Global Partnerships Act of 2013

Short title— This Act may be cited as the “Global Partnerships Act of 2013”.

Table of contents— The table of contents for this Act is as follows:

In an increasingly interdependent world, the health, prosperity, freedom, and security of the people of the United States are strengthened when the people of all countries can enjoy these same advantages.

The development of a healthier, more peaceful, democratic, just and prosperous world requires the sustained and substantial investment of United States human and financial resources in fostering international cooperation and in building the capacity of other countries to meet the needs of their people and to conduct themselves responsibly in the international system.

Foreign assistance is not only a reflection of the values, generosity, and goodwill of the people of the United States, but also an essential means for achieving United States foreign policy, economic, and national security objectives.

Foreign assistance is not an end in itself. The purpose of foreign assistance is to create the conditions under which it is no longer needed.

United States foreign assistance should support the development of human, financial, organizational, and technical capacity of partner countries, both within government and among civil society, that is sustainable over the long term and leads to self-reliance.

United States foreign assistance, regardless of type, purpose, or recipient, should respect human rights and democratic processes.

United States embassies and United States Agency for International Development missions in partner countries should be accorded a central role in planning, budgeting, and decisionmaking with respect to United States foreign assistance to those countries.

United States foreign assistance programs should be carried out in collaboration with a wide variety of partners, including multilateral organizations, governments of partner countries at all levels, intermediate representative institutions, and international, United States, and local civil society organizations.

Nonemergency United States foreign assistance should be provided pursuant to well-coordinated strategies with specific goals and measurable objectives, while preserving the flexibility to respond to rapidly changing situations.

Monitoring and evaluation of United States foreign assistance should be conducted systematically to ensure financial accountability, evaluate performance, assess impact, determine lessons learned, disseminate findings, and identify steps for improvement.

Because gender equality is essential to democracy, human rights and economic development, the needs, views, rights, roles, and resources of women should be taken into account in all stages of the foreign assistance process, including strategic planning, budgeting, design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.

Because natural resources and a healthy, functioning environment underpin sustainable economic growth, health, and food security, the likely impact of United States foreign assistance policies and programs upon the environment should be taken into account in all stages of the foreign assistance process. Effective action should be taken to mitigate any negative impacts and to ensure that all people enjoy the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards.

The United States Government should publish timely, detailed, and comprehensive information on the budgeting, delivery, and expenditure of United States foreign assistance in order to enhance transparency and accountability for results and should encourage and facilitate similar transparency by the partner country regarding its national budget, government contracts, and aid-related expenditures.

United States foreign assistance should be conducted within a coherent and coordinated structure that establishes clear lines of authority, delineates responsibilities, rationalizes functions, closes gaps, promotes policy consistency, and ensures civilian leadership.

To ensure that United States foreign assistance achieves its intended objectives and to maximize its impact, the United States Government should design and implement such assistance in partnership with local stakeholders, including as appropriate and feasible, governments, intermediate representative institutions, civil society organizations, and affected communities.

The success of United States foreign assistance in meeting humanitarian, foreign policy, and national security objectives depends on the sustained commitment of adequate and reliable budgetary resources as well as on the development, training, and maintenance of a diverse and experienced corps of professionals to design, manage, implement, and monitor such foreign assistance.

Reducing global poverty and alleviating human suffering.

Advancing peace and mitigating crises.

Supporting human rights and democracy.

Building and reinforcing strategic partnerships.

Countering transnational threats.

Sustaining the global environment.

Expanding prosperity through trade and investment.

Administrator— The term Administrator means the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development.

Agency or USAID— The term Agency or USAID means the United States Agency for International Development.

Appropriate congressional committees— The term appropriate congressional committees means—

Basic human needs— The term basic human needs means the requirements for sustaining life, health, and human dignity.

Civil society organization— The term civil society organization means—

Country— The term country means the government, civil society, and intermediate representative institutions of a state or specially administered area.

Development assistance— The term development assistance means—

Economic assistance— The term economic assistance means foreign assistance, other than assistance under subtitle B or C of title IV.

Federal agency— The term Federal agency has the meaning given the term Executive agency in section 105 of title 5, United States Code.

Foreign assistance— The term foreign assistance means any tangible or intangible item provided by the United States Government to a foreign country or international organization under this or any other Act, including any training, service, or technical advice, any item of real, personal, or mixed property, any agricultural commodity, any gift, loan, sale, credit, guarantee, or export subsidy, United States dollars, and any currencies of any foreign country which are owned by the United States Government.

Fundamental freedoms— The term fundamental freedoms means the freedoms of association, assembly, expression, and religion.

Genocide— The term genocide means an offense as described in section 1091 of title 18, United States Code.

Humanitarian assistance— The term humanitarian assistance means—

Institution of higher education— The term institution of higher education has the meaning given such term under section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001).

Intermediate representative institution— The term intermediate representative institution means an organization with the mandate to represent citizens in government and in political processes, such as a legislature, political party, advisory commission, or municipal council.

International organization— The term international organization means an international organization as defined in section 1 of the International Organizations Immunities Act (22 U.S.C. 288).

Marginalized group— The term marginalized group—

Mass atrocities— The term mass atrocities includes war crimes, genocide or acts that may constitute genocide, and other crimes against humanity.

Military education and training— The term military education and training includes formal or informal instruction of foreign students in the United States or overseas by officers or employees of the United States, contract technicians, contractors (including instruction at civilian institutions), or by correspondence courses, technical, educational, or informational publications and media of all kinds, training aids, orientation, and military advice to foreign military units and forces.

Notwithstanding, etc— The terms notwithstanding any other provision of law and notwithstanding any provision of this or any other Act shall not apply to title 31, United States Code, the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, or the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990.

Partner country— The term partner country means a country that is receiving or is eligible to receive foreign assistance.

Private and voluntary organization— The term private and voluntary organization means a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization.

Private partner— The term private partner means—

Secretary— The term Secretary means the Secretary of State.

Security assistance— The term security assistance means foreign assistance under title IV or title V.

United states— The term United States, when used in the geographic sense, includes each State of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands of the United States, and any other territory or possession of the United States.

United States Armed Forces— The term United States Armed Forces means the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard.