[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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