This Act may be cited as the “African Growth and Opportunity Act and Millennium Challenge Act Modernization Act” or the “AGOA and MCA Modernization Act”.

The table of contents for this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Table of contents.

It is the policy of the United States to support efforts to—

(1) improve the rule of law, promote free and fair elections, strengthen and expand the private sector, and fight corruption in sub-Saharan Africa; and

(2) promote the role of women in social, political, and economic development in sub-Saharan Africa.

In this title—

(1) AGOA WEBSITE.—The term “AGOA Website” means the website established pursuant to section 103(a).

(2) ELIGIBLE SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN COUNTRY.—The term “eligible sub-Saharan African country” means a country that the President has determined meets the eligibility requirements set forth in section 104 of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 3703).

(a) AGOA Website.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall establish a publicly available website for the collection and dissemination of information regarding the African Growth and Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.).

(2) CONTENTS.—The President shall publish on the AGOA Website the information described in paragraph (1), including—

(A) information and technical assistance provided at United States Agency for International Development regional trade hubs; and

(B) a link to the websites of United States embassies located in eligible sub-Saharan African countries.

(3) ACTIONS BY UNITED STATES EMBASSIES.—The Secretary of State should direct United States embassies located in eligible sub-Saharan African countries to—

(A) encourage individuals and businesses in such countries to use the benefits available under the African Growth and Opportunity Act; and

(B) include a link to the AGOA Website on the websites of such diplomatic missions.

(b) AGOA Forum.—After each meeting of the United States–Sub-Saharan Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum, the President should publish on the AGOA Website the following:

(1) The outcomes of the meeting of the Forum, including any commitments made by member countries and the private sector.

(2) An assessment of progress made with respect to any commitments made by member countries and the private sector from the previous meeting of the Forum.

(c) Other information.—The President should disseminate the information required under this section in a digital format to the public and publish such information on the AGOA Website.

The President should—

(1) develop and implement policies that—

(A) encourage and facilitate cross-boundary cooperation among eligible sub-Saharan African countries in order to facilitate trade; and

(B) encourage the provision of technical assistance to eligible sub-Saharan African countries to establish and sustain adequate trade capacity development;

(2) provide specific training for businesses in eligible sub-Saharan African countries and government trade officials of such countries on accessing the benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act and other trade preference programs;

(3) provide capacity building for African entrepreneurs and trade associations on production strategies, quality standards, formation of cooperatives, market research, and market development;

(4) provide capacity building training to promote diversification of African products and value-added processing; and

(5) provide capacity building and technical assistance funding for African businesses and institutions to help such businesses and institutions comply with United States counterterrorism initiatives and policies.

(a) Low income countries.—Section 606(a) of the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7705(a)) is amended—

(1) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking “(3)” and inserting “(4)”;

(2) in paragraph (2)—

(A) by amending the paragraph heading to read as follows: “Fiscal years 2005 through 2012”; and

(B) by striking “fiscal year 2005 or a subsequent fiscal year” and inserting “each of fiscal years 2005 through 2012”;

(3) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4); and

(4) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:

“(3) FISCAL YEAR 2013 AND SUBSEQUENT FISCAL YEARS.—A country shall be a candidate country for purposes of eligibility for assistance for fiscal year 2013 or a subsequent fiscal year if the country—

“(A) has a per capita income not greater than the lower middle income country threshold established by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development for such fiscal year;

“(B) is among the 75 countries identified by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development as having the lowest per capita income; and

“(C) meets the requirements under paragraph (1)(B).”.

(b) Lower middle income countries.—Section 606(b) of the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7705(b)) is amended—

(1) in paragraph (1)—

(A) by amending the paragraph heading to read as follows: “Fiscal years 2006 through 2012”; and

(B) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking “fiscal year 2006 or a subsequent fiscal year” and inserting “fiscal years 2006 through 2012”;

(2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3); and

(3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:

“(2) FISCAL YEAR 2013 AND SUBSEQUENT FISCAL YEARS.—In addition to the countries described in subsection (a), a country shall be a candidate country for purposes of eligibility for assistance for fiscal year 2013 or a subsequent fiscal year if the country—

“(A) has a per capita income not greater than the lower middle income country threshold established by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development for the fiscal year;

“(B) is not among the 75 countries identified by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development as having the lowest per capita income; and

“(C) meets the requirements under subsection (a)(1)(B).”.

(c) Reclassification.—Section 606 of the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7705) is amended—

(1) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d); and

(2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following:

“(c) Treatment of countries with per capita income changes.—A country qualifying for candidate status under this section with a per capita income that changes during the fiscal year such that the country would be reclassified from a low income country to a lower middle income country or from a lower middle income country to a low income country shall retain its candidacy status in its former income classification for such fiscal year and the 2 subsequent fiscal years.”.

Section 604(c)(4)(B) of the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7703(c)(4)(B)) is amended to read as follows:

“(B) OTHER MEMBERS.—Each member of the Board described in paragraph (3)(B)—

“(i) shall be appointed for a term of 3 years;

“(ii) may be reappointed for a term of an additional 2 years; and

“(iii) may continue to serve in each such appointment until the earlier of—

“(I) the date on which his or her successor is appointed; or

“(II) the date that is 1 year after the expiration of his or her appointment or reappointment, as the case may be.”.

Section 607 of the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7706) is amended—

(1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the following: “A determination whether a country is eligible for a subsequent, non-concurrent Millennium Challenge Compact shall also be based, to the extent practicable, on significantly improved performance across the criteria in subsection (b) that, at a minimum, are relevant to the preceding Compact, compared to the country’s performance with respect to such criteria when selected for such preceding Compact.”

(2) in subsection (b)(1)—

(A) in subparagraph (D), by striking “and” at the end;

(B) in subparagraph (E), by adding “and” at the end; and

(C) by adding at the end the following:

“(F) the quality of the civil society enabling environment;”;

(3) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as subsections (e) and (f), respectively; and

(4) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:

“(d) Reporting on treatment of civil society.—For the 7-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this subsection, before the Board selects an eligible country for a Compact under subsection (c), the Corporation shall provide information to the Board regarding the country’s treatment of civil society, including classified information, as appropriate. The information shall include an assessment and analysis of factors including—

“(1) any relevant laws governing the formation or establishment of a civil society organization, particularly laws intended to curb the activities of foreign civil society organizations;

“(2) any relevant laws governing the operations of a civil society organization, particularly those laws seeking to define or otherwise regulate the actions of foreign civil society organizations;

“(3) laws relating to the legal status of civil society organizations, including laws which effectively discriminate against foreign civil society organizations as compared to similarly situated domestic organizations;

“(4) laws regulating the freedom of expression and peaceful assembly; and

“(5) laws regulating the usage of the Internet, particularly by foreign civil society organizations.”.

(a) In general.—Section 609 of the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7708) is amended—

(1) by striking the first sentence of subsection (k);

(2) by redesignating subsection (k) (as so amended) as subsection (l); and

(3) by inserting after subsection (j) the following:

“(k) Concurrent compacts.—An eligible country that has entered into and has in effect a Compact under this section may enter into and have in effect at the same time not more than one additional Compact in accordance with the requirements of this title if—

“(1) one or both of the Compacts are or will be for purposes of regional economic integration, increased regional trade, or cross-border collaborations; and

“(2) the Board determines that the country is making considerable and demonstrable progress in implementing the terms of the existing Compact and supplementary agreements thereto.”.

(b) Conforming amendment.—Section 613(b)(2)(A) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 7712(b)(2)(A)) is amended by striking “the” before “Compact” and inserting “any”.

(c) Applicability.—The amendments made by this section apply with respect to Compacts entered into between the United States and an eligible country under the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 before, on, or after the date of the enactment of this Act.

Section 610 of the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7709) is amended to read as follows:

(a) Requirement for timely disclosure.—Section 612(a) of the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7711(a)) is amended—

(1) in the subsection heading, by inserting “timely” before “disclosure”; and

(2) in the matter preceding paragraph (1)—

(A) by striking “The Corporation” and inserting “Not later than 90 days after the last day of each fiscal quarter, the Corporation”; and

(B) by striking “on at least a quarterly basis,”.

(b) Dissemination.—Section 612(b) of the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7711(b)) is amended to read as follows:

“(b) Dissemination.—The Board, acting through the Chief Executive Officer, shall make the information required to be disclosed under subsection (a) available to the public—

“(1) by publishing it on the website of the Corporation;

“(2) by providing notice of the availability of such information in the Federal Register; and

“(3) by any other methods that the Board determines to be appropriate.”.

Section 616(d) of the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003 (22 U.S.C. 7715(d)) is amended to read as follows:

“(d) Funding.—

“(1) LIMITATION.—Not more than 10 percent of the amounts made available to carry out this Act for a fiscal year may be made available to carry out this section.

“(2) RESTRICTION RELATING TO ASSISTANCE.—None of the funds authorized to carry out the purposes of this Act shall be available for assistance under this section to a country that does not qualify as a candidate country under section 606 for the fiscal year during which such assistance is provided.”.

(a) In general.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Board of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, acting through the Chief Executive Officer, shall submit a study to the appropriate congressional committees that assesses the feasibility and desirability of developing partnerships at the subnational level within candidate countries that would be complementary to, and, as applicable, concurrent with, any Millennium Challenge Corporation national-level or regional investments.

(b) Content.—The study required under subsection (a) shall examine—

(1) the extent to which targeting investments at the subnational level might provide new opportunities for reducing poverty through economic growth;

(2) the extent to which traditional approaches to defining poverty may not adequately capture the nature of poverty within a country;

(3) the types of subnational entities that might be appropriate partners for subnational Millennium Challenge Corporation compacts;

(4) how candidates for subnational partners might best be identified; and

(5) what role each national government should play in creating or implementing a subnational partnership.

(c) Appropriate congressional committees.—In this subsection, the term “appropriate congressional committees” means—

(1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;

(2) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;

(3) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives; and

(4) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.