(2) the significance of the volume of such trans-
fers, relative to the external financial flows of the re-
ceiving country; and 
(3) the feasibility of such an expansion. 
(b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Before the end of the 
180-day period beginning on the date of the enactment 
of this Act, and on April 30 biannually thereafter, the 
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall 
submit a report to the Committee on Banking, Housing, 
and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 
Financial Services of the House of Representatives on the 
status of the automated clearinghouse system and its 
progress in complying with the requirements of this sec-
tion. 
SEC. 6. EXPANSION OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTION PROVI-
SION OF REMITTANCE TRANSFERS. 
(a) PROVISION OF GUIDELINES TO INSTITUTIONS.—
Each of the Federal banking agencies (as defined in sec-
tion 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act) and the Na-
tional Credit Union Administration shall provide guide-
lines to financial institutions under the jurisdiction of the 
agency regarding—
(1) the offering of low-cost remittance transfers 
and no-cost or low-cost basic consumer accounts;
(2) the availability of agency services to remit-
tance transfer providers; and 
(3) specific options for financial institutions to 
use to take advantage of automated clearing sys-
tems, including the FedACH International Services 
offered by the Board of Governors of the Federal 
Reserve System and the Federal reserve banks, to 
transmit remittances at low cost. 
(b) CONTENT OF GUIDELINES.—Guidelines provided 
to financial institutions under this section shall include—
(1) information as to the methods of providing 
remittance transfer services; 
(2) the potential economic opportunities in pro-
viding low-cost remittance transfers; and 
(3) the potential value to financial institutions 
of broadening their financial bases to include per-
sons that use remittance transfers. 
(c) ASSISTANCE TO FINANCIAL LITERACY COMMIS-
SION.—The Secretary of the Treasury and each agency 
referred to in subsection (a) shall, as part of their duties 
as members of the Financial Literacy and Education Com-
mission, assist that Commission in improving the financial 
literacy and education of consumers who send remittances. 
(d) MULTIMEDIA CAMPAIGN.—The Secretary of the 
Treasury shall, as part of the national public service multi-
media campaign established under section 518(a) of the 
Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003, un-
dertake a multilingual multimedia campaign to inform 
populations that are remittance users of the low-cost op-
tions for remittance transfers available to them, such as 
services provided by depository institutions and credit 
unions. 
SEC. 7. AID ASSISTANCE TO INCREASE CAPITAL AND 
LOWER REMITTANCE TRANSFER COSTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part I of the Foreign Assistance 
Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following: 
‘‘CHAPTER 13—SOCIAL INVESTMENT AND 
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOR THE 
AMERICAS 
‘‘SEC. 499H. FACILITATING FLOWS OF PERSONAL REMIT-
TANCES. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The President, acting through 
the Administrator of the United States Agency for Inter-
national Development, shall provide assistance to leverage 
personal remittances and reduce the cost of remittances 
sent to Latin America and the Caribbean by— 
‘‘(1) increasing access to financial institutions 
for the poor and working with local financial institu-
tions to reduce fees and other costs associated with 
sending or receiving remittances; 
‘‘(2) working with local financial institutions to 
develop programs whereby personal remittances 
could be used as the basis of credit for mortgages 
and loans for small business, microenterprises, hous-
ing, and other enterprises; and 
‘‘(3) providing matching funds for United 
States’ private entities that send remittances for de-
velopment projects in Latin America and the Carib-
bean. 
‘‘(b) IMPLEMENTATION.—The United States Agency 
for International Development shall follow the best prac-
tices of the Inter-American Development Bank and other 
appropriate organizations when designing and imple-
menting programs that leverage personal remittances and 
reduce the cost of remittances sent to Latin America and 
the Caribbean.’’. 
(b) GAO STUDY REGARDING THE EFFECTIVENESS 
AND SUCCESS OF PILOT PROJECTS IMPLEMENTED BY 
THE UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DE-
VELOPMENT.—
(1) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the 
United States shall conduct a study on the effective-
ness and success of the pilot projects that have been
implemented by the United States Agency for Inter-
national Development’s missions in Mexico, El Sal-
vador, and Jamaica, and through the United States 
Agency for International Development’s Global De-
velopment Alliance. 
(2) REPORT.—Before the end of the 1-year pe-
riod beginning on the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Comptroller General shall submit a report 
to the Congress on the findings and conclusions re-
sulting from the study conducted under paragraph 
(1), together with such recommendations for legisla-
tive or administrative action as the Comptroller Gen-
eral may determine to be appropriate. 
SEC. 8. INTER-AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK ASSIST-
ANCE TO FACILITATE FLOWS OF PERSONAL 
REMITTANCES. 
The Inter-American Development Bank Act (22 
U.S.C. 283—283z–10) is amended by adding at the end 
the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 39. FACILITATING FLOWS OF PERSONAL REMIT-
TANCES. 
‘‘The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the 
United States Executive Director at the Bank to use the 
voice, vote, and influence of the United States to urge the 
Bank to provide assistance to—
‘‘(1) increasing access to financial institutions 
for the poor and working with local financial institu-
tions to reduce fees and other costs associated with 
sending or receiving remittances; 
‘‘(2) working with local financial institutions to 
develop programs whereby personal remittances 
could be used as the basis of credit for mortgages 
and loans for small business, microenterprises, hous-
ing, and other enterprises; and 
‘‘(3) providing matching funds for United 
States’ private entities that send remittances for de-
velopment projects in Latin America and the Carib-
bean.’’. 
SEC. 9. STUDY AND REPORT ON REMITTANCES. 
(a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United 
States shall conduct a study and analysis of the remit-
tance transfer system, including an analysis of its impact 
on consumers. 
(b) AREAS
OF CONSIDERATION.—The study con-
ducted under this section shall include, to the extent that 
information is available—
(1) an estimate of the total amount, in dollars, 
transmitted from individuals in the United States to 
other countries, including per country data, histor-
ical data, and any available projections concerning 
future remittance levels; 
(2) a comparison of the amount of remittance 
funds, in total and per country, to the amount of 
foreign trade, bilateral assistance, and multi-develop-
ment bank programs involving each of the subject 
countries; 
(3) an analysis of the methods used to remit 
the funds, with estimates of the amounts remitted 
through each method and descriptive statistics for 
each method, such as market share, median trans-
action size, and cost per transaction, including 
through—
(A) depository institutions; 
(B) postal money orders and other money 
orders; 
(C) automatic teller machines; 
(D) wire transfer services; and 
(E) personal delivery services; 
(4) an analysis of advantages and disadvan-
tages of each remitting method listed in subpara-
graphs (A) through (E) of paragraph (3); 
(5) an analysis of the types and specificity of 
disclosures made by various types of remittance
transaction providers to consumers who send remit-
tances; and 
(6) if reliable data are unavailable, rec-
ommendations concerning options for the Congress 
to consider to improve the state of information on 
remittances from the United States. 
(c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Before the end of the 
1-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of 
this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit a report 
to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Af-
fairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Serv-
ices of the House of Representatives on the results of the 
study conducted under this section.
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