,i #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #bbii ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,april #ab1 #bjai ,mr4 ,buck 7for himself and ,mr4 ,mc,caul7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to establish a review of ,united ,states multilateral aid4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,multilateral ,aid ,review ,act of #bjai4 #b4 ,purpose ,the purpose of this ,act is to establish a ,united ,states ,multilateral ,aid ,review 7in this ,act referred to as the ,review7 to publicly assess the value of ,united ,states ,government investments in multilateral entities4 #c4 ,appropriate congressional committees defined ,in this ,act1 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 ,affairs1 the ,committee on ,financial ,services1 and the ,committee on ,appropriations of the ,house of ,representatives4 #d4 ,objectives ,the objectives of the ,review are as follows3 7#a7 ,provide a tool to guide the ,united ,states ,government's decisionmaking and prioritization with regard to funding multilateral entities and to provide a methodological basis for allocating scarce budgetary resources to entities that advance relevant ,united ,states foreign policy objectives4 7#b7 ,incentivize improvements in the performance of multilateral entities to achieve better outcomes on the ground in developing1 fragile1 and crisis-afflicted regions4 7#c7 ,protect ,united ,states taxpayer investments in foreign assistance by improving transparency with regard to the funding of multilateral entities4 #e4 ,scope ,the ,review shall include in its assessment multilateral entities to which the ,united ,states ,government contributes voluntary or assessed funding1 whether cash or in-kind4 #f4 ,triennial report on review 7a7 ,in general ,not later than twenty-one months after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 and every three years thereafter1 the ,united ,states ,multilateral ,aid ,review ,task ,force established under section #g1 in regular consultation with the ,peer ,review ,group established under section #h1 shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a final report on the findings of the ,review4 ,the ,secretary of ,state shall publish the report on the internet website of the ,department of ,state within seven days of submitting the report to the appropriate congressional committees4 7b7 ,methodology 7#a7 ,use of criteria ,the ,task ,force shall establish an analytical framework and assessment scorecard for the ,review using the criteria set forth in subsection 7c74 7#b7 ,consultation with ,congress ,not later than #abj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,task ,force shall submit the methodology for the initial ,review to the appropriate congressional committees4 ,the ,task ,force may not proceed with the ,review until #cj days after submission of the methodology to the appropriate congressional committees1 taking into consideration the views of the ,chairmen and ,ranking ,members of each of the appropriate congressional committees4 ,for each subsequent ,review1 the ,task ,force shall consult with the ,chairmen and ,ranking ,members of each of the appropriate congressional committees regarding any changes to the methodology4 7c7 ,assessment criteria ,the assessment scorecard shall include the following criteria3 7#a7 ,relationship of stated goals to actual results ,the extent to which the stated mission1 goals1 and objectives of the entity have been achieved during the review period1 including-- 7,a7 an identification of the stated mission1 goals1 and objectives of each entity2 7,b7 an evaluation of the major projects and programs selected for implementation by the entity in comparison with the stated mission1 goals1 and objectives of the entity2 7,c7 an evaluation of whether the major projects and programs selected by the entity within the given review period were more likely than not to further the achievement of the stated mission1 goals1 and objectives of the entity2 7,d7 an evaluation of the extent to which the major selected projects and programs met their own stated implementation timelines and achieved declared results2 and 7,e7 an evaluation of whether the entity optimizes resources to achieve the stated mission1 goals1 and objectives of the entity4 7#b7 ,responsible management ,the extent to which management of the entity follows best management practices1 including-- 7,a7 an evaluation of the ratio of management and administrative expenses to program expenses1 including an evaluation of entity resources spent on nonprogrammatic expenses2 7,b7 an evaluation of program expense growth1 including a comparison of the annual growth of program expenses to the annual growth of management and administrative expenses2 and 7,c7 an evaluation of whether the entity has established appropriate levels of senior management compensation4 7#c7 ,accountability and transparency ,the extent to which the policies and procedures of the entity follow best practices of accountability and transparency1 taking into consideration credible reporting regarding unauthorized conversion or diversion of entity resources1 and including-- 7,a7 an evaluation of whether the entity has established and enforced appropriate auditing procedures2 7,b7 an evaluation of whether the entity has established and enforced appropriate rules to reduce the risk of conflicts of interest among the senior leadership of the entity2 7,c7 an evaluation of whether the entity has established and enforced appropriate whistleblower policies2 7,d7 an evaluation of whether the entity has established and maintained appropriate records retention policies and guidelines2 7,e7 an evaluation of whether the entity has established and maintained best practices with respect to transparency and public disclosure2 and 7,f7 an evaluation of whether the entity has established and maintained best practices with respect to disclosure of the compensation of senior leadership officials4 7#d7 ,alignment with ,united ,states foreign policy objectives ,the extent to which the policies and practices of the entity align with relevant ,united ,states foreign policy objectives1 including-- 7,a7 an evaluation of the entity's stated mission1 goals1 and objectives in comparison to relevant ,united ,states foreign policy objectives2 7,b7 an evaluation of whether continued participation by the ,united ,states in the entity contributes a net benefit towards achieving relevant ,united ,states foreign policy objectives1 including the reasons for the conclusion2 and 7,c7 an evaluation of any divergence between the actions of the entity and relevant ,united ,states foreign policy objectives4 7#e7 ,multilateral approach compared to bilateral approach ,the extent to which pursuing relevant ,united ,states foreign policy objectives through a multilateral approach is effective and cost-efficient compared to a bilateral approach1 including-- 7,a7 an evaluation of whether relevant ,united ,states foreign policy objectives are effectively pursued through the entity1 compared to existing or potential bilateral approaches2 and 7,b7 an evaluation of whether relevant ,united ,states foreign policy objectives are pursued on a cost-effective basis through the entity1 compared to existing or potential bilateral approaches4 7#f7 ,redundancies and overlap ,the extent to which the mission1 goals1 and objectives of the entity overlap with the mission1 goals1 and objectives of other multilateral institutions to which ,united ,states ,government entities contribute voluntary or assessed funding1 whether cash or in-kind1 including-- 7,a7 an identification of significant redundancies or overlap with the mission1 goals1 and objectives of other multilateral entities to which ,united ,states ,government entities contribute voluntary or assessed funding1 whether cash or in-kind2 and 7,b7 a comparison of the extent to which relevant ,united ,states foreign policy objectives are effectively pursued on a cost-effective basis through each of the overlapping entities4 #g4 ,united ,states multilateral review task force 7a7 ,establishment ,the ,president shall establish an interagency ,multilateral ,review ,task ,force 7referred to in this ,act as the ,task ,force7 to review and assess ,united ,states participation in multilateral entities identified in section #e and to develop and transmit to the appropriate congressional committees the reports required under section #f4 7b7 ,leadership ,the ,task ,force shall be chaired by the ,secretary of ,state4 ,the ,secretary may delegate his or her responsibilities under this ,act to an appropriate senior ,senate-confirmed official4 7c7 ,membership ,the ,president may appoint to the interagency ,task ,force senior ,senate-confirmed officials from the ,department of ,state1 the ,department of the ,treasury1 the ,united ,states ,agency for ,international ,development1 the ,office of ,management and ,budget1 and any other relevant executive branch department or agency4 7d7 ,consultation ,in the preparation of each report under section #f1 including the initial review of methodology1 the ,task ,force shall consult regularly with the ,peer ,review ,group established under section #h4 #h4 ,united ,states multilateral aid review peer review group 7a7 ,establishment ,there is established the ,united ,states ,multilateral ,aid ,review ,peer ,review ,group 7referred to in this ,act as the ,peer ,review ,group74 7b7 ,membership 7#a7 ,composition ,the ,peer ,review ,group shall be composed of #h nongovernmental volunteer members1 of whom-- 7,a7 two shall be appointed by the majority leader of the ,senate2 7,b7 two shall be appointed by the minority leader of the ,senate2 7,c7 two shall be appointed by the ,speaker of the ,house of ,representatives2 and 7,d7 two shall be appointed by the minority leader of the ,house of ,representatives4 7#b7 ,appointment criteria ,the members of the ,peer ,review ,group shall have appropriate expertise and knowledge of the multilateral entities subject to the ,review established by this ,act4 ,in making appointments to the ,peer ,review ,group1 potential conflicts of interest should be taken into account4 7#c7 ,date ,the initial appointments of the members of the ,peer ,review ,group shall be made not later than #ajj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 and the terms of such appointments shall begin on that date4 7#d7 ,chairman and vice chairman ,the ,peer ,review ,group shall select a ,chairman and ,vice ,chairman from among the members of the ,peer ,review ,group4 7c7 ,expert analysis ,the ,peer ,review ,group shall meet regularly with the ,task ,force1 including regarding the initial review of methodology1 to offer their expertise of the funding and performance of multilateral entities4 7d7 ,review of report 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than #ahj days before submitting each report required under section #f7;a71 the ,task ,force shall transmit a draft of the report to the ,peer ,review ,group and the appropriate congressional committees4 7#b7 ,review ,the ,peer ,review ,group shall review the draft report submitted under paragraph 7#a7 and provide to the ,task ,force and the appropriate congressional committees not later than #ij days before the submission of each report required under section #f7;a7 the following3 7,a7 ,an analysis of the conclusions of the report4 7,b7 ,an analysis of the established methodologies used to reach conclusions in the report4 7,c7 ,an analysis of the evidence used to reach conclusions in the report4 7,d7 ,any additional comments to improve the evaluations and analysis of the report4 7e7 ,period of appointment2 vacancies 7#a7 ,in general ,each member of the ,peer ,review ,group shall be appointed for a #f-year term and may be reappointed under subsection 7b77#a7 for one additional term4 7#b7 ,vacancies ,any vacancy in the ,peer ,review ,group-- 7,a7 shall not affect the powers of the ,peer ,review ,group2 and 7,b7 shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment4 7f7 ,meetings 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,peer ,review ,group shall meet at the call of the ,chairman4 7#b7 ,initial meeting ,not later than #abj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,peer ,review ,group shall hold its first meeting4 7#c7 ,quorum ,a majority of the members of the ,peer ,group shall constitute a quorum1 but a lesser number of members may hold meetings4 #i4 ,termination ,the authorities and requirements provided under this ,act shall terminate #aa years after the date of the enactment of this ,act4