117 STAT. 776
PUBLIC LAW 108–31—JUNE 17, 2003
‘‘the access to financial services and the development of microenterprises’’. (b) PROGRAM.—Section 108(b) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2151f(b)) is amended to read as follows: ‘‘(b) PROGRAM.—To carry out the policy set forth in subsection (a), the President is authorized to provide assistance to increase the availability of financial services to microenterprise households lacking full access to credit, including through— ‘‘(1) loans and guarantees to microfinance institutions for the purpose of expanding the availability of savings and credit to poor and low-income households; ‘‘(2) training programs for microfinance institutions in order to enable them to better meet the financial services needs of their clients; and ‘‘(3) training programs for clients in order to enable them to make better use of credit, increase their financial literacy, and to better manage their enterprises to improve their quality of life.’’. (c) ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.—Section 108(c) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2151f(c)) is amended— (1) in the first sentence of the matter preceding paragraph (1)— (A) by striking ‘‘credit institutions’’ and inserting ‘‘microfinance institutions’’; and (B) by striking ‘‘micro- and small enterprises’’ and inserting ‘‘microenterprise households’’; and (2) in paragraphs (1) and (2), by striking ‘‘credit’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘financial services’’. (d) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—Section 108(d) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2151f(d)) is amended by striking ‘‘micro- and small enterprise programs’’ and inserting ‘‘programs for microenterprise households’’. (e) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Section 108(f)(1) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2151f(f)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘for each of fiscal years 2001 and 2002’’ and inserting ‘‘for each of fiscal years 2001 through 2004’’. (f) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 108 of such Act (22 U.S.C. 2151f) is amended in the heading to read as follows: ‘‘SEC. 108. MICROENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT CREDITS.’’. SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE MICROENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT GRANT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM UNDER THE FOREIGN ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1961.
(a) FINDINGS AND POLICY.—Section 131(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2152a(a)) is amended to read as follows: ‘‘(a) FINDINGS AND POLICY.—Congress finds and declares that— ‘‘(1) access to financial services and the development of microenterprise are vital factors in the stable growth of developing countries and in the development of free, open, and equitable international economic systems; ‘‘(2) it is therefore in the best interest of the United States to facilitate access to financial services and assist the development of microenterprise in developing countries; ‘‘(3) access to financial services and the development of microenterprises can be supported by programs providing credit, savings, training, technical assistance, business development services, and other financial and non-financial services; and
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