[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 120 (Thursday, July 13, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2598-S2599]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 430. Mr. KAINE submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill S. 2226, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2024 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
Subtitle _--Caribbean Basin Security Initiative
SEC. _1. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ``Caribbean Basin
Security Initiative Authorization Act''.
SEC. _2. DEFINITIONS.
In this subtitle:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on
Appropriations of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
(2) Beneficiary countries.--The term ``beneficiary
countries'' means--
(A) Antigua and Barbuda;
(B) the Bahamas;
(C) Barbados;
(D) Dominica;
(E) the Dominican Republic;
(F) Grenada;
(G) Guyana;
(H) Jamaica;
(I) Saint Lucia;
(J) Saint Kitts and Nevis,;
(K) Saint Vincent and the Grenadines;
(L) Suriname; and
(M) Trinidad and Tobago.
SEC. _3. AUTHORIZATION FOR THE CARIBBEAN BASIN SECURITY
INITIATIVE.
(a) Authorization for the Caribbean Basin Security
Initiative.--The Secretary of State and the Administrator of
the United States Agency for International Development may
carry out an initiative, to be known as the ``Caribbean Basin
Security Initiative'', in beneficiary countries to achieve
the purposes described in subsection (b).
(b) Purposes.--The purposes described in this subsection
are the following:
(1) To promote citizen safety, security, and the rule of
law in the Caribbean through increased strategic engagement
with--
(A) the governments of beneficiary countries; and
(B) elements of local civil society, including the private
sector, in such countries.
(2) To counter transnational criminal organizations and
local gangs in beneficiary countries, including through--
(A) maritime and aerial security cooperation, including--
(i) assistance to strengthen capabilities of maritime and
aerial interdiction operations in the Caribbean; and
(ii) the provision of support systems and equipment,
training, and maintenance;
(B) cooperation on border and port security, including
support to strengthen capacity for screening and intercepting
narcotics, weapons, bulk cash, and other contraband at
airports and seaports; and
(C) capacity building and the provision of equipment and
support for operations targeting--
(i) the finances and illegal activities of such
organizations and gangs; and
(ii) the recruitment by such organizations and gangs of at-
risk youth.
(3) To advance law enforcement and justice sector capacity
building and rule of law initiatives in beneficiary
countries, including by--
(A) strengthening special prosecutorial offices and
providing technical assistance--
(i) to combat--
(I) corruption;
(II) money laundering;
(III) human, firearms, and wildlife trafficking;
(IV) human smuggling;
(V) financial crimes; and
(VI) extortion; and
(ii) to conduct asset forfeitures and criminal analysis;
(B) supporting training for civilian police and appropriate
security services in criminal investigations, best practices
for citizen security, and the protection of human rights;
(C) supporting capacity building for law enforcement and
military units, including professionalization, anti-
corruption and human rights training, vetting, and community-
based policing;
(D) supporting justice sector reform and strengthening of
the rule of law, including--
(i) capacity building for prosecutors, judges, and other
justice officials; and
(ii) support to increase the efficacy of criminal courts;
and
(E) strengthening cybersecurity and cybercrime cooperation,
including capacity building and support for cybersecurity
systems.
(4) To promote crime prevention efforts in beneficiary
countries, particularly among at-risk-youth and other
vulnerable populations, including through--
(A) improving community and law enforcement cooperation to
improve the effectiveness and professionalism of police and
increase mutual trust;
(B) increasing economic opportunities for at-risk youth and
vulnerable populations, including through workforce
development training and remedial education programs for at-
risk youth;
(C) improving juvenile justice sectors through regulatory
reforms, separating youth from traditional prison systems,
and improving support and services in juvenile detention
centers; and
(D) the provision of assistance to populations vulnerable
to being victims of extortion and crime by criminal networks.
(5) To strengthen the ability of the security sector in
beneficiary countries to respond to and become more resilient
in the face of natural disasters, including by--
(A) carrying out training exercises to ensure critical
infrastructure and ports are able to come back online rapidly
following natural disasters; and
(B) providing preparedness training to police and first
responders.
(6) To prioritize efforts to combat corruption and include
anti-corruption components in programs in beneficiary
countries, including by--
(A) building the capacity of national justice systems and
attorneys general to prosecute and try acts of corruption;
(B) increasing the capacity of national law enforcement
services to carry out anti-corruption investigations; and
(C) encouraging cooperative agreements among the Department
of State, other relevant Federal departments and agencies,
and the attorneys general of relevant countries.
(7) To promote the rule of law in beneficiary countries and
counter malign influence from authoritarian regimes,
including China, Russia, Iran, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and
Cuba, by--
(A) monitoring security assistance from such authoritarian
regimes and taking steps necessary to ensure that such
assistance does not undermine or jeopardize United States
security assistance;
(B) evaluating and, as appropriate, restricting the
involvement of the United States in investment and
infrastructure projects financed by authoritarian regimes
that might obstruct or otherwise impact United States
security assistance to beneficiary countries;
(C) monitoring and restricting equipment and support from
high-risk vendors of telecommunications infrastructure in
beneficiary countries;
(D) countering disinformation by promoting transparency and
accountability from beneficiary countries; and
(E) eliminating corruption linked to investment and
infrastructure facilitated by authoritarian regimes through
support for investment screening, competitive tendering
[[Page S2599]]
and bidding processes, the implementation of investment law,
and contractual transparency.
(8) To support the effective branding and messaging of
United States security assistance and cooperation in
beneficiary countries, including by developing and
implementing a public diplomacy strategy for informing
citizens of beneficiary countries about the benefits to their
respective countries of United States security assistance and
cooperation programs.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated to the Department of State and the United
States Agency for International Development $82,000,000 for
each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027 to carry out the
Caribbean Basin Security Initiative to achieve the purposes
described in subsection (b).
SEC. _4. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in
coordination with the Administrator of the United States
Agency for International Development, shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees an implementation plan
that includes a timeline and stated objectives for actions to
be taken in beneficiary countries with respect to the
Caribbean Basin Security Initiative.
(b) Elements.--The implementation plan required by
subsection (a) shall include the following elements:
(1) A multi-year strategy with a timeline, overview of
objectives, and anticipated outcomes for the region and for
each beneficiary country, with respect to each purpose
described in section 3.
(2) Specific, measurable benchmarks to track the progress
of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative toward
accomplishing the outcomes included under paragraph (1).
(3) A plan for the delineation of the roles to be carried
out by the Department of State, the United States Agency for
International Development, the Department of Justice, the
Department of Defense, and any other Federal department or
agency in carrying out the Caribbean Basin Security
Initiative, to prevent overlap and unintended competition
between activities and resources.
(4) A plan to coordinate and track all activities carried
out under the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative among all
relevant Federal departments and agencies, in accordance with
the publication requirements described in section 4 of the
Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act of 2016 (22
U.S.C. 2394c).
(5) A description of the process for co-locating projects
of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative funded by the
United States Agency for International Development and the
Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
of the Department of State to ensure that crime prevention
funding and enforcement funding are used in the same
localities as necessary.
(6) An assessment of steps taken, as of the date on which
the plan is submitted, to increase regional coordination and
collaboration between the law enforcement agencies of
beneficiary countries and the Haitian National Police, and a
framework with benchmarks for increasing such coordination
and collaboration, in order to address the urgent security
crisis in Haiti.
(c) Annual Progress Update.--Not later than 1 year after
the date on which the implementation plan required by
subsection (a) is submitted, and annually thereafter, the
Secretary of State, in coordination with the Administrator of
the United States Agency for International Development, shall
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a written
description of results achieved through the Caribbean Basin
Security Imitative, including with respect to--
(1) the implementation of the strategy and plans described
in paragraphs (1), (3), and (4) of subsection (b);
(2) compliance with, and progress related to, meeting the
benchmarks described in paragraph (2) of subsection (b); and
(3) funding statistics for the Caribbean Basin Security
Initiative for the preceding year, disaggregated by country.
SEC. _5. PROGRAMS AND STRATEGY TO INCREASE NATURAL DISASTER
RESPONSE AND RESILIENCE.
(a) Programs.--During the 5-year period beginning on the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in
consultation with the Administrator of the United States
Agency for International Development and the President and
Chief Executive Officer of the Inter-American Foundation,
shall promote natural disaster response and resilience in
beneficiary countries by carrying out programs for the
following purposes:
(1) Encouraging coordination between beneficiary countries
and relevant Federal departments and agencies to provide
expertise and information sharing.
(2) Supporting the sharing of best practices on natural
disaster resilience, including on constructing resilient
infrastructure and rebuilding after natural disasters.
(3) Improving rapid-response mechanisms and cross-
government organizational preparedness for natural disasters.
(b) Strategy.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in
coordination with the Administrator of the United States
Agency for International Development and in consultation with
the President and Chief Economic Officer of the Inter-
American Foundation and nongovernmental organizations in
beneficiary countries and in the United States, shall submit
to the appropriate congressional committees a strategy that
incorporates specific, measurable benchmarks--
(1) to achieve the purposes described in subsection (a);
and
(2) to inform citizens of beneficiary countries about the
extent and benefits of United States assistance to such
countries.
(c) Annual Progress Update.--Not later than 1 year after
the date on which the strategy required by subsection (b) is
submitted, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State,
in coordination with the Administrator of the United States
Agency for International Development, shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a written description of
the progress made as of the date of such submission in
meeting the benchmarks included in the strategy.
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