§ 2151aa — Program To Provide Technical Assistance To Foreign Governments And Foreign Central Banks Of Developing Or Transitional Countries

(1) Not later than 150 days after October 21, 1998, the Secretary of the Treasury, after consultation with the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, is authorized to establish a program to provide technical assistance to foreign governments and foreign central banks of developing or transitional countries. (2) The Secretary of State shall provide foreign policy guidance to the Secretary to ensure that the program established under this subsection is effectively integrated into the foreign policy of the United States. (1) In carrying out the program established under subsection (a), the Secretary shall provide economic and financial technical assistance to foreign governments and foreign central banks of developing and transitional countries by providing advisers with appropriate expertise to advance the enactment of laws and establishment of administrative procedures and institutions in such countries to promote macroeconomic and fiscal stability, efficient resource allocation, transparent and market-oriented processes and sustainable private sector growth. (2) To the extent practicable, such technical assistance shall be designed to establish— (A) tax systems that are fair, objective, and efficiently gather sufficient revenues for governmental operations; (B) debt issuance and management programs that rely on market forces; (C) budget planning and implementation that permits responsible fiscal policy management; (D) commercial banking sector development that efficiently intermediates between savers and investors; and (E) financial law enforcement to protect the integrity of financial systems, financial institutions, and government programs. (3) Such technical assistance shall include elements designed to combat anti-competitive, unethical, and corrupt activities, including protection against actions that may distort or inhibit transparency in market mechanisms and, to the extent applicable, privatization procedures. (c) In carrying out the program established under subsection (a), the Secretary— (1) shall establish a methodology for identifying and selecting foreign governments and foreign central banks to receive assistance under the program; (2) prior to selecting a foreign government or foreign central bank to receive assistance under the program, shall receive the concurrence of the Secretary of State with respect to the selection of such government or central bank and with respect to the cost of the assistance to such government or central bank; (3) shall consult with the heads of appropriate Executive agencies of the United States, including the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, and appropriate international financial institutions to avoid duplicative efforts with respect to those foreign countries for which such agencies or organizations provide similar assistance; (4) shall ensure that the program is consistent with the International Affairs Strategic Plan and Mission Performance Plan of the United States Agency for International Development; (5) shall establish and carry out a plan to evaluate the program. (d) In carrying out the program established under subsection (a), the Secretary shall have the following administrative authorities: (1) The Secretary may provide allowances and benefits under chapter 9 of title I of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4081 et seq.) to any officer or employee of any agency of the United States Government performing functions under this section outside the United States. (A) The Secretary may allocate or transfer to any agency of the United States Government any part of any funds available for carrying out this section, including any advance to the United States Government by any country or international organization for the procurement of commodities, supplies, or services. (B) Such funds shall be available for obligation and expenditure for the purposes for which such funds were authorized, in accordance with authority granted in this section or under authority governing the activities of the agency of the United States Government to which such funds are allocated or transferred. (3) Appropriations for the purposes of or pursuant to this section, and allocations to any agency of the United States Government from other appropriations for functions directly related to the purposes of this section, shall be available for— (A) contracting with individuals for personal services abroad, except that such individuals shall not be regarded as employees of the United States Government for the purpose of any law administered by the Office of Personnel Management; (B) the purchase and hire of passenger motor vehicles, except that passenger motor vehicles may be purchased only— (i) for use in foreign countries; and (ii) if the Secretary or the Secretary’s designee has determined that the vehicle is necessary to accomplish the mission; (C) the purchase of insurance for official motor vehicles acquired for use in foreign countries; (i) the rent or lease outside the United States, not to exceed 5 years, of offices, buildings, grounds, and quarters, including living quarters to house personnel, consistent with the relevant interagency housing board policy, and payments therefor in advance; (ii) maintenance, furnishings, necessary repairs, improvements, and alterations to properties owned or rented by the United States Government or made available for use to the United States Government outside the United States; and (iii) costs of insurance, fuel, water, and utilities for such properties; (E) expenses of preparing and transporting to their former homes or places of burial the remains of foreign participants or members of the family of foreign participants, who may die while such participants are away from their homes participating in activities carried out with funds covered by this section; (F) notwithstanding any other provision of law, transportation and payment of per diem in lieu of subsistence to foreign participants engaged in activities of the program under this section while such participants are away from their homes in countries other than the United States, at rates not in excess of those prescribed by the standardized Government travel regulations; (G) expenses in connection with travel of personnel outside the United States, including travel expenses of dependents (including expenses during necessary stop-overs while engaged in such travel), and transportation of personal effects, household goods, and automobiles of such personnel when any part of such travel or transportation begins in one fiscal year pursuant to travel orders issued in that fiscal year, notwithstanding the fact that such travel or transportation may not be completed during the same fiscal year, and cost of transporting automobiles to and from a place of storage, and the cost of storing automobiles of such personnel when it is in the public interest or more economical to authorize storage; and (H) grants to, and cooperative agreements and contracts with, any individual, corporation, or other body of persons, nonprofit organization, friendly government or government agency, whether within or without the United States, and international organizations, as the Secretary determines is appropriate to carry out the purposes of this section. (4) Whenever the Secretary determines it to be consistent with the purposes of this section, the Secretary is authorized to furnish services and commodities on an advance-of-funds basis to any friendly country or international organization that is not otherwise prohibited from receiving assistance under this chapter. Such advances may be credited to the currently applicable appropriation, account, or fund of the Department of the Treasury and shall be available for the purposes for which such appropriation, account, or fund is authorized to be used. (e) The Secretary is authorized to issue such regulations with respect to personal service contractors as the Secretary deems necessary to carry out this section. (f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to infringe upon the powers or functions of the Secretary of State (including the powers or functions described in section 4802 of this title) or of any chief of mission (including the powers or functions described in section 207 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3927)). (g) The Secretary shall conclude assistance activities for a recipient foreign government or foreign central bank under the program established under subsection (a) if the Secretary, after consultation with the appropriate officers of the United States, determines that such assistance has resulted in the enactment of laws or the establishment of institutions in that country that promote fiscal stability and administrative procedures, efficient resource allocation, transparent and market-oriented processes and private sector growth in a sustainable manner. (1) Not later than 3 months after October 21, 1998, and every 6 months thereafter, the Secretary shall prepare and submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the conduct of the program established under this section during the preceding 6-month period. (2) In this subsection, the term “appropriate congressional committees” means— (A) the Committee on International Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives; and (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate. (i) In this section: (1) The term “developing or transitional country” means a country eligible to receive development assistance under this part. (2) The term “international financial institution” means the International Monetary Fund, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Development Association, the International Finance Corporation, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, the Asian Development Bank, the African Development Bank, the African Development Fund, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Inter-American Investment Corporation, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the Bank for Economic Cooperation and Development in the Middle East and North Africa. (3) The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Treasury. (4) The term “technical assistance” includes— (A) the use of short-term and long-term expert advisers to assist foreign governments and foreign central banks for the purposes described in subsection (b)(1); (B) training in the recipient country, the United States, or elsewhere for the purposes described in subsection (b)(1); (C) grants of goods, services, or funds to foreign governments and foreign central banks; (D) grants to United States nonprofit organizations to provide services or products which contribute to the provision of advice to foreign governments and foreign central banks; and (E) study tours for foreign officials in the United States or elsewhere for the purpose of providing technical information to such officials. (5) The term “foreign participant” means the national of a developing or transitional country that is receiving assistance under the program established under subsection (a) who has been designated to participate in activities under such program. (1) There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 for fiscal year 1999. (2) Amounts authorized to be appropriated under paragraph (1) are authorized to remain available until expended.