H.R. 192: To amend the Microenterprise for Self-Reliance Act of 2000 and the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to increase assistance for the poorest people in developing countries under microenterprise assistance programs under those Acts, and for other purposes.

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H.R. 192: To amend the Microenterprise for Self-Reliance Act of 2000 and the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to increase assistance for the poorest people in developing countries under microenterprise assistance programs under those Acts, and for other purposes.

108th Congress · introduced 2003-01-07 · International Affairs · Latest: Became Public Law No: 108-31.

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Official title

To amend the Microenterprise for Self-Reliance Act of 2000 and the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to increase assistance for the poorest people in developing countries under microenterprise assistance programs under those Acts, and for other purposes.

Plain summary

Amends the Microenterprise for Self-Reliance Act of 2000 to make as one of its purposes that in implementation of this Act at least 50 percent of all microenterprise assistance be targeted to the very poor, that is, those persons living either in the bottom 50 percent below the poverty line or on less than the equivalent of one dollar per day. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1964 to authorize the President to provide assistance to increase the availability of financial services (not just credit) to microenterprise households lacking full access to credit, including through: (1) loans and guarantees to microfinance institutions to expand the availability of savings and credit to poor and low-income households; (2) training programs to enable such institutions to better meet the financial services needs of their clients; and (3) training programs to enable clients to make better use of credit, increase their financial literacy, and to better manage their enterprises to improve their quality of life. Declares that, in order to maximize the sustainable development impact of microenterprise development grant assistance authorized under the Act, the Administrator of the agency primarily responsible for administering such assistance shall establish a monitoring system that, among other things, adopts the widespread use of proven and effective poverty assessment tools to identify the poorest of the poor and ensure that they receive needed microenterprise credits, loans, and assistance. Requires the Administrator of the Agency for International Development to develop and certify no fewer than two low-cost methods for measuring the poverty levels of the current or prospective clients of microenterprise organizations for purposes of the provision of microenterprise development grant assistance.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Smith, Christopher H. [R-NJ-4] · 66 cosponsors

Cost estimate: CBO cost estimate: H.R. 192, A bill to amend the Microenterprise for Self-Reliance Act of 2000 and the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to increase assistance for the poorest people in developing countries under microenterpise assistance programs under those acts, a (2003-03-11); CBO cost estimate: H.R. 192, A bill to amend the Microenterprise for Self-Reliance Act of 2000 and the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to increase assistance for the poorest people in developing countries under microenterpise assistance programs under those acts, a (2003-03-11); CBO cost estimate: H.R. 192, An act to amend the Microenterprise for Self-Reliance Act of 2000 and the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to increase assistance for the poorest people in developing countries under microenterpise assistance programs under tho (2003-05-03); CBO cost estimate: H.R. 192, An act to amend the Microenterprise for Self-Reliance Act of 2000 and the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to increase assistance for the poorest people in developing countries under microenterpise assistance programs under tho (2003-05-03)

Cosponsors on this site

Darrell Issa (R-CA), Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (D-GA), Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Adam Smith (D-WA), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Rick Larsen (D-WA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and 6 more.

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Smith, Christopher H. [R-NJ-4] reported raising $797,217 (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Sources

• Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
• Congress.gov
• Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-108hr192.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/108/hr>

Record fed-us-cong108-hr192 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong108 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong108