To amend the Microenterprise for Self-Reliance Act of 2000 and the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to increase assistance for the poorest people in developing countries under microenterprise assistance programs under those Acts, and for other purposes.
PL 108-31 (H.R.192), enacted 06/17/2003

117 STAT. 775
PUBLIC LAW 108–31—JUNE 17, 2003
Public Law 108–31
108th Congress
An Act
To amend the Microenterprise for Self-Reliance Act of 2000 and the Foreign Assist-
ance Act of 1961 to increase assistance for the poorest people in developing
countries under microenterprise assistance programs under those Acts, 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. AMENDMENTS TO THE MICROENTERPRISE FOR SELF-RELI-
ANCE ACT OF 2000.
(a) PURPOSES.—Section 103 of the Microenterprise for Self-
Reliance Act of 2000 (Public Law 106–309) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘microentrepreneurs’’ and
inserting ‘‘microenterprise households’’;
(2) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end;
(3) in paragraph (5)—
(A) by striking ‘‘microfinance policy’’ and inserting
‘‘microenterprise policy’’;
(B) by striking ‘‘the poorest of the poor’’ and inserting
‘‘the very poor’’; and
(C) by striking the period at the end and inserting
‘‘; and’’; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(6) to ensure that in the implementation of this title
at least 50 percent of all microenterprise assistance under
this title, and the amendments made under this title, shall
be targeted to the very poor.’’.
(b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 104 of such Act is amended—
(1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘for microentrepreneurs’’
and inserting ‘‘to microentrepreneurs and their households’’;
and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(5) VERY POOR.—The term ‘very poor’ means individuals—
‘‘(A) living in the bottom 50 percent below the poverty
line established by the national government of the country
in which those individuals live; or
‘‘(B) living on the equivalent of less than $1 per day.’’.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE MICRO- AND SMALL ENTERPRISE
DEVELOPMENT CREDITS PROGRAM UNDER THE FOR-
EIGN ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1961.
(a) FINDINGS
AND POLICY.—Section 108(a)(2) of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151f(a)(2)) is amended by striking
‘‘the development of the enterprises of the poor’’ and inserting
22 USC 2151f
note.
22 USC 2151f
note.
June 17, 2003
[H.R. 192]
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117 STAT. 776
PUBLIC LAW 108–31—JUNE 17, 2003
‘‘the access to financial services and the development of microenter-
prises’’.
(b) PROGRAM.—Section 108(b) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2151f(b))
is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(b) PROGRAM.—To carry out the policy set forth in subsection
(a), the President is authorized to provide assistance to increase
the availability of financial services to microenterprise households
lacking full access to credit, including through—
‘‘(1) loans and guarantees to microfinance institutions for
the purpose of expanding the availability of savings and credit
to poor and low-income households;
‘‘(2) training programs for microfinance institutions in order
to enable them to better meet the financial services needs
of their clients; and
‘‘(3) training programs for clients in order to enable them
to make better use of credit, increase their financial literacy,
and to better manage their enterprises to improve their quality
of life.’’.
(c) ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.—Section 108(c) of such Act (22 U.S.C.
2151f(c)) is amended—
(1) in the first sentence of the matter preceding paragraph
(1)—
(A) by striking ‘‘credit institutions’’ and inserting
‘‘microfinance institutions’’; and
(B) by striking ‘‘micro- and small enterprises’’ and
inserting ‘‘microenterprise households’’; and
(2) in paragraphs (1) and (2), by striking ‘‘credit’’ each
place it appears and inserting ‘‘financial services’’.
(d) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—Section 108(d) of such Act (22
U.S.C. 2151f(d)) is amended by striking ‘‘micro- and small enterprise
programs’’ and inserting ‘‘programs for microenterprise households’’.
(e) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Section 108(f)(1) of such Act (22
U.S.C. 2151f(f)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘for each of fiscal years
2001 and 2002’’ and inserting ‘‘for each of fiscal years 2001 through
2004’’.
(f) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 108 of such Act (22
U.S.C. 2151f) is amended in the heading to read as follows:
‘‘SEC. 108. MICROENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT CREDITS.’’.
SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE MICROENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT
GRANT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM UNDER THE FOREIGN
ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1961.
(a) FINDINGS AND POLICY.—Section 131(a) of the Foreign Assist-
ance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2152a(a)) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(a) FINDINGS AND POLICY.—Congress finds and declares that—
‘‘(1) access to financial services and the development of
microenterprise are vital factors in the stable growth of devel-
oping countries and in the development of free, open, and
equitable international economic systems;
‘‘(2) it is therefore in the best interest of the United States
to facilitate access to financial services and assist the develop-
ment of microenterprise in developing countries;
‘‘(3) access to financial services and the development of
microenterprises can be supported by programs providing
credit, savings, training, technical assistance, business develop-
ment services, and other financial and non-financial services;
and
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117 STAT. 777
PUBLIC LAW 108–31—JUNE 17, 2003
‘‘(4) given the relatively high percentage of populations
living in rural areas of developing countries, and the combined
high incidence of poverty in rural areas and growing income
inequality between rural and urban markets, microenterprise
programs should target both rural and urban poor.’’.
(b) AUTHORIZATION.—Section 131(b) of such Act (22 U.S.C.
2152a(b)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (3)(A)(i), by striking ‘‘entrepreneurs’’ and
inserting ‘‘clients’’; and
(2) in paragraph (4)(D)—
(A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘very small loans’’ and
inserting ‘‘financial services to poor entrepreneurs’’; and
(B) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘microfinance’’ and
inserting ‘‘microenterprise’’.
(c) MONITORING SYSTEM.—Section 131(c) of such Act (22 U.S.C.
2152a(c)) is amended by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the
following:
‘‘(4) adopts the widespread use of proven and effective
poverty assessment tools to successfully identify the very poor
and ensure that they receive needed microenterprise loans,
savings, and assistance.’’.
(d) DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF POVERTY MEASUREMENT
METHODS.—Section 131 of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2152a) is amended—
(1) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as subsections
(e) and (f), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
‘‘(d) DEVELOPMENT AND CERTIFICATION OF POVERTY MEASURE-
MENT METHODS; APPLICATION OF METHODS.—
‘‘(1) DEVELOPMENT AND CERTIFICATION.—(A) The Adminis-
trator of the United States Agency for International Develop-
ment, in consultation with microenterprise institutions and
other appropriate organizations, shall develop no fewer than
two low-cost methods for partner institutions to use to assess
the poverty levels of their current or prospective clients. The
United States Agency for International Development shall
develop poverty indicators that correlate with the circumstances
of the very poor.
‘‘(B) The Administrator shall field-test the methods devel-
oped under subparagraph (A). As part of the testing, institu-
tions and programs may use the methods on a voluntary basis
to demonstrate their ability to reach the very poor.
‘‘(C) Not later than October 1, 2004, the Administrator
shall, from among the low-cost poverty measurement methods
developed under subparagraph (A), certify no fewer than two
such methods as approved methods for measuring the poverty
levels of current or prospective clients of microenterprise
institutions for purposes of assistance under this section.
‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—The Administrator shall require that,
with reasonable exceptions, all organizations applying for
microenterprise assistance under this Act use one of the cer-
tified methods, beginning no later than October 1, 2005, to
determine and report the poverty levels of current or prospec-
tive clients.’’.
(e) LEVEL
OF ASSISTANCE.—Section 131(e) of such Act, as
redesignated by subsection (d), is amended by inserting ‘‘and
$175,000,000 for fiscal year 2003 and $200,000,000 for fiscal year
2004’’ after ‘‘fiscal years 2001 and 2002’’.
Deadline.
Deadline.
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117 STAT. 778
PUBLIC LAW 108–31—JUNE 17, 2003
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 192:
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 149 (2003):
May 14, considered and passed House.
May 23, considered and passed Senate.
(f) DEFINITIONS.—Section 131(f) of such Act, as redesignated
by subsection (d), is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(5) VERY
POOR.—The term ‘very poor’ means those
individuals—
‘‘(A) living in the bottom 50 percent below the poverty
line established by the national government of the country
in which those individuals live; or
‘‘(B) living on less than the equivalent of $1 per day.’’.
SEC. 4. REPORT TO CONGRESS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than September 30, 2005, the
Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development shall submit to Congress a report that documents
the process of developing and applying poverty assessment proce-
dures with its partners.
(b) REPORTS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2006 AND BEYOND.—Beginning
with fiscal year 2006, the Administrator of the United States Agency
for International Development shall annually submit to Congress
on a timely basis a report that addresses the United States Agency
for International Development’s compliance with the Microenter-
prise for Self-Reliance Act of 2000 by documenting—
(1) the percentage of its resources that were allocated to
the very poor (as defined in paragraph (5) of section 131(f)
of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2152a(f)(5)))
based on the data collected from its partners using the certified
methods; and
(2) the absolute number of the very poor reached.
Approved June 17, 2003.
Deadline.
22 USC 2151f
note.
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