119-s2093

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2093 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

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119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 2093

 To establish, within the United States Agency for International 
Development, a program to promote mobility in rural communities through 
 access to affordable, fit-for-purpose bicycles, to provide support to 
 sustainably increase access to critical services in rural areas, and 
 for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 June 17, 2025

 Mr. Durbin introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
 referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To establish, within the United States Agency for International 
Development, a program to promote mobility in rural communities through 
 access to affordable, fit-for-purpose bicycles, to provide support to 
 sustainably increase access to critical services in rural areas, and 
 for other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Bicycles for Rural African Transport 
Act''.

SEC. 2. RURAL MOBILITY PROGRAM IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA.

    (a) Establishment.--

    (1) In general.--The Administrator of the United States 
 Agency for International Development (referred to in this Act 
 as ``USAID'') shall establish a rural mobility program 
 (referred to in this section as the ``Program'') to carry out 
 the purposes described in paragraph

    (2) , including through 
 grants made to eligible nongovernmental partner organizations. 
 In carrying out the program, the Administrator shall prioritize 
 organizations with demonstrated success conducting rural 
 mobility programs in the region.

    (2) === Purpose ===
-The Program shall focus on country-driven 
 projects within sub-Saharan Africa--
        (A) to promote rural communities' access to 
 critical services and opportunities, including 
 education, health care, and livelihood opportunities, 
 through access to affordable, fit-for-purpose bicycles; 
 and
        (B) to provide support to sustainably increase 
 access to critical services, such as education, health 
 care, and livelihood opportunities in rural areas, 
 including through support for rural-based mechanics, 
 access to spare parts, reduction of social and gender-
 based stigma, and community project management 
 capacity.

    (3) Partnerships.--To the greatest extent practicable, the 
 Program shall partner with existing entities overseas that have 
 successful models for providing access to affordable bicycles 
 to achieve development objectives.

    (4) Authorization of appropriations.--To carry out this 
 section, there is authorized to be appropriated--
        (A) $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2026;
        (B) $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2027;
            (C) $6,000,000 for fiscal year 2028;
            (D) $6,000,000 for fiscal year 2029; and
        (E) $6,000,000 for fiscal year 2030 and for each 
 fiscal year thereafter.

    (b) Reports.--

    (1) Prior projects.--
        (A) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the 
 date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of 
 USAID shall submit a report to the Committee on Foreign 
 Relations of the Senate, the Committee on 
 Appropriations of the Senate, the Committee on Foreign 
 Affairs of the House of Representatives, and the 
 Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
 Representatives regarding projects carried out by USAID 
 during each of the fiscal years 2022 through 2025 
 relating to the purposes described in subsection

    (a)

    (2) .
        (B) Contents.--The report required under 
 subparagraph
        (A) shall--
            (i) identify the countries in which USAID 
 embedded rural bicycle mobility into its 
 strategies, programs, and projects;
            (ii) describe the mechanisms by which rural 
 bicycle mobility was so embedded;
            (iii) specify the number of bicycles 
 distributed each fiscal year;
            (iv) assess the outcomes for, and the 
 impacts on, participants in such projects; and
            (v) assess USAID's efforts to disseminate 
 lessons learned from such projects.

    (2) Current projects.--Not later than December 30, 2026, 
 and annually thereafter, the Administrator of USAID shall 
 submit a report to the congressional committees listed in 
 paragraph

    (1)
        (A) regarding projects carried out by USAID during 
 the fiscal year immediately preceding the submission of such 
 report. Each such report shall include information relating to 
 the matters described in clauses
            (i) through
            (v) of paragraph

    (1)
        (B) .
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