What This Bill Does
This bill creates a new rural mobility program within USAID's Office of Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment. The program will give grants to nonprofit organizations to distribute affordable bicycles in rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa (countries south of the Sahara Desert in Africa) so people can reach schools, health care facilities and job opportunities. The program also funds support services like training mechanics and reducing stigma (negative attitudes) around bicycle use.
Who It Affects
The USAID Administrator (the person who runs USAID) and nonprofit partner organizations receive direct instructions. Rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa would benefit from the bicycles and services.
Key Provisions
• USAID must create the rural mobility program within its Office of Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment and award grants to nonprofit organizations, especially those with proven success in this work. (Sec. 2(a)(1))
• The program focuses on sub-Saharan Africa projects that help people reach education, health care and livelihood opportunities through affordable bicycles. (Sec. 2(a)(2)(A))
• The program must support mechanics training, spare parts access and efforts to reduce gender-based stigma around bicycle use. (Sec. 2(a)(2)(B))
• USAID must partner with existing overseas organizations that have successful bicycle access models when possible. (Sec. 2(a)(3))
• USAID must report within 30 days on past bicycle projects from fiscal years 2020 through 2023, and then report every December 30 after that on current projects. (Sec. 2(b))
What Changes
If this becomes law, USAID creates a dedicated program to fund bicycles and support services in rural sub-Saharan Africa. USAID will also produce reports about which countries received bicycles, how many were distributed and what impact they had.
Important Definitions
None defined in bill text.
II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 437
To establish within the Office of Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment
of the United States Agency for International Development a rural mobil-
ity program to promote mobility in rural communities through access
to affordable, fit-for-purpose bicycles, provide support to sustainably in-
crease access to rural areas, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
FEBRUARY 15, 2023
Mr. DURBIN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred
to the Committee on Foreign Relations
A BILL
To establish within the Office of Gender Equality and Wom-
en’s Empowerment of the United States Agency for
International Development a rural mobility program to
promote mobility in rural communities through access
to affordable, fit-for-purpose bicycles, provide support to
sustainably increase access to rural areas, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bicycles for Rural Afri-
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can Transport Act’’.
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SEC. 2. RURAL MOBILITY PROGRAM IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRI-
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CA.
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(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—
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(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Administrator of the
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United States Agency for International Development
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(referred to in this Act as ‘‘USAID’’) shall establish,
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within the Office of Gender Equality and Women’s
7
Empowerment, a rural mobility program (referred to
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in this section as the ‘‘Program’’) to carry out the
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purposes described in paragraph (2), including
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through grants made to eligible nongovernmental
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partner organizations, prioritizing those organiza-
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tions with demonstrated success conducting rural
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mobility programs in the region to so carry out such
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purposes.
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(2) PURPOSE.—The Program shall focus on
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country-driven projects within sub-Saharan Africa—
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(A) to promote rural communities’ access
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to critical services and opportunities, including
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education, health care, and livelihood opportuni-
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ties, through access to affordable, fit-for-pur-
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pose bicycles; and
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(B) to provide support to sustainably in-
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crease access to critical services, such as edu-
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cation, health care, and livelihood opportunities
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in rural areas, including through support for
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rural-based mechanics, access to spare parts,
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reduction of social and gender-based stigma,
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and community project management capacity.
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(3) PARTNERSHIPS.—To the greatest extent
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practicable, the Program shall partner with existing
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entities overseas that have successful models for pro-
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viding access to affordable bicycles to achieve devel-
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opment objectives.
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(4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To
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carry out this section, there is authorized to be ap-
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propriated—
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(A) $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2024;
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(B) $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2025;
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(C) $6,000,000 for fiscal year 2026;
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(D) $6,000,000 for fiscal year 2027; and
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(E) $12,000,000 for fiscal year 2028 and
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for each fiscal year thereafter.
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(b) REPORT.—
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(1) PRIOR PROJECTS.—Not later than 30 days
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after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Ad-
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ministrator of USAID shall submit a report to the
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Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, the
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Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, the
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Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep-
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resentatives, and the Committee on Appropriations
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of the House of Representatives regarding projects
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carried out by USAID during each of the fiscal
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years 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 relating to the
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purposes described in subsection (a)(2). The report
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shall—
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(A) identify in which countries USAID em-
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bedded rural bicycle mobility into strategies,
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programs, and projects of USAID;
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(B) describe the mechanisms by which
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rural bicycle mobility was so embedded;
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(C) specify the number of bicycles distrib-
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uted each fiscal year;
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(D) assess the outcomes for and impacts
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on participants in such projects; and
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(E) assess USAID’s efforts to disseminate
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lessons learned from such projects.
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(2) CURRENT PROJECTS.—Not later than De-
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cember 30, 2025, and not later than each December
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30 thereafter, the Administrator of USAID shall
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submit a report to the congressional committees list-
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ed in paragraph (1) regarding projects carried out
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by USAID during the immediately preceding fiscal
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year. Each such report shall include information re-
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lating to the matters described in subparagraphs (A)
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through (E) of paragraph (1).
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