[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2765 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2765

 To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to establish a program to 
  provide assistance for HIV/AIDS research, prevention, and treatment 
                         activities in Africa.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 5, 1999

Ms. Lee (for herself, Mr. Foley, Ms. Pelosi, Mr. Rangel, Mr. Payne, Mr. 
 Bonior, Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas, Mr. Wynn, Mr. Capuano, Ms. Carson, 
  Mr. Meeks of New York, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Hinchey, Mrs. Clayton, Ms. 
 Waters, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Mr. George Miller of California, Mr. 
    Brown of Ohio, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Ms. Kilpatrick, Mr. 
Cummings, Mr. Owens, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Mrs. Capps, 
 Ms. McKinney, Mr. Delahunt, Ms. Norton, Mr. Olver, Mr. McGovern, Mrs. 
 Christensen, Mr. Fattah, Mr. Gonzalez, Mr. Stark, Mr. Engel, Mr. Hall 
of Ohio, Ms. Millender-McDonald, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, Mr. Lantos, Ms. 
   DeLauro, Mr. Frost, Mr. Hastings of Florida, and Mr. Thompson of 
 California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                  Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to establish a program to 
  provide assistance for HIV/AIDS research, prevention, and treatment 
                         activities in Africa.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``AIDS Marshall Plan Fund for Africa 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) In a June 1999 lecture entitled ``The Global Challenges 
        of AIDS'', United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan stated 
        that ``[n]o company and no government can take on the challenge 
        of AIDS alone [. . . and therefore] what is needed is a new 
        approach to public health--combining all available resources, 
        public and private, local and global''.
            (2) The 1999 annual report by the United Nations Children's 
        Fund (UNICEF) states that 14,000,000 individuals worldwide have 
        died as a result of HIV/AIDS and 11,000,000 of such individuals 
        were from African countries.
            (3) The World Health Organization announced that HIV/AIDS 
        is now the ``world's most deadly infectious disease'', making 
        it the fourth leading cause of death in the world, and the 
        United Nations states that in sub-Saharan Africa, HIV/AIDS is 
        the ``worst infectious disease catastrophe since the bubonic 
        plague''.
            (4) The World Health Organization reports that 33,400,000 
        individuals throughout the world are currently infected with 
        HIV and 22,500,000 of such individuals live in sub-Saharan 
        Africa.
            (5) The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) 
        has declared that every day more than 16,000 individuals 
        worldwide become infected with HIV.
            (6) 3,600,000 South Africans are HIV-positive, with 1,500 
        new infections daily, and the virus is expected to infect 20 
        percent of that country's workforce by 2000.
            (7) In the Republic of Zimbabwe, 1 out of every 5 adults is 
        infected with HIV/AIDS, and an estimated 1,400 people die every 
        week from AIDS.
            (8) A 1999 Bureau of the Census report states that the 
        average life expectancy in the Republic of Botswana, the 
        Republic of Zimbabwe, the Kingdom of Swaziland, the Republic of 
        Malawi, and the Republic of Zambia has decreased from 
        approximately age 65 to approximately age 40--the lowest life 
        expectancy in the world--due to high mortality rates from HIV/
        AIDS.
            (9) According to a 1997 UNAIDS study, between one-fifth to 
        one-half of all pregnant women in the Republic of Zimbabwe are 
        infected with HIV/AIDS and at least one-third of these pregnant 
        women are likely to pass the infection on to their baby.
            (10) 1,800 babies are born HIV-positive in Africa every 
        day.
            (11) In sub-Saharan Africa, 960,000 children are living 
        with HIV/AIDS.
            (12) In the coming decades, HIV/AIDS will double infant 
        mortality in many sub-Saharan African countries and will triple 
        child mortality rates.
            (13) It is estimated that by 2010, more than 40,000,000 
        African children will become orphans as a result of HIV/AIDS 
        and 95 percent of these children will be located in sub-Saharan 
        Africa.
            (14) The 1999 annual report by the United Nations 
        Children's Fund (UNICEF) states that ``[t]he number or orphans, 
        particularly in Africa, constitutes nothing less than an 
        emergency, requiring an emergency response'' and that ``finding 
        the resources needed to help stabilize the crisis and protect 
        children is a priority that requires urgent action from the 
        international community''.
            (15) The South African Press Agency has reported that an 
        estimated 7 out of every 10 teachers in the Kingdom of 
        Swaziland are HIV-positive.
            (16) A World Bank study found that in Kigali, Rwanda, 34 
        percent of individuals with a postsecondary education are 
        infected with HIV.
            (17) The Southern Africa AIDS Information Dissemination 
        Service estimates that over the next 20 years AIDS will reduce 
        by one-fourth the value of the economies of sub-Saharan African 
        countries.
            (18) Most sub-Saharan African countries have a high rate of 
        HIV infection among members of their militaries, including an 
        estimated 80 percent rate in the Republic of Zimbabwe.

SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE FOR HIV/AIDS RESEARCH, PREVENTION, AND TREATMENT 
              ACTIVITIES IN AFRICA.

    Chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 
U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 104 the 
following:

``SEC. 104A. ASSISTANCE FOR HIV/AIDS RESEARCH, PREVENTION, AND 
              TREATMENT ACTIVITIES IN AFRICA.

    ``(a) Establishment of Corporation.--There is hereby established 
the AIDS Marshall Plan Fund for Africa Corporation or the AMPFA 
Corporation (hereinafter in this section referred to as the 
`Corporation'), which shall be an independent agency of the United 
States.
    ``(b) Assistance Program.--The Corporation shall, in consultation 
with the Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy, the Overseas 
Private Investment Corporation, and the heads of other Federal agencies 
involved in HIV/AIDS activities in Africa, establish and carry out a 
program to provide assistance for HIV/AIDS research, prevention, and 
treatment activities in Africa.
    ``(c) Organization and Management.--
            ``(1) Structure of corporation.--The Corporation shall have 
        a Board of Directors, an Advisory Board of Directors, a 
        President, an Executive Vice President, and such other officers 
        and staff as the Board of Directors may determine.
            ``(2) Board of directors.--
                    ``(A) Appointment.--The President of the United 
                States shall appoint to the Board of Directors, by and 
                with the advice and consent of the Senate, individuals 
                with extensive training and experience in issues 
                relating to development, healthcare (including HIV/
                AIDS), Africa, and the administration of grant programs 
                generally.
                    ``(B) Duties.--The Board of Directors shall 
                establish and carry out the program under subsection 
                (b).
            ``(3) Advisory board.--
                    ``(A) Appointment.--The Board of Directors shall 
                appoint to the Advisory Board of Directors renowned and 
                distinguished international leaders who have 
                demonstrated integrity and knowledge of issues relating 
                to development, healthcare (including HIV/AIDS), and 
                Africa.
                    ``(B) Duties.--The Advisory Board of Directors 
                shall, in consultation with other international experts 
                in related fields (including scientists and doctors), 
                advise and provide guidance for the Board of Directors 
                on the development and implementation of the program 
                under subsection (b).
            ``(4) President and executive vice president.--The 
        President and Executive Vice President of the Corporation shall 
        be appointed by the President of the United States, by and with 
        the advice and consent of the Senate, and shall serve at the 
        pleasure of the President.
    ``(d) Activities Under the Program.--In carrying out the program 
under subsection (b), the Corporation--
            ``(1) shall, in consultation with representatives from 
        community-based African health, education, and other related 
        organizations, provide grants to African governments and 
        nongovernmental organizations for projects that provide 
        research, prevention, and treatment for individuals in Africa 
        with HIV/AIDS; and
            ``(2) shall solicit and accept contributions to the fund 
        established under subsection (h)(1) from private sources and 
        from foreign governments, including the governments of other G-
        8 countries, and may disburse such contributions for purposes 
        of carrying out the program.
    ``(e) Other Requirements.--In providing grants under subsection 
(d)(1), the Corporation shall establish appropriate regulations, 
including--
            ``(1) self-sufficiency requirements for a government or 
        organization receiving a grant;
            ``(2) requirements for a government receiving a grant in 
        order to ensure that the government is committed to providing 
        for HIV/AIDS research, prevention, and treatment activities 
        under the program, including requirements such as the 
        establishment by the government of a comprehensive plan for 
        such activities in the country and for a system of 
        accountability relating to such activities, and which may 
        include the establishment of appropriate HIV/AIDS agencies, 
        councils, or related entities for such activities; and
            ``(3) matching fund requirements, based on ability to pay, 
        for a government receiving a grant, to be determined according 
        to the amount of the grant plus the total amount of the grants 
        received by all nongovernmental organizations carrying out 
        projects for the country involved.
    ``(f) General Provisions and Powers.--In order to carry out its 
duties under this section, the Corporation--
            ``(1) shall have the same powers as the Overseas Private 
        Investment Corporation (as described in section 239(d) of this 
        Act); and
            ``(2) notwithstanding any other provision of law, is 
        authorized to enter into 1 or more contracts with the Overseas 
        Private Investment Corporation or any other appropriate Federal 
        agency for such administrative services as the Corporation may 
        require.
    ``(g) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) G-8 countries.--The term ``G-8 countries'' means the 
        group consisting of France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, 
        the United States, Canada, Italy, and Russia established to 
        facilitate economic cooperation among the 8 major economic 
        powers.
            ``(2) HIV/AIDS.--The term `HIV/AIDS' means infection with 
        the human immunodeficiency virus. Such term includes the 
        acquired immune deficiency syndrome.
    ``(h) Funding.--
            ``(1) Establishment of fund.--There is hereby established 
        in the Treasury of the United States a fund that shall be known 
        as the ``AIDS Marshall Plan Fund for Africa'' (hereinafter in 
        this section referred to as the ``fund''), consisting of such 
        amounts as may be contributed to the fund in accordance with 
        subsection (d)(2) and such amounts as may be appropriated to 
        the fund in accordance with paragraph (3).
            ``(2) Expenditures from fund.--Amounts in the fund shall be 
        available only for purposes of carrying out the program under 
        subsection (b).
            ``(3) Authorization of appropriations.--
                    ``(A) In general.--There are authorized to be 
                appropriated to the fund $200,000,000 for each of the 
                fiscal years 2001 through 2005.
                    ``(B) Additional authorization of appropriations.--
                In addition to the authorization of appropriations 
                under subparagraph (A), for each of the fiscal years 
                2002 through 2005, there are authorized to be 
                appropriated to the fund an additional amount equal to 
                25 percent of the total amount of funds contributed to 
                the fund in accordance with subsection (d)(2) for the 
                immediately preceding fiscal year.
                    ``(C) Administrative expenses.--Not more than 8 
                percent of the total amount appropriated under this 
                paragraph for a fiscal year may used for administrative 
                expenses for carrying out the program under subsection 
                (b) for that fiscal year.''.
                                 <all>