Skip to content
PoliticalRepoPoliticalRepo

United States · Bill · S

S. 1463 (106th)

Microenterprise for Self-Reliance Act of 1999

referredUnited States· United States Congress· EN

Introduced

29 July 1999

Last action

29 July 1999 · Introduced

Status

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

Sponsors

Sen. DeWine, Mike [R-OH], Sen. Snowe, Olympia J. [R-ME], Sen. Torricelli, Robert G. [D-NJ], Sen. Collins, Susan M. [R-ME], Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL], Sen. Feinstein, Dianne [D-CA], Sen. Mikulski, Barbara A. [D-MD], Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY], Sen. Bingaman, Jeff [D-NM], Sen. Chafee, John H. [R-RI], Sen. Kennedy, Edward M. [D-MA], Sen. Boxer, Barbara [D-CA]

Subjects

Discovery layer

Source updated

20 August 2025

Summary

Microenterprise for Self-Reliance Act of 1999 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to set forth congressional findings and policy, including that: (1) the development of microenterprise (including micro- and small enterprises) is a vital factor in the growth of developing countries and in the development of free, open, and equitable international economic systems; (2) it is in the best interest of the United States to assist the development of microenterprises and of enterprises of the poor in developing countries; and (3) the support of microenterprise can be served by programs that provide credit, savings, training, and technical assistance. (Sec. 4) Authorizes the President to provide grant and other assistance for programs to increase the availability of credit and other services to microenterprises (including small enterprises) lacking full access to capital, credit, and training through: (1) grants to microfinance institutions; (2) loans and guarantees to credit institutions; (3) training, technical assistance, and other support (including training programs for lenders and microentrepreneurs); and (3) policy and regulatory programs at the country level. Sets forth certain grant requirements and micro- and small enterprise assistance eligibility criteria. (Sec. 6) Directs the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID) to establish: (1) a monitoring system that provides, among other things, for performance goals for microenterprise development grant assistance; (2) eligibility criteria for determining which entities shall carry out activities receiving credit assistance; and (3) a U.S. Microfinance Loan Facility to prevent the bankruptcy of microfinance institutions caused by natural disasters, war or civil conflict, national financial crisis, or other short-term financial movements that threaten the long-term development of such institutions. Authorizes appropriations (earmarking a specified amount to cover certain subsidy costs). (Sec. 7) Directs the President to report to the appropriate congressional committees on the most cost-effective methods for increasing the access of poor people to credit, other financial services, and related training. (Sec. 8) Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the Administrator of AID and the Secretary of State should seek to support and strengthen the effectiveness of microfinance activities in United Nations (UN) agencies, such as the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the UN Development Program (UNDP), which have provided key leadership in developing the microenterprise sector; and (2) the Secretary of the Treasury should instruct each U.S. Executive Director of the Multilateral Development Banks to advocate the development of a coherent and coordinated strategy to support the microenterprise sector, including an increase of multilateral resource flows for building microenterprise retail and wholesale intermediaries.

This text is taken from the official record. PoliticalRepo does not editorialize.

Timeline

  1. 29 July 1999

    Introduced

    Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

    Source: IntroReferral

  2. 29 July 1999

    Introduced

    Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S9756)

    Source: IntroReferral

  3. 29 July 1999

    Introduced

    Introduced in Senate

    Source: IntroReferral

Votes

No vote records are attached yet.

Versions

Documents

3 official files

Introduced in Senate (text)

View fileDownload file

This file cannot be previewed here. Use View or Download.

Leesvertaling

Vertaal dit document naar jouw taal. PoliticalRepo bewaart geen aparte kopie per EU-taal.

Documentvertaling op verzoek met downloadbare PDF (logo + link naar de officiële bron). Het bronbestand blijft leidend.

  • Introduced in Senate (text)

    Introduced in Senate · EN · 29 July 1999

    ViewDownloadOpen at official source

  • Introduced in Senate (PDF)

    Introduced in Senate · EN · 29 July 1999

    ViewDownloadOpen at official source

    Leesvertaling

    Vertaal dit document naar jouw taal. PoliticalRepo bewaart geen aparte kopie per EU-taal.

    Documentvertaling op verzoek met downloadbare PDF (logo + link naar de officiële bron). Het bronbestand blijft leidend.

  • Introduced in Senate

    summary · EN · 29 July 1999

    Open at official source

    Leesvertaling

    Vertaal dit document naar jouw taal. PoliticalRepo bewaart geen aparte kopie per EU-taal.

    Documentvertaling op verzoek met downloadbare PDF (logo + link naar de officiële bron). Het bronbestand blijft leidend.

Sponsors

Related records

No cross-record relationships stored yet.

Sources

PoliticalRepo is an index and interpretation layer, not the authoritative legal source.