Press Release

President Biden Requests $912 Million for the Millennium Challenge Corporation for Fiscal Year 2022

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 28, 2021 — President Biden’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 budget requests $912 million for the U.S. Government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) to continue developing and implementing programs to fight poverty and foster economic growth in partner countries. The FY 2022 Budget request will allow MCC to deploy its rigorous, evidence-based development model, which is one of the most effective U.S. foreign assistance tools for achieving poverty reduction through sustainable and inclusive economic growth.

MCC's time-bound grants invest in country ownership, policy and institutional reform, accountability, and results-driven programs. As countries are reeling from the health and economic impacts from COVID-19, MCC’s mix of infrastructure, social, and institutional investments will help spark a sustainable, more equitable and job-rich recovery. MCC’s approach and model to international development strengthens U.S. national security, opens new markets for U.S. businesses, and leverages private sector investment and country partner contribution to maximize taxpayer dollars spent in the fight to end poverty around the globe.

The FY 2022 budget request will support:

• Ongoing and projected compact implementation across 9 countries, including Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mongolia, Morocco, Nepal, Niger, Senegal; as well as the development of eight compacts in Indonesia, Kosovo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Timor Leste, and Tunisia;
• Two projected concurrent regional compact programs focusing on trade facilitation across borders: (1) the Benin - Niger Regional Transport Integration Program and (2) the Côte d’Ivoire - Burkina Faso Regional Energy Interconnection Program;
• Ongoing threshold program implementation in Guatemala, Kosovo, and Togo, as well as the development of threshold programs in Ethiopia, The Gambia, Kenya, Kiribati, and Solomon Islands;
• Development of a new compact or threshold programs using MCC’s data-driven, evidence-based methodology where MCC can have optimal effectiveness, with guidance from the MCC Board (as soon as December 2021); and
• MCC’s continued evidence-based and rigorous approach to develop projects, assess their impacts, and communicate our results broadly across various communications tools, including publishing MCC Evaluation Briefs and Star Reports.

MCC’s operations are guided by its founding principles that remain as relevant today as at the time of the agency’s inception 17 years ago. These principles are centered on a competitive selection process that reflect American values and the conditions for economic growth; with a commitment to data, accountability, and evidence-based decisions that invest in reforms and an enabling environment that spurs private investment.

MCC is aligned with the priorities of the Biden-Harris Administration. The agency has ambitious plans to build on its model to advance and accelerate work on climate, inclusion and gender, and catalyzing the private sector, striking at the constraints that hold back countries from growing their economies. MCC’s work to fight poverty in partner countries creates a more stable, secure world with greater prosperity for both the United States and our allies.

Learn more about MCC’s Congressional Budget at: www.mcc.gov/cbj-2022. Learn more about MCC at www.mcc.gov.