,,ii  #aadth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #bahd  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,october #bj1  
#bjae,mr4 ,rubio 7for himself and ,mr4  
,cardin7 introduced the following bill2 
which was read twice and referred to the
 ,committee on ,foreign ,relations  ,a  
,,bill  ,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 ,definitions ,in this    
,act3  7#a7 ,appropriate congressional  
committees ,the term appropriate        
congressional committees means-- 7,a7   
the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations of
 the ,senate2  7,b7 the ,committee on   
,appropriations of the ,senate2  7,c7   
the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs of  
the ,house of ,representatives2 and     
7,d7 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--  7,a7 making judgments and       
evaluations regarding the program2  7,b7
 improving program effectiveness2 and   
7,c7 informing 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 except for-- 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  #c4 ,guidelines for   
,united ,states foreign development and 
economic assistance programs  7a7       
,purposes ,the purposes of this section 
are-- 7#a7 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  
,government2  7#b7 to foster and promote
 innovative programs to improve         
effectiveness2 and  7#c7 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 guidelines1  
according to best practices of          
monitoring and evaluation studies and   
analyses1 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    
7c7 ,objectives of guidelines  7#a7 ,in 
general ,the guidelines established     
pursuant to subsection 7b7 shall provide
 direction to ,federal departments and  
agencies that administer ,united ,states
 foreign development and economic       
assistance on--  7,a7 monitoring the use
 of resources2  7,b7 evaluating the     
outcomes and impacts of ,united ,states 

foreign development and economic        
assistance projects and programs2 and   
7,c7 applying the findings and          
conclusions of such evaluations to      
proposed project and program design4    
7#b7 ,objectives ,the guidelines        
established pursuant to subsection 7b7  
shall require ,federal departments and  
agencies that administer ,united ,states
 foreign development and economic       
assistance--  7,a7 to establish annual  
monitoring and evaluation agendas and   
objectives to plan and manage the       
process of monitoring1 evaluating1      
analyzing progress1 and applying        
learning toward achieving results2  7,b7
 to develop specific project monitoring 
and evaluation plans1 including         
measurable goals and performance        
metrics1 and to identify the resources  
necessary to conduct such evaluations1  
which should be covered by program      
costs1 during project design2  7,c7 to  
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 
outcomes2  7,d7 to 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 programs2  7,e7 to  
establish methodologies for the         
collection of data1 including baseline  
data to serve as a reference point      
against which progress can be measured2 
7,f7 to evaluate1 at least once in their
 lifetime1 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 evaluated2  7,g7 to 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 impossible2  7,h7 to   
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 learned2  7,i7 to  
internally distribute evaluation        
reports2  7,j7 to develop a summary of  
each evaluation1 including a description
 of the evaluation methodology and key  
findings and recommendations made in the
 evaluation within #ij days after the   
completion of the evaluation2  7,k7 to  
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 analysis2  7,l7 to 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 evaluations2 and    
7,m7 to 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 ,president's   

report ,not later than #ah months after 
the date of the enactment of this ,act1 
the ,president shall submit a report to 
the appropriate congressional committees
 that contains a detailed description of
 the guidelines established pursuant to 
subsection 7b74 ,the report shall be    
submitted in unclassified form1 but it  
may contain a classified annex4  7e7    
,comptroller ,general's report ,not     
later than #a year after the date on    
which the report required under         
subsection 7d7 is submitted to          
,congress1 the ,comptroller ,general of 
the ,united ,states shall submit a      
report to the appropriate congressional 
committees that--  7#a7 analyzes the    
guidelines established pursuant to      
subsection 7b72 and  7#b7 provides a    
side-by-side comparison of--  7,a7 the  
,president's budget request for that    
fiscal year of every operational unit   
that carries out ,united ,states foreign
 development and economic assistance2   
and  7,b7 the performance of such units 

during the most recently completed      
fiscal year4  #d4 ,information on       
,united ,states foreign development and 
economic assistance programs  7a7       
,publication of information  7#a7       
,update of existing website ,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 website1                    
,foreign,assistance4gov1 to make        
publicly available comprehensive1       
timely1 and comparable information on   
,united ,states foreign development and 
economic assistance programs1 including 
all information required under          
subsection 7b7 that is available to the 
,secretary of ,state4  7#b7 ,information
 sharing ,not later than #b years after 
the date of the enactment of this ,act1 
and quarterly thereafter1 the head of   
each ,federal department or agency that 
administers ,united ,states foreign     
development and economic assistance     
shall provide the ,secretary of ,state  

with comprehensive information about the
 ,united ,states foreign development and
 economic assistance programs carried   
out by such department or agency4  7#c7 
,updates to website ,not later than #b  
years after the date of the enactment of
 this ,act1 and quarterly thereafter1   
the ,secretary of ,state shall publish1 
on the ,foreign,assistance4gov website  
or through a successor online           
publication1 the information provided   
under subsection 7b74  7b7 ,matters ,to 
be included  7#a7 ,in general ,the      
information described in subsection     
7a7-- 7,a7 shall be published on a      
detailed award-by-award and             
country-by-country basis2 or  7,b7 if   
assistance is provided on a regional    
level1 shall be published on an         
award-by-award and region-by-region     
basis4  7#b7 ,types of information  7,a7
 ,in general ,to ensure the             
transparency1 accountability1 and       
effectiveness of ,united ,states foreign
 development and economic assistance    

programs1 the information described in  
subsection 7a7 shall include--  7i7 all 
regional1 country1 and sector assistance
 strategies1 annual budget documents1   
congressional budget justifications1    
obligations1 expenditures1 evaluations  
and summaries of evaluations in         
accordance with section #c7;c77#b77;,j72
 and  7ii7 basic descriptive summaries  
for ,united ,states foreign development 
and economic assistance programs and    
awards under such programs4  7,b7       
,publication ,each type of information  
described in subparagraph 7,a7 shall be 
published or updated on the appropriate 
website not later than #ij days after   
the date on which the information is    
issued4  7,c7 ,rule of construction     
,nothing in this paragraph may 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 to1 or 
is not otherwise required by1 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 agency 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 such       
information to the appropriate          
congressional committees 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--  7i7 provide such determination1
 including the basis for such           
determination1 in writing to the        
appropriate congressional committees2   
and  7ii7 7,i7 provide a briefing on    
such information to the appropriate     
congressional committees2 or  7,,ii7    
submit the item of information in a     
written report to the appropriate       
congressional committees4  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   
under paragraph 7#a7 or 7#b71 subsection
 7a71 or subsection 7c71 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 not to make the information        
publicly available1 the ,director of the
 ,office of ,management and ,budget1 in 
consultation with the head of such      
department or agency1 not later than    
,september #a1 #bjaf1 shall submit a    
consolidated report to the appropriate  
congressional committees that includes1 
with respect to each required item of   
information not made publicly           
available--  7,a7 a detailed explanation
 of the failure of not making such      
information publicly available2 and     
7,b7 a description of the department's  
or agency's plan and timeline for--  7i7
 immediately making such information    
publicly available2 and  7ii7 ensuring  
that such failures do not take place in 
subsequent years4  7c7 ,scope of        
information ,the online publication     
required under subsection 7a7 shall1 at 

a minimum-- 7#a7 in each of the fiscal  
years #bjaf through #bjai1 provide the  
information required under subsection   
7b7 for fiscal years #bjab through the  
current fiscal year2 and  7#b7 for      
fiscal year #bjbj and each fiscal year  
thereafter1 provide the information     
required under subsection 7b7 for the   
immediately preceding #e fiscal years in
 a fully searchable form4