22 U.S.C. § 7708 — Millennium Challenge Compact

(a) Compact — The Board, acting through the Corporation's Chief Executive Officer, may give assistance to an eligible country only if that country enters into a "Millennium Challenge Compact" with the United States — an agreement setting a multi-year plan for reaching shared development goals under this chapter. (b) Elements — (1) In general: The Compact should take the country's national development strategy into account and must contain: (A) the specific goals the country and the U.S. expect to reach during the Compact; (B) each side's responsibilities in reaching those goals; (C) regular benchmarks to measure progress, where appropriate; (D) an identification of the intended beneficiaries, broken down by income level, gender, and age as much as practical; (E) a multi-year financial plan — including estimated contributions from the Corporation and the country, and how the plan will be carried out and overseen — that shows how (A) through (D) will be met, including civil society's role; (F) where appropriate, a description of other donors' current and possible participation; (G) a plan to keep spending under the Compact fiscally accountable; (H) where appropriate, a process for considering both solicited proposals and unsolicited proposals from the Corporation and from national, regional, or local governments; (I) a requirement that grants, cooperative agreements, and purchases of goods and services under the Compact use open, fair, and competitive procedures, administered transparently; (J) the country's strategy for sustaining progress after the Compact expires; and (K) a description of the role the U.S. Agency for International Development will play in designing, carrying out, and monitoring the Compact's programs. The term "national development strategy" means a strategy — built by the country's government together with a wide range of civic participants, including nongovernmental organizations, private and voluntary organizations, universities, women's and student groups, local trade and labor unions, and businesses — for reaching market-driven economic growth and ending extreme poverty. (2) Country contributions: Besides the elements above, the Compact must also identify a contribution the country itself will make, sized to fit its national budget and prevailing economic conditions. That contribution should be in addition to what the country already budgeted for the same purposes the year before the Compact was set up, and should continue for the whole life of the Compact. (c) No taxation — Every Compact must also include a provision stating that U.S. assistance under it is exempt from taxation by the eligible country's government. (d) Local input — In making a Compact, the United States must try to make sure the country's government takes into account the local-level views of the rural and urban poor, including women, and consults with private and voluntary organizations, the business community, and other donors in the country. (e) Consultation — While Corporation officials are discussing a Compact with a country, they must, at minimum, consult with the appropriate officials of the U.S. Agency for International Development, particularly those responsible for the relevant region or country's development issues. (f) Coordination with other donors — As much as feasible, work done to achieve the Compact's objectives must be coordinated with the assistance activities of other donors. (g) Assistance for development of the Compact — Even before a Compact is signed, the Chief Executive Officer may make contracts or grants to any eligible country to help develop and prepare for the Compact. (h) Board approval required — The Board must approve every Compact before the United States enters into it. (i) Increasing or extending assistance — Within 15 days of deciding to increase or extend assistance under an existing Compact, the Board, through the Chief Executive Officer, must send Congress a written report and justification with a detailed summary of the proposed change and the full text of the amendment, and must also publish that summary, text, and justification in the Federal Register and on the Corporation's website. (j) Duration of Compact — A Compact may not last more than 5 years. (k) Concurrent Compacts — A country already in an active Compact may enter into and have in effect one additional Compact at the same time if one or both Compacts are for regional economic integration, increased regional trade, or cross-border collaboration, and if the Board determines the country is making considerable, demonstrable progress on the existing Compact and its supplementary agreements. (l) Subsequent Compacts — After an existing Compact expires, the country and the United States may enter into one or more new Compacts under the same rules.