Locally Led Development and Humanitarian Response Act

This bill aims to authorize and encourage the United States to pursue a model of locally led development and humanitarian response , expanding engagement with local actors and increasing its local partner base. Congress asserts that locally led approaches foster more efficient, sustainable outcomes and long-term self-reliance, urging foreign assistance agencies to increase direct funding to local entities and empower local communities in program leadership. To localize the partner base, the bill directs agencies to simplify access to U.S. foreign assistance resources for local partners, support existing effective local projects, and explore diverse funding modalities like matching grants and flexible, multi-year awards. It also emphasizes ensuring full cost recovery for local partners and conducting regular consultations in local languages, making solicitations accessible through various formats. The legislation introduces key regulatory changes, authorizing agencies to accept applications in local languages and increase the de minimis indirect cost rate for local partners. It also allows temporary exemptions from certain reporting requirements and permits limited local competition for contracts up to $25 million, while enabling foreign entities to use national or international accounting principles. Finally, the bill mandates a review of public international organizations' support for locally led development and requires annual reports on the agency's progress, detailing funding to local partners and assessing the impact of these new authorities. It also calls for a report on improving the recruitment and retention of contracting officers to strengthen these efforts.