Millennium Challenge Corporation (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
Dec. 16, 2024 |
| Report Number |
IF12850 |
| Report Type |
In Focus |
| Authors |
Nick M. Brown |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is an
independent agency established in 2004 by the Millennium
Challenge Act (Title VI of Division D, P.L. 108-199). It
was created amid intense congressional debate over U.S.
foreign aid effectiveness. MCC reflects some views that
emerged from that debate, with features such as the
following:
• Singular Mission. Congress created MCC to focus
exclusively on economic growth and poverty reduction,
refraining from setting sectoral or geographic priorities.
• Competitive Selection. MCC is to select countries
through “objective and quantifiable indicators,”
rewarding well-governed poor countries where MCC
may produce sustained, substantial poverty reduction.
• Country Ownership. Recipients must design and
implement their own programs, under MCC oversight.
• Fixed Timeline. MCC obligates all funds upon program
approval and strictly limits implementation timelines.
• Evidence and Openness. MCC subjects programs to
extensive evaluation and releases nearly all reporting
and congressional notifications publicly.
For more information on MCC, see CRS Report RL32427,
Millennium Challenge Corporation: Overview and Issues.
