[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 416 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 416

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 9, 2009

 Ms. Lee of California (for herself, Mr. Towns, Mr. Honda, Mr. Rangel, 
 Mr. Engel, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, Ms. Bordallo, Mrs. Christensen, Ms. 
 Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Mr. Payne, Mr. Fattah, Mr. Johnson of 
 Georgia, Ms. Corrine Brown of Florida, and Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                            Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
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 2009''.
    (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. 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 institution of higher education (as such 
                term is defined in section 101(a) of the Higher 
                Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))), 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 such Act (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. 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 to assist in educating 
        promising students and scholars from communities demonstrating 
        the greatest need within 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 communities demonstrating the greatest need within CARICOM 
        countries pursuant to section 5.

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; and
                    (B) participate in activities designed to promote a 
                greater understanding of the values and culture of the 
                United States; 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; and
                    (B) participate in activities designed to promote a 
                greater understanding of the values and culture of the 
                United States.
    (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 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 60 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) Fields of study under the program will support the 
        labor market and development needs of CARICOM countries, 
        assuring a pool of technical experts to address such needs.
            (4) The program will limit participation to--
                    (A) one year of study for secondary school 
                students;
                    (B) two years of study for undergraduate students; 
                and
                    (C) 12 months of study for graduate students, post-
                graduate students, and scholars.
            (5) 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.
            (6) The Secretary may waive, shorten the duration, or 
        otherwise alter the requirements of paragraph (4) 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). The Secretary is authorized to 
provide 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 monitor and evaluate 
        the effectiveness and efficiency of the program authorized 
        under subsection (a). In so doing, the Secretary shall, among 
        other things, 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).

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, officials of United 
States cooperating agencies, and officials of CARICOM countries in 
developing the program authorized under subsection (a). The Secretary 
is authorized to 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 
monitor and evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the program 
authorized under subsection (a).

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 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 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 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 120 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.
    (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.
            (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.
                    (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 
                and the Administrator 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. Such description 
                shall include 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 2009 through 
2012. Amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization of 
appropriations under this section are in addition to amounts otherwise 
available for such purposes.
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