Bill Summary
The Gandhi-King Scholarly Exchange Initiative Act establishes a partnership between the United States and India through the creation of a professional exchange program and conflict resolution training initiative based on the principles of nonviolence. It also creates the United States-India Gandhi-King Development Foundation which will identify development priorities and administer grants focused on health, pollution, education, and women's empowerment. The Act authorizes the appropriation of funds to support these initiatives, with the possibility of renewing funding for up to 5 years based on successful results and private sector contributions. Overall, the Act aims to promote peace, justice, and human rights globally by strengthening the friendship and partnership between the two countries.
Possible Impacts
1. Scholars and students will have the opportunity to participate in professional exchange programs and receive training in conflict resolution based on the principles of nonviolence, promoting global peace, justice, and human rights.
2. The United States-India Gandhi-King Development Foundation will be established, providing grants to address development priorities such as health, pollution, education, and women's empowerment. This will have a significant impact on improving the lives of individuals and communities in both countries.
3. The appropriation of funds for various purposes, including up to $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2021 to the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, will allow for significant investments in development initiatives that will benefit both the United States and India, promoting stronger friendship and partnership between the two nations.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5517 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5517
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 7, 2020
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To affirm the friendship of the governments of the United States of
America and the Republic of India, and to establish a bilateral
partnership for collaboration to advance development and shared values,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Gandhi-King Scholarly Exchange
Initiative Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The peoples of the United States and India have a long
history of friendship and the interests of the peoples of the
United States, India, and the world will benefit from a
stronger United States-India partnership.
(2) Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.,
were dedicated leaders fighting for social justice and social
change, peace, and civil rights in their respective
communities, and countries and in the world.
(3) The use of nonviolent civil disobedience is a shared
tactic that has played a key role in defeating social injustice
in India, the United States, and in other parts of the world.
(4) Mohandas Gandhi, who was born on October 2, 1869, was
murdered on January 30, 1948, after dedicating his life to the
peaceful empowerment of the people of India and to the end of
British colonial rule.
(5) Martin Luther King, Jr., who was born on January 15,
1929, was murdered on April 4, 1968, after a life dedicated to
peaceful movements against segregation, discrimination, racial
injustice, and poverty.
(6) In February 1959, Dr. King and his wife, Coretta Scott
King, traveled throughout India. By the end of his monthlong
visit, Dr. King said, ``I am more convinced than ever before
that the method of nonviolent resistance is the most potent
weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for
justice and human dignity.''.
(7) Fifty years after Dr. King's visit, All India Radio,
the national radio station of India, discovered a taped message
by Dr. King that emphasized the intellectual harmony between
the messages of Dr. King and Mohandas Gandhi on nonviolent
social action.
(8) On August 22, 2011, the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,
National Memorial opened to the public in Washington, DC. This
newest memorial on the National Mall pays tribute to Dr. King's
national and international contributions to world peace through
nonviolent social change.
(9) The 116th Congress coincides with both the 150th birth
anniversary of Mohandas Gandhi and the 90th birth anniversary
of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
(10) Mohandas Gandhi, who employed the principle of
satyagraha, or ``fighting with peace'', has come to represent
the moral force inspiring many civil and social rights movement
around the world.
(11) Dr. King's effective use of Gandhi's principles was
instrumental to the American civil rights movement.
(12) There is a long history of civil and social rights
movements in the United States and in India. As the
relationship between the United States and India evolves, a
binational foundation through which the governments of each
country can work together and catalyze private investment
toward development objectives would provide an ongoing,
productive institution and symbol of the friendship and common
ideals of the respective governments and their peoples.
(13) There is a global goal of ending tuberculosis by 2030,
the United States and India seek a TB-Free India by 2025, and
the United States-India Gandhi-King Foundation will help
address gaps across the TB value chain in prevention,
detection, diagnosis, and treatment, and would catalyze market-
based strategies to bridge the service gap for the ``last
mile''.
(14) Leaders in both countries belonging to both major
political parties have prioritized the United States-India
relationship and on a bipartisan basis continue to support a
strengthened United States-India partnership, recognizing that
it will be one of the defining partnerships of the 21st
century.
SEC. 3. GANDHI-KING SCHOLARLY EXCHANGE INITIATIVE.
In order to further the shared ideals and values of Mohandas Gandhi
and Martin Luther King, Jr, the Secretary of State shall establish, in
cooperation with the appropriate representatives of the Government of
India, a professional exchange program known as the ``Gandhi-King
Scholarly Exchange Initiative''. The initiative should be comprised of
the following:
(1) An annual educational forum for scholars from the
United States and India that focuses on the social justice and
human and civil rights legacies of Mohandas Gandhi and Martin
Luther King, Jr., which shall--
(A) be held alternately in the United States and in
India;
(B) include representatives from governments,
nongovernmental organizations, civic organizations, and
educational, cultural, women's, civil, and human rights
groups, including religious and ethnic minorities and
marginalized communities; and
(C) focus on studying the works of Gandhi and King,
and applying their philosophies of nonviolent
resistance to addressing current issues, including
poverty alleviation, conflict mitigation, human and
civil rights challenges, refugee crises, and threats to
democracy and democratic norms in countries around the
world.
(2) An undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate student
exchange for students in the United States and India to--
(A) study the history and legacies of Martin Luther
King, Jr., and Mohandas Gandhi;
(B) visit historic sites in India and the United
States that were integral to the American civil rights
movement and the Indian independence movement; and
(C) research and develop papers on the importance
of peace, nonviolence, and reconciliation in current
conflict regions.
SEC. 4. GANDHI-KING GLOBAL ACADEMY.
(a) In General.--The president and chief executive officer of the
United States Institute of Peace shall create a professional
development training initiative on conflict resolution tools based on
the principles of nonviolence. Such training initiative shall be known
as the Gandhi-King Global Academy and shall--
(1) target representatives from governments,
nongovernmental organizations, civic organizations, and
educational, cultural, women's, civil, and human rights groups,
including religious and ethnic minorities and marginalized
communities in countries with ongoing political, social,
ethnic, or violent conflict;
(2) include a specific focus on the success of nonviolent
movements, inclusion, and representation in conflict
resolution;
(3) develop a curriculum on conflict resolution tools based
on the principles of nonviolence; and
(4) make the curriculum publicly available online, in
person, and through a variety of media.
(b) Prohibition.--The United States Institute of Peace may not, in
the course of any activity authorized by subsection (a), enter into any
contract with an outside entity to conduct advocacy on its behalf.
SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE UNITED STATES-INDIA GANDHI-KING
DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION.
(a) Establishment.--The Administrator of the United States Agency
for International Development (USAID), with the concurrence of the
Secretary of State and in coordination with appropriate counterparts in
the Government of India, is authorized to establish, on such terms and
conditions as are determined necessary and notwithstanding any other
provision of law, one or more legal entities to compose the United
States-India Gandhi-King Development Foundation (in this section
referred to as the ``Foundation''). Each such legal entity within the
Foundation shall be organized under the laws of India and shall not be
considered to be an agency or establishment of the United States
Government and shall not have the full faith and credit of the United
States.
(b) Functions.--The Foundation, through one or more entities
referred to in subsection (a)--
(1) shall identify development priorities and administer
and oversee competitively-awarded grants to private
nongovernmental entities to address such priorities in India,
including--
(A) health initiatives addressing tuberculosis
(TB), water, sanitation, and health (WASH), and
pollution and related health impacts (PHI);
(B) pollution, plastic waste reduction, and
climate-related shocks;
(C) education; and
(D) empowerment of women;
(2) should provide credible platforms and models, including
returnable capital to attract and blend public and private
capital, which can then be deployed efficiently and effectively
to address the priorities identified in paragraph (1).
(c) Additionality.--
(1) In general.--Before an entity within the Foundation
makes a grant under subsection (b)(1) to address a priority
identified under such subsection, the Foundation shall ensure
that private sector entities are afforded an opportunity to
support the projects funded by such grants.
(2) Safeguards, policies, and guidelines.--The Foundation
shall develop appropriate safeguards, policies, and guidelines
to ensure that grants made under subsection (b)(1) operate
according to internationally recognized best practices and
standards.
(d) Limitations.--No party receiving a grant made under subsection
(b)(1) may receive such grant in an amount that is more than five
percent of amounts appropriated or otherwise made available under
section 7(a)(3) to the entity in the Foundation making such grant.
(e) Governing Council.--
(1) Purpose.--The Government of the United States and the
Government of India shall convene a Governing Council to
provide guidance and direction to the Foundation.
(2) Appointment of members.--The Administrator of the
United States Agency for International Development, with the
concurrence of the Secretary of State, shall appoint a majority
of the Governing Council of the Foundation for a period of five
years following the establishment of the Foundation.
(3) Charter.--The Governing Council of the Foundation shall
adopt a charter for the operation of the Foundation, which
shall include provisions to--
(A) identify development priorities or a process to
identify development priorities;
(B) define criteria for application, merit review,
and awarding of grants by the Foundation;
(C) establish an annual organization-wide audit by
an independent auditor in accordance with generally
accepted auditing standards, the results of which shall
be made immediately available to the Board, the
Administrator of the United States Agency for
International Development, and the appropriate
Government of India counterpart;
(D) assist in the creation of project specific
timetables for each of the projects funded by a grant
from the Foundation;
(E) establish an oversight role and march-in audit
rights for the Administrator of the United States
Agency for International Development and the
appropriate Government of India counterpart; and
(F) establish an annual report on the activities of
the Foundation to be made publicly available.
(f) Publicly Available Project Information.--The Foundation shall
maintain a user-friendly, publicly available, machine readable database
with detailed project level information, as appropriate and to the
extent practicable, including a description of the grants made by the
Foundation under this section and project level performance metrics.
(g) Detail of United States Government Personnel to the
Foundation.--
(1) In general.--Whenever the Administrator of the United
States Agency for International Development or the Secretary of
State determines it to be in furtherance of the purposes of
this Act, the Administrator and the Secretary are authorized to
detail or assign any officer or employee of the Agency or the
Department, respectively, to any position in the Foundation to
provide technical, scientific, or professional assistance to
the Foundation or, in cooperation with the Foundation, to
implementing partners of the Foundation, without reimbursement
to the United States Government.
(2) Status.--Any United States Government officer or
employee, while detailed or assigned under this subsection,
shall be considered, for the purpose of preserving their
allowances, privileges, rights, seniority, and other benefits
as such, an officer or employee of the United States Government
and of the agency of the United States Government from which
detailed or assigned, and shall continue to receive
compensation, allowances, and benefits from program funds
appropriated to that agency or made available to that agency
for purposes related to the activities of the detail or
assignment, in accordance with authorities related to their
employment status and agency policies.
(3) Sunset.--The authorities provided under this subsection
shall terminate on the date that is five years after the
establishment of the Foundation.
SEC. 6. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.
(a) Initial Reports.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act--
(1) the Secretary of State shall submit to the Committee on
Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations
and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate a report on
the Secretary of State's plan to establish the initiative
authorized under section 3;
(2) the president and chief executive officer of the United
States Institute of Peace shall submit to the Committee on
Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations
and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate a report on
the president and chief executive officer's plan to establish
the initiative authorized under section 4; and
(3) the Administrator of the United States Agency for
International Development shall submit to the Committee on
Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations
and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate a report on
the Administrator's plan to establish, not later than 180 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the organization
authorized under section 5.
(b) Periodic Updates.--Upon the request of the committees specified
in subsection (a), the Secretary of State, president and chief
executive officer of the United States Institute of Peace, and
Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development
shall submit to such committees an update on the progress in
implementing each of the initiatives or establishing the organization
referred to in such subsection.
SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) In General.--There is authorized to be appropriated to carry
out--
(1) section 3, up to $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years
2021 through 2025 to the Secretary of State
(2) section 4, up to $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2021 to the
United States Institute of Peace;
(3) section 5, up to $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2021 to
the Administrator of the United States Agency for International
Development; and
(4) section 5, up to $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years
2022 through 2025, if the private sector in India commits
amounts equal to that contributed by the United States.
(c) Sense of Congress on Foreign Assistance Funds.--It is the sense
of Congress that the authorization of appropriations under subsection
(a) should be renewable for one or more periods of not more than 5
years if the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Administrator
of the United States Agency for International Development, determines
that the Foundation's work is successful in addressing the priorities
identified in section 5(b)(1) and that the private sector in India has
committed funds to the Foundation in accordance with subsection (a)(4).
Passed the House of Representatives December 3, 2020.
Attest:
CHERYL L. JOHNSON,
Clerk.