Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6117 To promote the empowerment, development, and prosperity of women globally, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 5, 2020 Mr. MCCAUL (for himself, Mrs. WAGNER, Ms. HOULAHAN, and Ms. FRANKEL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Foreign Affairs 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 Devel- 4 opment 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 an office for the Women’s Global Development and 9 Prosperity Initiative (W–GDP) under the office estab- 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:59 Mar 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6117.IH H6117 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6117 IH lished in section 6(a) 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 social 15 barriers, including disproportionate burdens of un- 16 paid care, gender-based violence and abuse, and 17 underinvestment in education, that constrain wom- 18 en’s full and free participation in the global economy 19 and promote improved practices. 20 (c) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON ENABLING WOMEN IN 21 THE ECONOMY.—It is the sense of Congress that, recog- 22 nizing the breadth of work necessary to address the overall 23 enabling environment and supporting efforts related to the 24 third pillar set forth under subsection (b)(3), it should be 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:59 Mar 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6117.IH H6117 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6117 IH the policy of the United States to ensure that the United 1 States Government promotes the following five types of 2 foundational legal reforms: 3 (1) ACCESSING INSTITUTIONS.—Lifting barriers 4 that prevent women from fully participating in the 5 work force, ensuring women’s authority to sign legal 6 documents such as contracts and court documents, 7 and addressing unequal access to courts and admin- 8 istrative bodies for women, whether officially, 9 through lack of proper enforcement, or through the 10 unequal access of education that may prevent wom- 11 en’s literacy. 12 (2) BUILDING CREDIT.—Ensuring women’s 13 equal access to credit and capital to start and grow 14 their businesses, and prohibiting discrimination in 15 access to credit on the basis of gender or marital 16 status. 17 (3) OWNING AND MANAGING PROPERTY.—Lift- 18 ing restrictions on women’s possessing and man- 19 aging property, including limitations on inheritance 20 and the ability to transfer, purchase, or lease prop- 21 erty. 22 (4) TRAVELING FREELY.—Addressing con- 23 straints on women’s freedom of movement, including 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:59 Mar 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6117.IH H6117 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6117 IH restrictions on obtaining passports on the basis of 1 gender. 2 (5) REMOVING RESTRICTIONS ON EMPLOY- 3 MENT.—Eliminating barriers that limit working 4 hours, occupations, or tasks on the basis of gender. 5 (d) POLICY ALIGNMENT.—The Women’s Global De- 6 velopment and Prosperity Initiative shall be closely aligned 7 and coordinated with ongoing United States Government 8 efforts to advance women’s empowerment globally, includ- 9 ing requirements under the Women, Peace, and Security 10 Act of 2017 (Public Law 115–68) and the Women’s En- 11 trepreneurship and Economic Empowerment Act of 2018 12 (Public Law 115–428). 13 SEC. 3. LEVERAGING UNITED STATES ASSISTANCE. 14 The Secretary of State, in coordination with the Am- 15 bassador-at-Large for Women’s Empowerment and the 16 heads of relevant Federal agencies, including those set 17 forth in section 5(b), may work with the private sector 18 and nongovernmental organizations to leverage public and 19 private capital to complement W–GDP Initiative programs 20 and related efforts. 21 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 22 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro- 23 priated not less than $200,000,000 for fiscal years 2021 24 through 2025 for a W–GDP Fund, established at the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:59 Mar 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6117.IH H6117 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 6117 IH United States Agency for International Development, with 1 a focus on sourcing and scaling the most impactful pro- 2 grams for women’s economic empowerment and ensuring 3 there is not duplication of effort with other departments 4 and agencies. 5 (b) APPROPRIATIONS REQUIREMENT.—Funds au- 6 thorized to be appropriated by this section shall only be 7 made available subject to the availability of appropria- 8 tions. 9 (c) OVERSIGHT.—Funds authorized to be appro- 10 priated by this section shall be jointly overseen by the 11 United States Agency for International Development and 12 the Ambassador for Women’s Empowerment. 13 SEC. 5. INTERAGENCY STEERING GROUP AND ADVISORY 14 COUNCIL. 15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF AN INTERAGENCY STEERING 16 GROUP.— 17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall establish 18 a steering group (the ‘‘Steering Group’’), with rep- 19 resentation from appropriate Federal departments 20 and agencies, to carry out the policy goals of this 21 Act. The President shall designate a chair or co- 22 chairs to lead the activities of the Steering Group in 23 coordination with the Ambassador-at-Large for 24 Women’s Empowerment. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:59 Mar 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6117.IH H6117 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 6117 IH (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Steering Group shall 1 include representatives from— 2 (A) the Department of State; 3 (B) the Department of the Treasury; 4 (C) the Department of Commerce; 5 (D) the Department of Labor; 6 (E) the Department of Defense; 7 (F) the United States Agency for Inter- 8 national Development (USAID); 9 (G) the Millennium Challenge Corporation; 10 (H) the Peace Corps; 11 (I) the United States International Devel- 12 opment Finance Corporation (DFC); 13 (J) the Inter-American Foundation; 14 (K) the United States African Develop- 15 ment Foundation; 16 (L) the components of the executive offices 17 of the President, including the Office of Man- 18 agement and Budget, and the Office of the 19 United States Trade Representative; and 20 (M) other Federal agencies, as determined 21 appropriate by guidelines developed by the co- 22 chairs. 23 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF AN ADVISORY COUNCIL.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:59 Mar 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6117.IH H6117 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 6117 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—The President may establish 1 a W–GDP Advisory Council (in this subsection re- 2 ferred to as the ‘‘Council’’) to advise the Secretary 3 of State, and others as appropriate. 4 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—Members of the Council 5 should be appointed by the Secretary of State and 6 may consist of up to 16 members that includes rep- 7 resentation from non-governmental organizations, 8 think tanks, advocacy organizations, foundations, 9 the private sector, faith-based organizations, wom- 10 en’s organizations, and other institutions engaged in 11 promoting women’s economic empowerment globally. 12 (3) FUNCTIONS.—The Secretary of State 13 should call upon members of the Council, either col- 14 lectively or individually, to advise the Interagency 15 Steering Group regarding the extent to which the 16 W–GDP Initiative is meeting its objectives and any 17 suggestions for improvements with respect to meet- 18 ing those objectives, including implementation chal- 19 lenges and opportunities. 20 (4) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The 21 Council shall not be subject to the Federal Advisory 22 Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.). 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:59 Mar 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6117.IH H6117 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 6117 IH SEC. 6. OFFICE OF WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT. 1 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of State should 2 establish in the Office of the Secretary of the Department 3 of State the Office of Women’s Empowerment. The Office 4 should be headed by an Ambassador-at-Large for Wom- 5 en’s Empowerment, who should be appointed by the Presi- 6 dent, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. 7 The Ambassador-at-Large should report directly to the 8 Secretary. 9 (b) PURPOSE.—In addition to the duties described in 10 this Act and duties determined by the Secretary of State, 11 the Ambassador should coordinate efforts of the United 12 States Government as directed by the Secretary regarding 13 approaches that promote equality and advance the status 14 and development of women and girls in United States for- 15 eign policy. 16 (c) DUTIES.— 17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Ambassador should— 18 (A) direct activities, policies, programs, 19 and funding relating to gender equality and the 20 advancement of women and girls internation- 21 ally; 22 (B) work to ensure the integration of gen- 23 der analysis into the formulation of policy, pro- 24 grams, structures, process, and capacities 25 throughout the bureaus and offices of the De- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:59 Mar 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6117.IH H6117 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 6117 IH partment of State and in the international pro- 1 grams of other Federal agencies; 2 (C) direct United States Government re- 3 sources, as appropriate, to respond to needs for 4 promoting gender equality and the empower- 5 ment of women in United States Government 6 foreign policies and international programs; 7 (D) design, support, and implement activi- 8 ties regarding— 9 (i) the empowerment of women inter- 10 nationally, including for the prevention of 11 and response to gender-based violence 12 internationally; 13 (ii) the policies and goals of the 14 Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017 15 (Public Law 115–68) and the Women’s 16 Entrepreneurship and Economic Empower- 17 ment Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–428); 18 (iii) the Women’s Global Development 19 and Prosperity (W–GDP) Initiative as de- 20 scribed in section 2; and 21 (iv) the reduction of legal, regulatory, 22 and social barriers that constrain women 23 worldwide; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:59 Mar 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6117.IH H6117 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 6117 IH (E) ensure that programs, projects, and 1 activities designed to promote and empower 2 women internationally are subject to rigorous 3 monitoring and evaluation, and oversee the de- 4 velopment of indicators and standards for such 5 monitoring and evaluation, with the intent of 6 using these across relevant Federal agencies; 7 (F) partner, consult, and coordinate with 8 other governments, bilateral and multilateral in- 9 stitutions, nongovernmental organizations, and 10 private-sector partners, and represent the 11 United States in diplomatic and multilateral 12 fora as appropriate, to advance the objectives of 13 this Act; 14 (G) serve as the principal advisor to the 15 Secretary of State regarding gender equality, 16 women’s empowerment, and gender-based vio- 17 lence as a foreign policy matter; and 18 (H) undertake other relevant duties that 19 the Secretary of State shall determine, as ap- 20 propriate. 21 (2) INFORMATION SHARING AND TRANS- 22 PARENCY.—The Office of Women’s Empowerment 23 should, as appropriate— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:59 Mar 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6117.IH H6117 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 6117 IH (A) be the central repository of data on all 1 United States programs, projects, and activities 2 that relate to empowering, promoting, includ- 3 ing, and advancing women worldwide; and 4 (B) produce a full accounting of United 5 States Government spending on such programs, 6 projects, and activities not later than one year 7 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 8 (d) SERVICE OF CURRENT SENIOR OFFICIAL.—A 9 senior official with experience in promoting gender equal- 10 ity and the empowerment of women and girls, appointed 11 by the President as an Ambassador-at-Large and con- 12 firmed by the Senate for a position that addresses global 13 women’s issues, shall also serve in the Ambassador-at- 14 Large position established under this section. 15 SEC. 7. SENIOR COORDINATOR FOR GENDER EQUALITY 16 AND WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT. 17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There should be established 18 in the United States Agency for International Develop- 19 ment the position of Senior Coordinator for Gender Equal- 20 ity and Women’s Empowerment. The Senior Coordinator 21 should— 22 (1) report to the Administrator of the United 23 States Agency for International Development; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:59 Mar 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6117.IH H6117 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 6117 IH (2) conduct duties as directed by the Adminis- 1 trator to promote the purposes of this Act. 2 (b) IN GENERAL.—The Senior Coordinator should— 3 (1) in consultation with the Ambassador-at- 4 Large for Women’s Empowerment described in sec- 5 tion 6, coordinate activities, policies, programs, and 6 funding of the Agency relating to gender equality 7 and women’s empowerment; 8 (2) work to ensure the integration of gender 9 analysis into the programs, structures, processes, 10 and capacities of all bureaus and offices of the 11 Agency as mandated by the Women’s Entrepreneur- 12 ship and Economic Empowerment Act of 2018 13 (Public Law 115–428); 14 (3) design, support, and implement activities 15 led by the Agency regarding gender equality and 16 women’s empowerment, including for the prevention 17 and response to gender-based violence internation- 18 ally; [Text truncated for display. 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