[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3054 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3054

To establish a program to assist Sudanese refugees in the United States 
   known as the ``Lost Boys and Lost Girls of Sudan'' to voluntarily 
    return to southern Sudan to assist in reconstruction efforts in 
                            southern Sudan.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 16, 2007

 Mr. Wolf (for himself, Mr. Terry, Mrs. Drake, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, 
  Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Mr. McNulty, Ms. Bordallo, Mr. 
 Pitts, Mr. Walsh of New York, Mr. Olver, Ms. Watson, Mr. Smith of New 
Jersey, Mr. Capuano, Ms. Clarke, Mr. Aderholt, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, 
Ms. Woolsey, Mr. Honda, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Payne, Mr. Souder, Mr. Franks 
 of Arizona, Mr. Stark, Mr. Calvert, Ms. Schakowsky, and Mr. Lewis of 
   Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish a program to assist Sudanese refugees in the United States 
   known as the ``Lost Boys and Lost Girls of Sudan'' to voluntarily 
    return to southern Sudan to assist in reconstruction efforts in 
                            southern Sudan.

    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 ``Return of the Lost Boys and Lost 
Girls of Sudan Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The 21-year civil war between the North and the South 
        in Sudan, which ended with the signing of the Comprehensive 
        Peace Agreement on January 9, 2005, caused many Sudanese people 
        to flee their homes and seek refuge elsewhere in Sudan, in 
        neighboring countries, and even in the United States.
            (2) Over 10,000 Sudanese boys and girls were separated from 
        their parents during this war and fled on foot to Ethiopia, 
        walking more than 1,000 kilometers on their four-month journey, 
        and then fled again to Kenya to avoid forcible repatriation to 
        Sudan.
            (3) These Sudanese refugees suffered tremendous hardships 
        during their journey, and hundreds drowned, were eaten by wild 
        animals, killed by military forces, or overcome with 
        dehydration or starvation along the way.
            (4) Approximately 3,800 of these Sudanese refugees were 
        granted priority resettlement status in the United States. 
        These Sudanese boys and girls are commonly known as the ``Lost 
        Boys and Lost Girls of Sudan''.
            (5) As is common for refugees, the Lost Boys and Lost Girls 
        of Sudan, upon their arrival in the United States, struggled to 
        adjust to the dramatic change in their surroundings.
            (6) The story of the Lost Boys and Lost Girls of Sudan has 
        been documented in a number of books and films in the United 
        States.
            (7) The Lost Boys and Lost Girls of Sudan have acquired a 
        reputation for being a resilient and highly motivated group of 
        individuals, with many of them gaining employment and pursuing 
        higher education simultaneously.
            (8) Many Lost Boys and Lost Girls of Sudan have publicly 
        expressed their interest in eventually returning to their 
        homeland to contribute to reconstruction efforts following the 
        end of the 21-year civil war in Sudan.

SEC. 3. PROGRAM TO ASSIST SUDANESE REFUGEES IN THE UNITED STATES KNOWN 
              AS THE ``LOST BOYS AND LOST GIRLS OF SUDAN'' TO 
              VOLUNTARILY RETURN TO SOUTHERN SUDAN TO ASSIST IN 
              RECONSTRUCTION EFFORTS IN SOUTHERN SUDAN.

    (a) Statement of Purpose.--It is the purpose of this section to 
establish a program to assist Sudanese refugees in the United States 
known as the ``Lost Boys and Lost Girls of Sudan'' to voluntarily 
return to southern Sudan to assist in reconstruction efforts in 
southern Sudan.
    (b) Program Required.--From the amount appropriated under 
subsection (g) for any fiscal year, the Director of Foreign Assistance 
shall, in accordance with subsection (c), establish and carry out a 
program to assist Sudanese refugees in the United States known as the 
``Lost Boys and Lost Girls of Sudan'' to voluntarily return to southern 
Sudan to assist in reconstruction efforts in southern Sudan.
    (c) Eligibility Requirements.--An individual shall be eligible to 
participate in the program under this section if the individual--
            (1) is an alien who--
                    (A) is a national of Sudan;
                    (B) was admitted to the United States as a refugee 
                under section 207 of the Immigration Nationality Act (8 
                U.S.C. 1157) from Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, and 
                identified by the Secretary of State under the 
                worldwide refugee application processing priority 
                system as `Priority-2' (P-2), a group of special 
                concern to the United States; and
                    (C) has been continuously physically present in the 
                United States from the date of the alien's admission to 
                the United States through the date of application for 
                participation in the program under this section, except 
                that the alien shall not be considered to have failed 
                to maintain continuous physical presence by reasons of 
                an absence, or absences, from the United States for any 
                period or periods amounting in the aggregate to not 
                more than 180 days; and
            (2) commits to returning to southern Sudan for a period of 
        not less than three years for purposes of contributing 
        knowledge gained through higher education and professional 
        experience in the United States to assist in reconstruction 
        efforts in southern Sudan, as approved by the Director of 
        Foreign Assistance for purposes of this section.
    (d) Award Amount.--
            (1) In general.--The Director of Foreign Assistance may, 
        from funds appropriated under subsection (g), make available 
        amounts necessary to cover travel, lodging, living, student 
        loan repayment, and other costs that are determined to be 
        appropriate and associated with participation in the program 
        under this section.
            (2) Award basis.--The Director of Foreign Assistance shall 
        make payments to individuals who participate in the program 
        under this section on a first-come first-served basis, subject 
        to the availability of appropriations.
    (e) Regulations.--The Director of Foreign Assistance shall issue 
such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of 
this section.
    (f) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that, in 
carrying out the program under this section, the Director of Foreign 
Assistance should--
            (1) review programs similar to the program under this 
        section, including programs carried out by the United States 
        Agency for International Development in Sudan, the 
        International Organization on Migration's ``Return of Talent 
        Programme'', and any other similar or related programs for 
        purposes of replicating best practices in the program under 
        this section;
            (2) consult with the Lost Boys/Lost Girls Organization in 
        the United States for purposes of identifying interested and 
        eligible candidates for the program under this section;
            (3) seek cooperation with local and international 
        organizations in southern Sudan to most effectively identify 
        sectors, programs, and projects in which the talents and skills 
        of individuals who participate in the program under this 
        section will be most useful to reconstruction efforts in 
        southern Sudan; and
            (4) seek to ensure that individuals who participate in the 
        program under this section are permitted to retain their 
        immigration status under United States law.
    (g) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section, 
there are authorized to be appropriated to the Director of Foreign 
Assistance such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2008 and for 
each of the five succeeding fiscal years.
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