Title: Global Development Lab Act of 2017
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Global Development Lab Act of 2017
This bill establishes in the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) the United States Global Development Lab, the duties of which shall include:
The lab is authorized to provide innovation incentive awards on a competitive basis that: (1) encourages and rewards the development of solutions for a particular, well-defined problem relating to the alleviation of poverty; or (2) helps identify and promote a broad range of ideas and practices, facilitating further development of an idea or practice by third parties.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4121 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4121

To establish in the United States Agency for International Development 
an entity to be known as the United States Global Development Lab, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 25, 2017

    Mr. Castro of Texas (for himself and Mr. McCaul) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish in the United States Agency for International Development 
an entity to be known as the United States Global Development Lab, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Global Development Lab Act of 
2017''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The effectiveness of United States foreign assistance 
        can be greatly enhanced by fostering innovation, applying 
        science and technology, and leveraging the expertise and 
        resources of the private sector to find low-cost, common sense 
        solutions to today's most pressing development challenges.
            (2) Breakthroughs that accelerate economic growth and 
        produce better health outcomes in developing countries can help 
        support the growth of healthier, more stable societies and 
        foster trade relationships that translate into jobs and 
        economic growth in the United States.
            (3) In 2014, the Office of Science and Technology and the 
        Office of Innovation and Development Alliances at the United 
        States Agency for International Development (USAID) were 
        streamlined and merged into the United States Global 
        Development Lab.
            (4) The Lab partners with entrepreneurs, experts, 
        nongovernmental organizations, universities, and science and 
        research institutions to find solutions to specific development 
        challenges in a faster, more cost-efficient, and more 
        sustainable way.
            (5) The Lab utilizes competitive innovation incentive 
        awards, a ``pay-for-success'' model, whereby a development 
        challenge is identified, competitions are launched, ideas with 
        the greatest potential for success are selected and tested, and 
        awards are provided only after the objectives of a competition 
        have been substantially achieved.
            (6) Enhancing the authorities that support this pay-for-
        success model will better enable the Lab to diversify and 
        expand both the number and sources of ideas that may be 
        developed, tested, and brought to scale, thereby increasing 
        USAID's opportunity to apply high value, low-cost solutions to 
        specific development challenges.

SEC. 3. UNITED STATES GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT LAB.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established in USAID an entity to be 
known as the United States Global Development Lab.
    (b) Duties.--The duties of the Lab shall include--
            (1) increasing the application of science, technology, 
        innovation and partnerships to develop and scale new solutions 
        to end extreme poverty;
            (2) discovering, testing, and scaling development 
        innovations to increase cost effectiveness and support United 
        States foreign policy and development goals;
            (3) leveraging the expertise, resources, and investment of 
        businesses, nongovernmental organizations, science and research 
        organizations, and universities to increase program impact and 
        sustainability;
            (4) utilizing innovation-driven competitions to expand the 
        number and diversity of solutions to development challenges; 
        and
            (5) supporting USAID missions and bureaus in applying 
        science, technology, innovation, and partnership approaches to 
        decisionmaking, procurement, and program design.
    (c) Authorities.--
            (1) In general.--In carrying out the duties of the Lab 
        under subsection (b), the Administrator, in addition to such 
        other authorities as may be available to the Administrator, 
        including authorities under part I of the Foreign Assistance 
        Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.), and subject to the 
        limitations described in paragraph (3), is authorized to--
                    (A) provide innovation incentive awards (as defined 
                in section 4(5) of this Act); and
                    (B) use funds made available to carry out the 
                provisions of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 
                1961 for each of the fiscal years 2018 through 2022 for 
                the employment of not more than 30 individuals on a 
                limited term basis pursuant to schedule A of subpart C 
                of part 213 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, or 
                similar provisions of law or regulations.
            (2) Recovery of funds.--
                    (A) Authority.--
                            (i) In general.--In carrying out the duties 
                        of the Lab under subsection (b), the 
                        Administrator, subject to the limitation 
                        described in clause (ii), is authorized to 
                        require a person or entity that receives 
                        funding under a grant, contract, or cooperative 
                        agreement made by the Lab to return to the Lab 
                        any program income that is attributable to 
                        funding under such grant, contract, or 
                        cooperative agreement.
                            (ii) Limitation.--The amount of program 
                        income that a person or entity is required to 
                        return to the Lab under clause (i) shall not 
                        exceed the amount of funding that the person or 
                        entity received under the grant, contract, or 
                        cooperative agreement.
                    (B) Treatment of payments.--
                            (i) In general.--The amount of any program 
                        income returned to the Lab pursuant to 
                        subparagraph (A) may be credited to the account 
                        from which the obligation and expenditure of 
                        funds under the grant, contract, or cooperative 
                        agreement described in subparagraph (A) was 
                        made.
                            (ii) Availability.--
                                    (I) In general.--Except as provided 
                                in subclause (II), amounts returned and 
                                credited to an account under clause 
                                (i)--
                                            (aa) shall be merged with 
                                        other funds in the account; and
                                            (bb) shall be available, 
                                        subject to appropriation, for 
                                        the same purposes and period of 
                                        time for which other funds in 
                                        the account are available for 
                                        programs and activities of the 
                                        Lab.
                                    (II) Exception.--Amounts returned 
                                and credited to an account under clause 
                                (i) may not be used to pay for the 
                                employment of individuals described in 
                                paragraph (1)(B).
            (3) Limitations.--
                    (A) In general.--Concurrent with the submission of 
                the Congressional Budget Justification for Foreign 
                Operations for each fiscal year, the Administrator 
                shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
                committees a detailed accounting of USAID's use of 
                authorities under this section, including the sources, 
                amounts, and uses of funding under each of paragraphs 
                (1) and (2).
                    (B) Innovation incentive awards.--In providing 
                innovation incentive awards under paragraph (1)(A), the 
                Administrator shall--
                            (i) limit the amount of individual awards 
                        for fiscal year 2018 to not more than $100,000;
                            (ii) limit the total number of awards for 
                        fiscal year 2018 to not more than 10 awards; 
                        and
                            (iii) notify the appropriate congressional 
                        committees not later than 15 days after 
                        providing each such award.
                    (C) Staff.--In exercising the authority under 
                paragraph (1)(B), the Administrator should seek to 
                ensure that increases in the number of staff assigned 
                to the Lab are offset by an equivalent reduction in the 
                total number of staff serving elsewhere in USAID.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the United States Agency for International 
        Development.
            (2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 
                Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
                Representatives; and
                    (B) the Committees on Foreign Relations and the 
                Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.
            (3) Lab.--The term ``Lab'' means the United States Global 
        Development Lab established under section 3.
            (4) USAID.--The term ``USAID'' means the United States 
        Agency for International Development.
            (5) Innovation incentive award.--The term ``innovation 
        incentive award'' means the provision of funding on a 
        competitive basis that--
                    (A) encourages and rewards the development of 
                solutions for a particular, well-defined problem 
                relating to the alleviation of poverty; or
                    (B) helps identify and promote a broad range of 
                ideas and practices, facilitating further development 
                of an idea or practice by third parties.
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