Economic Growth and Development Act

Economic Growth and Development Act

This bill requires the President to establish a primary interagency mechanism to coordinate U.S. development assistance programs carried out by federal agencies overseas with private sector investment activities.

The mechanism shall:

• streamline the private-sector liaison, coordination, and investment promotion functions of such agencies;
• facilitate the use of development and finance tools across such agencies to attract greater participation in development activities by the private sector; and
• establish a single point of contact for U.S. private sector entities pursuing partnership opportunities with such agencies.

Federal agencies planning or providing U.S. development assistance overseas shall ensure that: (1) a rigorous analysis of the constraints to economic growth and investment within a recipient country guides any U.S. development strategy, and (2) U.S. development strategies are coordinated with private sector activities in such countries.

Each analysis shall identify and analyze: (1) the constraints posed by inadequacies in critical infrastructure, the education system, the rule of law, the tax and investment codes, or the customs or regulatory regimes in the recipient country; and (2) the particular economic sectors that are central to achieving economic growth in the recipient country.

The results of each analysis shall be: (1) incorporated into any relevant development strategy, and (2) used to guide the allocation of resources by federal agencies planning or providing U.S. development assistance overseas.