S 2433
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2433
To require the President to develop and implement a comprehensive
strategy to further the United States foreign policy objective of promoting
the reduction of global poverty, the elimination of extreme global poverty,
and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goal of reducing by
one-half the proportion of people worldwide, between 1990 and 2015,
who live on less than $1 per day.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 7, 2007
Mr. OBAMA (for himself, Mr. HAGEL, and Ms. CANTWELL) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Foreign Relations
A BILL
To require the President to develop and implement a comprehensive
strategy to further the United States foreign policy objective of promoting
the reduction of global poverty, the elimination of extreme global poverty,
and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goal of reducing by
one-half the proportion of people worldwide, between 1990 and 2015,
who live on less than $1 per day.
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 `Global Poverty Act of 2007'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) More than 1,000,000,000 people worldwide live on less than $1
per day, and another 1,600,000,000 people struggle to survive on less
than $2 per day, according to the World Bank.
(2) At the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000, the United States
joined more than 180 other countries in committing to work toward
goals to improve life for the world's poorest people by 2015.
(3) The year 2007 marks the mid-point to the Millennium Development
Goals deadline of 2015.
(4) The United Nations Millennium Development Goals include the goal
of reducing by one-half the proportion of people worldwide, between
1990 and 2015, that live on less than $1 per day, cutting in half
the proportion of people suffering from hunger and unable to access
safe drinking water and sanitation, reducing child mortality by two-thirds,
ensuring basic education for all children, and reversing the spread
of HIV/AIDS and malaria, while sustaining the environment upon which
human life depends.
(5) On March 22, 2002, President George W. Bush stated: `We fight
against poverty because hope is an answer to terror. We fight against
poverty because opportunity is a fundamental right to human dignity.
We fight against poverty because faith requires it and conscience
demands it. We fight against poverty with a growing conviction that
major progress is within our reach.'.
(6) The 2002 National Security Strategy of the United States notes:
`[A] world where some live in comfort and plenty, while half of the
human race lives on less than $2 per day, is neither just nor stable.
Including all of the world's poor in an expanding circle of development
and opportunity is a moral imperative and one of the top priorities
of U.S. international policy.'.
(7) The 2006 National Security Strategy of the United States notes:
`America's national interests and moral values drive us in the same
direction: to assist the world's poor citizens and least developed
nations and help integrate them into the global economy.'.
(8) The bipartisan Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist
Attacks Upon the United States recommends: `A comprehensive United
States strategy to counter terrorism should include economic policies
that encourage development, more open societies, and opportunities
for people to improve the lives of their families and enhance prospects
for their children.'.
(9) At the summit of the Group of Eight (G-8) nations in July 2005,
leaders from all eight participating countries committed to increase
aid to Africa from the current $25,000,000,000 annually to $50,000,000,000
by 2010, and to cancel 100 percent of the debt obligations owed to
the World Bank, African Development Bank, and International Monetary
Fund by 18 of the world's poorest nations.
(10) At the United Nations World Summit in September 2005, the United
States joined more than 180 other governments in reiterating their
commitment to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals
by 2015.
(11) The United States has recognized the need for increased financial
and technical assistance to countries burdened by extreme poverty,
as well as the need for strengthened economic and trade opportunities
for those countries, through significant initiatives in recent years,
including the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7701 et
seq.), the United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis,
and Malaria Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7601 et seq.), the Heavily Indebted
Poor Countries Initiative, and trade preference programs for developing
countries, such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C.
3701 et seq.).
(12) In January 2006, United States Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice initiated a restructuring of the United States foreign assistance
program, including the creation of a Director of Foreign Assistance,
who maintains authority over Department of State and United States
Agency for International Development (USAID) foreign assistance funding
and programs.
(13) In January 2007, the Department of State's Office of the Director
of Foreign Assistance added poverty reduction as an explicit, central
component of the overall goal of United States foreign assistance.
The official goal of United States foreign assistance is: `To help
build and sustain democratic, well-governed states that respond to
the needs of their people, reduce widespread poverty and conduct themselves
responsibly in the international system.'.
(14) Economic growth and poverty reduction are more successful in
countries that invest in the people, rule justly, and promote economic
freedom. These principles have become the core of several development
programs of the United States Government, such as the Millennium Challenge
Account.
SEC. 3. DECLARATION OF POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States to promote the reduction of global
poverty, the elimination of extreme global poverty, and the achievement
of the Millennium Development Goal of reducing by one-half the proportion
of people worldwide, between 1990 and 2015, who live on less than $1
per day.
SEC. 4. REQUIREMENT TO DEVELOP COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY.
(a) Strategy- The President, acting through the Secretary of State,
and in consultation with the heads of other appropriate departments
and agencies of the United States Government, international organizations,
international financial institutions, the governments of developing
and developed countries, United States and international nongovernmental
organizations, civil society organizations, and other appropriate entities,
shall develop and implement a comprehensive strategy to further the
United States foreign policy objective of promoting the reduction of
global poverty, the elimination of extreme global poverty, and the achievement
of the Millennium Development Goal of reducing by one-half the proportion
of people worldwide, between 1990 and 2015, who live on less than $1
per day.
(b) Content- The strategy required by subsection (a) shall include specific
and measurable goals, efforts to be undertaken, benchmarks, and timetables
to achieve the objectives described in subsection (a).
(c) Components- The strategy required by subsection (a) should include
the following components:
(1) Continued investment or involvement in existing United States
initiatives related to international poverty reduction, such as the
United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria
Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7601 et seq.), the Millennium Challenge Act
of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.), and trade preference programs for
developing countries, such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act
(19 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.).
(2) Improving the effectiveness of development assistance and making
available additional overall United States assistance levels as appropriate.
(3) Enhancing and expanding debt relief as appropriate.
(4) Leveraging United States trade policy where possible to enhance
economic development prospects for developing countries.
(5) Coordinating efforts and working in cooperation with developed
and developing countries, international organizations, and international
financial institutions.
(6) Mobilizing and leveraging the participation of businesses, United
States and international nongovernmental organizations, civil society,
and public-private partnerships.
(7) Coordinating the goal of poverty reduction with other development
goals, such as combating the spread of preventable diseases such as
HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, increasing access to potable
water and basic sanitation, reducing hunger and malnutrition, and
improving access to and quality of education at all levels regardless
of gender.
(8) Integrating principles of sustainable development and entrepreneurship
into policies and programs.
(A) IN GENERAL- Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the President, acting through the Secretary of State,
shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report
on the strategy required under subsection (a).
(B) CONTENT- The report required under subparagraph (A) shall include
the following elements:
(i) A description of the strategy required under subsection (a).
(ii) An evaluation, to the extent possible, both proportionate
and absolute, of the contributions provided by the United States
and other national and international actors in achieving the Millennium
Development Goal of reducing by one-half the proportion of people
worldwide, between 1990 and 2015, who live on less than $1 per
day.
(iii) An assessment of the overall progress toward achieving the
Millennium Development Goal of reducing by one-half the proportion
of people worldwide, between 1990 and 2015, who live on less than
$1 per day.
(2) SUBSEQUENT REPORTS- Not later than December 31, 2012, and December
31, 2015, the President shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees reports on the status of the implementation of the strategy,
progress made in achieving the global poverty reduction objectives
described in subsection (a), and any changes to the strategy since
the date of the submission of the last report.
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
(1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES- The term `appropriate congressional
committees' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations
of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations
of the House of Representatives.
(2) EXTREME GLOBAL POVERTY- The term `extreme global poverty' refers
to the conditions in which individuals live on less than $1 per day,
adjusted for purchasing power parity in 1993 United States dollars,
according to World Bank statistics.
(3) GLOBAL POVERTY- The term `global poverty' refers to the conditions
in which individuals live on less than $2 per day, adjusted for purchasing
power parity in 1993 United States dollars, according to World Bank
statistics.
(4) MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS- The term `Millennium Development
Goals' means the goals set out in the United Nations Millennium Declaration,
General Assembly Resolution 55/2 (2000).
END
