[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2387 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2387

To improve global health by increasing assistance to developing nations 
    with high levels of infectious disease and premature death, by 
  improving children's and women's health and nutrition, by reducing 
   unintended pregnancies, and by combating the spread of infectious 
        diseases, particularly HIV/AIDS, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 11, 2000

   Mr. Leahy (for himself, Mr. Jeffords, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Kerry, Mr. 
  Durbin, and Mr. Wellstone) introduced the following bill; which was 
     read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To improve global health by increasing assistance to developing nations 
    with high levels of infectious disease and premature death, by 
  improving children's and women's health and nutrition, by reducing 
   unintended pregnancies, and by combating the spread of infectious 
        diseases, particularly HIV/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 ``Global Health Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) More than 10,000,000 children under 5 years of age die 
        each year in developing nations from preventable causes, and 
        more than one-half of these deaths are due to 5 conditions: 
        pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, malnutrition, and measles.
            (2) Despite progress in making family planning services 
        available, more than 150,000,000 married women in developing 
        nations still want to space or limit child-bearing, but do not 
        have access to modern contraceptives.
            (3) According to the World Health Organization, nearly 
        600,000 women die each year from complications of pregnancy and 
        childbirth, and another 18,000,000 women suffer pregnancy-
        related health problems that can be permanently disabling.
            (4) According to the World Health Organization, 13 million 
        people die annually from infectious diseases, most of which are 
        preventable or curable, and 6 diseases account for 90 percent 
        of these deaths: pneumonia, diarrhoeal diseases, measles, 
        tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV/AIDS.
            (5) HIV/AIDS has become the world's leading infectious 
        disease threat, with 34,000,000 people infected worldwide, and 
        more than 16,000 new infections daily, of which 7,000 cases 
        occur in people between the ages 10 through 24.

SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE TO IMPROVE GLOBAL HEALTH.

    (a) Emphasis on Disease Surveillance and Prevention and Response to 
Disease Outbreaks.--Section 104(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 
1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151b(c)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
            ``(4) Congress recognizes the growing threat that 
        infectious diseases and other global health problems pose to 
        Americans and people everywhere. Accordingly, activities 
        supported under this subsection shall include activities to 
        improve the capacity of developing nations to conduct disease 
        surveillance and prevention programs and to respond promptly 
        and effectively to disease outbreaks.''.
    (b) Increase in FY 2001 USAID Assistance.--
            (1) Authorization of appropriations.--To carry out the 
        purposes of section 104 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 
        (22 U.S.C. 2151b) for fiscal year 2001, there is authorized to 
        be appropriated, in addition to funds otherwise available for 
        such purposes, an amount equal to the sum of--
                    (A) the aggregate of amounts made available in 
                fiscal year 2000 to carry out that section with respect 
                to--
                            (i) the health and survival of children,
                            (ii) the health and nutrition of pregnant 
                        women and mothers,
                            (iii) voluntary family planning,
                            (iv) combating HIV/AIDS, and
                            (v) the prevention and control of 
                        infectious diseases other than HIV/AIDS; plus
                    (B) $1,000,000,000.
            (2) Allocation of funds.--Of the amount authorized to be 
        appropriated in paragraph 3(b)(1)(B)--
                    (A) $225,000,000 should be available for the health 
                and survival of children;
                    (B) $100,000,000 should be available for the health 
                and nutrition of pregnant women and mothers;
                    (C) $200,000,000 should be available for voluntary 
                family planning;
                    (D) $275,000,000 should be available to combat HIV/
                AIDS; and
                    (E) $200,000,000 should be available for the 
                prevention and control of infectious diseases other 
                than HIV/AIDS.
            (3) Availability of funds.--Amounts appropriated pursuant 
        to paragraph (1) are authorized to remain available until 
        expended.
    (c) Coordination Among Federal Departments and Agencies.--It is the 
sense of Congress that the President, acting through the Administrator 
of the United States Agency for International Development, should 
coordinate with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the 
National Institutes of Health, the Department of State, the Department 
of Health and Human Services, the Department of Defense, and other 
appropriate Federal departments and agencies to ensure that United 
States funds made available for the purposes described in paragraph (1) 
are utilized effectively.
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