ONE Applauds Advancement of Legislation to Reauthorize the BUILD Act
WASHINGTON — The ONE Campaign released the following statement on H.R. 8926, the DFC Modernization and Reauthorization Act of 2024, which was favorably reported by the House Foreign Affairs Committee today. This legislation reauthorizes the BUILD Act, which established the U.S. Development Finance Corporation (DFC), for seven years while making key modernizations to unlock the DFC’s full potential.
ONE successfully campaigned to get the BUILD Act passed into law in 2018, and since then the DFC has invested more than $10 billion across Sub-Saharan Africa.
“At a time when developing countries are facing complex crises and struggling under the weight of debt, it is imperative that critical tools like the DFC are fit for purpose,” said Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli, President and CEO of The ONE Campaign. “We’ve seen the DFC make significant progress in its first five years – this legislation will allow it to do even more, unleashing transformative funding and catalyzing private sector investment where it is needed most.
“We are glad to see bipartisan support for this legislation and thank Chairman McCaul and Ranking Member Meeks for their leadership. We look forward to continuing our work with Congress and the Administration to ensure the BUILD Act is reauthorized as soon as possible.”
Background:
Established through the passage of the BUILD Act of 2018, the DFC is a U.S. Government agency that partners with the private sector to support projects that advance both sustainable development and U.S. foreign policy goals. By partnering with the private sector to provide financing and other support for projects with development impacts, the DFC unlocks economic opportunity in developing countries and catalyzes investment in sectors like energy, infrastructure, healthcare, and technology. The DFC has already invested more than $10 billion in projects across the African continent, including those that advance Prosper Africa and Power Africa programming.
The DFC’s current authorization is set to expire in September 2025. The DFC Modernization and Reauthorization Act of 2024 would extend this authorization for seven years while adding provisions that unlock the potential of the DFC’s equity investments, strengthen the agency’s development mandate, and broaden the range of potential countries in which the DFC can invest.