Microenterprise Results and Accountability Act of 2004
Public Law 108-484 · H.R. 3818 · 108th Congress · began in the House
Signed by George W. Bush (R) on Dec 23, 2004 · International Affairs
Sponsor: Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ-4)
Cosponsors (81): Rep. Henry Hyde, Rep. Tom Lantos,
Passage votes
- HouseUnanimous consent
- SenateUnanimous consent
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Microenterprise Results and Accountability Act of 2004 - (Sec. 3) Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to repeal existing microenterprise development grant authority and reestablish and revise it as a separate title, title VI - Microenterprise Development Assistance.
Authorizes microenterprise development grant assistance in developing countries for: (1) expanding credit, savings, and other financial services; (2) training, technical assistance, and business development services; (3) capacity-building; and (4) policy and regulatory programs at the country level that improve the environment for microenterprise institutions serving the poor and very poor.
Establishes the Office of Microenterprise Development within the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), to be headed by a Director capable in both microenterprise development leadership and technical expertise. Requires assistance to emphasize the use of implementing partner organizations meeting high standards of efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability and that especially provide the greatest possible resources to the poor and very poor. Requires the Office, in order to ensure that grant assistance is distributed effectively and efficiently, to also seek to implement a program of central funding under which assistance is administered directly by the Office.
Targets 50 percent of microenterprise assistance for very poor clients (individuals living in the bottom 50 percent below a country's poverty level).
Requires the assistance monitoring system to meet certain performance standards.
Directs USAID, by April 1, 2005, to develop and certify for use at least two poverty measurement methods for partner organization use, which shall be used by such organizations no later than October 1, 2006.
(Sec. 4) Transfers to this title authority for the: (1) microenterprise and small enterprise development credit program; and (2) United States Microfinance Loan Facility.
(Sec. 6) Directs the Administrator to report annually on implementation of this title.
Defines specified terms.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Related bills
1 bill the Library of Congress relates to this one.
S. 3027Related bill
Microenterprise Results and Accountability Act of 2004
Data notes
Related bills are identified by the Congressional Research Service, the House and the Senate: companion and identical bills, bills with similar text, bills that were folded into this law, and rules that brought it to the floor. A bill that is itself a public law in this site’s data links here; the others link to Congress.gov.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 16 actions.
- Dec 23, 2004Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 108-484.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- Dec 16, 2004FloorFloor · Presented to President.
- Dec 9, 2004FloorFloor · Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- Dec 8, 2004FloorFloor · Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
- Nov 20, 2004FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- FloorFloor · On passage Passed without objection.
- FloorFloor · Considered by unanimous consent.
- FloorFloor · Mr. Smith (NJ) asked unanimous consent to discharge the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and consider.
- CommitteeCommittee · Received in the Senate, read twice.
- Apr 2, 2004CalendarCalendar · Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 262.
- CommitteeCommittee · Reported (Amended) by the Committee on International Relations. H. Rept. 108-459.
- Feb 25, 2004CommitteeCommittee · Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.
- CommitteeCommittee · Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
- Feb 24, 2004CommitteeCommittee · Referred to the House Committee on International Relations.
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in House
Data notes
Every action the Library of Congress lists for the bill, from introduction to signing, plus the dated committee hearings. The source lists many steps twice (the chamber’s own entry and the Library of Congress copy, or a presidential and a became-law entry with the same words); those are shown once. Amendments are listed in their own section.
Amendments
1 amendment offered to the bill, with the last recorded step of each.
- Agreed to
H.Amdt. 812HouseRep. Chris SmithR-NJ-4· offered Nov 20, 2004Agreed to
Amendment in the nature of a substitute.
Nov 20, 2004: On agreeing to the Smith (NJ) amendment (A001) Agreed to without objection.
Data notes
Amendments offered to this bill in either chamber, as the Library of Congress records them: each with a status read from its last recorded step: agreed to, rejected, withdrawn, ruled out of order, fell with another amendment, or offered with no vote recorded (most Senate amendments are only ever offered). The wording of each amendment is the source’s. Amendments to amendments and amendments to other bills are not listed.
Official record
The bill’s full text is on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.