[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 132 (Tuesday, October 18, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H8857-H8864]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page H8857]]
  ASSISTANCE FOR ORPHANS AND OTHER VULNERABLE CHILDREN IN DEVELOPING 
                         COUNTRIES ACT OF 2005

  Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 1409) to amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to provide 
assistance for orphans and other vulnerable children in developing 
countries, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 1409

       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 ``Assistance for Orphans and 
     Other Vulnerable Children in Developing Countries Act of 
     2005''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) As of July 2004, there were more than 143,000,000 
     children living in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America, 
     and the Caribbean who were identified as orphans, having lost 
     one or both of their parents. Of this number, approximately 
     16,200,000 children were identified as double orphans, having 
     lost both parents--the vast majority of whom died of AIDS. 
     These children often are disadvantaged in numerous and 
     devastating ways and most households with orphans cannot meet 
     the basic needs of health care, food, clothing, and 
     educational expenses.
       (2) It is estimated that 121,000,000 children worldwide do 
     not attend school and that the majority of such children are 
     young girls. According to the United Nations Children's Fund 
     (UNICEF), orphans are less likely to be in school and more 
     likely to be working full time.
       (3) School food programs, including take-home rations, in 
     developing countries provide strong incentives for children 
     to remain in school and continue their education. School food 
     programs can reduce short-term hunger, improve cognitive 
     functions, and enhance learning, behavior, and achievement.
       (4) Financial barriers, such as school fees and other costs 
     of education, prevent many orphans and other vulnerable 
     children in developing countries from attending school. 
     Providing children with free primary school education, while 
     simultaneously ensuring that adequate resources exist for 
     teacher training and infrastructure, would help more orphans 
     and other vulnerable children obtain a quality education.
       (5) The trauma that results from the loss of a parent can 
     trigger behavior problems of aggression or emotional 
     withdrawal and negatively affect a child's performance in 
     school and the child's social relations. Children living in 
     families affected by HIV/AIDS or who have been orphaned by 
     AIDS often face stigmatization and discrimination. Providing 
     culturally appropriate psychosocial support to such children 
     can assist them in successfully accepting and adjusting to 
     their circumstances.
       (6) Orphans and other vulnerable children in developing 
     countries routinely are denied their inheritance or encounter 
     difficulties in claiming the land and other property which 
     they have inherited. Even when the inheritance rights of 
     women and children are spelled out in law, such rights are 
     difficult to claim and are seldom enforced. In many countries 
     it is difficult or impossible for a widow, even if she has 
     young children, to claim property after the death of her 
     husband.
       (7) The HIV/AIDS pandemic has had a devastating affect on 
     children and is deepening poverty in entire communities and 
     jeopardizing the health, safety, and survival of all children 
     in affected areas.
       (8) The HIV/AIDS pandemic has increased the number of 
     orphans worldwide and has exacerbated the poor living 
     conditions of the world's poorest and most vulnerable 
     children. AIDS has created an unprecedented orphan crisis, 
     especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where children have been 
     hardest hit. An estimated 14,000,000 orphans have lost 1 or 
     both parents to AIDS. By 2010, it is estimated that over 
     25,000,000 children will have been orphaned by AIDS.
       (9) Approximately 2,500,000 children under the age of 15 
     worldwide have HIV/AIDS. Every day another 2,000 children 
     under the age of 15 are infected with HIV. Without treatment, 
     most children born with HIV can expect to die by age two, but 
     with sustained drug treatment through childhood, the chances 
     of long-term survival and a productive adulthood improve 
     dramatically.
       (10) Few international development programs specifically 
     target the treatment of children with HIV/AIDS in developing 
     countries. Reasons for this include the perceived low 
     priority of pediatric treatment, a lack of pediatric health 
     care professionals, lack of expertise and experience in 
     pediatric drug dosing and monitoring, the perceived 
     complexity of pediatric treatment, and mistaken beliefs 
     regarding the risks and benefits of pediatric treatment.
       (11) Although a number of organizations seek to meet the 
     needs of orphans or other vulnerable children, extended 
     families and local communities continue to be the primary 
     providers of support for such children.
       (12) The HIV/AIDS pandemic is placing huge burdens on 
     communities and is leaving many orphans with little support. 
     Alternatives to traditional orphanages, such as community-
     based resource centers, continue to evolve in response to the 
     massive number of orphans that has resulted from the 
     pandemic.
       (13) The AIDS orphans crisis in sub-Saharan Africa has 
     implications for political stability, human welfare, and 
     development that extend far beyond the region, affecting 
     governments and people worldwide, and this crisis requires an 
     accelerated response from the international community.
       (14) Although section 403(b) of the United States 
     Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 
     2003 (22 U.S.C. 7673(b)) establishes the requirement that not 
     less than 10 percent of amounts appropriated for HIV/AIDS 
     assistance for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2008 shall 
     be expended for assistance for orphans and other vulnerable 
     children affected by HIV/AIDS, there is an urgent need to 
     provide assistance to such children prior to 2006.
       (15) Numerous United States and indigenous private 
     voluntary organizations, including faith-based organizations, 
     provide assistance to orphans and other vulnerable children 
     in developing countries. Many of these organizations have 
     submitted applications for grants to the Administrator of the 
     United States Agency for International Development to provide 
     increased levels of assistance for orphans and other 
     vulnerable children in developing countries.
       (16) Increasing the amount of assistance that is provided 
     by the Administrator of the United States Agency for 
     International Development through United States and 
     indigenous private voluntary organizations, including faith-
     based organizations, will provide greater protection for 
     orphans and other vulnerable children in developing 
     countries.
       (17) It is essential that the United States Government 
     adopt a comprehensive approach for the provision of 
     assistance to orphans and other vulnerable children in 
     developing countries. A comprehensive approach would ensure 
     that important services, such as basic care, psychosocial 
     support, school food programs, increased educational 
     opportunities and employment training and related services, 
     the protection and promotion of inheritance rights for such 
     children, and the treatment of orphans and other vulnerable 
     children with HIV/AIDS, are made more accessible.
       (18) Assistance for orphans and other vulnerable children 
     can best be provided by a comprehensive approach of the 
     United States Government that--
       (A) ensures that Federal agencies and the private sector 
     coordinate efforts to prevent and eliminate duplication of 
     efforts and waste in the provision of such assistance; and
       (B) to the maximum extent possible, focuses on community-
     based programs that allow orphans and other vulnerable 
     children to remain connected to the traditions and rituals of 
     their families and communities.

     SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE FOR ORPHANS AND OTHER VULNERABLE CHILDREN 
                   IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.

       Chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 
     (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following section:

     ``SEC. 135. ASSISTANCE FOR ORPHANS AND OTHER VULNERABLE 
                   CHILDREN.

       ``(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
       ``(1) There are more than 143,000,000 orphans living sub-
     Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Of 
     this number, approximately 16,200,000 children have lost both 
     parents.
       ``(2) The HIV/AIDS pandemic has created an unprecedented 
     orphan crisis, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where 
     children have been hardest hit. The pandemic is deepening 
     poverty in entire communities, and is jeopardizing the 
     health, safety, and survival of all children in affected 
     countries. It is estimated that 14,000,000 children have lost 
     one or both parents to AIDS.
       ``(3) The orphans crisis in sub-Saharan Africa has 
     implications for human welfare, development, and political 
     stability that extend far beyond the region, affecting 
     governments and people worldwide.
       ``(4) Extended families and local communities are 
     struggling to meet the basic needs of orphans and vulnerable 
     children by providing food, health care including treatment 
     of children living with HIV/AIDS, education expenses, and 
     clothing.
       ``(5) Famines, natural disasters, chronic poverty, ongoing 
     conflicts, and civil wars in developing countries are 
     adversely affecting children in these countries, the vast 
     majority of whom currently do not receive humanitarian 
     assistance or other support from the United States.
       ``(6) The United States Government administers various 
     assistance programs for orphans and other vulnerable children 
     in developing countries. In order to improve targeting and 
     programming of resources, the United States Agency for 
     International Development should develop methods to 
     adequately track the overall number of orphans and other 
     vulnerable children receiving assistance, the kinds of 
     programs for such children by sector and location, and any 
     other such related data and analysis.
       ``(7) The United States Agency for International 
     Development should improve its capabilities to deliver 
     assistance to orphans and other vulnerable children in 
     developing countries through partnerships with private 
     volunteer organizations, including community and faith-based 
     organizations.
       ``(8) The United States Agency for International 
     Development should be the primary

[[Page H8858]]

     United States Government agency responsible for identifying 
     and assisting orphans and other vulnerable children in 
     developing countries.
       ``(9) Providing assistance to such children is an important 
     expression of the humanitarian concern and tradition of the 
     people of the United States.
       ``(b) Definitions.--In this section:
       ``(1) Aids.--The term `AIDS' has the meaning given the term 
     in section 104A(g)(1) of this Act.
       ``(2) Children.--The term `children' means persons who have 
     not attained 18 years of age.
       ``(3) Hiv/aids.--The term `HIV/AIDS' has the meaning given 
     the term in section 104A(g)(3) of this Act.
       ``(4) Orphan.--The term `orphan' means a child deprived by 
     death of one or both parents.
       ``(5) Psychosocial support.--The term `psychosocial 
     support' includes care that addresses the ongoing 
     psychological and social problems that affect individuals, 
     their partners, families, and caregivers in order to 
     alleviate suffering, strengthen social ties and integration, 
     provide emotional support, and promote coping strategies.
       ``(c) Assistance.--The President is authorized to provide 
     assistance, including providing such assistance through 
     international or nongovernmental organizations, for programs 
     in developing countries to provide basic care and services 
     for orphans and other vulnerable children. Such programs 
     should provide assistance--
       ``(1) to support families and communities to mobilize their 
     own resources through the establishment of community-based 
     organizations to provide basic care for orphans and other 
     vulnerable children;
       ``(2) for school food programs, including the purchase of 
     local or regional foodstuffs where appropriate;
       ``(3) to increase primary school enrollment through the 
     elimination of school fees, where appropriate, or other 
     barriers to education while ensuring that adequate resources 
     exist for teacher training and infrastructure;
       ``(4) to provide employment training and related services 
     for orphans and other vulnerable children who are of legal 
     working age;
       ``(5) to protect and promote the inheritance rights of 
     orphans, other vulnerable children, and widows;
       ``(6) to provide culturally appropriate psychosocial 
     support to orphans and other vulnerable children; and
       ``(7) to treat orphans and other vulnerable children with 
     HIV/AIDS through the provision of pharmaceuticals, the 
     recruitment and training of individuals to provide pediatric 
     treatment, and the purchase of pediatric-specific 
     technologies.
       ``(d) Monitoring and Evaluation.--
       ``(1) Establishment.--To maximize the sustainable 
     development impact of assistance authorized under this 
     section, and pursuant to the strategy required in section 4 
     of the Assistance for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children 
     in Developing Countries Act of 2005, the President shall 
     establish a monitoring and evaluation system to measure the 
     effectiveness of United States assistance to orphans and 
     other vulnerable children.
       ``(2) Requirements.--The monitoring and evaluation system 
     shall--
       ``(A) establish performance goals for the assistance and 
     expresses such goals in an objective and quantifiable form, 
     to the extent feasible;
       ``(B) establish performance indicators to be used in 
     measuring or assessing the achievement of the performance 
     goals described in subparagraph (A); and
       ``(C) provide a basis for recommendations for adjustments 
     to the assistance to enhance the impact of assistance.
       ``(e) Special Advisor for Assistance to Orphans and 
     Vulnerable Children.--
       ``(1) Appointment.--
       ``(A) In general.--The Secretary of State, in consultation 
     with the Administrator of the United States Agency for 
     International Development, shall appoint a Special Advisor 
     for Assistance to Orphans and Vulnerable Children.
       ``(B) Delegation.--At the discretion of the Secretary of 
     State, the authority to appoint a Special Advisor under 
     subparagraph (A) may be delegated by the Secretary of State 
     to the Administrator of the United States Agency for 
     International Development.
       ``(2) Duties.--The duties of the Special Advisor for 
     Assistance to Orphans and Vulnerable Children shall include 
     the following:
       ``(A) Coordinate assistance to orphans and other vulnerable 
     children among the various offices, bureaus, and field 
     missions within the United States Agency for International 
     Development.
       ``(B) Advise the various offices, bureaus, and field 
     missions within the United States Agency for International 
     Development to ensure that programs approved for assistance 
     under this section are consistent with best practices, meet 
     the requirements of this Act, and conform to the strategy 
     outlined in section 4 of the Assistance for Orphans and Other 
     Vulnerable Children in Developing Countries Act of 2005.
       ``(C) Advise the various offices, bureaus, and field 
     missions within the United States Agency for International 
     Development in developing any component of their annual plan, 
     as it relates to assistance for orphans or other vulnerable 
     children in developing countries, to ensure that each 
     program, project, or activity relating to such assistance is 
     consistent with best practices, meets the requirements of 
     this Act, and conforms to the strategy outlined in section 4 
     of the Assistance for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children 
     in Developing Countries Act of 2005.
       ``(D) Coordinate all United States assistance to orphans 
     and other vulnerable children among United States departments 
     and agencies, including the provision of assistance relating 
     to HIV/AIDS authorized under the United States Leadership 
     Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003 
     (Public Law 108-25), and the amendments made by such Act 
     (including section 102 of such Act, and the amendments made 
     by such section, relating to the coordination of HIV/AIDS 
     programs).
       ``(E) Establish priorities that promote the delivery of 
     assistance to the most vulnerable populations of orphans and 
     children, particularly in those countries with a high rate of 
     HIV infection among women.
       ``(F) Disseminate a collection of best practices to field 
     missions of the United States Agency for International 
     Development to guide the development and implementation of 
     programs to assist orphans and vulnerable children.
       ``(G) Administer the monitoring and evaluation system 
     established in subsection (d).
       ``(H) Prepare the annual report required by section 5 of 
     the Assistance for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children in 
     Developing Countries Act of 2005.
       ``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--
       ``(1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated 
     to the President to carry out this section such sums as may 
     be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2006 and 2007.
       ``(2) Availability of funds.--Amounts made available under 
     paragraph (1) are authorized to remain available until 
     expended.''.

     SEC. 4. STRATEGY OF THE UNITED STATES.

       (a) Requirement for Strategy.--Not later than 180 days 
     after the date of enactment of this Act, the President shall 
     develop, and transmit to the appropriate congressional 
     committees, a strategy for coordinating, implementing, and 
     monitoring assistance programs for orphans and vulnerable 
     children.
       (b) Consultation.--The strategy described in subsection (a) 
     should be developed in consultation with the Special Advisor 
     for Assistance to Orphans and Vulnerable Children (appointed 
     pursuant to section 135(e)(1) of the Foreign Assistance Act 
     of 1961 (as added by section 3 of this Act)) and with 
     employees of the field missions of the United States Agency 
     for International Development to ensure that the strategy--
       (1) will not impede the efficiency of implementing 
     assistance programs for orphans and vulnerable children; and
       (2) addresses the specific needs of indigenous populations.
       (c) Content.--The strategy required by subsection (a) shall 
     include--
       (1) the identity of each agency or department of the 
     Federal Government that is providing assistance for orphans 
     and vulnerable children in foreign countries;
       (2) a description of the efforts of the head of each such 
     agency or department to coordinate the provision of such 
     assistance with other agencies or departments of the Federal 
     Government or nongovernmental entities;
       (3) a description of a coordinated strategy, including 
     coordination with other bilateral and multilateral donors, to 
     provide the assistance authorized in section 135 of the 
     Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as added by section 3 of this 
     Act;
       (4) an analysis of additional coordination mechanisms or 
     procedures that could be implemented to carry out the 
     purposes of such section;
       (5) a description of a monitoring system that establishes 
     performance goals for the provision of such assistance and 
     expresses such goals in an objective and quantifiable form, 
     to the extent feasible; and
       (6) a description of performance indicators to be used in 
     measuring or assessing the achievement of the performance 
     goals described in paragraph (5).

     SEC. 5. ANNUAL REPORT.

       (a) Report.--Not later than one year after the date on 
     which the President transmits to the appropriate 
     congressional committees the strategy required by section 
     4(a), and annually thereafter, the President shall transmit 
     to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the 
     implementation of this Act and the amendments made by this 
     Act.
       (b) Contents.--The report shall contain the following 
     information for grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, 
     contributions, and other forms of assistance awarded or 
     entered into under section 135 of the Foreign Assistance Act 
     of 1961 (as added by section 3 of this Act):
       (1) The amount of funding, the name of recipient 
     organizations, the location of programs and activities, the 
     status of progress of programs and activities, and the 
     estimated number of orphans and other vulnerable children who 
     received direct or indirect assistance under the programs and 
     activities.
       (2) The results of the monitoring and evaluation system 
     with respect to assistance for orphans and other vulnerable 
     children.
       (3) The percentage of assistance provided in support of 
     orphans or other vulnerable children affected by HIV/AIDS.
       (4) Any other appropriate information relating to the needs 
     of orphans and other vulnerable children in developing 
     countries that

[[Page H8859]]

     could be addressed through the provision of assistance 
     authorized in section 135 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 
     1961, as added by section 3 of this Act, or under any other 
     provision of law.

     SEC. 6. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DEFINED.

       In this Act, the term ``appropriate congressional 
     committees'' means the Committee on Appropriations and the 
     Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the 
     Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on 
     International Relations of the House of Representatives.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Hyde) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde).


                             General Leave

  Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Illinois?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, over 140 million children living in sub-Saharan Africa, 
Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean have lost a parent resulting 
from conflict and disease, undercutting their already difficult 
struggle to cope with basic needs such as health care, food, clothing, 
and education.
  The situation is even more dire for 16 million of these children who 
have lost both parents, the vast majority of whom had their lives taken 
by AIDS. Many of these surviving children themselves are living with 
HIV/AIDS and are doing so alone.
  The size and scope of the problems facing orphans and vulnerable 
children in the developing world is daunting. The United States 
provides significant levels of assistance through the good work of the 
United States Agency For International Development and other U.S. 
agencies to provide much-needed help to these children. However, these 
children deserve the best effort of the United States, and the American 
people expect the same. We can do better.
  American aid to help these children is provided by a patchwork of 
programs from various offices within USAID and across U.S. agencies 
with little overall coordination. H.R. 1409 will increase the coherence 
and cohesion, as well as the effectiveness, of our multifaceted 
approach without disrupting the flow of aid to help these children 
through existing mechanisms.
  This legislation requires the Secretary of State to designate a 
senior officer, likely within USAID, to be a special adviser for 
assisting orphans and vulnerable children. This special adviser will 
ensure that our various assistance streams within our government will 
be complementary to each other, that aid strategies developed in 
Washington and our field missions are informed with the best data, 
analysis, and practices to help these children, and that someone in our 
government is conducting regular monitoring and evaluation of our 
efforts so we can continually improve the effectiveness of these 
programs.
  This legislation does not construct costly new bureaucratic 
structures such as a new office, nor does it expand personnel 
requirements to accomplish these tasks. There are already sufficient 
numbers of people and programs. Rather, we expect that the new special 
adviser will be drawn from existing ranks, someone who is already 
familiar with and working on these issues and can be dual-hatted in 
these responsibilities.
  In the last Congress we passed a previous version of this bill to 
help orphans and vulnerable children. Unfortunately, the Senate did not 
follow our lead. This time the Senate is already working on a bill 
identical to H.R. 1409, so we are hopeful that the passage of this bill 
today in the House will result in its being enacted into law very soon.
  Finally, I would like to acknowledge the tireless work of the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) and her staff for working to 
maintain momentum for this important legislation and bringing it to a 
vote today. I strongly urge my colleagues to vote in favor of H.R. 
1409.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this legislation, and I 
would first like to thank the chairman of the Committee on 
International Relations, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), for 
his hard work and long-standing advocacy for orphans and vulnerable 
children, particularly those affected by HIV/AIDS. I also want to 
congratulate the outstanding efforts of the sponsor of this 
legislation, my neighbor, friend and colleague from the San Francisco 
Bay area, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee).
  Mr. Speaker, the world faces an insidious and horrifying threat to 
human life in the form of HIV/AIDS. This deadly pandemic has left 
millions of men and women in its wake, but they are not its only 
victims.
  Mr. Speaker, a child is orphaned by HIV/AIDS every 14 seconds. Let me 
repeat this staggering statistic: every 14 seconds a child is orphaned 
by HIV/AIDS.
  Today, by passing this legislation, we take a step to help relieve 
the world's orphans and vulnerable children of the suffering they 
endure at such alarming rates. As of midyear 2004, there were over 15 
million children worldwide who were identified as orphans, more than 12 
million of whom live in Africa. We expect by the year 2010 this figure 
will climb to 25 million children.
  Mr. Speaker, that means that in 5 years there will be more HIV/AIDS 
orphans than the combined population of 18 of our States. Alaska, 
Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New 
Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, 
Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming have a combined population which 
will equal the number of HIV/AIDS orphans. Our government has made a 
global commitment to combating HIV/AIDS.

                              {time}  1230

  Now we must provide international leadership and do our share to 
highlight the suffering of children and bring hope to the world's 
future generations.
  This bill is limited in scope, but it does represent our political 
will and our moral determination to wage battle against child misery in 
the developing world. I recognize of course that our agencies on the 
frontlines of this disease are already doing a great deal to aid poor 
children. However, this effort needs to be coordinated and brought to 
the attention of leaders in the Congress and around the world.
  The legislation we are considering is important because it designates 
a Special Adviser to coordinate and support all of our efforts to 
protect orphaned and vulnerable children in poor, developing countries. 
The legislation will promote accountability for U.S. dollars that are 
given to programs to help orphans.
  Mr. Speaker, our legislation will ensure that donor nations do not 
constantly reinvent the wheel as aid is provided to orphans in the 
developing world. The Special Adviser created by this legislation will 
spread aggressively best practices in assisting orphans to aid agencies 
and foreign governments around the world.
  The orphans of HIV/AIDS around the globe are among the most 
vulnerable people on our planet. If we care for them, we can overcome 
this crisis and turn the tide against AIDS and the ravages of poverty.
  I urge all of my colleagues to vote in support of this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 7 minutes to the gentlewoman from California 
(Ms. Lee), the author of this legislation.
  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, first let me thank the gentleman from Illinois, 
our chairman, for his strong and consistent support and his consistent 
commitment to orphans and vulnerable children throughout the world. 
Also I want to thank the gentleman from California for helping us make 
sure that we stayed on track to ensure that this was truly a bipartisan 
bill, and I want to thank him for his leadership.
  This bill is, as the gentleman from Illinois mentioned, a bipartisan-
bicameral compromise and has attracted the sponsorship of 130 Members 
of Congress. We have been working on this bill with the gentleman from 
Illinois and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) and their 
staffs for nearly 1\1/2\ years now. So I want to specifically

[[Page H8860]]

thank Matt McLean on the chairman's staff and also Pearl Alice Marsh on 
the gentleman from California's staff for their help in putting this 
bill together. Not to mention my staff, Christos Tsentas, who has 
worked day and night. Without them this bill would not be possible.
  Let me also mention our advocates and NGOs, including the Global AIDS 
Alliance, the Elizabeth Glaser Foundation, Save the Children, RESULTS, 
the Global Action for Children campaign, and many others who helped 
make this bill a reality.
  As we move to pass this bill today, I also want to very briefly 
acknowledge the work of former President Bill Clinton in focusing on 
AIDS orphans. He was really one of the first to highlight the 
importance of addressing the needs of children orphaned by AIDS in a 
speech on World AIDS Day in 1998. The following year President Clinton 
invited the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee), the gentlewoman 
from Michigan (Ms. Kilpatrick), and myself to join Sandy Thurman, then 
Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy at the White House. We 
went on a Presidential Mission to sub-Saharan Africa in late March of 
1999 to focus specifically on children orphaned by AIDS. We visited 
Zambia, Uganda, and South Africa and met with a number of dynamic 
leaders and individuals and saw just how devastating the AIDS crisis 
had become and how deeply children were being affected.
  So out of that visit, in 1999, the White House produced an action 
report and began to take the first steps towards a broader U.S. role in 
the global fight against AIDS. And, Mr. Speaker, I will include that 
report in the Record.


                               BACKGROUND

       On December 1, 1998, World AIDS Day, President Clinton 
     highlighted the growing global tragedy of children orphaned 
     by AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. At that time, he directed 
     Sandra Thurman, Director of the Office of National AIDS 
     Policy, to lead a fact-finding mission to the region and to 
     report back to him with recommendations for productive 
     action. From March 27 through April 5, Director Thurman led a 
     Presidential Mission to Zambia, Uganda, and South Africa. 
     Director Thurman was accompanied by Representatives Jackson-
     Lee, Kilpatrick, and Lee, and senior staff from the offices 
     of Senators Hatch, Helms, and Kennedy, and Representative 
     Pelosi. Also joining the Mission was a group of community 
     leaders from outside of government including Mayor David 
     Dinkins, Bishop Felton May, and William Harris. [Attachment 
     A: Trip Manifest]
       The goals of the trip were to: investigate the extent of 
     the AIDS crisis in sub-Saharan Africa particularly as it 
     relates to children orphaned by AIDS; identify proven and 
     promising interventions; and, promote leadership both at home 
     and abroad.
       Information for this report was gathered from meetings with 
     African presidents, government ministers, donors, experts, 
     providers, children, parents, and community leaders. In 
     addition, site visits were made to a wide variety of 
     community-based programs serving children and families 
     affected by AIDS. Both the meetings and the visits provided 
     an important perspective on the problem regarding actions 
     taken, lessons learned, and further progress needed. 
     [Attachment B: Groups Visited]


                             PLAN OF ACTION

     The Background
       Throughout the Mission's travel in Africa, it was clear 
     that President Clinton's ``Partnership with Africa'' is 
     making hope a reality, even at the village level. From 
     Kampala to Cape Town, people across Africa know of this 
     historic initiative. Unfortunately, AIDS threatens to 
     decimate the progress of this partnership and everything else 
     in its path. To protect and defend the legacy of growth and 
     opportunity we have built with Africa, and the children and 
     families who depend on it, an aggressive AIDS initiative, 
     involving concrete action both at home and abroad, is 
     essential.
       Given the magnitude of the AIDS pandemic and its 
     devastating impact on child survival, economic development, 
     trade, regional stability, and civil society in Africa today, 
     and in India tomorrow, the President established a Global 
     AIDS Emergency Working Group. Included were the National 
     Security Council, Office of Management and Budget, Office of 
     the Vice President, USAID, and the Departments of Defense, 
     State, Treasury, Commerce, and HHS. The Office of National 
     AIDS Policy coordinated this effort, and together the Working 
     Group and the members of the Presidential Mission made 
     specific recommendations. These recommendations form the 
     basis of the Plan of Action now put forward by the 
     Administration.
     The Goals
       UNAIDS, in cooperation with its bi-lateral and multi-
     lateral partners, has laid out a series of goals for the next 
     five years as described below. The Administration seeks to 
     further these goals through an initiative entitled ``Joining 
     Forces for LIFE: Leadership and Investment in Fighting an 
     Epidemic:''
       The incidence of HIV infection will be reduced by 25% among 
     15-24 year olds by 2005. (Currently 2 million young adults 
     are infected each year in sub-Saharan Africa.)
       At least 75% of HIV infected persons will have access to 
     basic care and support services at the home and community 
     levels, including drugs for common opportunistic infections 
     (TB, pneumonia, and diarrhea). (Currently, less than 1% of 
     HIV infected persons have such access.)
       Orphans will have access to education and food on an equal 
     basis with their nonorphaned peers.
       By 2001, domestic and external resources available for HIV/
     AIDS efforts in Africa will have doubled to $300 million per 
     year. (Currently, approximately $150 million per year is 
     spent on HIV/AIDS prevention in sub-Saharan Africa.)
       By 2005, 50% of HIV infected pregnant women will have 
     access to interventions to reduce mother-to-child HIV 
     transmission. (Currently, less than 1% of HIV infected 
     pregnant women have access to such services in sub-Saharan 
     Africa.)
     The Initiative
       I. Increasing the US Government investment in the global 
     battle against AIDS to begin to reflect the magnitude of this 
     rapidly escalating pandemic.
       Making a difference in Africa and in other highly impacted 
     areas requires broader political commitment, enhanced 
     community mobilization, and, most urgently, increased 
     resources. In 1998, spending on AIDS in Africa totaled only 
     $165 million. Compared to the ever-escalating need and other 
     health programs, this amount is woefully inadequate. For 
     example, in 1998, over $500 million was spent for basic 
     childhood immunization programs in Africa. Based on our 
     experience in those countries that are starting to 
     demonstrate success, such as Uganda and Senegal, UNAIDS and 
     donors now agree that a minimum of $600 million is needed in 
     sub-Saharan Africa per year for HIV prevention alone ($2 per 
     adult per year).
       While we acknowledge the leadership role that the US plays 
     globally and the urgent need to act, clearly an effort to 
     combat AIDS must be driven by many actors including host 
     countries, multi-lateral organizations, and bilateral donors, 
     to be successful. In FY1999, the US Government spent $74 
     million in USAID prevention and care in Africa and $38 
     million in HHS research and surveillance/prevention. But more 
     remains to be done in sub-Saharan Africa and in other 
     seriously affected parts of the world.
       The Administration proposes to commit an additional $100 
     million in FY2000 to the global battle against AIDS. This 
     initiative will enable us to move forward on four critically 
     important and interconnected fronts including:
       Containing the AIDS Pandemic ($48 million)--Implement a 
     variety of prevention and stigma reduction strategies, 
     especially for women and youth, including: HIV education, 
     engagement of political, religious, and other leaders; 
     voluntary counseling and testing; interventions to reduce 
     mother-to-child transmission (MTCT); and enhance training and 
     technical assistance efforts, including Department of Defense 
     efforts with African militaries.
       Providing Home and Community-Based Care ($23 million)--
     Deliver counseling, support, and palliative and basic medical 
     care including treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, 
     opportunistic infections (Ols), and tuberculosis (TB) through 
     community-based clinics and home-based care workers. Enhance 
     training and technical assistance efforts.
       Caring for Children Orphaned by AIDS ($10 million)--Assist 
     families, extended families, and communities in caring for 
     their children through nutritional assistance, education, 
     training, health, and counseling support, in coordination 
     with micro-finance programs.
       Strengthening Prevention and Treatment by Augmenting 
     Planning, Infrastructure, and Capacity Development ($19 
     million)--Strengthen host country ability to plan and 
     implement effective interventions. Strengthen the capacity 
     for effective partnerships and the ability of community-based 
     organizations to deliver essential services. Strengthen 
     surveillance systems to track the epidemic and target HIV/
     AIDS programs.
       This US Government assistance would be provided through 
     USAID ($55 million), HHS ($35 million), and DoD ($10 
     million). The focus of this funding is HIV prevention, and 
     AIDS care and treatment. In those areas, this initiative 
     represents nearly a doubling of funding in Africa from 
     current levels ($81 million in FY99, which excludes 
     research). The Administration recognizes the fight against 
     AIDS must be sustained to keep pace with this burgeoning 
     epidemic, and is committed to a multi-year effort in this 
     critical area.
       II. Building partnerships with other key stakeholders to 
     maximize our impact on the rapidly expanding pandemic
       Increasing US investment in the global battle against AIDS 
     is critical, but is not sufficient to achieve the outcomes 
     needed. The commitment of in-country political leaders and of 
     various segments of civil society are key to success. 
     Moreover, resources provided by the US Government need to 
     help leverage, and to be coordinated with those of other 
     donors, the private sector, and national governments to 
     ensure synergy and to

[[Page H8861]]

     maximize impact. Building partnerships with key stakeholders 
     in support of effective action at the community level is our 
     greatest hope for progress.
       This initiative will pursue a variety of strategic 
     opportunities for challenging other partners to join in an 
     enhanced effort, including:
       Leadership Meeting--On September 7, 1999, First Lady 
     Hillary Rodham Clinton will convene a meeting of key US 
     officials, The World Bank, UNAIDS, as well as heads of 
     foundations, corporate CEOs, and others to discuss how best 
     to enhance AIDS prevention and treatment efforts in Africa 
     and around the world. The meeting will focus not only on 
     leveraging additional resources, but also on establishing 
     priorities, identifying effective public/private 
     partnerships, and identifying targets for action to combat 
     the crisis of HIV/AIDS.
       African Leaders Summit--We propose hosting a high-level 
     meeting with Africa government and community leaders within 
     the next ten months. This meeting will highlight the critical 
     role of leadership in arresting the epidemic and will work to 
     encourage increased leadership efforts. Topics will include 
     the economic impact of HIV/AIDS, examination of models of 
     success in reducing the transmission of HIV, and addressing 
     the need for increased investment in health programs. 
     Additional topics will include AIDS care and treatment and 
     support for children orphaned by AIDS.
       UN Conference on Children Orphaned by AIDS--On December 1, 
     1999 (World AIDS Day), the United Nations in conjunction with 
     the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS, The White 
     House Office of National AIDS Policy, The Magic Johnson 
     Foundation and a variety of NGOs, will organize a conference 
     to focus attention on the growing number of children orphaned 
     by AIDS worldwide. Special emphasis will be placed on 
     assessing the needs of orphaned children in sub-Saharan 
     Africa and the Americas. Participants will include noted 
     experts on the priority issues identified by UNAIDS, UNICEF, 
     and other UN agencies.
       Business--The Department of Commerce will facilitate a 
     meeting of business leaders active in Africa to encourage 
     them to increase their efforts to rise to the AIDS challenge. 
     Given the impact that AIDS is having on businesses as well as 
     the overall economic-impact on African countries, such a 
     meeting will seek enhanced business commitment and 
     involvement in AIDS programs.
       The Commerce Department will work with American Chambers of 
     Commerce abroad and other business organizations to publicize 
     the successful AIDS efforts of US firms in Africa and to 
     support others taking similar action. In addition, the 
     Department will direct work to promote closer coordination in 
     Africa between Commercial Service Offices, other USG 
     agencies, the business community, and African NGOs in a 
     united effort to promote corporate partnership in AIDS 
     programs.
       Labor--The Secretary of Labor will facilitate a meeting of 
     US and African labor leaders, which will be co-chaired by the 
     AFL-CIO. The success of the AFL-CIO and its Solidarity Center 
     in South Africa (supported by USAID) in working with the 
     South African Trade Union Federations to include AIDS as a 
     key labor outreach and policy issue provides a model for 
     similar action elsewhere. Outcomes include assisting labor 
     organizations in educating their members and securing 
     commitments to develop workplace-based AIDS education and 
     prevention programs, including outreach to youth.
       Religious Leaders Summit--The US government will facilitate 
     a meeting of African, American, and other religious leaders 
     to discuss the important role of communities of faith in the 
     fight against AIDS. In Uganda and Senegal, the involvement of 
     religious communities and leaders had a dramatic impact on 
     the ability of these two countries to reduce HIV incidence 
     and to maintain it at low levels over time. The outcome of 
     such a meeting would be to increase attention to the need for 
     involving religious communities, to mobilize these 
     organizations and leaders in the fight against AIDS, and to 
     identify ways to support their efforts.
       Diplomatic Initiatives--The Department of State, National 
     Security Council, and ONAP will work with US and African 
     ambassadors to increase attention to AIDS within the 
     diplomatic community. The NSC, the Department of State, and 
     USAID will work with G-8 and other donors, and challenge them 
     to match the increased investment put forward in this 
     initiative.


                      ATTACHMENT A--Trip Manifest

     Presidential mission to AFRICA--March 27-April 5, 1999
       Members of Congress: Representative Carolyn Kilpatrick, 
     Foreign Operations Subcommittee, Appropriations, and 
     Congressional Black Caucus; Representative Barbara Lee, 
     Africa Subcommittee, International Relations, and 
     Congressional Black Caucus; and Representative Sheila Jackson 
     Lee, Founder and Chair, Congressional Children's Caucus, and 
     Congressional Black Caucus.
       Congressional Staff: Bruce Artim, Health Staff, Senator 
     Hatch; Mary Lynn Qurnell, Legislative Assistant, Senator 
     Helms; Stephanie Robinson, General Counsel, Senator Kennedy; 
     and Carolyn Bartholomew, Legislative Director, Representative 
     Pelosi, Minority Staff, Foreign Operations Subcommittee, 
     Appropriations.
       Non-Governmental Participants: William Harris, President, 
     Children's Education and Research Institute; Bishop Felton 
     May, General Board of Global Ministries, United Methodist 
     Church; David Dinkins, Chair, Black Leadership Commission on 
     AIDS; Dr. Jacob Gayle, UNAIDS Technical Advisor and Liaison 
     to The World Bank; Rory Kennedy, Documentary filmmaker, Moxie 
     Films; and Nick Doob, Documentary filmmaker, Moxie Films.
       Administration Officials: Sandra L. Thurman, Director, 
     Office of National AIDS Policy; Michael Iskowitz, Consultant, 
     USAID; Dr. Paul DeLay, Director, HIV/AIDS Programs, USAID; 
     Maria Sotiropoulos, Protocol Officer, State Department; and 
     Phil Drouin, Desk Officer, Bureau of African Affairs, State 
     Department.


 ATTACHMENT B--Groups Visited: Community Organizations and Government 
                               Officials

     Zambia
       Bwanfanon, CHIN, Christian Council of Zambia, Evangelical 
     Fellowship of Zambia, Family Health Trust, Fountain of Hope, 
     McKinney Islamic Center, Mulenga Compound, National AIDS 
     Network, Ndeke House, Project Concern International, Society 
     of Women Against HIV/AIDS, St. Anthony's Compound, and Twapia 
     Widows Group.
       President Jacob Titus Chiluba; Dr. Nkandu Luao, Minister of 
     Health; Peter McDermott, UNICEF Country Representative; 
     Vincent Malambo, Minister of Legal Affairs; Edith Z. Nawakwi, 
     Minister of Finance and Economic Development; Abel Chambeshi, 
     Minister of Youth, Sports and Child Health; Keli Walubita, 
     Minister of Foreign Affairs; Dawson Lupunga, Minister of 
     Community Development; Dr. Moses Sichone, HIV/AIDS 
     Coordinator, GRZ; GRZ public-private orphan task force; and 
     Ambassador Arlene Render.
     Uganda
       AIDS Development Foundation, AIDS Information Center, The 
     AIDS Support Organization (TASO), Foundation for 
     International Community Assistance (FINCA), Joint Clinical 
     Research Centre, Makerere University, National Community of 
     Women Living with AIDS, Save the Children (UK), Uganda AIDS 
     Commission, Uganda Cancer Institute, Uganda Virus Research 
     Institute, and United Women's Effort to Save Orphans.
       President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, First Lady Janet 
     Museveni, Dr. Crispus Kiyonga, Minister of Health; Hajat 
     Janat Mukwaya, Minister of Gender, Labor and Development; Dr. 
     Elizabeth Madraa, AIDS/STD Control Program, Ministry of 
     Health; Rafina Ochago, Commissioner for Child Care and 
     Protection, Ministry of Gender, Labor and Development; and 
     Ambassador Nancy J. Powell.
     South Africa
       Bethesda House, CINDI Coalition (Children in Distress), Don 
     McKenzie TB Hospital, Edendale Hospital, Edith Benson Babies 
     Home, Ethembeni Centre, Grey's Hospital, Highway Hospice, 
     Hope Worldwide-Jabavu Clinic, King Edward Hospital, Lilly of 
     the Valley, Makaphuthu Children's Home, Project Gateway, and 
     Streetwise Shelter.
       Nkosa Zana Zuma, Minister of Health; GJ Fraser-Moleketi, 
     Minister of Welfare and Population Development; Dr. Ben S. 
     Ngubane, Premier, KZN; Dr. Zweli Mkhize, Minister of Health, 
     KZN; Siphiwe Gwala, Mayor, KZN; and Ambassador James Joseph.

  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I also want to make special note of the work of 
Bono and his organization Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa for their work in 
really driving the agenda of HIV and AIDS and for bringing the 
attention to the needs of African people. He will be here, 
incidentally, today in the Capitol, and I know he will appreciate the 
importance of passing this bill.
  And also, finally, I must thank my predecessor, Ron Dellums, who for 
many years was a lone voice in the wilderness who also developed the 
concept of the AIDS Marshall Plan and the Global Fund for AIDS.
  Quite simply, this bill, H.R. 1409, will better coordinate and 
address the growing problem of orphans and vulnerable children in the 
developing world. As we heard earlier, an estimated 143 million 
children were living as orphans throughout sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, 
Latin America, and the Caribbean. This is extremely hard to even 
comprehend.
  The rapid growth of HIV and AIDS especially in Africa has 
dramatically impacted the number of children who are newly becoming 
orphans. According to UNAIDS, today there are over 15 million children 
living as orphans due to HIV and AIDS, again, the vast majority in sub-
Saharan Africa. By 2010 there will be 25 million children. Today every 
14 seconds another child is orphaned by AIDS. With parents dying at an 
alarming rate, children are left without food, shelter, education, or 
protection. We actually saw children raising children, 10-year olds 
raising their siblings.
  The global orphan crisis is a profound humanitarian disaster that 
will be felt for decades to come. This bill seeks to address the 
growing global problem of orphans and vulnerable children by providing 
assistance to support basic care through community, school food

[[Page H8862]]

programs, increased primary school enrollment, employment training, 
protection of inheritance rights, psychosocial support, and treatment 
for children living with HIV and AIDS.
  Together these activities will be overseen by a Special Adviser for 
Orphans and Vulnerable Children within USAID, which is a new position 
that my bill establishes. The Special Adviser will be responsible for 
coordinating, advising, and monitoring the provision of assistance for 
orphans and ensuring proper accountability for this program.
  The amendments that we put into this bill have been made after 
careful negotiation with the other body and the gentleman from Illinois 
and the gentleman from California, our House leadership, and I thank 
them for helping us with these negotiations. These amendments would 
clarify the role of the Special Adviser in focussing specifically on 
orphans and vulnerable children. The amendments would also give USAID 
some flexibility to aggregate data in its report to Congress rather 
than providing detailed information on each individual grant and 
program.
  Many of us, as I said earlier, have seen firsthand the desperation 
that orphans and vulnerable children are facing. There are many, in 
Africa especially, who have risen to the occasion. Father D'Agostino, 
for example, of Nyumbani orphanage. Many of us know Father D'Agostino, 
and he is doing unbelievable work in primarily Kenya. He has got the 
care and devotion of a staff and all of its volunteers who are really 
basically saving lives of children and helping develop their futures. 
He needs resources.
  Also Mama Jean. I have got to mention her. Mother of Peace Orphanage 
Community in Zimbabwe. It is an orphanage I have become quite familiar 
with because it benefits adjacent rural communities, and I am proud to 
say that my own church in Oakland, California, the Allen Temple Baptist 
Church, is one of the sponsors of this orphanage.
  Mr. Speaker, let me just say that these two programs are incredible 
programs and it is really a testament to how much good can be done on a 
shoestring budget by a committed group of people.
  Bwafwano Home-Based Care Organization, run by Beatrice Chola, I met 
her when I traveled to Zambia last year with the gentlewoman from the 
Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen) and the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. 
Jackson-Lee). She is working as a nurse in the Chipata health center of 
Lusaka. Beatrice started this clinic, this orphanage, back in 1996 when 
she saw that the health center was overrun by HIV and AIDS and TB-
infected patients.
  So today, Mr. Speaker, to our chairman, to the gentleman from 
California, and to all of those who have made this bill possible, I 
want to thank them on behalf of the millions of children who are going 
to be helped, whose lives will be saved, and who will lead the quality 
of life that they so deserve. They need our help. We are stepping up to 
the plate.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Minnesota (Ms. McCollum), a member of the Committee on International 
Relations, who has been a fighter for children's rights and a fighter 
to defeat the ravages of AIDS.
  Ms. McCOLLUM of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this 
important legislation to address the needs of children orphaned and 
vulnerable as a result of the AIDS pandemic. The gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Lee) and her staff, as well as the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Hyde), the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), and 
the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach) are to be commended for their 
commitment to setting forth a policy that creates a framework to meet 
the needs of AIDS orphans. This bill deserves the full support of this 
House.
  At this moment millions of boys and girls, children, across the 
continent of Africa are struggling to survive, struggling to find food 
and shelter and to care for siblings. They too often live in fear of 
sexual exploitation or are forced to use sex in exchange for food, 
safety, and survival. By 2010 an estimated 25 million children across 
Africa alone will be orphaned as a result of AIDS. Millions more will 
be caring for sick parents as well as for brothers and sisters.
  Mr. Speaker, today's Seattle Post-Intelligencer details how the small 
southern African nation of Malawi is facing an AIDS disaster which is 
now fueling a famine. In this nation of nearly 12 million people, 
nearly 1 million more people are infected with HIV, many too sick to 
farm their fields. Five million Malawians are at risk of starvation. In 
Malawi there are also 700,000 AIDS orphans struggling to survive a 
famine, and this does not include the vulnerable children.
  When a country is starving, who feeds the children? Who feeds, cares 
for, educates, and protects the children, the AIDS orphans? Mr. 
Speaker, AIDS is killing an entire nation, and the children left behind 
must be protected and cared for and educated and, most importantly, 
valued.
  This bill is an important first step. U.S. leadership is needed for 
these children who deserve our help.
  Mr. Speaker, for the Record I submit the Seattle Post-Intelligencer 
article.

          [From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Oct. 18, 2005]

               Malawi Village Underscores Impact of AIDS

               (By Clare Nullis, Associated Press Writer)

       Napasha, Malawi.--It's so quiet you can hear scrawny hens 
     pecking at the dust. A few ragged children peer timidly from 
     the shadow of their mud huts but show no interest in playing. 
     Beyond them lie barren cornfields, abandoned to the 
     blistering heat.
       The despair is unmistakable in Napasha, a village in the 
     southern African nation of Malawi where an AIDS epidemic has 
     compounded the vicious cycle of poverty, hunger and disease.
       ``Our fields are idle because there is nobody to work 
     them,'' says Toby Solomon, a local commissioner.
       Subsistence farmers dominate Malawi's struggling economy. 
     But an estimated 900,000 of 12 million people are infected 
     with the HIV virus, a national rate of just over 14 percent. 
     In the southern province of Nsanje, which includes Napasha, 
     the rate is as high as 35 percent, according to Solomon.
       ``We don't have machinery for farming, we only have 
     manpower,'' Solomon says. ``If we are sick, or spend our time 
     looking after family members who are sick, we have no time to 
     spend working in the fields.''
       Numbers aren't easy to come by in Napasha, a cluster of 
     simple mud buildings with no electricity or sanitation and 
     just one communal water pump. But the 400 or so households 
     here include about a hundred children who have lost one or 
     both parents to AIDS.
       The epidemic has aggravated a food crisis stemming in part 
     from a drought that is withering corn crops. President Bingu 
     wa Mutharika declared all of the southern African nation a 
     ``disaster area'' Saturday and appealed for international 
     help. He warned that 5 million people, almost half the 
     population, are threatened with hunger.
       Monica Kasitomu, a tiny graying woman who thinks she is 
     around 70, is struggling to feed three young grandchildren 
     who lost both their parents to AIDS. She says she depends on 
     the corn meal and oil she receives from the United Nations.
       ``I'm getting too old to care for my grandchildren,'' she 
     frets. ``When I die, I don't know what will happen to them,'' 
     she says, tears in her eyes.
       One roadside sign near Napasha urges people to use condoms. 
     ``AIDS is real. It's not witchcraft,'' it says.
       Many people here, as in much of Malawi, believe AIDS is 
     caused by witchcraft and consider condoms taboo. The 
     government and foreign relief agencies have launched 
     campaigns to try to educate people about the disease, but 
     results have been slow to filter down.
       AIDS kills about 90,000 people in Malawi every year, and 
     about half of the country's hospital beds are occupied by 
     people with AIDS-related complications. Napasha, which is far 
     from any health facilities, has at least eight households 
     with terminally ill AIDS victims.
       One is Melania Nakhove, a tall and graceful woman who looks 
     older than her 50 years. She lost her husband to AIDS in 2002 
     and then discovered that she too was infected with the virus. 
     She used to have a job but gave it up when she became too ill 
     to work. Her house--like most others in the village--is bare. 
     Her monthly ration of cornmeal lies drying on the floor of 
     her living room, adorned only with a 2002 calendar and an 
     AIDS awareness poster.
       Nakhove counts herself lucky to receive both food aid and 
     anti-retroviral medicines thanks to a government program 
     funded by foreign donations.
       Of an estimated 140,000 Malawis who need the life-
     prolonging drugs, only 19,000 were receiving them in June, 
     according to the World Health Organization. The government 
     aims to put 80,000 on treatment by the end of the year, but 
     that is subject to foreign funding.
       At the Saint Montfort feeding center in southern town of 
     Nchal, nurse Getrude Mkwapu estimates half the children 
     admitted to the intensive feeding ward are HIV-positive, 
     complicating efforts to treat their malnutrition.

[[Page H8863]]

       James, just 14 months old, is one of them. The skeletal 
     boy, who looks no older than four months, wails incessantly 
     as his grandmother, Weza Jugen, tries to coax him to drink a 
     cup of milk.
       ``I don't know what I can do,'' Jugen said. ``All I can try 
     to do is to give him milk and porridge.''
       James, whose mother died last month, is one of 700,000 
     orphans in Malawi.
       ``The epidemic is giving people a sense of no hope,'' says 
     Solomon. ``No hope for life.''

  Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Lantos) and ask unanimous consent that he be allowed to 
control that time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Shimkus). Is there objection to the 
request of the gentleman from Illinois?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Illinois for his 
usual gracious accommodation.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. 
Jackson-Lee), a fighter for children's rights.
  (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise 
and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank both the gentleman 
from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) 
for their graciousness in this debate, something that I know the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) has waited on and fought for for 
such a long time. My hat is off to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. 
Lee), and the good news is that at the end of my name there is L-e-e. 
But I celebrate her leadership today and join in reminding the world 
that this may sound like a celebration but it is only the beginning.
  I rise to enthusiastically support H.R. 1409, Assistance for Orphans 
and Other Vulnerable Children in Developing Countries Act of 2005.
  Though, Mr. Speaker, that we rise today and speak about the scourge 
of AIDS, the vitality and importance of this legislation looms even 
more important as we look at the backdrop of now the rising numbers of 
those who have lost their lives in the terrible tragedy of the 
earthquake in Pakistan and, of course, as I am facing two disasters, 
the terrible tragedy of Hurricane Katrina and Rita where we know that 
the largest numbers of those impacted are children. In the instance of 
Pakistan, we know that children may be the highest numbers of those who 
have lost their lives, now numbers rising above 40,000. We know in 
Hurricane Katrina and Rita that we also will feel a terrible impact on 
our children.

                              {time}  1245

  So this bill that is now focused specifically on the issues dealing 
with HIV/AIDS speaks volumes that we were able to pass legislation 
based upon the mission that the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee), 
myself, and the gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Kilpatrick) joined as 
the first Presidential mission led by Sandy Thurman of the White House 
under President Bill Clinton.
  As I said, the steps were measured but the effort was persistent and 
determined, and so this bill will authorize assistance to provide basic 
care through the community, school food programs, increased primary 
school enrollment, employment training, protection of inheritance 
rights, psychosocial support, and treatment for people living with HIV 
and AIDS.
  I will tell my colleagues as I listened to the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Lee), she is right. As we walked into various living 
facilities, huts, throughout the nations that we visited, we stopped in 
to visit and see a 4-year-old bending over a dying body, we visited 
with a grandmother who was now taking care of a number of the children 
of her dead children, both husbands and wives. We knew that this had to 
be confronted in a very drastic, severe, persistent, and large way. 
This bill is a large way of responding to it.
  We all know that according to a report developed by the United 
Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS, UNICEF, and the United States 
Agency for International Development, as of July 2004 there were more 
than 143 million orphans living in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin 
America and the Caribbean, 143 million, which is more than almost half 
of the population of the United States of America.
  We realize that these children are vulnerable, with no hope, no life. 
We also realize that those who are dying in their care need greater 
care than a 4-year-old, a 5-year-old, a 6-year-old might be able to 
give. We know that infants are poor and malnourished and are more 
likely to contract respiratory infections, diarrhea, and measles and 
other preventable diseases. We also know that those who were taking 
care of had tuberculosis and HIV, and so we recognize that this bill is 
long in coming, but it is so much needed.
  Just imagine these poor children with no hope; and so, today, America 
rises to the occasion of the America that we all have loved and 
recognize for what she has always been, the defender of the most 
vulnerable around the world. Some have called her Mother America. In 
this instance, we embrace those from around the world, and we join with 
H.R. 1409, and I ask my colleagues to support it. I congratulate my 
colleagues, and I look forward to working with the gentleman from 
Illinois (Chairman Hyde) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) 
as we move this forward for a better world.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1409, the ``Assistance 
for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children in Developing Countries Act 
of 2005.'' This bipartisan bill seeks to address the growing problem of 
orphans and vulnerable children in developing countries, which has been 
exacerbated by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The bill establishes the position 
of Special Advisor for Assistance to Orphans and Vulnerable Children 
within the United States Agency for International Development with 
responsibilities including coordination, advising, and the monitoring 
of assistance.
  Additionally, the bill will authorize assistance programs to provide: 
Basic care through the community; school food programs; increased 
primary school enrollment; employment training; protection of 
inheritance rights; psychosocial support; and treatment for children 
living with HIV/AIDs.
  As of July 2004, there were more than 143 million children living in 
sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean who were 
identified as orphans, having lost one or both of their parents. Of 
this number, approximately 16 million children were identified as 
double orphans, having lost both parents--the vast majority of whom 
died from AIDS. These children often are disadvantaged in numerous and 
devastating ways and most households with orphans cannot meet the basic 
needs of health care, food, clothing, and educational expenses.
  The HIV/AIDS pandemic has increased the number of orphans worldwide 
and has exacerbated the poor living conditions of the world's poorest 
and most vulnerable children. AIDS has created an unprecedented orphan 
crisis, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where children have been 
hardest hit. An estimated 14 million orphans have lost 1 or both 
parents to AIDS. By 2010, it is estimated that over 25 million children 
will have been orphaned by AIDS.

  Working to combat poverty and to protect the vulnerable is an issue 
that members of both parties can agree on. According to the United 
Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), orphans are less likely to be in 
school and more likely to be working full time. Providing children with 
free primary school education, while simultaneously ensuring that 
adequate resources exist for teacher training and infrastructure would 
help more orphans and other vulnerable children obtain a quality 
education. It is critical for the future of these developing nations 
that the orphaned and vulnerable populations have access to basic needs 
like food, health care, and education.


                       General Facts on Children

  According to a report developed by the United Nations Joint Programme 
on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), UNICEF, and the United States Agency for 
International Development, as of July 2004 there were more than 
143,000,000 orphans living in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America, 
and the Caribbean.
  Assessments carried out by the International Labor Organization (ILO) 
to investigate the situation of children who are working found that 
orphans are much more likely than non-orphans to be working in 
commercial agriculture, the domestic service industry, and the 
commercial sex industry, as street vendors, or in industries that 
violate internationally recognized rights of children.
  Infants who are poor and malnourished are more likely to contract 
respiratory infections, diarrhea, measles, and other preventable 
diseases, and are less likely to receive needed health care.
  According to UNAIDS and UNICEF, by the end of 2001 there were an 
estimated 14,000,000 children under the age of 15 who had lost one or 
both parents to AIDS.

[[Page H8864]]

  As the number of HIV cases increases in sub-Saharan Africa and the 
Caribbean, as well as in Eastern Europe and Asia, the death rate from 
AIDS among adults in those regions is expected to increase. By 2010 the 
total number of children in those regions who will lose one or both 
parents to AIDS is expected to be approximately 30,000,000.
  One-third of children born from an HIV-infected mother develop HIV/
AIDS. Few of these children have access to HIV/AIDS medications.
  Globally, more than 12,000,000 young people ages 15 to 24 are living 
with HIV/AIDS, and each day another 6,000 young people became infected 
with HIV. New estimates indicate that more than 70 percent of new HIV 
cases among this age group in sub-Saharan Africa are young women and 
girls.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 2\1/2\ minutes to 
the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen), our 
distinguished colleague and a physician herself.
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California 
(Mr. Lantos) for yielding me time.
  I also rise in strong support of H.R. 1409, to amend the Foreign 
Assistance Act of 1961 to provide assistance for orphans and other 
vulnerable children in developing countries. I want to commend the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) as well for her commitment to 
this issue and for sponsoring this bill and for her hard work in 
getting it to the floor today, and to thank Chairman Hyde and Ranking 
Member Lantos for their support.
  Mr. Speaker, as the Navhind Times wrote earlier this month, ``There 
are more than 100 million children worldwide who are living hand-to-
mouth, bereft from family and homes and are particularly vulnerable to 
abuse.'' We have all seen the tragedy of children soldiers, the street 
children of South America, and children refugees.
  As of July 2004, there were more than 143 million children living in 
sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean who were 
identified as orphans, having lost one or both parents. Of this number, 
approximately 16.2 million children were identified as double orphans, 
having lost both parents, the vast majority of whom died of AIDS.
  Numerous United States and indigenous private voluntary 
organizations, including faith-based organizations, in these countries 
provide assistance to orphans and other vulnerable children.
  One such program is the Rx for Child Survival Campaign, a multimedia 
campaign aimed at raising the awareness of child hunger, disease and 
the impact of AIDS on their lives. Many of these organizations have 
applied for grants to the administrator of the U.S. Agency for 
International Development to provide increased levels of assistance for 
orphans and other vulnerable children in these developing countries.
  Mr. Speaker, the plight of the world's children represents both a 
humanitarian and a security crisis, and it is getting worse with each 
succeeding year. It is essential that the United States Government 
adopt a comprehensive approach for the provision of assistance to 
orphans and other vulnerable children around the world.
  By acting now, Congress can ensure that important services, such as 
basic care, psychosocial support, school food programs, increased 
educational opportunities and employment training, the protection and 
promotion of their inheritance rights, the treatment of orphans and 
other vulnerable children of HIV and AIDS and other illnesses have more 
accessible treatment and support efforts that ensure orphans continue 
to live with their extended families whenever possible, rather than 
being placed in orphanages.
  I urge my colleagues to support the passage of H.R. 1409.
  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1409, the 
Assistance for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children in Developing 
Countries Act of 2005. This bipartisan bill will provide assistance to 
the neediest children in the world's poorest countries, and I urge my 
colleagues to support it.
  AIDS has been so devastating to the developing world, especially sub-
Saharan Africa, partly because so many of those killed by AIDS are 
adults of child-bearing age. These men and women are often the pillars 
of their communities and families. Most diseases spare at least one 
parent, but AIDS often kills both mothers and fathers. Sixteen million 
children in the developing world are ``double orphans''--both of their 
parents are dead--mostly because of AIDS. Unfortunately, their numbers 
are increasing as AIDS continues to ravage the world. Indeed, in four 
African countries, one in five children will have lost at least one 
parent to AIDS by 2010. It is vital that we help these children.
  Extended families care for more than 90 percent of orphans in the 
developing world. Unfortunately, these families often lack the 
resources to meet the most basic needs of the orphans. These children 
are less likely than their peers to be enrolled in school. Many 
orphaned girls in particular are forced into the workforce at an early 
age. They are more likely than others to go hungry. Because of the 
stress of losing their parents and coping with the ensuing problems, 
they are much more likely to suffer from psychological problems.
  Many face discrimination both as the children of AIDS victims and as 
orphans. Orphans and their mothers often have difficulty inheriting the 
land or other property due to them.
  This bill authorizes the President to assist programs in developing 
nations that benefit orphans and other vulnerable children. USAID will 
work with an array of groups, including international and non-
governmental organizations, to provide needed services to orphans. 
These services include education, school food, protection of 
inheritance rights and psychosocial care. When possible, community-
based groups will directly provide this care.
  H.R. 1409 includes provisions that monitor and evaluate the 
effectiveness of the programs funded, so resources will be channeled to 
the groups that do the best work and need the most assistance. It also 
creates the office of the Special Advisor for Assistance to Vulnerable 
Populations, appointed by the Secretary of State, who will oversee the 
implementation of this bill in USAID programs and coordinate U.S. 
assistance to orphans and other vulnerable children.
  Mr. Speaker, this bipartisan bill will ease the suffering of the 
millions of children who have been orphaned in the developing world, 
and it is worthy of this House's support.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Shimkus). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1409, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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