HR 3566 IH

To provide for the establishment of a trust fund at the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development to address long-term food production and rural development needs in Afghanistan and the Central Asian Republics.

December 20, 2001

Mr. BEREUTER (for himself, Mrs. CLAYTON, Mr. NETHERCUTT, Mr. SAWYER, Mr. OSBORNE, Mr. HALL of Ohio, Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. EHLERS, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. SHAYS, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mr. SNYDER, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. PAYNE, and Ms. BALDWIN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services

To provide for the establishment of a trust fund at the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development to address long-term food production and rural development needs in Afghanistan and the Central Asian Republics.

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 `Afghanistan and Central Asian Republics Sustainable Food Production Trust Fund Act of 2001'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

The Congress finds that--

(1) abject poverty and the inability to produce food, even at the subsistence level, in the rural, mountainous areas of Afghanistan and the Central Asian Republics have plagued the region for over 20 years;

(2) extended food shortages in this region have resulted in the consumption of seed supplies and breeding livestock necessary to continue farming and food production;

(3) ongoing and violent conflict in the region has badly damaged or destroyed the basic irrigation systems necessary for food production;

(4) despite the delivery of over $185,000,000 in aid from the United States in fiscal year 2001 toward humanitarian assistance needs in Afghanistan, millions of people remain at risk of severe malnutrition and starvation in the short- and long-terms;

(5) on October 4, 2001, President George W. Bush announced that the people of Afghanistan, and the governments of Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan will receive an additional $320,000,000 humanitarian assistance package for emergency food and refugee assistance to address the region's immediate needs during the war on terrorism; and

(6) in addition to addressing short-term emergency assistance needs in Afghanistan and the mountainous regions of the Central Asian Republics, addressing the long-term food production and rural development issues in region will be critical to attaining some stability in the region.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT.

(a) NEGOTIATIONS FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF TRUST FUND- The Secretary of the Treasury shall seek to enter into negotiations with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, in consultation with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development and other United States Government agencies, and with the member nations of the Bank and with other interested parties, for the establishment within the Bank of--

(1) the Afghanistan and Central Asian Republics Sustainable Food Production Trust Fund (in this Act referred to as the `Trust Fund') in accordance with the provisions of this Act; and

(2) the Advisory Board to the Trust Fund in accordance with section 6.

(b) PURPOSE- The purpose of the Trust Fund should be to use contributed funds to develop sustainable food production for Afghanistan and the mountainous regions of other countries of Central Asia through restocking seed, replacing breeding livestock, restoring basic irrigation systems, and providing access to credit for food production, processing, or marketing enterprises through rural microenterprise loan programs.

(c) COMPOSITION-

(1) IN GENERAL- It is the sense of the Congress that the Trust Fund should be governed by a Board of Trustees, which should be composed of representatives of the participating donor countries to the Trust Fund. Individuals appointed to the Board should have demonstrated knowledge and experience in the fields of agriculture production and rural microenterprise loan programs.

(2) UNITED STATES REPRESENTATION-

(A) IN GENERAL- If there is a Board of Trustees of the Trust Fund, the United States representative shall be the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development or the Administrator's designee.

(B) EFFECTIVE AND TERMINATION DATES-

(i) EFFECTIVE DATE- This paragraph shall take effect upon the date the Secretary of the Treasury certifies to Congress that an agreement establishing the Trust Fund and providing for a United States member of the Board of Trustees is in effect.

(ii) TERMINATION DATE- The position established by subparagraph (A) is abolished upon the date of termination of the Trust Fund.

SEC. 4. GRANT AUTHORITIES.

(a) PROGRAM OBJECTIVES- It is the sense of the Congress that:

(1) IN GENERAL- In carrying out the purpose of section 3(b), the Trust Fund, acting through the Board of Trustees, should provide only grants to nongovernmental organizations for the purpose of carrying out the activities described in paragraph (2) in Afghanistan and the other countries of Central Asia in accordance with this section.

(2) ACTIVITIES SUPPORTED-

(A) IN GENERAL- Among the activities for which the Trust Fund should provide grants should be--

(i) procurement of seed for local food production;

(ii) replacement of breeding livestock;

(iii) restoration of basic irrigation systems;

(iv) establishment of access to credit for food production, processing, or marketing enterprises through rural microenterprise loan programs; and

(v) providing technical assistance.

(B) LIMITATION- Amounts received under a grant should not be used to carry out activities related to emergencies or disasters.

(3) APPLICATIONS- A nongovernmental organization that desires to receive a grant under this section should submit an application for the grant to the Board of Trustees. The application should be developed by the nongovernmental organization in close consultation with local indigenous entities, or associated persons of a village or villages, located in the country within which the activities supported by the grant will be carried out.

(4) IMPLEMENTATION OF PROGRAM OBJECTIVES- In carrying out the objectives of paragraph (1), the Trust Fund should--

(A) coordinate its activities with governments of countries authorized to receive grants under this section, local and regional governments of such countries, nongovernmental organizations operating in such countries, and private donors;

(B) provide minimal supplementary grants for associated administrative costs to the national and regional governments of the country for which grants to nongovernmental organizations are approved under this section;

(C) provide oversight of grants disbursed under this section, including procedures under which a nongovernmental organization that misuses grant funds or otherwise fails to adequately carry out the activities described in paragraph (2) should be disqualified from receiving additional grants under this section for not less than 1 year; and

(D) coordinate efforts with national, regional, and local government officials to conduct an annual review of disbursement of grant funds and the effectiveness of activities carried out with grant funds.

(b) RESTRICTION RELATING TO THE USE OF UNITED STATES FUNDS IN AFGHANISTAN- Funds made available under this Act may not be used during a fiscal year for any activity in Afghanistan which is described in subsection (a)(2) unless the Secretary of State certifies for the fiscal year that there has been substantial progress made toward the establishment of a government in Afghanistan that meets the following requirements:

(1) The government includes broad representation from the diverse ethnic and religious groups of Afghanistan, including both men and women from such groups.

(2) The government does not sponsor terrorism or harbor terrorists.

(3) The government demonstrates a strong and determined commitment to eliminating the production of opium-producing poppies.

(4) The government meets the conditions outlined in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATION.

(a) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS- It is the sense of the Congress that:

(1) APPOINTMENT OF AN ADMINISTRATOR- The Board of Trustees, in consultation with the appropriate officials of the Bank, should appoint an Administrator who should be responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the Trust Fund.

(2) AUTHORITY TO SOLICIT AND ACCEPT CONTRIBUTIONS- The Trust Fund should be authorized to solicit and accept contributions from governments, the private sector, and nongovernmental entities of all kinds.

(3) SELECTION OF PROJECTS AND RECIPIENTS- The Board of Trustees should establish--

(A) criteria for the selection of projects to receive support from the Trust Fund;

(B) standards and criteria regarding qualifications of recipients of such support;

(C) such rules and procedures as may be necessary for cost-effective management of the Trust Fund and the projects that it funds;

(D) such rules and procedures as may be necessary to ensure transparency and accountability in the grant-making process; and

(E) criteria for an annual review process for all projects receiving grants.

(4) TRANSPARENCY OF OPERATIONS- The Board of Trustees should ensure full and prompt public disclosure of the proposed objectives, financial organization, and operations of the Trust Fund.

(b) ACCOUNTABILITY OF FUNDS AND CRITERIA FOR PROGRAMS- As part of the negotiations described in section 3(a), the Secretary of the Treasury shall, consistent with subsection (a)(3) of this section--

(1) take such actions as are necessary to ensure that the Bank will have in effect adequate procedures and standards to account for and monitor the use of funds contributed to the Trust Fund, including the cost of administering the Trust Fund; and

(2) seek agreement on the criteria that should be used to determine the programs and activities that should be assisted by the Trust Fund.

SEC. 6. ADVISORY BOARD.

(a) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS- It is the sense of the Congress that:

(1) IN GENERAL- There should be an Advisory Board to the Trust Fund.

(2) APPOINTMENTS- The members of the Advisory Board should be drawn from--

(A) a broad range of individuals with experience and leadership in the fields of development, with particular priority for individuals with experience in agricultural production and rural microenterprise loan programs; and

(B) representatives of relevant United Nations agencies and nongovernmental organizations with on-the-ground experience in countries authorized to receive grants.

(3) RESPONSIBILITIES- The Advisory Board should provide advice and guidance to the Board of Trustees on the development and implementation of programs and projects to be assisted by the Trust Fund and on leveraging donations to the Trust Fund.

(4) PROHIBITION ON PAYMENT OF COMPENSATION- Except for travel expenses (including per diem in lieu of subsistence), no member of the Advisory Board should receive compensation for services performed as a member of the Board.

(b) UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE- Notwithstanding any other provision of law (including an international agreement), a representative of the United States on the Advisory Board may not accept compensation for services performed as a member of the Board, except that such representative may accept travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, while away from the representative's home or regular place of business in the performance of services for the Board.

SEC. 7. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.

(a) ANNUAL REPORTS BY SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY-

(1) IN GENERAL- Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for the duration of the Trust Fund, the Secretary of the Treasury shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the Trust Fund.

(2) REPORT ELEMENTS- The report shall include a description of--

(A) the goals of the Trust Fund;

(B) the programs, projects, and activities supported by the Trust Fund;

(C) private and governmental contributions to the Trust Fund;

(D) the criteria that have been established, acceptable to the Secretary of the Treasury and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, that would be used to determine the programs and activities that should be assisted by the Trust Fund;

(E) an assessment regarding the extent to which the Government of Afghanistan does or does not meet the requirements of section 4(b) for that fiscal year; and

(F) with respect to a fiscal year for which Afghanistan is eligible to receive a grant under section 4, the impact of programming on food production and rural development in Afghanistan.

(b) GAO REPORT ON TRUST FUND EFFECTIVENESS- Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the appropriate committees of the Congress a report evaluating the effectiveness of the Trust Fund, including--

(1) the effectiveness of the programs, projects, and activities described in subsection (a)(2)(B) in building sustainable food production and rural microenterprise loans in the countries authorized to receive grants under this section; and

(2) an assessment of the merits of continued United States financial contributions to the Trust Fund.

(c) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES DEFINED- In subsection (a), the term `appropriate committees' means the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on International Relations, the Committee on Financial Services, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

In addition to any other funds authorized to be appropriated for multilateral or bilateral programs related to sustainable food production and microenterprise systems, there is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the Treasury $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2002 and $50,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2003 through 2006 for payment to the Trust Fund. Of the amount appropriated pursuant to the authorization of appropriations under the preceding sentence for a fiscal year 60 percent should be designated for grants for Afghanistan.

SEC. 9. CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.

(a) IN GENERAL- Prior to the initial obligation or expenditure of funds appropriated pursuant to section 8, the Secretary of the Treasury shall certify that adequate procedures and standards have been established to ensure accountability for and monitoring of the use of funds contributed to the Trust Fund, including the cost of administering the Trust Fund.

(b) TRANSMITTAL OF CERTIFICATION- The certification required by subsection (a), and the bases for that certification, shall be submitted by the Secretary of the Treasury to Congress.

SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:

(1) BANK- The term `Bank' means the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

(2) OTHER COUNTRIES OF CENTRAL ASIA- The term `other countries of Central Asia' means Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

END