Bill Summary
This bill, called the "Bicycles for Rural African Transport Act," aims to establish a rural mobility program within the Office of Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This program will promote mobility in rural communities by providing access to affordable and appropriate bicycles. The program will also support sustainable methods to increase access to rural areas, such as training rural mechanics, providing spare parts, and reducing social and gender-based stigma. The program will mainly operate in sub-Saharan Africa and will give priority to organizations with successful rural mobility programs in the region. The bill also authorizes funding for the program for the next several fiscal years and requires USAID to report on the projects, outcomes, and impacts of the program to Congress.
Possible Impacts
1. The establishment of the rural mobility program could provide access to affordable bicycles for people living in rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa, allowing them to access critical services such as education and healthcare.
2. The prioritization of organizations with demonstrated success in conducting rural mobility programs could limit the participation of new or smaller organizations, potentially limiting the impact of the program.
3. The authorization of appropriations for the program could lead to increased taxes for American citizens, as the government would need to allocate funds for the program.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4962 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4962
To establish within the Office of Gender Equality and Women's
Empowerment of the United States Agency for International Development a
rural mobility program to promote mobility in rural communities through
access to affordable, fit-for-purpose bicycles, to provide support to
sustainably increase access to rural areas, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 27, 2022
Mr. Durbin introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish within the Office of Gender Equality and Women's
Empowerment of the United States Agency for International Development a
rural mobility program to promote mobility in rural communities through
access to affordable, fit-for-purpose bicycles, to provide support to
sustainably increase access to rural areas, 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 ``Bicycles for Rural African Transport
Act''.
SEC. 2. RURAL MOBILITY PROGRAM IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA.
(a) Establishment.--
(1) In general.--The Administrator of the United States
Agency for International Development (referred to in this
section as ``USAID'') shall establish, within the Office of
Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment, a rural mobility
program (referred to in this section as the ``Program'') to
carry out the purposes described in paragraph (2), including
through grants made to eligible nongovernmental partner
organizations. In making such grants, the Administrator shall
give priority to organizations with demonstrated success
conducting rural mobility programs in the region for such
purposes.
(2) Purpose.--The Program shall focus on country-driven
projects within sub-Saharan Africa that--
(A) promote rural communities' access to critical
services and opportunities, including education, health
care, and livelihood opportunities, through access to
affordable, fit-for-purpose bicycles; and
(B) provide support to sustainably increase access
to critical services, such as education, health care,
and livelihood opportunities in rural areas, including
through support for rural-based mechanics, access to
spare parts, reduction of social and gender-based
stigma, and community project management capacity.
(3) Partnerships.--To the greatest extent practicable, the
Program shall partner with existing entities outside the United
States that have successful models for providing access to
affordable bicycles to achieve development objectives.
(4) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this section--
(A) $3,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2023
and 2024;
(B) $6,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2025
and 2026; and
(C) $12,000,000 for fiscal year 2027 and for each
fiscal year thereafter.
(b) Report.--
(1) Prior projects.--Not later than 30 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of USAID shall
submit a report to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate, the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, the
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives,
and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives that, with respect to each of the fiscal years
2019 through 2022--
(A) describes the projects carried out by USAID
that relate to any of the purposes described in
subsection (a)(2);
(B) identifies the countries in which USAID
embedded rural bicycle mobility into strategies,
programs, and projects of USAID and describes the
mechanisms by which rural bicycle mobility was so
embedded;
(C) specifies the number of bicycles distributed
through projects carried out by USAID; and
(D) assesses the outcomes for, and impacts on,
participants in such projects and the efforts of USAID
to disseminate lessons learned from such projects.
(2) Current projects.--Not later than December 30, 2024,
and each December 30 thereafter, the Administrator of USAID
shall submit a report to the congressional committees referred
to in paragraph (1) that--
(A) describes the projects carried out by USAID
during the most recently concluded fiscal year; and
(B) includes information relating to the matters
described in subparagraphs (B) through (D) of paragraph
(1).
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