International Development and Food Assistance Act of 1977

Summary

International Development and Food Assistance Act - Title I: International Development Assistance - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize the President to make development assistance available to the relatively least developed countries on a grant basis to the maximum extent consistent with United States development objectives. Amends the policy statement of such Act with respect to maximizing the effectiveness of development assistance. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to repeal the authorization of appropriations for fiscal year 1976 and to authorize the appropriation of $613,200,000 for fiscal year 1978, for food and nutrition assistance. Requires that not less than $10,000,000 of such funds be used only for research, development, and use of small-scale, renewable energy sources for rural areas, undertaken with the cooperation of the Energy Research and Development Administration. Authorizes the appropriation of $181,000,000 for family planning and population growth control assistance for FY 1978. Authorizes the appropriation of $105,900,000 for FY 1978 for health assistance. Requires that such assistance be administered with attention to developing the standard of living in developing countries. Restricts $1,700,000 of the above health funds to be used for contribution to the World Health Organization Onchocerciasis Control Program. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to repeal the authorization of appropriations for FY 1976 and to authorize the appropriation of $84,900,000 for FY 1978 for education and human resources development assistance. Amends such Act to repeal the authorization of appropriations for FY 1976 and to authorize appropriations of $110,000,000 for FY 1978 for technical assistance, energy research, reconstruction, selected development problems, and assistance for severe environmental damage in less developed countries. Requires that not less than $8,000,000 of such funds be used to design and implement nonnuclear energy sources. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to exempt from cost-sharing and funding limits grant assistance to the relatively least developed countries and intermediate technology assistance. Requires that not less than $10,000,000 of funds made available for FY 1978 be used only for technical assistance in the development and use of cooperatives. Directs the President to submit to Congress a report on the integration of women into the developing economics of countries receiving development assistance. Prohibits the use of certain funds made available by this Act for any country receiving security supporting assistance or assistance for Middle East peace, unless specifically authorized by Congress. Repeals prohibitions for using such funds for any country receiving (1) assistance for relief of Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam, or (2) Indochina postwar assistance. Requires that $750,000 of development assistance funds made available for FY 1978 be used to study and promote civil and political rights in countries receiving assistance. Prohibits the use of such funds to influence any election. Requires the administration of certain development assistance to give attention to the impact of programs on population growth. Requires certain activities to be reviewed for their impact on fertility. Directs particular attention to be paid to building motivation for family planning. Authorizes the President to study the factors affecting population and motivation of family planning. Encourages the President to promote breastfeeding programs. Directs the President to take into account the impact of development programs on the natural resources of the recipient country. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize the President to furnish assistance for the long-term development of the Sahel. Directs the President to prepare an annual report on the Sahel development program. Authorizes the appropriation of $200,000,000 for FY 1978 for such purposes. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to repeal the authorization of appropriations for American schools and hospitals abroad for FY 1976. Authorizes the appropriation of $25,000,000 for FY 1978 for such purposes. Prohibits the furnishing of such assistance to more than four institutions in one country. Authorizes the appropriation of $7,000,000 for fiscal years 1977 and 1978 in foreign currencies for such purposes. Amends such Act to repeal the authorization of appropriations for FY 1976 for international organizations and programs and to authorize the appropriation of $271,750,000 for FY 1978 for such purposes. Requires that not less than $500,000 be used for a contribution to the Namibia Institute. Requests the President in making contributions to international organizations, to take into account the economic integration of women. Amends such Act to repeal the authorization of appropriations for FY 1976 for international disaster assistance, and to authorize the appropriation of $25,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1977 and 1978 for such purposes. Authorizes the appropriation of $20,000,000 for FY 1978 for relief assistance to the victims of the 1976 earthquakes in Italy. Amends such Act to permit the furnishing of services and commodities through foreign voluntary nonprofit relief agencies, approved by the Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid under regulations issued by the President when no United States voluntary nonprofit relief agency is available. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to repeal the prohibitions on aid to countries assisting or trading with Cuba or Vietnam. Repeals the authority of the President to waive prohibitions on aid in the national interest. Amends such Act to abolish the office of Inspector General, Foreign Assistance, in the Department of State. Authorizes the President to assign the duties of such officer to the Inspector General, Foreign Services. Amends such Act of repeal the direction to the President to establish a Development Coordination Committee. Directs the President to submit to Congress an annual report on United States international development policies and programs. Authorizes the President to use up to $2,000,000 of funds appropriated under this Act for fiscal years 1976, 1977, and 1978 to work with friendly countries which do not receive development assistance to facilitate access to natural resources and stimulate reimbursable aid programs. Authorizes the appropriation of $220,200,000 for FY 1978 for operating expenses under such Act, and of such sums as may be necessary for employee benefits. Permits the transfer of funds appropriated under such Act to operating expenses. Amends such Act to prohibit the obligation of funds under such Act for activities not justified, or in excess of the amount justified to Congress, unless certain Congressional committees are notified in advance. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to declare it the sense of Congress that the United States should substantially increase assistance for self-help development of the world's poorest people. Title II: Food for Peace - Amends the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 to repeal the prohibitions against agricultural financing by the Commodity Credit Corporation for any exporter trading with Vietnam. Repeals the requirement that applications for financing by the Corporation be accompanied by certain information regarding corporate officers and subsidiaries. Amends the definition of "friendly country" under such Act to repeal the exclusion of nations trading with Cuba, Vietnam, or the United Arab Republic. Revises the criteria, under such Act, for allocation of food aid commodities to prohibit more than 25 percent of such commodities from being provided to countries that do not meet the poverty criteria established by the International Development Association. Eliminates the power of the Congress to disapprove a Presidential waiver of such criteria for humanitarian food purposes upon certification to Congress. Directs the President to assure that purchase authorizations under such Act are consistent with requisite storage facilities in the recipient country. Amends the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 to prohibit agricultural commodity agreements with any country which engages in a consistent pattern of gross human rights violations, unless such agreement will directly benefit the needy people in such country. Sets forth procedures for determining the existence of a consistent pattern of human rights violations. Amends such Act to declare it the policy of the United States that the United States shall assist economic self-sufficiency in food assistance recipient-countries and shall continue provision of high protein, blended or fortified foods. Permits the President to waive repayment of food assistance up to the costs of processing, enrichment, or fortification. Authorizes the President to establish food for development programs by encouraging the use of the resources provided by the concessional financing of agricultural commodities under this Act by permitting the funds accruing from the local sale of such commodities which are used for such purposes to be applied against from the local sale of such commodities which are used for such purposes to be applied against the repayment obligation of governments receiving concessional financing under this Act. Sets forth the criteria for eligibility for such food for development programs, and procedures for implementation of such programs (including multiyear use proposals integrating the programs into development plans and development assistance, and review of such programs). Amends the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 to require the President to submit to Congress, every five years, a comparative cross-country evaluation of the food for development programs and commodity assistance programs for famine and other purposes. Increases the annual minimum quantity of commodities distributed for famine and other purposes to 1,600,000 tons of which 1,300,000 tons shall be distributed through nonprofit voluntary agencies and the World Food Program. Permits the President to utilize a foreign nonprofit voluntary agency approved by the Advisory Committee on Voluntary Aid when no United States nonprofit voluntary agency approved by the Committee is available. Requires the use of indigenous workers to the extent feasible to furnish nutrition information and conduct food distribution programs. Directs that food distribution priority by given to those suffering from malnutrition.

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Documents

3 official files

• Public Law (PDF)

  Public Law · EN · 4 August 1977

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• Conference report filed in House

  summary · EN · 14 July 1977

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• Introduced in House

  summary · EN · 28 April 1977

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