,,ii ,calendar ,no4 #cah #aadth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #cgff ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,december #i1 #bjae,received2 read twice and placed on the calendar ,,an ,,act ,to direct the ,president to establish guidelines for ,united ,states foreign development and economic assistance programs1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,foreign ,aid ,transparency and ,accountability ,act of #bjae4 #b4 ,guidelines for ,united ,states foreign development and economic assistance programs 7a7 ,purpose ,the purpose of this section is to evaluate the performance of ,united ,states foreign development and economic assistance and its contribution to the policies1 strategies1 projects1 program goals1 and priorities undertaken by the ,federal ,government1 to foster and promote innovative programs to improve effectiveness1 and to coordinate the monitoring and evaluation processes of ,federal departments and agencies that administer ,united ,states foreign development and economic assistance4 7b7 ,establishment of guidelines ,not later than #ah months after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,president shall set forth guidelines for the establishment of measurable goals1 performance metrics1 and monitoring and evaluation plans that can be applied with reasonable consistency to ,united ,states foreign development and economic assistance4 ,such guidelines shall be established according to best practices of monitoring and evaluation studies and analyses4 7c7 ,objectives of guidelines 7#a7 ,in general ,the guidelines established under subsection 7b7 shall provide direction to ,federal departments and agencies that administer ,united ,states foreign development and economic assistance on monitoring the use of resources1 evaluating the outcomes and impacts of ,united ,states foreign development and economic assistance projects and programs1 and applying the findings and conclusions of such evaluations to proposed project and program design4 7#b7 ,objectives ,specifically1 the guidelines established under subsection 7b7 shall require ,federal departments and agencies that administer ,united ,states foreign development and economic assistance to take the following actions3 7,a7 ,establish annual monitoring and evaluation agendas and objectives to plan and manage the process of monitoring1 evaluating1 analyzing progress1 and applying learning toward achieving results4 7,b7 ,develop specific project monitoring and evaluation plans1 to include measurable goals and performance metrics1 and identify the resources necessary to conduct such evaluations1 which should be covered by program costs1 during project design4 7,c7 ,apply rigorous monitoring and evaluation methodologies to such programs1 including through the use of impact evaluations1 ex-post evaluations1 or other methods as appropriate1 that clearly define program logic1 inputs1 outputs1 intermediate outcomes1 and end outcomes4 7,d7 ,disseminate guidelines for the development and implementation of monitoring and evaluation programs to all personnel1 especially in the field1 who are responsible for the design1 implementation1 and management of ,united ,states foreign development and economic assistance programs4 7,e7 ,establish methodologies for the collection of data1 including baseline data to serve as a reference point against which progress can be measured4 7,f7 ,evaluate at least once in their lifetime all programs whose dollar value equals or exceeds the median program size for the relevant office or bureau or an equivalent calculation to ensure the majority of program resources are evaluated4 7,g7 ,conduct impact evaluations on all pilot programs before replicating wherever possible1 or provide a written justification for not conducting an impact evaluation where such an evaluation was deemed inappropriate or impossible4 7,h7 ,develop a clearinghouse capacity for the collection and dissemination of knowledge and lessons learned that serve as benchmarks to guide future programs for ,united ,states development professionals1 implementing partners1 the donor community1 and aid recipient governments1 and as a repository of knowledge on lessons learned4 7,i7 ,distribute evaluation reports internally4 7,j7 ,publicly report each evaluation1 including an executive summary1 a description of the evaluation methodology1 key findings1 appropriate context 7including quantitative and qualitative data when available71 and recommendations made in the evaluation within #ij days after the completion of the evaluation4 7,k7 ,undertake collaborative partnerships and coordinate efforts with the academic community1 implementing partners1 and national and international institutions that have expertise in program monitoring1 evaluation1 and analysis when such partnerships provide needed expertise or significantly improve the evaluation and analysis4 7,l7 ,ensure verifiable1 valid1 credible1 precise1 reliable1 and timely data are available to monitoring and evaluation personnel to permit the objective evaluation of the effectiveness of ,united ,states foreign development and economic assistance programs1 including an assessment of assumptions and limitations in such evaluations4 7,m7 ,ensure that standards of professional evaluation organizations for monitoring and evaluation efforts are employed1 including ensuring the integrity and independence of evaluations1 permitting and encouraging the exercise of professional judgment1 and providing for quality control and assurance in the monitoring and evaluation process4 7d7 ,presidential report ,not later than #ah months after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,president shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that contains a detailed description of the guidelines established under subsection 7b74 ,the report shall be submitted in unclassified form1 but it may contain a classified annex4 7e7 ,comptroller general report ,the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states shall1 not later than #a year after the report required by subsection 7d7 is submitted to ,congress1 submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that analyzes-- 7#a7 the guidelines established pursuant to subsection 7b72 and 7#b7 a side-by-side comparison of the ,president's budget request for that fiscal year of every operational unit that carries out ,united ,states foreign development and economic assistance and the performance of such units during the prior fiscal year4 #c4 ,information on ,united ,states foreign development and economic assistance programs 7a7 ,publication of information 7#a7 ,update of existing web site ,not later than #ij days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,state shall update the ,department of ,state's ,internet ,web site1 ,foreign,assistance4gov1 to make publicly available comprehensive1 timely1 and comparable information on ,united ,states foreign development and economic assistance programs1 including all information required pursuant to subsection 7b7 of this section that is then available to the ,secretary of ,state4 7#b7 ,information sharing ,the head of each ,federal department or agency that administers ,united ,states foreign development and economic assistance shall1 not later than #b years after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 and on a quarterly basis thereafter1 provide to the ,secretary of ,state comprehensive information about the ,united ,states foreign development and economic assistance programs carried out by such department or agency4 7#c7 ,updates to web site ,not later than #b years after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,state shall publish1 through the ,foreign,assistance4gov ,web site or a successor online publication1 the information provided under subsection 7b7 of this section and shall update such information on a quarterly basis4 7b7 ,matters ,to be included 7#a7 ,in general ,the information described in subsection 7a7 shall be published on a detailed award-by-award and country-by-country basis unless assistance is provided on a regional level1 in which case the information shall be published on an award-by-award and region-by-region basis4 7#b7 ,types of information 7,a7 ,in general ,to ensure transparency1 accountability1 and effectiveness of ,united ,states foreign development and economic assistance programs1 the information described in subsection 7a7 shall include-- 7i7 links to all regional1 country1 and sector assistance strategies1 annual budget documents1 congressional budget justifications1 evaluations and summaries of evaluations as required under section #b7;c77#b77;,j72 7ii7 basic descriptive summaries for ,united ,states foreign development and economic assistance programs and awards under such programs2 and 7iii7 obligations and expenditures under such programs4 ,each type of information described in this paragraph shall be published or updated on the ,internet ,web site not later than #ij days after the date of issuance of the information4 7,b7 ,rule of construction ,nothing in subparagraph 7,a7 shall be construed to require a ,federal department or agency that administers ,united ,states foreign development and economic assistance to provide any information that does not relate to or is not otherwise required by the ,united ,states foreign development and economic assistance programs carried out by such department or agency4 7#c7 ,report in lieu of inclusion 7,a7 ,health or security of implementing partners ,if the head of a ,federal department or agency1 in consultation with the ,secretary of ,state1 makes a determination that the inclusion of a required item of information online would jeopardize the health or security of an implementing partner or program beneficiary or would require the release of proprietary information of an implementing partner or program beneficiary1 the head of the ,federal department or agency shall provide such determination in writing to the appropriate congressional committees1 including the basis for such determination and shall-- 7i7 provide a briefing to the appropriate congressional committees on such information2 or 7ii7 submit to the appropriate congressional committees such information in a written report4 7,b7 ,national interests of the united states ,if the ,secretary of ,state makes a determination that the inclusion of a required item of information online would be detrimental to the national interests of the ,united ,states1 the ,secretary of ,state shall provide such determination in writing to the appropriate congressional committees1 including the basis for such determination and shall-- 7i7 provide a briefing to the appropriate congressional committees on such information2 or 7ii7 submit to the appropriate congressional committees the item of information in a written report4 7,c7 ,form ,any briefing or item of information provided under this paragraph may be provided in classified form1 as appropriate4 7#d7 ,failure to comply ,if a ,federal department or agency fails to comply with the requirements of subsection 7a71 paragraph 7#a7 or 7#b7 of this subsection1 or subsection 7c7 with respect to providing information described in subsection 7a71 and the information is not subject to a determination under subparagraph 7,a7 or 7,b7 of paragraph 7#c7 of this subsection not to make the information publically available1 the ,director of the ,office of ,management and ,budget1 in consultation with the head of such department or agency1 shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees not later than ,september #a1 #bjaf1 a consolidated report describing1 with respect to each required item of information not made publicly available-- 7,a7 a detailed explanation of the reason for not making such information publicly available2 and 7,b7 the department's or agency's plan and timeline for immediately making such information publicly available1 and for ensuring that information is made publically available in following years4 7c7 ,scope of information ,the online publication required by subsection 7a7 shall1 at a minimum1 provide the information required by subsection 7b7-- 7#a7 in each fiscal year from #bjaf through #bjai1 such information for fiscal years #bjab through the current fiscal year2 and 7#b7 for fiscal year #bjbj and each fiscal year thereafter1 such information for the immediately preceding #e fiscal years in a fully searchable form4 #d4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,appropriate congressional committees ,the term appropriate congressional committees means-- 7,a7 the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations and the ,committee on ,appropriations of the ,senate2 and 7,b7 the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs and the ,committee on ,appropriations of the ,house of ,representatives4 7#b7 ,evaluation ,the term evaluation means1 with respect to a ,united ,states foreign development and economic assistance program1 the systematic collection and analysis of information about the characteristics and outcomes of the program1 including projects conducted under such program1 as a basis for making judgments and evaluations regarding the program1 to improve program effectiveness1 and to inform decisions about current and future programming4 7#c7 ,united ,states foreign development and economic assistance ,the term ,united ,states foreign development and economic assistance means assistance provided primarily for the purposes of foreign development and economic support1 including assistance authorized under-- 7,a7 part ,i of the ,foreign ,assistance ,act of #aifa 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #baea et seq471 other than-- 7i7 title ,,iv of chapter #b of such part 7relating to the ,overseas ,private ,investment ,corporation72 7ii7 chapter #c of such part 7relating to ,international ,organizations and ,programs72 and 7iii7 chapter #h of such part 7relating to ,international ,narcotics ,control72 7,b7 chapter #d of part ,,ii of the ,foreign ,assistance ,act of #aifa 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #bcdf et seq42 relating to ,economic ,support ,fund72 7,c7 the ,millennium ,challenge ,act of #bjjc 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #ggja et seq472 and 7,d7 the ,food for ,peace ,act 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #agba et seq474 ,passed the ,house of ,representatives ,december #h1 #bjae4,karen ,l4 ,haas1,clerk ,december #i1 #bjae,received2 read twice and placed on the calendar