§ 2421 — Trade And Development Agency

(a) The Trade and Development Agency shall be an agency of the United States under the foreign policy guidance of the Secretary of State. The purpose of the Trade and Development Agency is to promote United States private sector participation in development projects in developing and middle-income countries, with special emphasis on economic sectors with significant United States export potential, such as energy, transportation, telecommunications, and environment. (1) The Director of the Trade and Development Agency is authorized to work with foreign countries, including those in which the United States development programs have been concluded or those not receiving assistance under subchapter I of this chapter, to carry out the purpose of this section by providing funds for feasibility studies, architectural and engineering design, and other activities related to development projects which provide opportunities for the use of United States exports. (2) Funds under this section may be used to provide support for feasibility studies for the planning, development, and management of, and procurement for, bilateral and multilateral development projects, including training activities undertaken in connection with a project, for the purpose of promoting the use of United States goods and services in such projects. Funds under this section may also be used for architectural and engineering design, including— (A) concept design, which establishes the basic technical and operational criteria for a project, such as architectural drawings for a proposed facility, evaluation of site constraints, procurement requirements, and equipment specifications; and (B) detail design, which sets forth specific dimensions and criteria for structural, mechanical, electrical, and architectural operations, and identifies other resources required for project operations. (A) The Trade and Development Agency shall disseminate information about its project activities to the private sector. (B) Other agencies of the United States Government shall cooperate with the Trade and Development Agency in order for the Agency to provide more effectively informational services to persons in the private sector concerning trade development and export promotion related to development projects. (4) Any funds used for purposes of this section may be used notwithstanding any other provision of law. (5) The Trade and Development Agency shall, to the maximum extent practicable, require corporations and other entities to— (A) share the costs of feasibility studies and other project planning services funded under this section; and (B) reimburse the Trade and Development Agency those funds provided under this section, if the corporation or entity concerned succeeds in project implementation. (1) There shall be at the head of the Trade and Development Agency a Director who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. (A) The Director may appoint such officers and employees of the Trade and Development Agency as the Director considers appropriate. (B) The officers and employees appointed under this paragraph shall have such functions as the Director may determine. (C) Of the officers and employees appointed under this paragraph, 2 may be appointed without regard to the provisions of title 5, governing appointments in the competitive service, and may be compensated without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 or subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title. (D) Under such regulations as the President may prescribe, any individual appointed under subparagraph (C) may be entitled, upon removal (except for cause) from the position to which the appointment was made, to reinstatement to the position occupied by that individual at the time of appointment or to a position of comparable grade and pay. (d) The President shall, not later than December 31 of each year, submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report on the activities of the Trade and Development Agency in the preceding fiscal year. (1) The Trade and Development Agency shall be subject to the provisions of chapter 35 of title 31, except as otherwise provided in this section. (2) An independent certified public accountant shall perform a financial and compliance audit of the financial statements of the Trade and Development Agency each year, in accordance with generally accepted Government auditing standards for a financial and compliance audit, taking into consideration any standards recommended by the Comptroller General. The independent certified public accountant shall report the results of such audit to the Director of the Trade and Development Agency. The financial statements of the Trade and Development Agency shall be presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. These financial statements and the report of the accountant shall be included in a report which contains, to the extent applicable, the information identified in section 3512 of title 31, and which the Trade and Development Agency shall submit to the Congress not later than 6½ months after the end of the last fiscal year covered by the audit. The Comptroller General may review the audit conducted by the accountant and the report to the Congress in the manner and at such times as the Comptroller General considers necessary. (3) In lieu of the financial and compliance audit required by paragraph (2), the Comptroller General shall, if the Comptroller General considers it necessary or upon the request of the Congress, audit the financial statements of the Trade and Development Agency in the manner provided in paragraph (2). (4) All books, accounts, financial records, reports, files, workpapers, and property belonging to or in use by the Trade and Development Agency and the accountant who conducts the audit under paragraph (2), which are necessary for purposes of this subsection, shall be made available to the representatives of the Government Accountability Office designated by the Comptroller General. (A) There are authorized to be appropriated for purposes of this section, in addition to funds otherwise available for such purposes, $79,500,000 for fiscal year 2020 and such sums as may be necessary for each fiscal year thereafter. (B) Amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization of appropriations under subparagraph (A) are authorized to remain available until expended. (A) The Trade and Development Agency should, in carrying out its program, provide, as appropriate, funds to multilateral development banks for technical assistance grants. (B) As used in subparagraph (A)— (i) the term “technical assistance grants” means funding by multilateral development banks of services from the United States in connection with projects and programs supported by such banks, including, but not limited to, engineering, design, and consulting services; and (ii) the term “multilateral development bank” has the meaning given that term in section 262r(c) of this title.