Women’s Global Empowerment, Development and Prosperity Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3301 To promote the empowerment, development, and prosperity of women globally, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 13, 2020 Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself and Mr. GRAHAM) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations A BILL To promote the empowerment, development, and prosperity of women globally, 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, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Women’s Global Em- 4 powerment, Development and Prosperity Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE WOMEN’S GLOBAL DEVEL- 6 OPMENT AND PROSPERITY INITIATIVE. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall es- 8 tablish within the Office of Women’s Empowerment an of- 9 fice for the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 Feb 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3301.IS S3301 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3301 IS Initiative (W–GDP) to lead and coordinate efforts related 1 to the objectives set forth in subsection (b). 2 (b) OBJECTIVES.—The W–GDP Initiative should be 3 based on the following three pillars: 4 (1) WOMEN PROSPERING IN THE WORK- 5 FORCE.—Advance women in the workforce by im- 6 proving access to quality vocational education and 7 skills training, enabling women to secure jobs in 8 their local economies. 9 (2) WOMEN SUCCEEDING AS ENTRE- 10 PRENEURS.—Promote women’s entrepreneurship 11 and increase access to capital, markets, technical as- 12 sistance, and mentorship. 13 (3) WOMEN ENABLED IN THE ECONOMY.— 14 Identify and reduce the legal, regulatory, and cul- 15 tural barriers that constrain women’s full and free 16 participation in the global economy and promote im- 17 proved practices. 18 (c) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON ENABLING WOMEN IN 19 THE ECONOMY.—It is the sense of Congress that, recog- 20 nizing the breadth of work necessary to address the overall 21 enabling environment and supporting efforts related to the 22 third pillar set forth under subsection (b)(3), it should be 23 the policy of the United States to ensure that the United 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 Feb 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3301.IS S3301 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3301 IS States Government promotes the following five types of 1 foundational legal reforms: 2 (1) ACCESSING INSTITUTIONS.—Lifting barriers 3 that prevent women from fully participating in the 4 workforce, ensuring women’s authority to sign legal 5 documents such as contracts and court documents, 6 and addressing unequal access to courts and admin- 7 istrative bodies for women, whether officially, 8 through lack of proper enforcement, or through the 9 unequal access of education that may prevent wom- 10 en’s literacy. 11 (2) BUILDING CREDIT.—Ensuring women’s 12 equal access to credit and capital to start and grow 13 their businesses, and prohibiting discrimination in 14 access to credit on the basis of gender or marital 15 status. 16 (3) OWNING AND MANAGING PROPERTY.—Lift- 17 ing restrictions on women’s possessing and man- 18 aging property, including limitations on inheritance 19 and the ability to transfer, purchase, or lease prop- 20 erty. 21 (4) TRAVELING FREELY.—Addressing con- 22 straints on women’s freedom of movement, including 23 restrictions on obtaining passports on the basis of 24 gender. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:38 Feb 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3301.IS S3301 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3301 IS (5) REMOVING RESTRICTIONS ON EMPLOY- 1 MENT.—Eliminating barriers that limit working 2 hours, occupations, or tasks on the basis of gender. 3 (d) POLICY ALIGNMENT.—The Women’s Global De- 4 velopment and Prosperity Initiative shall be closely aligned 5 and coordinated with ongoing United States Government 6 efforts to advance women’s empowerment globally, includ- 7 ing requirements under the Women, Peace, and Security 8 Act of 2017 (Public Law 115–68) and the Women’s En- 9 trepreneurship and Economic Empowerment Act of 2018 10 (Public Law 115–428). 11 SEC. 3. LEVERAGING UNITED STATES ASSISTANCE. 12 The Secretary of State, in coordination with the Am- 13 bassador-at-Large overseeing the Office of Women’s Em- 14 powerment and the heads of relevant Federal agencies, in- 15 cluding those set forth in section 5(b), may work with the 16 private sector and nongovernmental organizations to lever- 17 age public and private capital to complement W–GDP Ini- 18 tiative programs and related efforts, including financing 19 infrastructure investments and supporting capacity build- 20 ing activities, and enter into cost-sharing, cost-matching, 21 and other cooperative agreements to support and finance 22 such programs. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 Feb 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3301.IS S3301 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3301 IS SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro- 2 priated not less than $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2021 3 and for each fiscal year thereafter until 2025 for a W– 4 GDP Fund, established at the United States Agency for 5 International Development, with a focus on sourcing and 6 scaling the most impactful programs for women’s eco- 7 nomic empowerment and ensuring there is not duplication 8 of effort with other departments and agencies. 9 (b) APPROPRIATIONS REQUIREMENT.—Funds au- 10 thorized to be appropriated by this section shall only be 11 made available subject to the availability of appropria- 12 tions. 13 (c) OVERSIGHT.—Funds authorized to be appro- 14 priated by this section shall be jointly overseen by the 15 United States Agency for International Development and 16 the Ambassador described in section 6. 17 SEC. 5. INTERAGENCY STEERING GROUP. 18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President shall establish 19 a steering group (the ‘‘Steering Group’’), with representa- 20 tion from appropriate Federal departments and agencies, 21 to carry out the policy goals of this Act. The President 22 shall designate a chair or co-chairs to lead the activities 23 of the Steering Group in coordination with the Ambas- 24 sador-at-Large. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 Feb 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3301.IS S3301 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3301 IS (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Steering Group shall include 1 representatives from— 2 (1) the Department of State; 3 (2) the Department of the Treasury; 4 (3) the Department of Commerce; 5 (4) the Department of Labor; 6 (5) the Department of Defense; 7 (6) the United States Agency for International 8 Development (USAID); 9 (7) the Millennium Challenge Corporation; 10 (8) the Peace Corps; 11 (9) the United States International Develop- 12 ment Finance Corporation (DFC); 13 (10) the Inter-American Foundation; 14 (11) the United States African Development 15 Foundation; 16 (12) the components of the executive offices of 17 the President, including the Office of Management 18 and Budget, and the Office of the United States 19 Trade Representative; and 20 (13) other Federal agencies, as determined ap- 21 propriate by guidelines developed by the co-chairs. 22 SEC. 6. OFFICE OF WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT. 23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of State shall 24 establish in the Office of the Secretary of the Department 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 Feb 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3301.IS S3301 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3301 IS of State the Office of Women’s Empowerment. The Office 1 shall be headed by an Ambassador-at-Large, who shall be 2 appointed by the President, by and with the advice and 3 consent of the Senate. The Ambassador shall report di- 4 rectly to the Secretary and shall have the rank and status 5 of Ambassador-at-Large. 6 (b) PURPOSE.—In addition to the duties described in 7 this Act and duties determined by the Secretary of State, 8 the Ambassador shall coordinate efforts of the United 9 States Government as directed by the Secretary regarding 10 approaches that promote equality and advance the status 11 and development of women and girls in United States for- 12 eign policy. 13 (c) DUTIES.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Ambassador shall— 15 (A) direct activities, policies, programs, 16 and funding relating to gender equality and the 17 advancement of women and girls internation- 18 ally; 19 (B) actively promote and advance the inte- 20 gration of gender analysis into the formulation 21 of policy, programs, structures, process, and ca- 22 pacities throughout the bureaus and offices of 23 the Department of State and in the inter- 24 national programs of other Federal agencies; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 Feb 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3301.IS S3301 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3301 IS (C) direct United States Government re- 1 sources, as appropriate, to respond to needs for 2 promoting gender equality and the empower- 3 ment of women in United States Government 4 foreign policies and international programs; 5 (D) design, support, and implement activi- 6 ties regarding— 7 (i) the empowerment of women inter- 8 nationally, including for the prevention of 9 and response to gender-based violence 10 internationally; 11 (ii) the policies and goals of the 12 Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017 13 (Public Law 115–68) and the Women’s 14 Entrepreneurship and Economic Empower- 15 ment Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–428); 16 (iii) the Global Women’s Development 17 and Prosperity (W–GDP) Initiative as de- 18 scribed in section 2; and 19 (iv) the reduction of legal, regulatory, 20 and cultural barriers that constrain women 21 worldwide; 22 (E) ensure that programs, projects, and 23 activities designed to promote and empower 24 women internationally are subject to rigorous 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 Feb 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3301.IS S3301 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3301 IS monitoring and evaluation, and oversee the de- 1 velopment of indicators and standards for such 2 monitoring and evaluation, with the intent of 3 using these across relevant Federal agencies; 4 (F) partner, consult, and coordinate with 5 other governments, bilateral and multilateral in- 6 stitutions, nongovernmental organizations, and 7 private-sector partners, and represent the 8 United States in diplomatic and multilateral 9 fora as appropriate, to advance the objectives of 10 this Act; 11 (G) serve as the principal advisor to the 12 Secretary of State regarding gender equality, 13 women’s empowerment, and gender-based vio- 14 lence as a foreign policy matter; and 15 (H) undertake other relevant duties that 16 the Secretary of State shall determine, as ap- 17 propriate. 18 (2) INFORMATION SHARING AND TRANS- 19 PARENCY.—The Office of Women’s Empowerment 20 shall— 21 (A) be the central repository of data on all 22 United States programs, projects, and activities 23 that relate to empowering, promoting, includ- 24 ing, and advancing women worldwide; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 Feb 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3301.IS S3301 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 3301 IS (B) produce a full accounting of United 1 States Government spending on such programs, 2 projects, and activities not later than one year 3 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 4 (d) SERVICE OF CURRENT SENIOR OFFICIAL.—A 5 senior official appointed by the President as an Ambas- 6 sador-at-Large and confirmed by the Senate for a position 7 that addresses global women’s issues may also serve in the 8 Ambassador-at-Large position established under this sec- 9 tion. 10 SEC. 7. SENIOR COORDINATOR FOR GENDER EQUALITY 11 AND WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT. 12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 13 United States Agency for International Development the 14 position of Senior Coordinator for Gender Equality and 15 Women’s Empowerment. The Senior Coordinator shall— 16 (1) report to the Administrator of the United 17 States Agency for International Development; and 18 (2) conduct duties as directed by the Adminis- 19 trator to promote the purposes of this Act. 20 (b) IN GENERAL.—The Senior Coordinator— 21 (1) in consultation with the Ambassador-at- 22 Large described in section 6, shall coordinate activi- 23 ties, policies, programs, and funding of the Agency 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 Feb 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3301.IS S3301 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 3301 IS relating to gender equality and women’s empower- 1 ment;. 2 (2) shall actively promote and advance the inte- 3 gration of gender analysis into the programs, struc- 4 tures, processes, and capacities of all bureaus and 5 offices of the Agency as dictated by the Agency’s 6 Gender Equality and Female Empowerment Policy; 7 (3) may design, support, and implement activi- 8 ties led by the Agency regarding gender equality and 9 women’s empowerment, including for the prevention 10 and response to gender-based violence internation- 11 ally; 12 (4) shall serve as the principal advisor to the 13 Administrator on gender equality, women’s em- 14 powerment, and gender-based violence; 15 (5) shall track and analyze monitoring and eval- 16 uation data and findings on gender equality and 17 women’s empowerment programs of the Agency; and 18 (6) shall partner, consult, and coordinate with 19 other governments, bilateral and multilateral institu- 20 tions, nongovernmental organizations, and private- 21 sector partners to advance the objectives of this Act. 22 SEC. 8. REPORTING TO CONGRESS. 23 (a) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after 24 the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually there- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 Feb 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3301.IS S3301 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 3301 IS after until 2025, the President shall submit to the appro- 1 priate congressional committees a report that— 2 (1) summarizes and evaluates the implementa- 3 tion of United States diplomatic efforts and foreign 4 assistance programs, projects, and activities to ad- 5 vance the policy objectives set forth in section 2; 6 (2) describes the nature and extent of the co- 7 ordination among the relevant departments and 8 agencies; 9 (3) describes the monitoring and evaluation 10 tools, mechanisms, and common indicators to assess 11 progress made on the policy objectives of this Act; 12 (4) describes pa [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]