IIA
104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3846
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
JULY 31, 1996
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
AN ACT
To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize
the provision of assistance for microenterprises, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Microenterprise Act’’.
SEC. 2. MICRO- AND SMALL ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT
CREDITS.
Section 108 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961
(22 U.S.C. 2151f) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘SEC. 108. MICRO- AND SMALL ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT
CREDITS.
‘‘(a) FINDINGS AND POLICY.—The Congress finds
and declares that—
‘‘(1) the development of micro- and small enter-
prise, including cooperatives, is a vital factor in the
stable growth of developing countries and in the de-
velopment and stability of a free, open, and equi-
table international economic system;
‘‘(2) it is, therefore, in the best interests of the
United States to assist the development of the pri-
vate sector in developing countries and to engage the
United States private sector in that process;
‘‘(3) the support of private enterprise can be
served by programs providing credit, training, and
technical assistance for the benefit of micro- and
small enterprises; and
‘‘(4) programs that provide credit, training, and
technical assistance to private institutions can serve
as a valuable complement to grant assistance pro-
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vided for the purpose of benefiting micro- and small
private enterprise.
‘‘(b) PROGRAM.—To carry out the policy set forth in
subsection (a), the President is authorized to provide as-
sistance to increase the availability of credit to micro- and
small enterprises lacking full access to credit, including
through—
‘‘(1) loans and guarantees to credit institutions
for the purpose of expanding the availability of cred-
it to micro- and small enterprises;
‘‘(2) training programs for lenders in order to
enable them to better meet the credit needs of
micro- and small entrepreneurs; and
‘‘(3) training programs for micro- and small en-
trepreneurs in order to enable them to make better
use of credit and to better manage their enter-
prises.’’.
SEC. 3. MICROENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT GRANT ASSIST-
ANCE.
Chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act
of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) is amended by adding
at the end the following new section:
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‘‘SEC. 129. MICROENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT GRANT AS-
SISTANCE.
‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.—(1) In carrying out this part,
the Administrator of the United States Agency for Inter-
national Development is authorized to provide grant as-
sistance for programs of credit and other assistance for
microenterprises in developing countries.
‘‘(2) Assistance authorized under paragraph (1) shall
be provided through organizations that have a capacity to
develop and implement microenterprise programs, includ-
ing particularly—
‘‘(A) United States and indigenous private and
voluntary organizations;
‘‘(B) United States and indigenous credit
unions and cooperative organizations; or
‘‘(C) other indigenous governmental and non-
governmental organizations.
‘‘(3) Approximately one-half of the credit assistance
authorized under paragraph (1) shall be used for poverty
lending programs, including the poverty lending portion
of mixed programs. Such programs—
‘‘(A) shall meet the needs of the very poor
members of society, particularly poor women; and
‘‘(B) should provide loans of $300 or less in
1995 United States dollars to such poor members of
society.
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‘‘(4) The Administrator should continue support for
mechanisms that—
‘‘(A) provide technical support for field mis-
sions;
‘‘(B) strengthen the institutional development
of the intermediary organizations described in para-
graph (2); and
‘‘(C) share information relating to the provision
of assistance authorized under paragraph (1) be-
tween such field missions and intermediary organiza-
tions.
‘‘(b) MONITORING SYSTEM.—In order to maximize
the sustainable development impact of the assistance au-
thorized under subsection (a)(1), the Administrator should
establish a monitoring system that—
‘‘(1) establishes performance goals for such as-
sistance and expresses such goals in an objective and
quantifiable form, to the extent feasible;
‘‘(2) establishes performance indicators to be
used in measuring or assessing the achievement of
the goals and objectives of such assistance; and
‘‘(3) provides a basis for recommendations for
adjustments to such assistance to enhance the sus-
tainable development impact of such assistance, par-
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ticularly the impact of such assistance on the very
poor, particularly poor women.’’.
Passed the House of Representatives July 29, 1996.
Attest:
ROBIN H. CARLE,
Clerk.