[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1197 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1197

To authorize a program of assistance to improve international building 
            practices in eligible Latin American countries.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 19, 2001

Mr. Dodd (for himself, Mr. Lieberman, and Mr. Sessions) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                           Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize a program of assistance to improve international building 
            practices in eligible Latin American countries.

    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 ``Code and Safety for the Americas 
(CASA) Act of 2001''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Construction products and systems are imported and used 
        in El Salvador and Ecuador without proper international 
        evaluation, not ensuring the quality of these products and 
        systems.
            (2) Safety issues exist with respect to building 
        construction in El Salvador and Ecuador when natural disasters 
        occur such as hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, and fires.
            (3) There is a need in El Salvador, Ecuador, and other 
        Latin American countries for a complete, updated family of 
        codes that covers all elements of building and housing, 
        including zoning, egress, fire protection, plumbing, electrical 
        installation, mechanical installation, structural engineering, 
        seismic design, and fire resistive engineering.
            (4) The educational system in Latin America does not offer 
        quality short courses for the labor force in building codes.
            (5) The United States sends vast amounts of assistance to 
        foreign countries to rebuild in the wake of natural disasters.
            (6) If proper building codes are followed in the 
        construction of buildings in Latin America, buildings will be 
        safer, and, therefore, the need for United States' disaster 
        assistance in the wake of disasters will be less.

SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE.

    (a) In General.--The President is authorized, under such terms and 
conditions as the President may determine, to carry out a program of 
assistance under chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 
1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.; relating to development assistance) to 
improve international building construction practices in Latin American 
countries.
    (b) Program Description.--Assistance under the program shall be in 
the form of grants to support the following activities:
            (1) Training.--The training of selected professionals in 
        the public and private sectors in eligible Latin American 
        countries in the ICC International Code.
            (2) Translation.--The translation into Spanish, and 
        publication of, the following international building codes:
                    (A) The International Building Code.
                    (B) The International Residential Code.
                    (C) The International Fire Code.
                    (D) The International Plumbing Code.
                    (E) The International Mechanical Code.
                    (F) The International Fuel Gas Code.
                    (G) The International Energy Conservation Code.
                    (H) The International Property Maintenance Code.
                    (I) The International Private Sewage Disposal Code.
                    (J) The International Zoning Code.
                    (K) The International Code Council Electrical Code.
    (c) Implementation.--The program shall be carried out through the 
International Code Council.
    (d) Eligible Latin American Countries Defined.--In this section, 
the term ``eligible Latin American countries'' means Ecuador, El 
Salvador, and such other Latin American countries as the President may 
designate.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Fiscal year 2002.--There is authorized to be 
        appropriated to the President $1,751,122 for fiscal year 2002 
        to carry out section 3, of which amount $504,492 shall be 
        available to carry out section 3(b)(1) and $1,246,630 shall be 
        available to carry out section 3(b)(2).
            (2) Fiscal year 2003.--There is authorized to be 
        appropriated to the President $1,192,181 for fiscal year 2003 
        to carry out section 3(b)(2).
    (b) Availability of Funds.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to 
subsection (a) are authorized to remain available until expended.
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