the Peer Review Group and the appro-
priate congressional committees. 
(2) REVIEW.—The Peer Review Group shall re-
view the draft report submitted under paragraph (1) 
and provide to the Task Force and the appropriate 
congressional committees not later than 90 days be-
fore the submission of each report required under 
section 6(a) the following: 
(A) An analysis of the conclusions of the 
report. 
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(B) An analysis of the established meth-
odologies used to reach conclusions in the re-
port. 
(C) An analysis of the evidence used to 
reach conclusions in the report. 
(D) Any additional comments to improve 
the evaluations and analysis of the report. 
(e) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT; VACANCIES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Each member of the Peer 
Review Group shall be appointed for a 6-year term 
and may be reappointed under subsection (b)(1) for 
one additional term. 
(2) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the Peer Re-
view Group— 
(A) shall not affect the powers of the Peer 
Review Group; and 
(B) shall be filled in the same manner as 
the original appointment. 
(f) MEETINGS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Peer Review Group 
shall meet at the call of the Chairman. 
(2) INITIAL
MEETING.—Not later than 120 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Peer Review Group shall hold its first meeting. 
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