,i #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #hege ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,april #bi1 #bjbf,ms4 ,johnson of ,texas introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to strengthen the public-private partnerships and policy efforts of the ,department of ,state to advance women's economic security in ,south and ,central ,asia1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,enhancing ,mobilization of ,public-,private ,organizations for ,women's ,economic ,rights ,act or the ,,empower ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,women's full and unfettered political1 economic1 and social participation is vital to realizing universal human rights1 global prosperity1 peace1 and security4 7#b7 ,women's labor force participation1 asset ownership1 and economic security are development multipliers1 promoting family financial resilience1 community health and development1 children's educational attainment1 and poverty reduction1 among other development gains across ,south and ,central ,asia4 7#c7 ,women's economic participation and opportunity1 educational attainment1 health and survival1 and political empowerment are directly proportional to countries' economic competitiveness4 7#d7 ,women make up about #cc percent of ,south ,asia's labor force1 among the lowest female labor force participation rates in the world1 yet gender parity in employment could increase ,south ,asia's ,gross ,domestic ,product by between #ai to #eh percent4 7#e7 ,while the percentage varies across the five ,central ,asian states1 ,tajikistan and ,uzbekistan also have some of the lowest female labor force participation rates in the world1 at #bi4f percent and #ce4i percent1 respectively4 7#f7 ,the ,women's ,councils are consortia of public-private partnerships between the ,department of ,state and ,united ,states and ,south ,asian businesses1 civil society1 and universities1 to matchmake technology1 networks1 expertise1 and resources of our corporate and civil society members to create more impact together than any entity could alone4 7#g7 ,the ,women's ,councils implement ,president ,trump's ,presidential ,memorandum on ,promoting ,women's ,global ,development and ,prosperity and the bipartisan ,women1 ,peace1 and ,security ,act of #bjag4 7#h7 ,the ,women's ,councils accelerate women's economic empowerment in ,south and ,central ,asian countries1 growing economies and advancing stability and prosperity for all1 at no cost to ,american taxpayers4 #c4 ,statement of policy ,it is the policy of the ,united ,states to promote women's economic security and advancement1 including in ,south and ,central ,asia1 as an integral part of the broader conduct of ,united ,states foreign policy in the region4 #d4 ,women's councils and public-private partnerships advancing women's economic security in ,south and ,central ,asia 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of ,state shall maintain and seek to expand existing women's councils and other public-private partnerships that-- 7#a7 forge ties between the ,united ,states and countries in ,south and ,central ,asia1 by catalyzing commitments from the private sector1 civil society1 and academia2 and 7#b7 advance women's employment1 entrepreneurship and access to education1 such as the ,united ,states-,pakistan ,women's ,council1 the ,united ,states-,india ,alliance for ,women's ,economic ,empowerment1 and the ,alliance for ,afghan ,women's ,economic ,resilience4 7b7 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress that the activities authorized under subsection 7a7 should support-- 7#a7 women's financial inclusion and access2 7#b7 women's access to mentorship2 7#c7 women's asset ownership2 7#d7 incubation and scaling of women-owned startups and small and medium enterprises2 7#e7 access to procurement opportunities by women entrepreneurs2 7#f7 career-enhancing educational opportunities2 7#g7 women in science1 technology1 engineering1 the arts and mathematics2 7#h7 the care economy2 and 7#i7 addressing legal and social barriers to women's economic empowerment4 7c7 ,location ,activities authorized under this section may be conducted in the ,united ,states1 in countries in ,south and ,central ,asia1 or in third countries4 #e4 ,establishment of ,unit 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of ,state shall establish within the ,bureau of ,south and ,central ,asian ,affairs a ,unit responsible for overseeing the public-private partnerships described in section #d7;a74 ,such ,unit shall be led by a ,special ,advisor for ,women's ,economic ,security1 who shall report to the ,assistant ,secretary of ,state for ,south and ,central ,asia4 7b7 ,special advisor ,the ,special ,advisor for ,women's ,economic ,security shall-- 7#a7 be appointed by the ,secretary of ,state1 including from among existing officials or employees of the ,department of ,state to serve as the ,special ,advisor in addition to that official or employee's existing role2 and 7#b7 have the rank and status of ,ambassador4 7c7 ,designated point of contact ,each ,united ,states diplomatic and consular post the ,special ,advisor determines relevant shall designate a point of contact from among the personnel of such post1 whose duties shall include identifying and tracking relevant private sector commitments with respect to the public-private partnerships overseen by the ,unit established under subsection 7a74 #f4 ,report 7a7 ,in general ,not later than #a year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,state shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that includes-- 7#a7 a description of the steps taken to implement this ,act1 including allocated personnel and funding2 7#b7 the status of the commitments and partnerships described in section #d7;a72 and 7#c7 economic data on the impact of work of the ,unit authorized by section #e4 7b7 ,appropriate congressional committees defined ,in this section1 the term appropriate congressional committees means the following3 7#a7 ,the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives4 7#b7 ,the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations of the ,senate4