[Senate Report 113-131]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 283
113th Congress } { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 113-131
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FOREIGN AID TRANSPARENCY AND
ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2013
_______
December 20, 2013.--Ordered to be printed
Mr. Menendez, from the Committee on Foreign Relations,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 1271]
The Committee on Foreign Relations, having had under
consideration the bill S. 1271, to direct the President to
establish guidelines for United States foreign assistance
programs, and for other purposes, reports favorably thereon,
with an amendment, and recommends that the bill, as amended, do
pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose..........................................................1
II. Committee Action.................................................1
III. Discussion.......................................................2
IV. Cost Estimate....................................................4
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................4
VI. Changes in Existing Law..........................................4
I. Purpose
The purpose of S. 1271 is to direct the President to
establish guidelines for United States foreign assistance
programs.
II. Committee Action
S. 1271 was introduced by Senators Rubio and Cardin on July
10, 2013. On November 14, 2013, the committee considered S.
1271 and ordered it reported, with amendments, by voice vote.
The committee took the following action with regard to
amendments:
An amendment in the nature of a substitute was offered by
Senators Rubio and Cardin, and was agreed to by voice vote. The
Rubio/Cardin substitute amendment made technical changes to
various parts of the introduced bill. The amendment also
extended the deadlines to submit and publish information.
Additionally, the amendment exempted the Secretary of State
from implementing monitoring and evaluation guidelines
established under the Act for certain security sector
assistance to the extent that the President is taking steps as
of the date of enactment of the Act to implement measures with
respect to security assistance that are similar to such
guidelines. The amendment also added requirements for
congressional briefings if the Secretary waives the
implementation of monitoring and evaluation guidelines for
security sector assistance, and in the event a federal
department or agency fails to comply with the requirements to
submit and publish information.
III. Discussion
Senators Rubio and Cardin introduced the Foreign Aid
Transparency and Accountability Act of 2013 to update current
efforts to monitor and evaluate United States foreign
assistance programs by directing the President to establish a
robust transparency and accountability framework for United
States foreign assistance programs, and by requiring periodic
analyses by the Comptroller General of the Administration's
implementation of transparency and accountability standards.
The committee considered the appropriate level of scrutiny
necessary for United States foreign security sector assistance.
In 2012, nearly $20 billion of $55 billion in U.S. foreign
assistance went to security assistance programs. As introduced,
S. 1271 authorizes the Secretary of State to exempt security
assistance from the Act's monitoring and reporting requirements
if such efforts are ``detrimental to the national interests of
the United States.''
The State Department requested amendment of the provision
to ensure it was consistent with monitoring and evaluation
efforts underway in accordance to Presidential Policy Directive
23 (PPD 23) issued in April 2013. Although it was difficult to
ascertain how the Administration's ongoing efforts compare to
the Act's requirements, some of the policy guidelines in PPD 23
appear to closely mirror the bill's requirements for cross-
program coordination and rigorous assessment and evaluations,
among other things.
The committee believes that applying substantive monitoring
and evaluation standards to security assistance programs is
consistent with recommendation of the General Accountability
Office for the Departments of Defense and State to develop
performance indicators for security assistance programs in
certain countries, as well as with a January 2013 report by the
State Department's International Security Advisory Board that
called for a ``comprehensive review of all security
assistance.''
At the administration's request, the committee amended
subsection 2(f) of the Act to exempt the Secretary of State
from implementing security sector assistance programs according
to the monitoring and evaluation guidelines established by the
President pursuant to the Act, to the extent the administration
is already conducting similar monitoring and evaluation
measures at the time of enactment. The committee accompanied
this waiver authority with a requirement for a congressional
briefing in cases where the Secretary uses such authority. In
the view of the committee, such a briefing should occur within
30 days of the issuance of a waiver under subsection 2(f).
As reported by the committee, the Act would authorize
federal departments and agencies administering foreign
assistance programs to use up to 5 percent of authorized
foreign assistance funds to carry out the provisions of the
Act. The committee urges the Secretary of State to report to
the appropriate congressional committees within 180 days after
the date of enactment of this Act: (1) the amount of funding
required in the current and following fiscal year to fulfill
the requirements of this Act; (2) the activities and outcomes
the funding will support; and (3) whether any activities
covered in the report are otherwise funded through existing
activities or requirements. The committee also urges the
Secretary of State to, not later than 30 days after the end of
each fiscal year, submit to the appropriate congressional
committees: (1) a financial report that provides for the
preceding fiscal year: (2) the actual percentage of funding
allocated to carry out this Act; (3) the total dollar amount of
such funding; and (4) detailed information regarding the
appropriations accounts from which such funding was allocated
and the amounts of such allocations by appropriations account.
Section 1 of S. 1271 provides the Short Title: the
``Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act of 2013.''
Section 2 requires the President, within 18 months of the
enactment of the bill, to establish monitoring and evaluation
guidelines to set measurable goals, performance metrics, and
monitoring and evaluation plans that can be applied with
reasonable consistency to United States foreign assistance
programs. It outlines specific objectives that the guidelines
must meet, including employing best practices in the monitoring
and evaluation field, requiring a plan for the training of
relevant staff, and the dissemination of guidelines for
development and implementation of monitoring and evaluation
programs and the dissemination of knowledge and lessons learned
from such programs. Section 2 also sets a requirement for
federal departments and agencies administering foreign
assistance programs to implement the guidelines within 12
months of their promulgation. Section 2 provides a waiver for
security sector assistance programs provided the administration
is already conducting similar monitoring and evaluation
measures. It also requires congressional briefings regarding
the use of the waiver. Among other things, section 2 also
requires the GAO to report on current efforts to monitor and
evaluate U.S. foreign assistance programs, and, three years
after the date of enactment, biennial reports for the next ten
years on the implementation of the guidelines.
Section 3 requires federal departments and agencies to
submit information on foreign aid programs under their
administration to the Secretary of State, including country
assistance strategies, annual budget documents, congressional
budget justifications, obligations, expenditures, and reports
and evaluations. It requires the Secretary of State to publish
this information on a semi-annual basis. Among other things,
section 3 also exempts the publication of information that
would jeopardize the health or security of an implementing
partner or program beneficiary or be detrimental to the
national interests of the United States, as determined by the
Secretary of State.
Section 4 expresses the sense of Congress that Congress
shall take into account the Comptroller General's reports under
section 2(f)(2) when making decisions regarding the
appropriation of funds for each department or agency that
administers United States foreign assistance.
Section 5 authorizes Federal Agencies to use up to 5
percent of authorized funds to carry out the provisions in this
Act.
Section 6 defines ``appropriate congressional committees,''
``United States foreign assistance,'' and ``United States
security sector assistance''.
IV. Cost Estimate
In accordance with Rule XXVI, paragraph 11(a) of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the committee notes that the cost
estimate provided by the Congressional Budget Office was not
available for inclusion in this report. The estimate will be
printed in either a supplemental report or the Congressional
Record when it is available.
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact
Pursuant to Rule XXVI, paragraph 11(b) of the Standing
Rules of the Senate, the committee has determined that there is
no regulatory impact as a result of this legislation.
VI. Changes in Existing Law
In compliance with Rule XXVI, paragraph 12 of the Standing
Rules of the Senate, the committee states that no changes in
existing legislation will be made by S. 1271.