[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3159 Engrossed in House (EH)]
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 3159
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To direct the President to establish guidelines for United States
foreign development assistance, 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 ``Foreign Aid Transparency and
Accountability Act of 2012''.
SEC. 2. GUIDELINES FOR UNITED STATES FOREIGN DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE.
(a) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to evaluate the
performance of United States foreign development assistance and its
contribution to policy, strategies, projects, program goals, and
priorities undertaken by the United States, to foster and promote
innovative programs to improve the effectiveness of United States
foreign development assistance, and to coordinate the monitoring and
evaluation processes of Federal departments and agencies that
administer United States foreign development assistance.
(b) Establishment of Guidelines.--Not later than 18 months after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall establish
guidelines regarding the establishment of measurable goals, performance
metrics, and monitoring and evaluation plans that can be applied with
reasonable consistency to United States foreign development assistance.
Such guidelines should be established according to best practices of
monitoring and evaluation studies and analyses.
(c) Objectives of Guidelines.--
(1) In general.--The guidelines established under this
section shall provide direction to Federal departments and
agencies that administer United States foreign development
assistance on how to develop the complete range of activities
relating to the monitoring of resources, the evaluation of
projects, the evaluation of program impacts, and analysis that
is necessary for the identification of findings,
generalizations that can be derived from those findings, and
their applicability to proposed project and program design.
(2) Objectives.--Specifically, the guidelines shall provide
direction on how to achieve the following objectives for
monitoring and evaluation of programs:
(A) Building measurable goals, performance metrics
and monitoring and evaluation into program design at
the outset, including the provision of sufficient
program resources to conduct monitoring and evaluation.
(B) Disseminating guidelines for the development
and implementation of monitoring and evaluation
programs to all personnel, especially in the field, who
are responsible for the design, implementation, and
management of United States foreign development
assistance programs.
(C) Contributing to the collection and
dissemination of knowledge and lessons learned to
United States development professionals, implementing
partners, the international aid community, and aid
recipient governments, and as a repository of knowledge
on lessons learned.
(D) Distributing evaluation reports internally.
(E) Establishing annual monitoring and evaluation
agendas and objectives.
(F) Applying rigorous monitoring and evaluation
methodologies, including choosing from among a wide
variety of qualitative and quantitative methods common
in the field of social scientific inquiry.
(G) Partnering with the academic community,
implementing partners, and national and international
institutions that have expertise in monitoring and
evaluation and analysis when such partnerships will
provide needed expertise or will significantly improve
the evaluation and analysis.
(H) Developing and implementing a training plan for
appropriate aid personnel on the proper conduct of
monitoring and evaluation programs.
(d) Implementation of Guidelines.--Beginning not later than one
year after the date on which the President establishes the guidelines
under this section, the head of each Federal department or agency that
administers United States foreign development assistance shall
administer the United States foreign development assistance in
accordance with the guidelines.
(e) Presidential Report.--Not later than 18 months after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to Congress a
report that contains a detailed description of the guidelines that have
been developed on measurable goals, performance metrics, and monitoring
and evaluation plans for United States foreign development assistance
established under this section. The report shall be submitted in
unclassified form to the maximum extent possible, but may include a
classified annex.
(f) Comptroller General Reports.--The Comptroller General of the
United States shall--
(1) not later than one year after the date of the enactment
of this Act, submit to the appropriate congressional committees
a report that contains an analysis of the actions that the
major Federal departments and agencies that administer United
States foreign development assistance have taken to ensure that
United States foreign development assistance program evaluation
is planned, conducted, and utilized effectively; and
(2) not later than two years after the date of the
enactment of this Act, submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a report that contains an analysis of--
(A) the guidelines established pursuant to
subsection (b); and
(B) the implementation of the guidelines by the
major Federal departments and agencies that administer
United States foreign development assistance.
(g) Evaluation Defined.--In this section, the term ``evaluation''
means, with respect to a United States foreign development assistance
program, the systematic collection and analysis of information about
the characteristics and outcomes of the program and projects under the
program as a basis for judgments, to improve effectiveness, and to
inform decisions about current and future programming.
SEC. 3. INTERNET WEBSITE TO MAKE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE COMPREHENSIVE,
TIMELY, COMPARABLE, AND ACCESSIBLE INFORMATION ON UNITED
STATES FOREIGN DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS.
(a) Establishment; Publication and Updates.--Not later than 30 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall direct
the Secretary of State to establish and maintain an Internet website to
make publicly available in unclassified form comprehensive, timely,
comparable, and accessible information on United States foreign
development assistance. The head of each Federal department or agency
that administers United States foreign development assistance shall,
not later than 3 years after the date of the enactment of this Act,
publish and on a quarterly basis update on the Internet website such
information with respect to the United States foreign development
assistance programs of such Federal department or agency.
(b) Matters To Be Included.--
(1) In general.--Such information shall be published on a
detailed program-by-program basis and country-by-country basis.
(2) Types of information.--To ensure transparency,
accountability, and effectiveness of United States foreign
development assistance, such information should include country
assistance strategies, annual budget documents, congressional
budget justifications, obligations, expenditures, and reports
and evaluations, including those developed pursuant to the
guidelines established by section 2, for United States foreign
development assistance programs and projects under such
programs. Each type of information described in this paragraph
shall be published or updated on the Internet website not later
than 90 days after the date of issuance of the information.
(3) Report in lieu of inclusion.--If--
(A) the head of a Federal department or agency
makes a determination that the inclusion of a required
item of information on the Internet website would
jeopardize the health or security of an implementing
partner or program beneficiary; or
(B) the Secretary of State makes a determination
that the inclusion of a required item of information on
the Internet website would be detrimental to the
national interests of the United States,
then the head of such Federal department or agency or the
Secretary of State, as the case may be, shall provide briefings
to Congress on the item of information or submit to Congress
the item of information in a written report in lieu of it being
included on the Internet website, along with the reasons for it
not being included on the Internet website. Any such item of
information may be submitted to Congress in classified form.
(c) Scope of Information.--
(1) In general.--The Internet website shall contain the
information described in subsection (b) as follows:
(A) For fiscal year 2013, the information relating
to such fiscal year and each of the immediately
preceding 2 fiscal years.
(B) For fiscal year 2014, the information relating
to such fiscal year and each of the immediately
preceding 3 fiscal years.
(C) For fiscal year 2015, the information relating
to such fiscal year and each of the immediately
preceding 4 fiscal years.
(D) For fiscal year 2016 and each fiscal year
thereafter, the information relating to such fiscal
year and each of the immediately preceding 5 fiscal
years.
(2) Older information.--For fiscal year 2017 and each
fiscal year thereafter, the Internet website shall also contain
a link to a searchable database available to the public
containing information described in subsection (b) relating to
fiscal years prior to the immediately preceding 5 fiscal years
but subsequent to fiscal year 2010.
SEC. 4. CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFINGS IF REQUIREMENTS OF SECTION 3 ARE NOT
MET.
If the information described in section 3(b) with respect to a
United States foreign development assistance program is not provided as
required under section 3, then the head of the relevant Federal
department or agency shall provide briefings to the appropriate
congressional committees, along with a detailed explanation of why the
requirements for publication on the Internet have not been met and when
they will be met, with respect to each month for which such information
is not published on the Internet.
SEC. 5. OFFSET.
Of the amounts authorized to be appropriated for United States
foreign development assistance programs of a Federal department or
agency that administers such programs for a fiscal year, up to 5
percent of such amounts are authorized to be appropriated to carry out
this Act with respect to such programs for such fiscal year.
SEC. 6. 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) United states foreign development assistance.--The term
``United States foreign development assistance'' means
assistance primarily for purposes of foreign development and
economic support, including but not limited to assistance
authorized under--
(A) part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961
(22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.), other than--
(i) title IV of chapter 2 of such part
(relating to the Overseas Private Investment
Corporation);
(ii) chapter 3 of such part (relating to
International Organizations and Programs); and
(iii) chapter 8 of such part (relating to
International Narcotics Control);
(B) chapter 4 of part II of the Foreign Assistance
Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2346 et seq.; relating to
Economic Support Fund) for long-term development; and
(C) the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C.
7701 et seq.).
Passed the House of Representatives December 30, 2012.
Attest:
Clerk.
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 3159
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To direct the President to establish guidelines for United States
foreign development assistance, and for other purposes.