[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2030 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2030

To authorize microfinance and food assistance for communities affected 
   by the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            February 3, 2000

  Mr. Durbin introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
             referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize microfinance and food assistance for communities affected 
   by the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), and for other 
                               purposes.

    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 Orphans Relief Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) By the end of 2000, 10,400,000 children in Sub-Saharan 
        Africa will have lost their mother, or both parents, to 
        Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
            (2) In the next decade, 40,000,000 children will become 
        orphans as a result of the AIDS pandemic, most of them located 
        in Sub-Saharan Africa.
            (3) Over the next 20 years, AIDS threatens to reduce 
        substantially economic progress in the nations of Sub-Saharan 
        Africa.
            (4) Success or failure in fighting the AIDS pandemic will 
        effect the spread of the disease to India, Asia, and the states 
        of the former Soviet Union.
            (5) By 2005, more than 100,000,000 people worldwide will 
        have been infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), the 
        precursor to AIDS.
            (6) Effective assistance for children orphaned by AIDS, and 
        for those caring for such children, must strengthen the 
        surviving families.
            (7) The development and expansion of sustainable 
        microfinance institutions that provide access to credit, 
        savings, and other financial services to the very poor, 
        especially women, are critical components in a global strategy 
        to address the devastating economic and social effects of AIDS.
            (8) Microfinance programs are particularly effective in 
        helping those left to care for AIDS orphans by providing the 
        caregivers the means of pursuing a livelihood.
            (9) Microfinance programs have been shown to be 
        particularly effective in permitting individuals with AIDS to 
        have access to services and credit not otherwise available to 
        such individuals, including health insurance, life insurance, 
        counseling, and group support.
            (10) Food aid can be a critical component in mitigating the 
        impact of AIDS on communities by addressing the nutritional 
        needs of individuals with AIDS and assisting households left 
        destitute by AIDS, and as a part of a larger, comprehensive 
        effort to strengthen and restore sustainable livelihood 
        strategies for households and communities affected by AIDS.

SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to make microfinance programs an important component of 
        United States policy in fighting the effects of the Acquired 
        Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) pandemic worldwide; and
            (2) to encourage targeted use of food and food-related 
        assistance for humanitarian purposes and for sustainable 
        development in communities affected by AIDS.

SEC. 4. MICROCREDIT PROGRAMS.

    Chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 
U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section:

``SEC. 131. ASSISTANCE FOR MICROCREDIT PROGRAMS FOR COMMUNITIES 
              AFFECTED BY AIDS.

    ``(a) In General.--In addition to any other funds authorized to be 
appropriated by this chapter for micro-enterprise activities or 
activities relating to Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) or Acquired 
Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), there is authorized to be 
appropriated each fiscal year, $50,000,000 for purposes of assisting 
microcredit programs that serve the very poor, especially women, in 
communities heavily affected by AIDS.
    ``(b) Program Elements.--(1) The maximum amount of credit provided 
an individual under a microcredit program under subsection (a) may not 
exceed $600 and (b) the average loan size for a program receiving 
resources under this section may not exceed $300.
    ``(2) To the maximum extent practicable, amounts shall be provided 
under subsection (a) for programs that--
            ``(A) provide HIV prevention or AIDS care and support, 
        whether directly or through linkages with other programs;
            ``(B) employ best practices for assisting the very poor; 
        and
            ``(C) operate in a sustainable manner.''.

SEC. 5. FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS.

    Title IV of the Agricultural Trade and Development Assistance Act 
of 1954 (7 U.S.C. 1731 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new section:

``SEC. 416. ASSISTANCE FOR COMMUNITIES AFFECTED BY AIDS.

    ``(a) In General.--The President may provide food assistance under 
this Act to developing countries in order to assist such countries in 
mitigating the effects of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) on 
communities in such countries, including--
            ``(1) assistance to address the nutritional needs of 
        individuals in such communities who have AIDS;
            ``(2) assistance for households affected by AIDS; and
            ``(3) assistance as part of other aid or assistance 
        designed to create or restore sustainable livelihood strategies 
        in communities affected by AIDS.
    ``(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            ``(1) Authorization.--There is authorized to appropriated 
        each fiscal year, $50,000,000 for purposes of providing 
        assistance under this section.
            ``(2) Relationship to other authorizations.--Amounts 
        authorized to be appropriated for a fiscal year by paragraph 
        (1) are in addition to any other amounts authorized to be 
        appropriated by this Act for such fiscal year.''.
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