Prosper Africa Act

Bill: 117-hr-6455
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. McCaul, Michael T. [R-TX-10]
Introduced: 2022-01-20
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Africa

Business investment and capital

Congressional oversight

Diplomacy, foreign officials, Americans abroad

Economic development

Economic performance and conditions

Foreign aid and international relief

Free trade and trade barriers

Government information and archives

International organizations and cooperation

Public-private cooperation

Trade agreements and negotiations

U.S. and foreign investments
Latest action: action_date: 2022-07-28
text: Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.

Summaries:
action_date: 2022-01-20
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><strong>Prosper Africa Act</strong></p> <p>This bill requires actions to promote trade, investment, and strategic partnerships between the United States and countries in Africa.</p> <p>The President must establish the Prosper Africa Initiative to prioritize and coordinate U.S. government activities and diplomatic efforts aimed at increasing two-way trade and investment between the United States and Africa. The President must also establish (1) the Prosper Africa Directorate to perform various functions to support the initiative, including by developing and implementing policies to promote such trade and investment; (2) an interagency leadership committee to provide strategic guidance to the initiative and coordinate federal agency efforts; and (3) an advisory council to advise the President on the extent to which the directorate and federal agencies are meeting the objectives established in this bill. </p> <p>Designated staff in U.S. embassies located in Africa shall also support the initiative to the extent practicable. </p> <p>The President must seek to convene a meeting every two years between the U.S. government and the heads of state of African countries to advance shared priorities and strengthen partnerships. </p> <p>The bill also requires the President to (1) report to Congress and make publicly available a government-wide strategy to achieve this bill's objectives, and (2) annually report to Congress on matters related to U.S. government efforts to achieve this bill's objectives.</p>

tv_txt: I 117th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 6455 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES January 20, 2022 Mr. McCaul (for himself and Mrs. Murphy of Florida ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs , and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means , for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To promote, facilitate, and increase two-way trade and investment between the United States and Africa.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Prosper Africa Act . 2. Statement of policy It is the policy of the United States to promote, facilitate, and increase two-way trade and investment between the United States and African countries to strengthen commercial ties, promote economic growth and job creation, and advance strategic partnerships. 3. Prosper Africa Initiative (a) Establishment The President shall establish an initiative to be known as the Prosper Africa Initiative (in this Act referred to as the Initiative ). (b) Purposes The purposes of the Initiative shall be to prioritize and coordinate United States Government programs, activities, and diplomatic efforts aimed at increasing two-way trade and investment between the United States and Africa, including to— (1) identify, promote, and increase trade and investment opportunities, facilitate business and investor engagement, and support dissemination of data and market information to better inform United States businesses and investors of trade and investment opportunities across Africa; (2) support efforts of the United States and African private sectors to access, navigate, deepen, and compete in African and global capital markets using a private sector-led and sector-specific approach that includes energy, agriculture, information and communications technology, healthcare, financial services, arts and entertainment, and infrastructure; (3) modernize, streamline, and improve access to resources and services designed to promote increased trade and investment opportunities for United States and African businesses and investors; (4) promote economic growth and job creation in the United States and Africa, while advancing strategic partnerships; and (5) identify policy, regulatory, and legal reforms needed to reduce trade and investment barriers between the United States and Africa and improve the business and investment climate in the United States and Africa, including through the reduction of the cost of accessing capital. 4. Leadership and coordination of Initiative (a) Directorate The President shall establish a directorate to be known as the Prosper Africa Directorate (in this Act referred to as the Directorate ). (b) Executive Director The President shall appoint an Executive Director of the Directorate who shall be responsible for the management, coordination, and information sharing functions of the Prosper Africa Initiative established pursuant to section 3(a) and other duties that support the purposes of the Initiative described in section 3(b) as appropriate. (c) Duties The Executive Director shall be responsible for— (1) convening relevant Federal departments and agencies to coordinate programs, assistance, communications, and stakeholder engagement, and consulting with such departments and agencies on the appropriate levels and allocation of resources in support of achieving the strategic objectives of the Initiative; (2) planning and implementing information sharing and other collaboration efforts among relevant Federal departments and agencies, and the private sector as appropriate, related to trade and investment opportunities, African capital markets, and relevant transactions in Africa and support for monitoring, evaluation, and transaction facilitation; (3) engaging with United States and African private sector partners, civil society organizations, nongovernmental organizations and the African diaspora community, as appropriate, to solicit input and feedback on the Initiative’s activities, as well as any technical, policy, financial, and political obstacles private sector partners encounter in accessing or expanding in African markets or gaining access to capital for those purposes; and (4) establishing measurable goals and objectives for the purposes of carrying out the Initiative. (d) Leadership committee (1) In general The President shall establish an interagency leadership committee (in this subsection referred to as the committee ) to provide strategic guidance for administering the objectives of the Initiative and serve as the United States interagency strategic development and coordination body for efforts of relevant Federal departments and agencies. (2) Membership The committee shall include representatives from relevant Federal departments and agencies, as determined appropriate by the President. (3) Chairperson The Executive Director of the Directorate shall serve as chairperson of the committee. (4) Meetings The committee shall meet not less than four times each year at the call of the Executive Director of the Directorate (or the Director’s designee). (e) Staffing and field presence Subject to the availability of appropriations— (1) the Directorate shall be supported by at least 6 full-time employees of the Federal Government, which should include personnel detailed to the Directorate from relevant Federal departments and agencies, who are stationed in Africa and whose sole duties are to support the purposes of— (A) the Initiative described in section 3(b); or (B) the provisions of the Better Utilization of Investments Leading to Development Act of 2018 ( Public Law 116–283 ) with respect to Africa and in compliance with the requirements of the Championing American Business Through Diplomacy Act of 2019 ( Public Law 116–94 ; 22 U.S.C. 9901 et seq. ); and (2) relevant Federal departments and agencies should detail personnel to the Directorate at the Directorate’s offices in the United States. (f) Deal teams (1) In general The Prosper Africa Initiative established pursuant to section 3(a) shall be supported by designated embassy staff holding positions related to United States commercial and economic interests at United States embassies located in Africa, to the extent practicable. Such designated embassy staff at a United States embassy located in Africa shall be referred to as a deal team for purposes of this subsection. (2) Duties Each deal team shall prioritize efforts to identify commercial opportunities, advocate for improvements in the business and investment climate, engage and consult with private sector partners, and report on such activities, in compliance with the applicable requirements of the Championing American Business Through Diplomacy Act of 2019 ( Public Law 116–94 ; 22 U.S.C. 9901 et seq. ). 5. Investment promotion and trade capacity building assistance (a) In general The President, acting through the Executive Director of the Directorate, shall develop and implement policies that promote, facilitate, and increase two-way trade and investment between the United States and Africa, including by providing support for— (1) activities to advance trade capacity building assistance, as authorized by the African Growth and Opportunity Act and Millennium Challenge Modernization Act ( Public Law 115–167 ) and the amendments made by that Act, and other applicable statutes; (2) identification and development of investment opportunities for the United States private sector in partner countries and efforts to facilitate and promote trade and investment opportunities in the United States and Africa; (3) analysis of market systems, trends, prospects and opportunities for value-addition, including risk assessments and constraints analyses of key sectors and United States strategic competitiveness, and other reporting on commercial opportunities and investment climate in Africa; (4) outreach and engagement with small and medium-sized enterprises in Africa or doing business with African partners, including women-led and diaspora-owned businesses; (5) efforts to leverage resources and expertise to lower non-tariff barriers to trade and investment in Africa, such as African enterprise access to capital, and to generally promote a conducive business climate for private sector investment; (6) technical assistance to the African Union and regional economic communities to implement the African Continental Free Trade Area and support regional economic integration; and (7) development of local African capital markets and Africa’s access to lower cost, longer-term capital on global capital markets, including improving African investment readiness, increasing the availability of market-based risk mitigation tools and improving the reliability and availability of investment data, to promote the larger-scale, standardized, transparent investment flows asked for by investors. (b) Priority In providing assistance to carry out the activities described in subsection (a), the President should consider United States strategic interests when allocating such assistance and give priority for activities in countries that— (1) have demonstrated support for economic policies that promote the development of private enterprise, including foreign direct investment, and taken steps to improve a business enabling environment that could benefit the United States private sector and economy if such assistance is provided; or (2) are designated by the President— (A) as an eligible sub-Saharan African country under the African Growth and Opportunity Act ( 19 U.S.C. 3703 ); (B) as meeting the threshold requirements to enter into an agreement with the United States under section 609 of the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 ( 22 U.S.C. 7708 ; relating to Millennium Challenge Compact); or (C) as a beneficiary developing country under section 502 or 506A of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2462 or 2466a) and has ratified and taken steps to implement the African Continental Free Trade Area. 6. Advisory council (a) Establishment The President shall establish an advisory council— (1) to advise the President, and others as appropriate, on the extent to which the Directorate and relevant Federal departments and agencies are meeting their objectives under this Act, and provide suggestions for improvements with respect to meeting those objectives, including implementation challenges and opportunities; and (2) to support efforts to identify, promote, and facilitate opportunities to expand commercial ties between the United States and Africa. (b) Membership (1) In general The advisory council shall be composed of— (A) not less than 12 members appointed by the President, in consultation with the Executive Director of the Directorate and Congress, from among individuals with significant experience investing and operating in Africa, including representatives of United States and African diaspora-owned, women-owned, and small and medium-sized enterprises; and (B) the co-chairs or two appropriate designees of the President’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa, as established by Executive Order 13734. (2) Terms; reappointment Each of the members of the advisory council— (A) shall serve a term of 2 years; and (B) may be reappointed for one additional term. (3) Deadline for appointment Each of the members of the advisory council shall be appointed under paragraph (1) not later than 90 days after the date on which the President establishes the Advisory Committee under subsection (a). (4) Vacancies A vacancy in the Advisory Council shall be filled in the manner in which the original appointment was made. (c) Chairperson (1) In general The Executive Director of the Directorate shall appoint a chairperson of the advisory committee from among the members of the advisory committee appointed under paragraph (1). (2) Terms; reappointment The chairperson of the advisory committee— (A) shall serve a term of 2 years; and (B) may not be reappointed. (d) Prohibition on compensation Members of the advisory council may not receive pay, allowances, or benefits by reason of their service on the advisory committee. (e) Meetings The advisory council shall meet at the call of the Executive Director. 7. United States-African Leaders Summit The President shall seek to convene on a biennial basis a meeting between the United States Government and heads of state of countries of Africa, to be known as the United States-African Leaders Summit , for purposes of advancing shared priorities and strengthening diplomatic, economic, and security partnerships in Africa. 8. United States strategy to promote trade and investment in Africa (a) In general Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President, in consultation with the heads of the relevant Federal departments and agencies, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees and make publicly available a single government-wide strategy, to be known as the Prosper Africa Strategy , that provides a detailed description of how the United States intends to fulfill the policy objectives of this Act. (b) Matters To be included The strategy required by subsection (a) shall— (1) support and be aligned with other relevant strategies of the United States Government; (2) outline a plan to enhance coordination and information sharing among relevant Federal departments and agencies on investment climate and opportunities and provide support to pending transactions, and (3) include specific and measurable goals, benchmarks, performance metrics, and timetables to carry out the purposes of this Act, and training, monitoring, and evaluation plans to ensure the accountability and effectiveness of all policies and initiatives carried out under the strategy. (c) Specific implementation plan The strategy required by subsection (a) shall include a specific implementation plan, in coordination with the recommendations and activities of the Economic Diplomacy Action Group as required by section 708(c) of the Championing American Business Through Diplomacy Act of 2019 ( Public Law 116–94 ; 22 U.S.C. 9904 ) from each of the relevant Federal departments and agencies that describes— (1) the anticipated contributions of the department or agency, including technical, financial, and in-kind contributions, to implement the strategy; (2) the efforts of the department or agency to ensure that the policies and initiatives carried out pursuant to the strategy are designed to achieve maximum impact and effectiveness and progress made toward achieving the goals, benchmarks, performance metrics, and timetables outlined in subsection (b)(3); and (3) recommendations on necessary resources, including staffing, to expand efforts to promote trade and investment between the United States and Africa. 9. Report Not later than 180 days after the submission of the strategy required by section 8(a), and annually thereafter until 2026, the President shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report, in coordination with the report required by the Championing American Business Through Diplomacy Act of 2019 ( Public Law 116–94 ; 22 U.S.C. 9901 et seq. ), that— (1) summarizes and evaluates the implementation of United States diplomatic efforts and foreign assistance programs, projects, and activities to advance the policy objectives set forth in section 2; (2) describes the nature and extent of coordination among relevant Federal departments and agencies, including a summary of activities and engagements of the Directorate and the interagency leadership committee established pursuant to section 4(d); (3) provides data on goals identified for financial commitments under the Initiative and any private capital mobilized to support and finalize transactions, opportunities identified by relevant Federal departments and agencies, and transactions determined to be ineligible for United States support or not being pursued for other reasons under the Initiative; and (4) describes the monitoring and evaluation tools, mechanisms, and indicators to assess progress made on the policy objectives set forth in section 2. 10. Definitions In this Act: (1) 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 Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate. (2) Private sector The term private sector means for-profit businesses and not-for-profit entities. 11. Sunset The requirements of this Act shall terminate on the date that is 7 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.