[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 848 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 848

    To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to 
  authorize assistance to combat HIV/AIDS in certain countries of the 
                           Caribbean region.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 6, 2007

 Mr. Fortuno introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to 
  authorize assistance to combat HIV/AIDS in certain countries of the 
                           Caribbean region.

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

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) According to the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/
        AIDS (UNAIDS), the adult prevalence rate of the human 
        immunodeficiency virus and the acquired immune deficiency 
        syndrome (HIV/AIDS) in the Caribbean region was 1.2 percent in 
        2006, second only to sub-Saharan Africa.
            (2) Some 250,000 people in the Caribbean region were 
        estimated to be living with HIV in 2006, including 15,000 
        children.
            (3) An estimated 27,000 people in the Caribbean region 
        became infected with HIV in 2006, including 2,400 children.
            (4) The AIDS epidemic claimed an estimated 19,000 lives in 
        the Caribbean region in 2006, including 2,000 children.
            (5) AIDS is one of the leading causes of death among adults 
        aged 15-44 years in the Caribbean region.
            (6) The countries of the Caribbean region with the highest 
        rates of HIV/AIDS in 2006 were the Bahamas, Belize, Guyana, 
        Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, with rates between 2 to 4 percent; 
        and Barbados, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Suriname, 
        with rates between 1 to 2 percent.
            (7) In contrast to other parts of the Western Hemisphere, 
        the mode of transmission of HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean region 
        has been primarily through unprotected contact, which makes it 
        difficult to contain the epidemic because it affects the 
        general population.
            (8) Stigma and discrimination, which drives people away 
        from services for HIV, have fueled the spread of HIV in the 
        Caribbean region.
            (9) According to UNAIDS, women account for one-half of 
        adults living with HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean region.
            (10) A 2004 report by the Pan Caribbean Partnership Against 
        HIV/AIDS maintained that the epidemic is taking its greatest 
        toll on younger people who traditionally have been the most 
        productive human resources.
            (11) The AIDS epidemic in the Caribbean region has begun to 
        have negative consequences for economic and social development, 
        with life expectancy and infant mortality already affected in 
        some countries. In 2006, UNAIDS reported that life expectancy 
        in the Dominican Republic was estimated to be three years lower 
        than without the AIDS epidemic, and that AIDS mortality in 
        Trinidad and Tobago would begin to reduce the country's overall 
        population by 2010.
            (12) Because of high population mobility in the region, 
        Caribbean countries have called for an inclusive approach to 
        the AIDS crisis involving all countries in the region. 
        Ambassadors of Caribbean countries to the United States 
        maintain that high HIV/AIDS prevalence rates can overwhelm the 
        region's health care capacity, destabilize economies, and 
        increase migration flows, which could pose a security risk to 
        the United States because of its proximity to the Caribbean.
            (13) Assistant Secretary General of the Organization of 
        American States Albert Ramdin stated in January 2007 that 
        ``HIV/AIDS, if not effectively and urgently tackled, poses a 
        clear threat to the sustainable development, social stability, 
        and human security of the Caribbean.''.

SEC. 2. ASSISTANCE TO COMBAT HIV/AIDS IN CERTAIN COUNTRIES OF THE 
              CARIBBEAN REGION.

    Section 1(f)(2)(B)(ii)(VII) of the State Department Basic 
Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2651a(f)(2)(B)(ii)(VII)) is amended 
by inserting after ``Zambia,'' the following: ``Antigua and Barbuda, 
the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, 
Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, 
Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Dominican Republic,''.
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