[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 115 (Thursday, July 11, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4606-S4608]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 2271. Mr. KAINE submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by 
him to the bill S. 4638, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 
2025 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.--
       (A) In general.--The term ``beneficiary countries'' means--
       (i) Antigua and Barbuda;
       (ii) the Bahamas;
       (iii) Barbados;
       (iv) Dominica;
       (v) the Dominican Republic;
       (vi) Grenada;
       (vii) Guyana;
       (viii) Jamaica;
       (ix) Saint Lucia;

[[Page S4607]]

       (x) Saint Kitts and Nevis;
       (xi) Saint Vincent and the Grenadines;
       (xii) Suriname; and
       (xiii) Trinidad and Tobago.
       (B) Updates.--The President or the Secretary of State may 
     add or remove one or more countries from the list under 
     subparagraph (A) upon written notification to the appropriate 
     congressional committees.

     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 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 2025 through 2029 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

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     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.
                                 ______