[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 350 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 350
To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to provide assistance for
orphans and other vulnerable children in developing countries, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 10, 2005
Mr. Lugar (for himself, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Chafee, Mr. Feingold, Mr.
Coleman, and Mr. Smith) introduced the following bill; which was read
twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to provide assistance for
orphans and other vulnerable children in developing countries, 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 ``Assistance for Orphans and Other
Vulnerable Children in Developing Countries Act of 2005''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) More than 110,000,000 orphans live in sub-Saharan
Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. These children
often are disadvantaged in numerous and devastating ways and
most households with orphans cannot meet the basic needs of
health care, food, clothing, and educational expenses.
(2) It is estimated that 121,000,000 children worldwide do
not attend school and that the majority of such children are
young girls. According to the United Nations Children's Fund
(UNICEF), orphans are less likely to be in school and more
likely to be working full time.
(3) School food programs, including take-home rations, in
developing countries provide strong incentives for children to
remain in school and continue their education. School food
programs can reduce short-term hunger, improve cognitive
functions, and enhance learning, behavior, and achievement.
(4) Financial barriers, such as school fees and other costs
of education, prevent many orphans and other vulnerable
children in developing countries from attending school.
Providing children with free primary school education, while
simultaneously ensuring that adequate resources exist for
teacher training and infrastructure, would help more orphans
and other vulnerable children obtain a quality education.
(5) The trauma that results from the loss of a parent can
trigger behavior problems of aggression or emotional withdrawal
and negatively affect a child's performance in school and the
child's social relations. Children living in families affected
by HIV/AIDS or who have been orphaned by AIDS often face
stigmatization and discrimination. Providing culturally
appropriate psychosocial support to such children can assist
them in successfully accepting and adjusting to their
circumstances.
(6) Orphans and other vulnerable children in developing
countries routinely are denied their inheritance or encounter
difficulties in claiming the land and other property which they
have inherited. Even when the inheritance rights of women and
children are spelled out in law, such rights are difficult to
claim and are seldom enforced. In many countries it is
difficult or impossible for a widow, even if she has young
children, to claim property after the death of her husband.
(7) The HIV/AIDS pandemic has had a devastating effect on
children and is deepening poverty in entire communities and
jeopardizing the health, safety, and survival of all children
in affected areas.
(8) The HIV/AIDS pandemic has increased the number of
orphans worldwide and has exacerbated the poor living
conditions of the world's poorest and most vulnerable children.
AIDS has created an unprecedented orphan crisis, especially in
sub-Saharan Africa, where children have been hardest hit. An
estimated 14,000,000 orphans have lost 1 or both parents to
AIDS. By 2010, it is estimated that over 25,000,000 children
will have been orphaned by AIDS.
(9) Approximately 2,500,000 children under the age of 15
worldwide have HIV/AIDS. Every day another 2,000 children under
the age of 15 are infected with HIV. Without treatment, most
children born with HIV can expect to die by age two, but with
sustained drug treatment through childhood, the chances of
long-term survival and a productive adulthood improve
dramatically.
(10) Few international development programs specifically
target the treatment of children with HIV/AIDS in developing
countries. Reasons for this include the perceived low priority
of pediatric treatment, a lack of pediatric health care
professionals, lack of expertise and experience in pediatric
drug dosing and monitoring, the perceived complexity of pediatric
treatment, and mistaken beliefs regarding the risks and benefits of
pediatric treatment.
(11) Although a number of organizations seek to meet the
needs of orphans or other vulnerable children, extended
families and local communities continue to be the primary
providers of support for such children.
(12) The HIV/AIDS pandemic is placing huge burdens on
communities and is leaving many orphans with little support.
Alternatives to traditional orphanages, such as community-based
resource centers, continue to evolve in response to the massive
number of orphans that has resulted from the pandemic.
(13) The AIDS orphans crisis in sub-Saharan Africa has
implications for political stability, human welfare, and
development that extend far beyond the region, affecting
governments and people worldwide, and this crisis requires an
accelerated response from the international community.
(14) Although section 403(b) of the United States
Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of
2003 (22 U.S.C. 7673(b)) establishes the requirement that not
less than 10 percent of amounts appropriated for HIV/AIDS
assistance for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2008 shall be
expended for assistance for orphans and other vulnerable
children affected by HIV/AIDS, there is an urgent need to
provide assistance to such children prior to 2006.
(15) Numerous United States and indigenous private
voluntary organizations, including faith-based organizations,
provide assistance to orphans and other vulnerable children in
developing countries. Many of these organizations have
submitted applications for grants to the Administrator of the
United States Agency for International Development to provide
increased levels of assistance for orphans and other vulnerable
children in developing countries.
(16) Increasing the amount of assistance that is provided
by the Administrator of the United States Agency for
International Development through United States and indigenous
private voluntary organizations, including faith-based
organizations, will provide greater protection for orphans and
other vulnerable children in developing countries.
(17) It is essential that the United States Government
adopt a comprehensive approach for the provision of assistance
to orphans and other vulnerable children in developing
countries. A comprehensive approach would ensure that important
services, such as basic care, psychosocial support, school food
programs, increased educational opportunities and employment
training and related services, the protection and promotion of
inheritance rights for such children, and the treatment of
orphans and other vulnerable children with HIV/AIDS, are made
more accessible.
(18) Assistance for orphans and other vulnerable children
can best be provided by a comprehensive approach of the United
States Government that--
(A) ensures that Federal agencies and the private
sector coordinate efforts to prevent and eliminate
duplication of efforts and waste in the provision of
such assistance; and
(B) to the maximum extent possible, focuses on
community-based programs that allow orphans and other
vulnerable children to remain connected to the
traditions and rituals of their families and
communities.
SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE FOR ORPHANS AND OTHER VULNERABLE CHILDREN IN
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.
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
section:
``SEC. 135. ASSISTANCE FOR ORPHANS AND OTHER VULNERABLE CHILDREN.
``(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
``(1) There are more than 110,000,000 orphans living in
sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
``(2) The HIV/AIDS pandemic has created an unprecedented
orphan crisis, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where children
have been hardest hit. The pandemic is deepening poverty in
entire communities, and is jeopardizing the health, safety, and
survival of all children in affected countries. It is estimated
that 14,000,000 children have lost one or both parents to AIDS.
``(3) The orphans crisis in sub-Saharan Africa has
implications for human welfare, development, and political
stability that extend far beyond the region, affecting
governments and people worldwide.
``(4) Extended families and local communities are
struggling to meet the basic needs of orphans and vulnerable
children by providing food, health care including treatment of
children living with HIV/AIDS, education expenses, and
clothing.
``(5) Providing assistance to such children is an important
expression of the humanitarian concern and tradition of the
people of the United States.
``(b) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) AIDS.--The term `AIDS' has the meaning given the term
in section 104A(g).
``(2) Children.--The term `children' means persons who have
not attained the age of 18.
``(3) HIV/AIDS.--The term `HIV/AIDS' has the meaning given
the term in section 104A(g).
``(4) Orphan.--The term `orphan' means a child deprived by
death of one or both parents.
``(5) Psychosocial support.--The term `psychosocial
support' includes care that addresses the ongoing psychological
and social problems that affect individuals, their partners,
families, and caregivers in order to alleviate suffering,
strengthen social ties and integration, provide emotional
support, and promote coping strategies.
``(c) Assistance.--The President is authorized to provide
assistance, including providing such assistance through international
or nongovernmental organizations, for programs in developing countries
to provide basic care and services for orphans and other vulnerable
children. Such programs should provide assistance--
``(1) to support families and communities to mobilize their
own resources through the establishment of community-based
organizations to provide basic care for orphans and other
vulnerable children;
``(2) for school food programs, including the purchase of
local or regional foodstuffs where appropriate;
``(3) to increase primary school enrollment through the
elimination of school fees, where appropriate, or other
barriers to education while ensuring that adequate resources
exist for teacher training and infrastructure;
``(4) to provide employment training and related services
for orphans and other vulnerable children who are of legal
working age;
``(5) to protect and promote the inheritance rights of
orphans, other vulnerable children, and widows;
``(6) to provide culturally appropriate psychosocial
support to orphans and other vulnerable children; and
``(7) to treat orphans and other vulnerable children with
HIV/AIDS through the provision of pharmaceuticals, the
recruitment and training of individuals to provide pediatric
treatment, and the purchase of pediatric-specific technologies.
``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--
``(1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated
to the President to carry out this section such sums as may be
necessary for each of the fiscal years 2006 and 2007.
``(2) Availability of funds.--Amounts made available under
paragraph (1) are authorized to remain available until expended
and are in addition to amounts otherwise available for such
purposes.
``(3) Relationship to other laws.--Amounts made available
for assistance pursuant to this subsection, and amounts made
available for such assistance pursuant to any other provision
of law, may be used to provide such assistance notwithstanding
any other provision of law.''.
SEC. 4. STRATEGY OF THE UNITED STATES.
(a) Requirement for Strategy.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, the President shall develop, and submit
to the appropriate congressional committees, a strategy for
coordinating, implementing, and monitoring assistance programs for
orphans and vulnerable children.
(b) Consultation.--The President should consult with employees of
the field missions of the United States Agency for International
Development in developing the strategy required by subsection (a) to
ensure that such strategy--
(1) will not impede the efficiency of implementing
assistance programs for orphans and vulnerable children; and
(2) addresses the specific needs of indigenous populations.
(c) Content.--The strategy required by subsection (a) shall
include--
(1) the identity of each agency or department of the
Federal Government that is providing assistance for orphans and
vulnerable children in foreign countries;
(2) a description of the efforts of the head of each such
agency or department to coordinate the provision of such
assistance with other agencies or departments of the Federal
Government or nongovernmental entities;
(3) a description of a coordinated strategy, including
coordination with other bilateral and multilateral donors, to
provide the assistance authorized in section 135 of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961, as added by section 3 of this Act;
(4) an analysis of additional coordination mechanisms or
procedures that could be implemented to carry out the purposes
of such section;
(5) a description of a monitoring system that establishes
performance goals for the provision of such assistance and
expresses such goals in an objective and quantifiable form, to
the extent feasible; and
(6) a description of performance indicators to be used in
measuring or assessing the achievement of the performance goals
described in paragraph (5).
SEC. 5. ANNUAL REPORT.
Not later than one year after the date on which the President
submits the strategy required by section 4(a) to the appropriate
congressional committees, and annually thereafter, the President shall
submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees on the
implementation of this Act.
SEC. 6. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DEFINED.
In this Act, the term ``appropriate congressional committees''
means the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on Foreign
Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Appropriations and the
Committee on International Relations of the House of Representatives.
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