[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 176 Engrossed in House (EH)]

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 176

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
To authorize the establishment of educational exchange and development 
  programs for member countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Shirley A. 
Chisholm United States-Caribbean Educational Exchange Act of 2007''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definitions.
Sec. 3. Findings and statement of purpose.
Sec. 4. Shirley A. Chisholm United States-Caribbean Educational 
                            Exchange Program.
Sec. 5. Program to provide educational development assistance for 
                            CARICOM countries.
Sec. 6. Administrative provisions.
Sec. 7. Reporting requirements.
Sec. 8. Authorization of appropriations.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Administrator.--Except as otherwise provided, the term 
        ``Administrator'' means the Administrator of the United States 
        Agency for International Development.
            (2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 
                Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
                Representatives; and
                    (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the 
                Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.
            (3) CARICOM country.--The term ``CARICOM country''--
                    (A) means a member country of the Caribbean 
                Community (CARICOM); but
                    (B) does not include--
                            (i) a country having observer status in 
                        CARICOM; or
                            (ii) a country the government of which the 
                        Secretary of State has determined, for purposes 
                        of section 6(j) of the Export Administration 
                        Act of 1979 (as continued in effect pursuant to 
                        the International Emergency Economic Powers 
                        Act), section 40 of the Arms Export Control 
                        Act, section 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act 
                        of 1961, or any other provision of law, is a 
                        government that has repeatedly provided support 
                        for acts of international terrorism.
            (4) Secretary.--Except as otherwise provided, the term 
        ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of State.
            (5) United states cooperating agency.--The term ``United 
        States cooperating agency'' means--
                    (A) an accredited institution of higher education, 
                including, to the maximum extent practicable, an 
                historically Black college or university that is a part 
                B institution (as such term is defined in section 
                322(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
                1061(2))) or an Hispanic-serving institution (as such 
                term is defined in section 502(5) of such Act (20 
                U.S.C. 1101a(5)));
                    (B) a higher education association;
                    (C) a nongovernmental organization incorporated in 
                the United States; or
                    (D) a consortium consisting of two or more such 
                institutions, associations, or nongovernmental 
                organizations.

SEC. 3. FINDINGS AND STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) The United States and CARICOM countries have enjoyed 
        long-standing friendly relations.
            (2) As an important regional partner for trade and 
        democratic values, the Caribbean region constitutes a ``Third 
        Border'' of the United States.
            (3) The decrease in tourism revenue in the aftermath of the 
        tragic terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, had an adverse 
        affect on the Caribbean region.
            (4) According to a 2005 World Bank Report on the Caribbean 
        region, high rates of unemployment, particularly youth 
        unemployment, have had severe implications on poverty and 
        income distributions, as well as drug trafficking and 
        addiction.
            (5) The 2005 World Bank Report also concludes that better 
        synchronization is needed between curricula in CARICOM 
        countries and the skills needed in evolving national and 
        regional job markets and economies.
            (6) Caribbean leaders have highlighted the need for 
        increased educational opportunities for Caribbean students in 
        fields that will contribute to and support an increasingly 
        competitive regional economy.
            (7) Enhancing United States cultural and educational 
        exchange programs in CARICOM countries will expand human 
        resources, provide opportunities that promote economic growth, 
        and improve regional security.
            (8) Many Caribbean leaders studied at the undergraduate or 
        graduate level in the United States before returning to their 
        respective countries to contribute toward the strengthening of 
        democracy, the economy, or the provision of social services.
            (9) From 2003 through 2005, 217 Caribbean leaders 
        participated in exchange programs with the United States that 
        focused on good governance, combating drug trafficking, anti-
        corruption, and other regional issues of concern.
            (10) The Department of State currently administers public 
        outreach programs that include cultural, academic, and citizen-
        exchange initiatives in CARICOM countries through the public 
        affairs sections at United States embassies with support from 
        the Office of Public Diplomacy in the Bureau of Western 
        Hemisphere Affairs.
            (11) The Caribbean Center for Excellence in Teacher 
        Training (C-CETT), a Presidential Initiative funded by the 
        United States Agency for International Development and 
        implemented by the University of the West Indies, works to 
        improve the quality of reading instruction by training 
        classroom and student teachers in seven countries of the 
        English-speaking Caribbean.   Belize, Jamaica, Grenada, St. 
        Lucia, Guyana, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and 
        Tobago have participated in the C-CETT as a means to reducing 
        illiteracy  in the most disadvantaged urban and remote rural  
        areas.
            (12) In Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, 
        Barbados, Belize, the Cayman Islands, the Dominican Republic, 
        Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and 
        Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and 
        Trinidad and Tobago, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural 
        Affairs of the Department of State sponsors educational 
        advisors to promote study in the United States.
            (13) In the 2004-2005 academic year, approximately 14,000 
        Caribbean students were enrolled in United States colleges and 
        universities.
            (14) Shirley Anita Chisholm, who served as a member of the 
        United States House of Representatives from 1968 to 1983, had 
        family roots in the Caribbean nation of Barbados, was a staunch 
        advocate for educational opportunity and access, and increased 
        support for historically Black colleges and universities and 
        other minority-serving institutions in the United States.
    (b) Statement of Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to 
establish--
            (1) an educational exchange program between the United 
        States and CARICOM countries, to be known as the ``Shirley A. 
        Chisholm United States-Caribbean Educational Exchange 
        Program'', pursuant to section 4 of this Act to assist in 
        educating promising students and scholars from CARICOM 
        countries who will invest the knowledge and experiences they 
        gain in the United States back into the community of CARICOM 
        countries; and
            (2) a program to provide educational development assistance 
        for CARICOM countries pursuant to section 5 of this Act.

SEC. 4. SHIRLEY A. CHISHOLM UNITED STATES-CARIBBEAN EDUCATIONAL 
              EXCHANGE PROGRAM.

    (a) Program Authorized.--The Secretary of State is authorized to 
establish an educational exchange program between the United States and 
CARICOM countries, to be known as the ``Shirley A. Chisholm United 
States-Caribbean Educational Exchange Program,'' under which--
            (1) secondary school students from CARICOM countries will--
                    (A) attend a public or private secondary school in 
                the United States;
                    (B) participate in activities designed to promote a 
                greater understanding of the values and culture of the 
                United States; and
                    (C) have the option to live with a United States 
                host family and experience life in a United States host 
                community; and
            (2) undergraduate students, graduate students, post-
        graduate students, and scholars from CARICOM countries will--
                    (A) attend a public or private college or 
                university, including a community college, in the 
                United States;
                    (B) participate in activities designed to promote a 
                greater understanding of the values and culture of the 
                United States; and
                    (C) have the option to live with a United States 
                host family and experience life in a United States host 
                community or live in an on-campus housing environment.
    (b) Elements of Program.--The program authorized under subsection 
(a) shall meet the following requirements:
            (1) The program will offer scholarships to students and 
        scholars based on merit and need. It is the sense of Congress 
        that scholarships should be offered under the program to 
        students and scholars who evidence merit, achievement, and 
        strong potential for the studies such students and scholars 
        wish to undertake under the program and 40 percent of 
        scholarships offered under the program should be based on 
        financial need.
            (2) The program will seek to achieve gender equality in 
        granting scholarships under the program.
            (3) The program will limit participation to--
                    (A) two years of study for secondary school 
                students;
                    (B) four years of study for undergraduate students;
                    (C) 30 months of study for graduate students; and
                    (D) one year of study for post-graduate students 
                and scholars.
            (4) For a period of time equal to the period of time of 
        participation in the program, but not to exceed 2 years, the 
        program will require participants who are students and scholars 
        described in subsection (a)(2) to--
                    (A) agree to return to live in a CARICOM country 
                and maintain residence in such country, within 6 months 
                of completion of academic studies; or
                    (B) agree to obtain employment that directly 
                benefits the growth, progress, and development of one 
                or more CARICOM countries and the people of such 
                countries.
            (5) The Secretary of State shall have the discretion to 
        waive, shorten the duration, or otherwise alter the 
        requirements of paragraph (5) in limited circumstances of 
        hardship, humanitarian needs, for specific educational 
        purposes, or in furtherance of the national interests of the 
        United States.
    (c) Role of United States Cooperating Agencies.--The Secretary 
shall consult with United States cooperating agencies in developing the 
program authorized under subsection (a) and shall make grants to United 
States cooperating agencies in carrying out the program authorized 
under subsection (a).
    (d) Monitoring and Evaluation of Program.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish and 
        implement a system to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness 
        and efficiency of the program authorized under subsection (a). 
        In carrying out the system, the Secretary shall evaluate the 
        program's positive or negative effects on brain drain from the 
        participating CARICOM countries and suggest ways in which the 
        program may be improved to promote the basic goal of 
        alleviating brain-drain from the participating CARICOM 
        countries.
            (2) Requirements.--In carrying out paragraph (1), the 
        Secretary shall review on a regular basis--
                    (A) financial information relating to the program;
                    (B) budget plans for the program;
                    (C) adjustments to plans established for the 
                program;
                    (D) graduation rates of participants in the 
                program;
                    (E) the percentage of participants who are students 
                described in subsection (a)(1) who pursue higher 
                education;
                    (F) the percentage of participants who return to 
                their home country or another CARICOM country;
                    (G) the types of careers pursued by participants in 
                the program and the extent to which such careers are 
                linked to the political, economic, and social 
                development needs of CARICOM countries; and
                    (H) the impact of gender, country of origin, 
                financial need of students, and other relevant factors 
                on the data collected under subparagraphs (D) through 
                (G).
    (e) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the 
Secretary should seek to work with CARICOM countries to establish an 
educational exchange program under which--
            (1) secondary school students from the United States will 
        attend a public or private equivalent school in CARICOM 
        countries; and
            (2) undergraduate students, graduate students, post-
        graduate students, and scholars from the United States will 
        attend a public or private college or university in CARICOM 
        countries.

SEC. 5. PROGRAM TO PROVIDE EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE FOR 
              CARICOM COUNTRIES.

    (a) Program Authorized.--The Secretary of State, acting through the 
Administrator of the United States Agency for International 
Development, is authorized to establish a program to provide 
educational development assistance for CARICOM countries.
    (b) Purpose of Program.--The purpose of the program authorized 
under subsection (a) is to improve primary and secondary education in 
CARICOM countries by enhancing teacher training, strengthening 
curriculum and instructional materials, and assisting improvements in 
school management and public administration of education.
    (c) Elements of Program.--The program authorized under subsection 
(a) shall extend and expand upon existing primary and secondary school 
programs in CARICOM countries to provide--
            (1) teacher-training methods and training in subject area 
        studies;
            (2) classroom and school management;
            (3) development and modernization of curriculum and 
        instructional materials;
            (4) increased community involvement in school activities; 
        and
            (5) local, regional, and national government policy 
        planning on the elements described in paragraphs (1) through 
        (4).
    (d) Role of United States Cooperating Agencies.--The Secretary 
shall consult with the Secretary of Education and United States 
cooperating agencies in developing the program authorized under 
subsection (a) and shall make grants to United States cooperating 
agencies in carrying out the program authorized under subsection (a).
    (e) Monitoring and Evaluation of Program.--The Secretary shall 
establish and implement a system to monitor and evaluate the 
effectiveness and efficiency of the program authorized under subsection 
(a).
    (f) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the 
Secretary should seek to work with CARICOM countries to establish an 
educational development program under which education in the CARICOM 
countries is improved and access to quality education for children in 
CARICOM countries is increased.

SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

    (a) Funding From Private Sources and Partnerships With Other 
Appropriate Entities.--To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary 
of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency for 
International Development should implement the programs authorized 
under sections 4 and 5 of this Act through utilization of funding from 
private sources to maximize the impact of United States funds under 
this Act, and through partnerships with appropriate United States 
organizations, institutions, and corporations.
    (b) Avoidance of Duplication.--The Secretary and the Administrator 
shall consult with the Secretary of Education to ensure that--
            (1) activities under the programs authorized under sections 
        4 and 5 of this Act are not duplicative of other United States 
        educational programs for CARICOM countries; and
            (2) United States cooperating agencies and partner 
        institutions in CARICOM countries are accredited by national or 
        regional accrediting bodies.
    (c) Reporting Under SEVIS.--To the extent necessary, the Secretary 
shall provide support to United States cooperating agencies that are 
participating in the program authorized under section 4 of this Act in 
order to fulfill the requirements for student data reporting under the 
Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS).

SEC. 7. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Report Required.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to the 
appropriate congressional committees a report on plans to implement the 
programs authorized under sections 4 and 5 of this Act.
    (b) Matters To Be Included.--The report required by subsection (a) 
shall include--
            (1) with respect to implementation of the program 
        authorized under section 4--
                    (A) a plan for selecting participants in the 
                program, including an estimate of the number of 
                secondary school students, undergraduate students, 
                graduate students, post-graduate students, and scholars 
                from each country, by educational level, who will be 
                selected as participants in the program for each fiscal 
                year;
                    (B) a timeline for selecting United States 
                cooperating agencies that will assist in implementing 
                the program;
                    (C) a financial plan that--
                            (i) identifies budget plans for each 
                        educational level under the program; and
                            (ii) identifies plans or systems to ensure 
                        that the costs to public school, college, and 
                        university education under the program and the 
                        costs to private school, college, and 
                        university education under the program are 
                        reasonably allocated; and
                    (D) a plan to provide outreach to and linkages with 
                schools, colleges and universities, and nongovernmental 
                organizations in both the United States and CARICOM 
                countries for implementation of the program; and
            (2) a plan outlining implementation of the program 
        authorized under section 5, identifying the initial countries 
        in which the program will be implemented and a timeline for 
        implementation.
    (c) Updates of Report.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall submit to the 
        appropriate congressional committees updates of the report 
        required by subsection (a) for each fiscal year for which 
        amounts are appropriated pursuant to the authorization of 
        appropriations under section 8 of this Act.
            (2) Matters to be included.--Such updates shall include the 
        following:
                    (A) Information on United States cooperating 
                agencies that are selected to assist in implementing 
                the programs authorized under sections 4 and 5 of this 
                Act.
                    (B) An analysis of the positive and negative 
                impacts the program authorized under section 4 will 
                have or is having on brain drain from the participating 
                CARICOM countries.
                    (C) A description of efforts made by the Secretary 
                of State, acting through the Administrator of the 
                United States Agency for International Development, to 
                implement the program authorized under section 5.
                    (D) A description of the programs established in 
                each CARICOM country receiving assistance under the 
                program authorized under section 5 that provides a 
                detailed explanation of the extent to which the program 
                and the assistance provided are contributing to the 
                purpose of the program described in section 5(b) in the 
                CARICOM country.
                    (E) An evaluation of additional educational 
                development goals in CARICOM countries, identifying 
                those goals that could be maximized or achieved with 
                United States assistance through the program authorized 
                under section 5. In addition to standard or necessary 
                areas of education review, the evaluation should give 
                attention to factors affecting academic achievement, 
                attrition, and graduation rates in CARICOM countries. 
                The evaluation should suggest ways in which United 
                States assistance can maximize success factors and 
                address factors contributing to poor achievement.

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    To carry out this Act, there are authorized to be appropriated such 
sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 
2012. Amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization of 
appropriations under this section are in addition to amounts otherwise 
available for such purposes.

            Passed the House of Representatives July 31, 2007.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.
110th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                               H. R. 176

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

To authorize the establishment of educational exchange and development 
  programs for member countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).