[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 78 (Thursday, June 7, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1047]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




INTRODUCTION OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND FOREIGN MILITARY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT 
       PERSONNEL AMENDMENT TO THE FOREIGN ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1961

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                       HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 7, 2001

  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, today, I am 
introducing a bill to amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to 
clarify the process by which the United States Agency for International 
Development already provides HIV/AIDS education and prevention programs 
to foreign military and law enforcement personnel.
  The United States is committed to the development of nations, and a 
major effort of the United States Agency for International Development 
(USAID) is to address the HIV/AIDS pandemic, particularly in sub-
Saharan Africa. In the past decade, USAID has committed more than $800 
million in funding to global HIV/AIDS education and prevention efforts.
  However, HIV/AIDS education and prevention efforts are not as 
effective as they should be. While it is perfectly legal to do so, 
there has been some confusion in providing HIV/AIDS information to 
soldiers and other law enforcement forces due to restrictions imposed 
by Section 660 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. Currently, only 8 
of 19 USAID missions in sub-Saharan Africa provide such information to 
military or law enforcement personnel. Military and law enforcement 
forces are important in HIV prevention efforts due to their large 
itinerant populations, which have comparatively high HIV infection 
rates. These soldiers have multiple sex partners and frequent contact 
with prostitutes. Education efforts directed at such audiences can be 
particularly effective. If assistance to military and police forces is 
not provided, the general population is placed at risk.
  To clarify the position taken by USAID's General Counsel that Section 
660 does not prohibit participation of foreign police or military 
forces in their HIV/AIDS prevention programs, I have introduced 
legislation that amends Section 104(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 
1961 by adding the following language:
  In providing assistance under paragraphs (4) through (7), the 
Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development 
is authorized, notwithstanding section 660 of this Act, to provide 
education and related services to law enforcement and military 
personnel of foreign countries to prevent and control HIV/AIDS and 
tuberculosis. The education and related services may be provided only 
if the Administrator determines that--(i) the education and services 
for police and military forces are part of a larger public health 
initiative; (ii) failure to provide the education and related services 
to law enforcement and military personnel of the foreign country would 
impair the achievement of the overall objectives of the health 
initiative; (iii) the education and related services are the same or 
are similar to the education and related services to be provided under 
the health initiative to other population groups in the foreign 
country; and (iv) none of the education and related services, including 
any commodity, can be readily adapted for law enforcement, military, or 
internal security functions.
  The AIDS pandemic is proving to be one of the most important issues 
of our time. Since the advent of the AIDS epidemic, more than 22 
million people worldwide have died from the disease. Currently, more 
than 36 million people are living with HIV/AIDS, the majority in sub-
Saharan Africa. As the most technologically advanced nation and the 
leader of the free world, the United States has both a moral obligation 
and compelling national security interests to address the global HIV/
AIDS crisis. My legislation streamlines the process by which USAID 
already provides HIV/AIDS prevention and education programs to foreign 
military and law enforcement personnel and clarifies the importance of 
including these high-risk groups in prevention efforts.

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