,,ii #aahth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #ciid ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,march #bj1 #bjbd,mr4 ,coons 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,ernst1 ,mr4 ,kaine1 and ,mr4 ,ricketts7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations ,a ,,bill ,to authorize and encourage the ,united ,states ,agency for ,international ,development to pursue a model of locally led development and humanitarian response and expanded engagement with local partners and to increase its local partner base4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,locally ,led ,development and ,humanitarian ,response ,act4 #b4 ,purpose ,the purpose of this ,act is to encourage ,,usaid to pursue a model of locally led development and humanitarian response and expanded engagement and partnership with local entities4 #c4 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress that-- 7#a7 locally led development and humanitarian response-- 7,a7 is more equitable and inclusive2 7,b7 is linked to more efficient and sustainable development and humanitarian outcomes2 and 7,c7 is vital to building long-term self-reliance2 7#b7 over multiple presidential administrations1 ,,usaid has sought to achieve greater development outcomes through stronger local partnerships1 including through ,country ,ownership1 ,the ,journey to ,self-,reliance1 and ,locally ,led ,development2 7#c7 ,,usaid should increase direct funding to local entities1 including by increasing the amount of development and humanitarian assistance to such entities2 7#d7 ,,usaid should ensure its programming enables local communities to exercise leadership over priorities1 project design1 implementation1 and measuring and evaluating results of such programs2 7#e7 working with local partners often requires more time and resources than traditional partners1 including extended availability of funds and additional staff resources2 and 7#f7 increased flexibility is critical to enable ,,usaid to respond to local priorities and leverage local capacities1 including with respect to staffing1 availability of funds1 program design1 and acquisition and assistance processes4 #d4 ,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 ,,nicra ,the term ,,nicra means ,negotiated ,indirect ,cost ,rate4 7#c7 ,,usaid ,the term ,,usaid means the ,united ,states ,agency for ,international ,development4 #e4 ,working with local partners ,the ,administrator of ,,usaid should1 to the extent feasible and appropriate1 localize the ,,usaid partner base by-- 7#a7 simplifying and increasing access to ,,usaid resources for local partners in humanitarian and development sectors1 including local partners who have relations1 agency1 or power structures in place that produced1 or can produce1 strong trust1 accountability1 and legitimacy in the communities or networks in which such partners work2 7#b7 diversifying award types to streamline performance requirements and working with the ,office of ,management and ,budget to address threshold constraints1 such as fixed amount subaward thresholds1 category management award targets1 and other thresholds1 policies1 and contracting incentives that pose a barrier to effectively supporting local partners2 7#c7 streamlining monitoring and evaluation1 periodic reporting1 and other ,,usaid reporting requirements2 7#d7 ensuring ,,usaid staff are able and encouraged to conduct regular consultation with local partners in local languages of the host countries1 making available solicitations for acquisitions and assistance and accepting submissions in local languages1 video format1 or verbal presentations1 including by-- 7,a7 investing in translation services2 7,b7 hosting workshop-based engagements2 and 7,c7 advertising solicitations in local trade publications1 local media including newspapers and radio1 local community centers1 and local online forums2 7#e7 allowing and promoting multi-year1 flexible1 tiered1 and milestone-based funding for new programs and to bring successful programs to scale2 7#f7 strengthening the capacity of ,,usaid staff and local partners to undertake risk management and mitigation2 7#g7 supporting consistent and unimpeded access to full cost recovery for local partners implementing activities funded by ,,usaid2 7#h7 assessing current definitions of local partner1 local ownership1 and localization used by ,,usaid for programming and reporting metrics1 and updating such definitions1 as necessary2 7#i7 undertaking outreach campaigns and engaging with local partners 7formally and informally7 to raise awareness about opportunities and the process for applying for and managing awards in compliance with applicable ,federal regulations and ,,usaid policies1 and ensuring such engagement is accessible to all entities1 including unregistered and informal organizations2 7#aj7 strengthening oversight of capacity strengthening components of awards to ensure ,united ,states and international awardees are making good-faith efforts to strengthen local organizations' capacities1 including independent and external evaluations to evaluate the mentorship process and regular feedback loops2 7#aa7 expeditiously solving the shortage of contracting officers within ,,usaid1 including granting warrants to qualified staff and providing appropriate training2 7#ab7 addressing performance evaluation criteria to create greater workforce incentives for ,,usaid personnel to champion locally led development2 7#ac7 addressing internal delays and recipient organization issues that result in the required extension of provisional ,n,i,c,r,as1 in accordance with section #bjj4dad7;g7 of title #b1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations2 7#ad7 conducting ,,nicra seminars in local languages and providing ,,nicra documentation in local languages2 and 7#ae7 ensuring that contracting officers and agreement officers communicate to awardees who do not submit for a ,,nicra that they are eligible for the de minimis indirect cost rate4 #f4 ,institutionalization of local partnerships ,not later than #ahj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,administrator of ,,usaid shall initiate policy actions1 including rulemaking1 if necessary1 to institutionalize the actions taken pursuant to section #e1 to the extent appropriate and feasible1 within all relevant ,,usaid internal rules and regulations1 including-- 7#a7 the ,automated ,directive ,system2 7#b7 the ,acquisition and ,assistance ,strategy2 7#c7 the ,local ,capacity ,strengthening ,policy2 7#d7 the ,localization of ,humanitarian ,assistance ,strategy2 7#e7 the ,,usaid ,acquisition ,regulation2 7#f7 the ,local ,systems ,framework2 and 7#g7 the ,private ,sector ,engagement ,policy4 #g4 ,authority to accept applications1 proposals1 and contracting agreements in local languages and local language support 7a7 ,in general ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 ,,usaid is authorized to accept applications or proposals in languages other than ,english if-- 7#a7 such acceptance eases the burden of a local entity working with ,,usaid2 and 7#b7 ,,usaid staff are able to effectively evaluate such applications or proposals4 7b7 ,local language support 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,administrator of ,,usaid shall conduct an assessment of options to enable ,,usaid to utilize local languages to support local partners with award solicitations1 proposals and applications1 evaluations1 management1 and close out1 including advising local partners on applicable ,united ,states regulations and ,,usaid policies and local country rules and regulations common in such activities4 7#b7 ,report ,not later than #a year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,administrator of ,,usaid shall submit a report to ,congress containing the results of the assessment conducted pursuant to paragraph 7#a74 #h4 ,modifications relating to the ,code of ,federal ,regulations and other requirements 7a7 ,increase in the de minimis indirect cost ,the ,administrator of ,,usaid is authorized-- 7#a7 to increase the de minimis indirect cost rate provided for in section #bjj4dad of title #b1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations1 or in any successor regulations1 to #ae percent for local entities receiving ,,usaid assistance awards2 7#b7 to establish a similar de minimis indirect cost rate of #ae percent for acquisitions awarded to local entities pursuant to title #dh1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations2 and 7#c7 to further increase such threshold if such action is recommended by regulations promulgated by the ,office of ,management and ,budget4 7b7 ,exemption for local entities ,the ,administrator of ,,usaid is authorized to exempt local entities1 as needed1 from the reporting requirements under the ,federal ,funding ,accountability and ,transparency ,act of #bjjf 7#ca ,u4,s4,c4 #fajf note2 ,public ,law #aji-bhb7 to allow for a #ahj-;day delay in obtaining a unique entity identifier and registration in the ,system for ,award ,management if such exemption is not granted later than #cj days before the end of the award's period of performance4 7c7 ,local competition authority 7#a7 ,in general ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 the ,administrator of ,,usaid1 or a designee of the ,administrator1 may award contracts and other acquisition instruments in which competition is limited to local entities if such process would-- 7,a7 result in cost savings2 7,b7 strengthen local capacity2 or 7,c7 enable ,,usaid to deliver a program or activities more sustainably or quickly than if competition were not so limited4 7#b7 ,limitation ,the authority granted under paragraph 7#a7 may not be used-- 7,a7 to make acquisition awards in excess of #be1jjj1jjj2 or 7,b7 with respect to more than #aj percent of the amounts appropriated to ,,usaid in any fiscal year4 7d7 ,use of national or international generally accepted accounting principles ,the ,administrator of ,,usaid1 in consultation with the ,administrator of the ,general ,services ,administration1 the ,secretary of ,defense1 and the ,administrator of the ,national ,aeronautics and ,space ,administration1 may permit foreign entities to use national or international generally accepted accounting principles instead of ,united ,states ,generally ,accepted ,accounting ,principles 7,,gaap7 for contracts or grants awarded under chapter #g of title #b1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations1 or chapter #g of title #dh1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations4 #i4 ,annual report ,not later than #ahj days after the last day of each fiscal year1 and annually thereafter1 the ,administrator of ,,usaid shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees and publish on the ,,usaid website a report on the progress made by ,,usaid during the most recently completed fiscal year to advance locally led development and humanitarian response1 which shall include1 with respect to the reporting period-- 7#a7 the amount of funding expended directly or indirectly by local entities1 including through all development and humanitarian assistance programs2 7#b7 an assessment of how ,,usaid is enabling more local leadership of programs funded by ,,usaid1 including-- 7,a7 recipients of direct funding2 7,b7 subrecipients and subcontractors to an international implementing partner2 7,c7 participants in a ,,usaid-funded program2 and 7,d7 members of a community affected by a ,,usaid program2 7#c7 an assessment of progress made by ,,usaid towards implementing-- 7,a7 the ,acquisitions and ,assistance ,strategy2 7,b7 the ,local ,capacity ,strengthening ,policy2 7,c7 the ,policy on ,locally ,led ,humanitarian ,assistance2 and 7,d7 any other relevant strategies and policies2 7#d7 an assessment of-- 7,a7 how ,,usaid is using the new authorities granted under sections #g and #h2 and 7,b7 the impact of such authorities on the ability of ,,usaid to work with local partners2 and 7#e7 an assessment of-- 7,a7 the number of organizations with a ,,nicra known to ,,usaid that are utilizing provisional ,n,i,c,r,as for longer than #d years without a final ,,nicra2 and 7,b7 the steps that ,,usaid recommends be taken to reduce the extension of provisional ,n,i,c,r,as beyond #a year4