[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 12033-12041]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  ASSISTANCE FOR ORPHANS AND OTHER VULNERABLE CHILDREN IN DEVELOPING 
                         COUNTRIES ACT OF 2004

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass 
the bill (H.R. 4061) to amend the Foreign

[[Page 12034]]

Assistance Act of 1961 to provide assistance for orphans and other 
vulnerable children in developing countries, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 4061

       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 
     2004''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds the following:
       (1)(A) According to estimates by the United Nations 
     Children's Fund (UNICEF), there are more than 132,000,000 
     children in the world under the age of three.
       (B) Of these children, 4,000,000 will die in their first 
     month of life and another 7,000,000 will die each year before 
     reaching the age of five. Thus an average of 30,000 children 
     under the age of three die each day.
       (2) According to a report developed by the United Nations 
     Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), UNICEF, and the United 
     States Agency for International Development, in 2001 there 
     were more than 110,000,000 orphans living in sub-Saharan 
     Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
       (3) 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, prostitution, as street vendors, 
     or in industries that violate internationally recognized 
     rights of children.
       (4) 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.
       (5) 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.
       (6) 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.
       (7) One-third of children born from an HIV-infected mother 
     develop HIV/AIDS. Few of these children have access to HIV/
     AIDS medications.
       (8) Globally, more than 11,800,000 young people ages 15 to 
     24 were living with HIV/AIDS in 2001, 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.
       (9) As their parents fall progressively sick from HIV/AIDS, 
     children generally must take on an increasing number of 
     responsibilities. Girls take responsibility for more 
     household chores, often drop out of school, and care for 
     their parents.
       (10)(A) Without an adequate diet, individuals infected with 
     HIV often die at an earlier age. Individuals with HIV become 
     increasingly weak and fatigued, do not respond to drug 
     treatment, and are prone to other illnesses such as 
     malnutrition and tuberculosis (TB).
       (B) Hunger can also cause previously HIV-negative people to 
     engage in high-risk survival strategies that increase their 
     chances of becoming infected with HIV.
       (11) Extreme poverty and hunger coupled with the loss of 
     one or both parents as a result of AIDS can force children 
     from their families to a life on the streets, where the risk 
     of HIV infection is extremely high.
       (12)(A) A considerable number of United States and 
     indigenous private voluntary organizations, including faith-
     based organizations, provide assistance to orphans and other 
     vulnerable children in developing countries, especially 
     children affected by HIV/AIDS.
       (B) Many of these organizations have submitted applications 
     for grants from the United States Agency for International 
     Development in order to provide increased levels of 
     assistance for orphans and other vulnerable children in 
     developing countries but in most cases the Agency has not 
     approved the applications.
       (13)(A) Section 403(b) of the United States Leadership 
     Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003 
     (Public Law 108-25) establishes the requirement that for 
     fiscal years 2006 through 2008, not less than 10 percent of 
     amounts appropriated for HIV/AIDS assistance for each such 
     fiscal year shall be expended for assistance for orphans and 
     other vulnerable children affected by HIV/AIDS.
       (B) Further, section 403(b) of Public Law 108-25 requires 
     that at least 50 percent of such amounts shall be provided 
     through non-profit, nongovernmental organizations, including 
     faith-based organizations, that implement programs on the 
     community level.
       (14)(A) 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.
       (B) This comprehensive approach should ensure that 
     important services, such as basic care, treatment for those 
     children with HIV/AIDS, mental health and related services 
     for those children affected by HIV/AIDS, school food 
     programs, increased educational opportunities and employment 
     training and related services, and the protection and 
     promotion of inheritance rights, are made more accessible.
       (C) This comprehensive approach should also ensure that 
     government agencies and the private sector coordinate efforts 
     to prevent and eliminate duplication of efforts and waste.
       (15) As a result of the numerous United States Government 
     programs under which assistance is specifically authorized or 
     otherwise available for orphans and vulnerable children in 
     developing countries, the United States Agency for 
     International Development will be required to develop 
     innovative methods for the conduct and monitoring of these 
     programs, including through the collection, analysis, and 
     reporting of information on the programs and the extent to 
     which such programs provide assistance directly and 
     indirectly to such children.

     SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

       The primary purpose of this Act, and the amendments made by 
     this Act, is to provide assistance to orphans and other 
     vulnerable children, especially such children affected by 
     HIV/AIDS, and in particular, for such children in countries 
     heavily affected by HIV/AIDS. To the maximum extent 
     practicable, such assistance shall be provided for the direct 
     benefit to such orphaned and vulnerable children.

     SEC. 4. ASSISTANCE FOR ORPHANS AND OTHER VULNERABLE CHILDREN 
                   IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.

       Title V of chapter 2 of part I of the Foreign Assistance 
     Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2201) is amended to read as follows:

    ``TITLE V--ASSISTANCE FOR ORPHANS AND OTHER VULNERABLE CHILDREN

     ``SEC. 241. FINDINGS; DECLARATION OF POLICY.

       ``(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
       ``(1) By 2010, HIV/AIDS will orphan more than 25,000,000 
     children worldwide.
       ``(2) 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 Government.
       ``(3) The United States Government currently administers 
     assistance programs for orphans and other vulnerable children 
     in developing countries. When requested by the Committee on 
     International Relations of the House of Representatives to 
     provide information on the overall number of orphans and 
     other vulnerable children receiving assistance from the 
     United States Agency for International Development in fiscal 
     year 2002, the Agency was only able to report on its HIV/AIDS 
     assistance program, under which the Agency provided 
     assistance to 462,000 such orphans and other vulnerable 
     children.
       ``(4) The United States Government should increase its 
     efforts to provide assistance for orphans and other 
     vulnerable children in developing countries, especially those 
     children affected by HIV/AIDS or conflict.
       ``(5) The United States Agency for International 
     Development should establish improved capacity to deliver 
     assistance to orphans and other vulnerable children in 
     developing countries through partnerships with private 
     voluntary organizations, including faith-based organizations.
       ``(6) Further, the United States Agency for International 
     Development should be the primary United States Government 
     agency responsible for identifying and assisting orphans and 
     other vulnerable children in developing countries.
       ``(b) Declaration of Policy.--Congress, recognizing that 
     prompt and appropriate action by the United States to assist 
     orphans and other vulnerable children in developing countries 
     is an important expression of the humanitarian concern and 
     tradition of the people of the United States, affirms the 
     willingness of the United States to assist such orphans and 
     other vulnerable children--
       ``(1) by providing assistance for the purpose of improving 
     the health, nutritional, shelter, educational, economic, and 
     psychological status of orphans and other vulnerable children 
     in such countries; and
       ``(2) by providing humanitarian and protection assistance 
     to such orphans and other vulnerable children affected by 
     conflict or civil strife.

     ``SEC. 242. ASSISTANCE TO PROVIDE BASIC CARE.

       ``(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
       ``(1) The need for individuals and local organizations in 
     developing countries to assist households headed by children 
     is necessary due to the increase in the number of such 
     households. Millions of children in these types of households 
     lack basic care, such as access to food and shelter.
       ``(2) Although families and extended families serve as the 
     primary providers of care for these children, when these 
     family care networks break down, and when communities are 
     responsible for raising orphans,

[[Page 12035]]

     these children are cared for in a rich and nurturing 
     environment and remain connected to the traditions and 
     rituals of families and the community.
       ``(3) As the number of these children increases, the 
     ability of communities to provide basic care for such 
     children is limited. Assistance to support the provision of 
     such basic care is therefore necessary in and of itself and 
     also to facilitate the provision of other types of assistance 
     for such children under this title.
       ``(b) Assistance.--
       ``(1) In general.--The President is authorized to provide 
     assistance for programs in developing countries to provide 
     basic care for orphans and other vulnerable children.
       ``(2) Activities supported.--Assistance provided under 
     paragraph (1) should be used--
       ``(A) to support individuals and local organizations, 
     including teachers, social workers, and representatives from 
     religious institutions and nongovernmental organizations, to 
     mobilize their own resources through the strengthening of 
     community care coalitions, networks, or support groups to 
     provide basic care for orphans and other vulnerable children, 
     including day care, food assistance, protection assistance, 
     and home visits;
       ``(B) to increase the capacity of the community care groups 
     described in subparagraph (A) to meet on a regular basis to 
     identify orphans and other vulnerable children and to 
     facilitate the provision of services; and
       ``(C) to ensure that the activities of community care 
     groups described in subparagraph (A) include appropriate 
     monitoring and supervision components.
       ``(3) Definition.--In this subsection, the term `protection 
     assistance' means all appropriate measures to promote the 
     physical and psychological security of an individual, provide 
     equal access to basic services for the individual, and 
     safeguard the legal and human rights and dignity of the 
     individual.

     ``SEC. 243. ASSISTANCE TO PROVIDE TREATMENT TO ORPHANS AND 
                   OTHER VULNERABLE CHILDREN WITH HIV/AIDS.

       ``(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
       ``(1) 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.
       ``(2) In 2002, approximately 2,500,000 children were at 
     risk for infection with HIV through mother-to-child 
     transmission, which includes transmission at any point during 
     pregnancy, labor, delivery, or breastfeeding.
       ``(3) To date, more than 4,000,000 children worldwide are 
     estimated to have died from AIDS, primarily contracted 
     through mother-to-child transmission. Every year, 
     approximately 700,000 babies are infected with HIV, of which 
     the majority are living in Africa.
       ``(4) In southern Africa HIV/AIDS is now the leading cause 
     of death among young children, accounting for almost half of 
     such deaths.
       ``(5) Research has shown conclusively that initiation in a 
     timely manner of antiretroviral therapy for infants or young 
     children with HIV/AIDS can preserve or restore their immune 
     functions, promote normal growth and development, and prolong 
     life.
       ``(6) 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.
       ``(b) Assistance.--
       ``(1) In general.--The President is authorized to provide 
     assistance for the treatment of orphans and other vulnerable 
     children with HIV/AIDS in developing countries.
       ``(2) Activities supported.--Assistance provided under 
     paragraph (1) should be used to carry out the following 
     activities:
       ``(A) The treatment of orphans and other vulnerable 
     children with HIV/AIDS through the provision of 
     pharmaceuticals, including high-quality, low-cost 
     antiretrovirals and other therapies, including generically 
     manufactured pharmaceuticals where appropriate.
       ``(B)(i) The recruitment and training of individuals to 
     provide the treatment described in subparagraph (A), 
     including the recruitment and training of appropriate support 
     personnel.
       ``(ii) Such training should include appropriate 
     methodologies relating to initial diagnosis, appropriate 
     dosages of pharmaceuticals, monitoring, medication adherence 
     techniques, treatment for any complications resulting from 
     such pharmaceuticals, and psychosocial support for vulnerable 
     children and their caregivers.
       ``(C) Activities of medical laboratories relating to the 
     treatment described in subparagraph (A), including assistance 
     for the purchase of necessary equipment.

     ``SEC. 244. ASSISTANCE TO PROVIDE PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORT TO 
                   ORPHANS AND OTHER VULNERABLE CHILDREN AFFECTED 
                   BY HIV/AIDS.

       ``(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
       ``(1) Many children who are orphaned as a result of AIDS 
     blame themselves for the death of a parent and many children 
     are separated from siblings, sometimes for life.
       ``(2) The trauma that results from the loss of a parent as 
     a result of AIDS can trigger behavior problems of aggression 
     or emotional withdrawal and negatively affect a child's 
     performance in school and the child's social relations.
       ``(3) Children living in families affected by HIV/AIDS are 
     often stigmatized, teased, and ostracized by peers.
       ``(4) Children living in families affected by HIV/AIDS who 
     are most vulnerable are those children in households headed 
     by children. In these households, trained community 
     volunteers can play a major role through home visits.
       ``(5) In many African countries, religious leaders are 
     mobilizing individuals and local organizations within the 
     community to identify and respond to the psychosocial needs 
     of those children affected by AIDS.
       ``(b) Assistance.--The President is authorized to provide 
     assistance for programs in developing countries to provide 
     culturally appropriate mental health services and 
     psychosocial support for orphans and other vulnerable 
     children, and their caregivers.

     ``SEC. 245. ASSISTANCE FOR SCHOOL FOOD PROGRAMS.

       ``(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
       ``(1) In 2004, it is estimated that 125,000,000 children 
     worldwide do not attend school, in part because of hunger and 
     malnutrition, and the vast majority of these children are 
     young girls.
       ``(2) School food programs, including take-home rations, in 
     developing countries provide strong incentives for parents to 
     send their children to school and ensure that they continue 
     with their education. School food programs may reduce short-
     term hunger, improve cognitive functions, and enhance 
     learning, behavior, and achievement.
       ``(3) In 2004, more than 8,000,000 children in sub-Saharan 
     Africa are underweight compared to 1994. Malnutrition 
     enhances the risk that orphans and other vulnerable children 
     will be at risk for illness and infections, especially if 
     these children are also infected with HIV.
       ``(4) Healthy members of families affected by HIV/AIDS in 
     developing countries often leave the workforce to care for 
     those family members with HIV/AIDS, which compounds the 
     problem of access to food for the family. Food consumption 
     has been shown to drop by as much as 40 percent in these 
     families.
       ``(5)(A) Although a number of organizations seek to meet 
     the needs of children who are orphaned or vulnerable as a 
     result of HIV/AIDS, immediate and extended families continue 
     to be the primary providers of care and support for these 
     children, and they need direct assistance urgently.
       ``(B) According to a survey by the United States Agency for 
     International Development, orphans and other vulnerable 
     children relied on relatives for food support 74 percent of 
     the time and on friends for food support 19 percent of the 
     time.
       ``(b) Assistance.--
       ``(1) In general.--The President is authorized to provide 
     assistance for school food programs for orphans and 
     vulnerable children in developing countries, especially in 
     such countries heavily affected by HIV/AIDS.
       ``(2) Activities supported.--Assistance provided under 
     paragraph (1) should be used to purchase local or regional 
     foodstuffs, where appropriate, for school food programs.

     ``SEC. 246. ASSISTANCE TO INCREASE EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES 
                   AND PROVIDE EMPLOYMENT TRAINING.

       ``(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
       ``(1) The lack of financial resources in families affected 
     by HIV/AIDS prevents many orphans and other vulnerable 
     children in developing countries from attending school 
     because of the requirement to pay school fees and other costs 
     of education.
       ``(2) Such children, in particular young girls, are often 
     forced to miss school in order to serve as caregivers to 
     relatives with HIV/AIDS or assume adult responsibilities for 
     providing for the family. Younger children who lose a parent 
     also lose the opportunity to learn skills that they will need 
     to support themselves as they grow older.
       ``(3) According to the International Labor Organization 
     (ILO), approximately 250,000,000 children and adolescents 
     ages 5 to 14 in developing countries are working part-time 
     and approximately 120,000,000 children and adolescents ages 5 
     to 14 in developing countries are working full-time.
       ``(4) In many regions of Africa and other developing 
     countries, non-formal education plays an important role to 
     provide children who are unable to attend school with the 
     employment and related life skills training such children 
     need to survive.
       ``(5) Many organizations in Africa, including faith-based 
     organizations, provide employment and related life skills 
     training for older children to better prepare them to serve 
     as caregivers for younger siblings.
       ``(6) Organizations that provide non-formal education can 
     assist the thousands of children in developing countries who 
     are not currently being assisted by families or communities 
     and are struggling to survive.

[[Page 12036]]

       ``(b) Assistance.--
       ``(1) Education assistance.--The President is authorized to 
     provide assistance for programs in developing countries to 
     decrease barriers to public primary school enrollment by 
     eliminating school fees and other costs of education, 
     especially in developing countries heavily affected by HIV/
     AIDS. Amounts made available to carry out this paragraph--
       ``(A) are authorized to be made available to the President 
     for assistance or contributions to nongovernmental 
     organizations and international organizations to achieve the 
     purposes of this paragraph; and
       ``(B) shall not be used to pay school fees.
       ``(2) Employment training assistance.--The President is 
     authorized to provide assistance for programs in developing 
     countries to provide employment training and related services 
     for orphans and other vulnerable children who are of legal 
     working age, especially for programs in developing countries 
     heavily affected by HIV/AIDS.

     ``SEC. 247. ASSISTANCE TO PROTECT AND PROMOTE INHERITANCE 
                   RIGHTS.

       ``(a) Finding.--Congress finds that orphans and other 
     vulnerable children in developing countries, particularly 
     children who are orphaned as a result of AIDS, are routinely 
     denied their inheritance or encounter difficulties in 
     claiming the land and other property which they have 
     inherited.
       ``(b) Assistance.--The President is authorized to provide 
     assistance in support of programs in developing countries to 
     protect and promote the inheritance rights of orphans and 
     other vulnerable children, particularly young girls and 
     children who are orphaned as a result of AIDS.

     ``SEC. 248. ADMINISTRATION OF ASSISTANCE.

       ``(a) Office for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children.--
       ``(1) Establishment.--There is established within the 
     United States Agency for International Development an Office 
     for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children (hereafter in this 
     title referred to as the `Office'), which shall be headed by 
     a Director who shall be appointed by the Administrator of the 
     Agency.
       ``(2) Duties.--The Office shall be responsible for carrying 
     out this title.
       ``(b) Approval of Applications.--Subject to the 
     requirements of subsection (e), the Director of the Office 
     shall be responsible for reviewing or approving all 
     applications submitted to the United States Agency for 
     International Development for assistance under this title, 
     including applications submitted to field missions of the 
     Agency.
       ``(c) Priority.--In providing assistance under this title, 
     priority should be given to assistance for developing 
     countries in which the rate of HIV infection, as reported in 
     the most recent epidemiological data for that country 
     compiled by the United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS 
     (UNAIDS), is at least 5 percent among women attending 
     prenatal clinics or more than 15 percent among individuals in 
     groups with high-risk behavior.
       ``(d) Form of Assistance.--Assistance under this title 
     shall be provided in the form of--
       ``(1) grants, cooperative agreements, or contracts;
       ``(2) contributions to international organizations; or
       ``(3) assistance to the governments of developing 
     countries.
       ``(e) Coordination.--The provision of assistance under this 
     title for children who are orphaned as a result of HIV/AIDS, 
     or are children with HIV/AIDS, shall be undertaken in 
     accordance with section 104A of this Act and assistance 
     relating to HIV/AIDS authorized under the United States 
     Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 
     2003 (Public Law 108-25), including section 102 of such Act 
     concerning the coordination of HIV/AIDS programs.
       ``(f) Other Assistance.--
       ``(1) Review or approval of other usaid assistance.--The 
     Director of the Office shall be responsible for reviewing or 
     approving--
       ``(A) each component of the annual plan of a mission, 
     bureau, or other office of the United States Agency for 
     International Development as the component relates to 
     assistance for orphans or other vulnerable children in 
     developing countries; and
       ``(B) each program, project, or activity relating to such 
     assistance.
       ``(2) Coordination of all U.S. government assistance.--The 
     Director of the Office shall be responsible for ensuring 
     coordination of all United States Government programs to 
     provide assistance for orphans and other vulnerable children 
     in developing countries.

     ``SEC. 249. MONITORING SYSTEM.

       ``(a) Establishment.--In order to maximize the sustainable 
     development impact of assistance authorized under this title, 
     the President shall establish a monitoring system that meets 
     the requirements of subsection (b).
       ``(b) Requirements.--The requirements referred to in 
     subsection (a) are the following:
       ``(1) The monitoring system establishes performance goals 
     for the assistance and expresses such goals in an objective 
     and quantifiable form, to the extent feasible.
       ``(2) The monitoring system establishes performance 
     indicators to be used in measuring or assessing the 
     achievement of the performance goals described in paragraph 
     (1).
       ``(3) The monitoring system provides a basis for 
     recommendations for adjustments to the assistance to enhance 
     the impact of the assistance.

     ``SEC. 250. REPORT.

       ``(a) Report.--Not later than December 31, 2005, and each 
     December 31 thereafter, the President shall transmit to 
     Congress a report that contains a detailed description of the 
     implementation of this title for the previous fiscal year.
       ``(b) Contents.--The report shall contain the following 
     information:
       ``(1) For each grant, cooperative agreement, contract, 
     contribution, or other form of assistance awarded or entered 
     into under this title--
       ``(A) the amount of the grant, cooperative agreement, 
     contract, contribution, or other form of assistance, the name 
     of each recipient and each developing country with respect to 
     which projects or activities under the grant, cooperative 
     agreement, contract, contribution, or other form of 
     assistance were carried out, and the approximate number of 
     orphans and other vulnerable children who received direct or 
     indirect assistance under the projects or activities; and
       ``(B) the results of the monitoring system with respect to 
     the grant, cooperative agreement, contract, contribution, or 
     other form of assistance.
       ``(2) For each grant, cooperative agreement, contract, 
     contribution, or other form of assistance awarded or entered 
     into under any provision of law other than this title for 
     assistance for orphans and other vulnerable children in 
     developing countries, the information described in paragraph 
     (1)(A).
       ``(3) Of the total amounts of assistance made available in 
     each such fiscal year for orphans and other vulnerable 
     children, 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 could be addressed through the provision of 
     assistance under this title or under any other provision of 
     law.

     ``SEC. 251. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; ADDITIONAL 
                   PROVISIONS.

       ``(a) Authorization of Appropriation.--
       ``(1) In general.--Of the amounts made available to carry 
     out the provisions of law described in paragraph (2), there 
     are authorized to be appropriated to the President to carry 
     out this title such sums as may be necessary for each of the 
     fiscal years 2005 and 2006.
       ``(2) Provisions of law.--The provisions of law referred to 
     in paragraph (1) are the following:
       ``(A) The United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, 
     Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-25) and 
     the amendments made by that Act.
       ``(B) Any other provision of law under which assistance is 
     authorized for orphans and other vulnerable children in 
     developing countries.
       ``(b) Additional Provisions.--
       ``(1) Availability.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to the 
     authorization of appropriations under subsection (a) are 
     authorized to remain available until expended and are in 
     addition to amounts otherwise available for such purposes.
       ``(2) Minimum funding requirement.--Not less than 60 
     percent of amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization 
     of appropriations under subsection (a) for a fiscal year 
     (other than amounts made available for assistance to 
     eliminate school fees and other costs of education pursuant 
     to section 246) shall be provided through United States or 
     indigenous private voluntary organizations that implement 
     programs on the community level. Amounts provided by for-
     profit entities to not-for-profit entities from assistance 
     under this title shall not be considered for purposes of 
     satisfying the requirement of this paragraph.
       ``(3) Assistance under other provisions of law.--
       ``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
     law, amounts made available for assistance for orphans or 
     other vulnerable children in developing countries under any 
     provision of law other than this title may be provided to 
     further the purposes of this title.
       ``(B) Report.--To the extent assistance described in 
     subparagraph (A) is provided in accordance with such 
     subparagraph, the President shall include, as part of the 
     report required under section 250, a detailed description of 
     such assistance and, to the extent applicable, the 
     information required by subsection (b)(1)(A) of such section 
     with respect to such assistance.
       ``(4) Administrative expenses.--Notwithstanding any other 
     provision of law, amounts made available for assistance for 
     orphans or other vulnerable children in developing countries 
     under this title, or under any provision of law other than 
     this title, may be made available for administrative expenses 
     incurred in carrying out this title for a fiscal year in an 
     amount not to exceed 7 percent of amounts made available for 
     such fiscal year for such purpose under this title, or under 
     such other provision of law, as the case may be.

     ``SEC. 252. DEFINITIONS.

       ``In this title:

[[Page 12037]]

       ``(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 the age of 18.
       ``(3) HIV.--The term `HIV' has the meaning given the term 
     in section 104A(g)(2) of this Act.
       ``(4) HIV/AIDS.--The term `HIV/AIDS' has the meaning given 
     the term in section 104A(g)(3) of this Act.
       ``(5) Orphan.--The term `orphan' means a child deprived by 
     death of one or both parents.
       ``(6) 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.
       ``(7) Vulnerable children.--The term `vulnerable children' 
     includes children who are neglected, destitute, abandoned, 
     homeless, disabled, suffering from malnutrition, are sexually 
     exploited or abused, or are displaced or otherwise adversely 
     affected by armed conflict.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Garrett of New Jersey). Pursuant to the 
rule, the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) and the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen).


                             General Leave

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I rise in strong support of the Assistance for Orphans and Other 
Vulnerable Childrens Act of 2004. This is an important bipartisan bill 
introduced by my good friend, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) 
and cosponsored by me as well as 84 other Members.
  H.R. 4061 amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to create a new 
title, authorizing the provision of assistance to orphans and other 
vulnerable children in developing countries.
  H.R. 4061 will prepare USAID for the important responsibility as 
established by Public Law 108-25, the United States leadership against 
HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Act of 2003, which specifies that by 
the year 2006, not less than 10 percent of all HIV/AIDS monies must be 
programmed in support of the needs of orphans and vulnerable children 
affected by AIDS.
  By the year 2010, Mr. Speaker, it is estimated that there will be 25 
million children orphaned as a result of HIV/AIDS. Entire villages are 
already being affected by this pandemic. This bill recognizes that the 
United States Government will need to establish improved capacity to 
deliver assistance to such orphans and vulnerable children through 
partnerships with private voluntary organizations, including faith-
based organizations.
  H.R. 4061 will authorize the President to provide assistance for the 
care and the treatment of orphans and vulnerable children affected by 
HIV/AIDS. It encourages the use of community care councils, of 
responsible citizens to identify the needs of and assist orphans in 
their communities instead of sending them off to orphanages or 
institutions.
  As the number of orphans increases, the ability of communities to 
provide basic care for their children is limited. Assistance to support 
the provisions of basic care by communities is necessary, in addition 
to the assistance furnished directly by U.S. agencies through the 
President's initiative on AIDS and Public Law 108-25.
  This bill also encourages the use of assistance to eliminate school 
fees in developing countries. This practice results in keeping orphans 
and vulnerable children out of school. Children of all circumstances 
should be in school and not kept out if they are affected by or 
infected with HIV/AIDS.
  This legislation establishes greater accountability within USAID by 
establishing an Office for Orphans and Vulnerable Children that will 
have oversight of all programs for such children, not just AIDS 
orphans. It will enable USAID to adopt a more comprehensive approach to 
assisting children through the work of its field missions and through 
centrally managed activities.
  In summary, H.R. 4061 creates accountable mechanisms within USAID. It 
will also ensure that other U.S. assistance for orphaned and vulnerable 
children is accountable, measurable and coordinated. H.R. 4061 promotes 
accountability and effectiveness of existing United States foreign 
assistance.
  I seek Members' support for this important legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  First of all let me just say I rise in support of this legislation. I 
want to thank the gentlewoman from Florida for her leadership and for 
her commitment to children throughout the world. Mr. Speaker, I also 
would like to thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) and the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) along with my colleagues on the 
Committee on International Relations, the gentleman from California 
(Mr. Rohrabacher), the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. McCollum) and 
the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach) for joining me to craft this very 
clear and very forward-moving bipartisan compromise agreement. Also I 
would like to thank them for helping us get it to the floor today.
  I also would like to thank our staffs for their work in crafting this 
bill, including Pearl Alice Marsh of the office of the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Lantos), Christos Tsentas of my staff, and Peter Smith, 
who just recently actually left the Committee on International 
Relations. These members of our staffs and other staff on the Hill who 
have been working on this have worked on this not because it is part of 
their job only but because they really have a commitment to these 
children. I just want to thank them very much for their work.
  I also would like to just mention briefly and thank the Global Action 
For Children Campaign and its members for working so passionately on 
behalf of this initiative.
  This legislation seeks to better coordinate and comprehensively 
address the ever growing problem of orphans and vulnerable children in 
the developing world. As of 2001, an estimated 110 million children are 
living as orphans throughout sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the 
Caribbean. The rapid growth of HIV/AIDS in Africa and throughout the 
world has really dramatically impacted the number of children who are 
newly becoming orphans. In 2001, 34 million children, this is about 12 
percent of all African children, were orphaned in sub-Saharan Africa. 
That is hard to imagine. Eleven million, or 32 percent of all African 
orphans, were orphaned as a result of AIDS. UNICEF recently released a 
report entitled ``Africa's Orphaned Generations'' on November 26, 2003. 
This report predicted that there would be, as the gentlewoman from 
Florida said, 20 million AIDS orphans in Africa by 2010 and that in a 
dozen countries 15 to 25 percent of children under 15 will have lost 
one or both parents to AIDS.
  Today every 14 seconds another child is orphaned by AIDS. With 
parents dying at such an alarming rate, children are left quite frankly 
behind without food, without shelter, without education or protection. 
They are left to fend for themselves. The global orphan crisis is a 
profound humanitarian disaster that will be felt for decades to come. 
This bill seeks to comprehensively address the growing global problem 
of orphans and vulnerable children by providing assistance to support 
the following activities:
  Basic care through community care groups. Community care groups could 
be community care coalitions, they could be networks, they could be 
support groups, they could be orphanages but through the community is 
very important.
  Treatment for HIV infected children is included in this bill.
  Culturally appropriate psycho-social support which is very important 
for

[[Page 12038]]

children who are orphans and who are vulnerable. That is included in 
this bill.
  School food programs, lunch programs, nutrition programs, so 
important.
  Expanding educational opportunities through the elimination of school 
fees.
  Protecting inheritance rights for orphans and vulnerable children.
  This bill seeks to do all of this and more under the new structure of 
a separate office within the United States Agency for International 
Development focused specifically on orphans and vulnerable children.
  The bill was unanimously approved by the House Committee on 
International Relations on March 31. I am proud to say that we have 
bipartisan support, and now I believe it is nearly 100 Members of this 
body.
  I strongly support the amendment which is in the nature of a 
substitute offered by the chairman and negotiated by our staffs, as it 
really does improve the bill in a number of very significant ways in 
order to address the real concerns of several Members and 
organizations, including USAID. We met several times with USAID, our 
staff, myself, and we have listened to their suggestions and have tried 
to incorporate as many of their suggestions into this amendment as we 
deemed possible. While I understand that the agency and some of the 
advocacy groups still have some concerns regarding the administrative 
provisions of the proposed Office for Orphans and Vulnerable Children, 
I believe that this compromise proposal really represents the best 
chance we have to deal with this issue in this Congress.
  Each time, Mr. Speaker, that we bring a bill to the floor with regard 
to HIV/AIDS, like many of us here on this floor, we recognize that 
these bills are only but one small step forward. This bill is another 
one small step forward in addressing this pandemic. It is a step worthy 
of our support, a step that brings us closer to a solution.
  Briefly let me just mention two bills which we have brought to this 
floor which were signed into law, which again were very small but 
significant steps: The Global AIDS and Tuberculosis Relief Act of 2000, 
signed by President Bill Clinton; and the United States Leadership 
Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Act of 2003, signed by 
President Bush. Our former colleague, Congressman Ron Dellums, sounded 
the alarms, suggested we look at an AIDS Marshall Plan and much of this 
AIDS Marshall plan we are looking at now as we move these very 
significant bills forward.
  I am very proud of the fact that on this issue we have been able to 
work in a complete bipartisan fashion. We are committed to continue to 
work with USAID and our colleagues in the other body so that we can 
ensure that the needs of orphans and vulnerable children are properly 
taken care of through this bill. We have a moral duty, quite frankly, 
to provide for these children, these children who are really now 
victims of circumstance. As the world's most prosperous nation, we have 
an obligation to act. I am hopeful that as we pass this bill this 
evening we can encourage the other body to act quickly and to move this 
initiative forward so that we can get it enacted into law before the 
end of the 108th Congress.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. 
Jackson-Lee).
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I wish to add my appreciation 
to the gentlewoman from California for her leadership, compassion and 
spirit around these issues and to my friend and colleague the 
gentlewoman from Florida who has worked on these issues in her 
capacity, but also we share our passion through the Congressional 
Children's Caucus of which we both are chair and cochair on this very 
important journey to help children. I want to thank both of them for 
their leadership and acknowledge the pathway in which this legislation 
has taken.
  I am reminded of the good work the staff has done and want to cite 
and associate myself with the gentlewoman from California's thanks to 
staff and to acknowledge, of course, again the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Lantos) and his staff Alice Marsh; and the gentlewoman 
from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson) and her staff Cathleen 
Harrington because I want to remind our colleagues of a very important 
congressional mission that we were able to travel on led by the 
gentlewoman from California just about a summer ago when we visited 
these sites that saw firsthand vulnerable children.

                              {time}  1945

  The gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee), myself, and as well the 
gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen), we were led on 
what I thought was one of the more powerful stories. It was a follow-up 
to the Presidential mission that we went on in 1997 with the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee), myself, and the gentlewoman from 
Michigan (Ms. Kilpatrick), again, looking at the vulnerability of those 
facing the HIV epidemic and as well looking at the crisis of some 40 
million children being orphaned in sub-Saharan Africa and Africa over 
the next 5 years.
  We have now come full circle, and this legislation is an answer long 
overdue to a very serious crisis in the world; and specifically it 
emphasizes assistance for orphans and vulnerable children in developing 
countries, but I do not think anyone can understand the fullness of 
what we were dealing with until they can go see and touch those 
children, homeless, without grandparents, without extended family, 
children caring for children, living in conditions that are 
unacceptable for the young life that they are, 12-year-olds taking care 
of 2-year-olds and 3-year-olds, 4-year-olds taking care of an ailing 
and dying relative, going into a home and seeing a father lying dying 
and a parent taking care of them and that parent as well in a condition 
unacceptable to care for children.
  This bill, I believe, is the beginning answer to the crisis and the 
call for help and mercy by those around the world, and I might 
emphasize that it is a no-nonsense bill. It gets down to the bottom 
line, with basic care through the community, treatment for HIV-infected 
children, culturally appropriate psychological support, school food 
programs, expanding educational opportunities through the elimination 
of school fees, and protecting inheritance rights.
  It is important to note that according to the estimates by the United 
Nations Children's Fund, there are more than 132 million children in 
the world under the age of 3, many vulnerable and cannot take care of 
themselves. It is interesting that we even saw a case of a 4-year-old, 
however, left to take care of a dying relative. Of these children, 4 
million will die in their first month of life, and another 7 million 
will die each year before reaching the age of 5. Thus, an average of 
30,000 children under the age of 3 die each day.
  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 benefit care.
  This legislation goes right to the heart of the matter and provides 
this very needed office, this independent freestanding office, that can 
focus its attention and resources on the needs of children.
  Children are not our tomorrows; they are our todays. And helping to 
educate children, helping to inspire children and heal children and 
provide them comfort gives our world a future. Extreme poverty and 
hunger coupled with the loss of one or both parents as a result of AIDS 
can force children from their families and to life on the streets where 
the risk of HIV infection has been extremely high. But the 
psychological support is what I think is very crucial.
  And let me just say that we should make note tonight that this is not 
just about HIV/AIDS but it is about conflict. And I have just recently 
returned from Afghanistan to see the children who have suffered because 
of conflict, some without their parents. This office will deal with the 
children of Afghanistan, the children in Sudan. I just came back from 
the region but also was able to be told of the stories of children in

[[Page 12039]]

Iraq, when visiting a hospital there, seeing the conditions that they 
are in. Many of them lost their family members and their parents in the 
conflict. Afghanistan, their family members, their parents, in the 
conflict. Sudan now with some 400,000 displaced refugees, 30,000 people 
dying a day. A crisis beyond our imagination. Children being orphaned. 
This office will deal with the conflict that we face every day in this 
world. If we cannot help our children, then whom can we help?
  I rise to support this legislation and ask my colleagues to 
enthusiastically support it because, as I said, our children are not 
our tomorrows; they are our todays. I ask unanimous support for this 
legislation.
  I am pleased to be here as the House considers H.R. 4061, the 
Assistance for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Developing Countries 
Act of 2004. This bill was introduced to address the growing global 
crisis affecting orphans and vulnerable children. This bipartisan bill 
has the support of over 100 Members of Congress, including myself.
  As Chair of the Congressional Children's Caucus, I am cognizant of 
the special needs of children in developing countries, and they have 
always been a top legislative priority. As of 2001, an estimated 110 
million children were living as orphans throughout sub-Saharan Africa, 
Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. The rapid growth of the HIV/AIDS 
virus in Africa and throughout the developing world has dramatically 
impacted the number of children who are newly becoming orphans. Today, 
another child is orphaned by AIDS every 14 seconds. With parents dying 
at an alarming rate, children are left without food, shelter, education 
or protection.
  According to estimates by the United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, 
there are more than 132 million children in the world under the age of 
3. Of these children, 4 million will die in their first month of life 
and another 7 million will die each year before reaching the age of 5. 
Thus an average of 30,000 children under the age of 3 die each day.
  According to a report developed by the United Nations Joint Programme 
on HIV/AIDS, UNAIDS; UNICEF; and the United States Agency for 
International Development, in 2001 there were more than 110 million 
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, 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.
  This bill creates a separate office within the United States Agency 
for International Development to better coordinate and focus our 
foreign assistance programs on orphaned and vulnerable children, 
especially children who are affected by HIV/AIDS. This new office would 
emphasize support for programs that are intended to provide a 
comprehensive response to the growing global crisis, including basic 
care through the community, treatment for HIV-infected children, 
psychosocial support services, expanding educational opportunities 
through the elimination of school fees and protection for the 
inheritance rights of orphans and vulnerable children.
  This is truly a global crisis, and it demands our attention. I urge 
you to join in this support of this important initiative.
  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I thank the gentlewoman from Texas for her very eloquent statement, 
also for her leadership and her passion and for her commitment to 
children not only in our own country but throughout the world.
  Let me take a minute, Mr. Speaker, to mention some of the projects 
actually that the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee), myself, and 
others have had the opportunity, a real privilege, to visit in Africa. 
We have become familiar with the work of many, many tireless 
individuals, committed individuals in Africa. We have met with many 
here in our own country. We have met on the Committee on International 
Relations and discussed these efforts. These individuals with barely a 
nickel have been able to do phenomenal work, and all of these projects 
that I am going to mention are led by very dynamic individuals who 
really continue to serve as a testament to what one person, one person, 
can accomplish when they have the determination and the compassion to 
care for their fellow human beings.
  The first project, the Mother of Peace Orphanage Community in Mutoko, 
Zimbabwe, is one that I have become quite familiar with. Founded in 
1994 by Ms. Jean Cornneck, or Mama Jean as some of us call her, the 
children call her that also and they are the ones who actually coined 
Mama Jean as her name because she truly is the mother of peace. The 
Mother of Peace Community provides care, support, and shelter to over 
170 children. The community builds basic family-style homes, each 
accommodating two to three caregivers and 10 to 15 children who are 
brought up in Zimbabwean culture. At present there are 11 of these 
houses. Mother of Peace also benefits members of the adjacent rural 
community through its farming and building activities in the community.
  It also plays a very huge role in the World Health Organization's 
Mutoko Poverty Alleviation and Sustainable Development Pilot Project. 
And I am proud to say that my own church, the Allen Temple Baptist 
Church, led by a great leader, Pastor J. Alfred Smith, Sr., has 
provided the impetus for the involvement of our community and the 
community in our country. And thanks to the leadership of Dr. Robert 
Scott and Gloria Cox Crowell, this church has set up an AIDS ministry 
to provide regular donations and to organize visits by our congregation 
to the orphanage community. It is an incredible program, and it is 
really a testament to how much good can be done on a shoestring budget 
by committed groups of people.
  The second program that I would like to talk about is the Bwafwano 
Home-based Care Organization, run by Beatrice Chola, whom I met when I 
traveled to Zambia last year. Working as a nurse in the Chipata health 
center of Lusaka, Beatrice started Bwafwano back in 1996 when she saw 
that the health center was overrun with HIV and AIDS and also with TB-
infected patients. She recognized the strain that the Chipata health 
center was under, and she saw that the needs of these HIV and TB-
infected patients were not being met. So she joined with several other 
community members to found the Bwafwano Home-based Care Organization, 
which literally means ``helping one another.''
  Today, thanks to her leadership, Bwafwano has mushroomed into a 
comprehensive community care organization offering medical services, 
volunteer testing and counseling for HIV, schooling, home-based care, 
and poverty reduction and income generation programs. Since its 
inception, Bwafwano has trained over 300 community health workers and 
is currently providing home-based care to over 1,300 HIV and AIDS 
patients and directly observed treatment to more than 180 TB-infected 
patients. In addition, the organization is caring for over 1,100 
orphans and vulnerable children.
  When I was there in August of last year, Beatrice was struggling to 
find just basic ways to provide school uniforms to the children that 
she was caring for, which was an impediment for these children to go to 
school, and the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee), the 
gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen), and I met with 
these young people; and they were not able to go to school for one 
reason, and that is they did not have any uniforms. And I am proud to 
say and pleased to say that they do have their uniforms now so they can 
attend school just like any child in the community. Thankfully, again, 
as I said, she did receive the donation of about 300 school uniforms, 
but she still needs a lot of help.
  And of course I would like to mention the Nyumbani orphanages in 
Nairobi, Kenya, and I know many of us are familiar with Nyumbani. 
Founded in 1992 by Father Angelo D'Agostino, Nyumbani initially reached 
only a handful of orphans because of limited resources; but thanks to 
the unwavering commitment of Father D'Agostino, who worked hard to 
raise awareness

[[Page 12040]]

about the needs of these orphaned children, Nyumbani now provides 
shelter and care and nutrition, education, psychological and social 
services to over 100 children on-site.
  But the work of Nyumbani does not stop there, as they reach out to 
the surrounding community to provide major assistance to nearly 800 
HIV-positive children who are part of the Lea Toto Community Outreach 
Program in the slums of Nairobi. With the care and the devotion of the 
staff and all of its volunteers, Nyumbani now saves lives of most of 
these children while providing a model of care for nations trying to 
deal with their own growing HIV/AIDS epidemic.
  These three incredible programs, Mama Jean, Beatrice, Father Angelo 
D'Agostino, they are led by three dynamic and committed people; and 
they are proof that despite poverty, despite hardship, despite the 
odds, good programs can be created even in the most difficult settings. 
So it is programs like these that deserve our support.
  We had the opportunity to travel to South Africa and Mozambique with 
Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson in 2002. Once 
again it was a bipartisan delegation, and we visited several orphanages 
and saw exactly what many of the needs of these children were, and we 
took into consideration in writing this bill some of the 
recommendations and some of the ideas which we received not from 
ourselves necessarily but from what the African people told us, what 
African leaders, what the organizations told us that they needed. We 
are pleased to note that once again this has been a bipartisan effort.
  This is a humanitarian crisis of enormous catastrophe, really. It is 
a potential disaster, and we are trying to just on both sides of the 
House figure out a way to deal with it. In the bill we say in closing, 
``Congress recognizing the need and prompt action by the United States 
to assist orphans and other vulnerable children in developing countries 
is an important expression of the humanitarian concern and the 
tradition of the people of the United States. We affirm the willingness 
of the United States to assist such orphans and other vulnerable 
children.''
  And with that, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from 
Florida. I want to thank the gentleman from Illinois (Chairman Hyde) 
and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), our ranking member, for 
helping us through very difficult negotiations; but once again we are 
here with another small piece of our efforts to stop this pandemic.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 
4061. This bill is a step forward in giving hope to orphans and 
defenseless children in developing countries. In 2001 it was reported 
that there were over 110 million orphans in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, 
Latin America and the Caribbean.
  Many of these children become orphans due to the loss of their 
parents to HIV/AIDS. By the end of 2001 an estimated 14 million 
children under the age of 15 had lost one or both parents to AIDS. This 
number is expected to increase to approximately 30 million children by 
2010, due to the increase of HIV cases in sub-Saharan Africa and the 
Caribbean. Many of these orphans who loose their parents to HIV/AIDS 
are also at risk of being infected with the disease and ultimately die 
due to lack of access to health care. It is estimated that one-third of 
the children born from HIV-infected mothers develop HIV/AIDS. In 2001 
more than 11.8 million young people ages 15 to 24 were living with HIV/
AIDS. Every day another 2,000 children under the age of 15 will be 
infected with HIV in these areas. Approximately more than 4 million 
children have died from AIDS primarily through mother-to-child 
transmission.
  A lot of these orphans at a very young age become head of households 
with the burden of providing for their young siblings and sometimes 
grandparents who were dependent on their parents before they die. Due 
to this, many of these orphans are subject to working in commercial 
agriculture, domestic service industry, commercial sex industry, as 
street vendors or in industries that violate internationally recognized 
rights of children. Most of the orphans who have to work are young 
women and girls who usually end up in commercial sex industries, making 
them at risk of being infected with various diseases especially HIV/
AIDS. It is estimated that more than 70 percent of new HIV cases among 
young orphans ages 15 to 24 in sub-Saharan Africa are young women and 
girls.
  Many of these children are malnourished due to lack of food, which 
enhances their risk for illness and infection to diseases. Due to lack 
of health access, many of these children will die of these illnesses or 
diseases. In 2004 more than 8 million children in sub-Saharan Africa 
are underweight compared to 1994. A lot of these children lack 
education because they have to work to fend for their families instead 
of going to school, they are not physically fit due to hunger and 
malnutrition, and they do not have the financial resources to go to 
school. Approximately 125 million children do not attend school and the 
majority of these children are young girls.
  Mr. Speaker, this resolution will provide the funds needed for the 
basic care, health care, mental care and educational opportunities for 
these orphans and vulnerable children in order for them to survive in 
the world. Our children are our future. We need to give these children 
a chance to be the future of their countries and the world. I urge 
strong support of this resolution.
  Mr. KOLBE. I rise to express great concern about this bill. At first 
glance, it would seem to support objectives that we could all get 
behind, on both sides of the aisle. After all, who could object to 
assisting orphans--especially those who have had their lives torn apart 
by HIV/AIDS?
  In fact, I have little problem with the provisions of the bill if 
taken separately. School food programs, HIV/AIDS treatment, training--
these are all promising approaches for helping some of the most needy 
people in the world. My concern is with how this bill would achieve 
these worthy objectives.
  As Chairman of the Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee, I 
have had the privilege of managing legislation to support a variety of 
HIV/AIDS programs. Last August, this House approved roughly $1.6 
billion for the Global HIV/AIDS Initiative, and I believe we took the 
right approach by insisting that these funds be spent in a focused, 
accountable way. The Global AIDS Coordinator has been working to 
establish clear indicators for the use of his funds, and I'm encouraged 
by his progress.
  This bill would walk back much of this progress. It mixes authorities 
that already exist, such as providing AIDS treatment for orphans, with 
new, overly broad authorities. If passed, this bill would open the 
Global AIDS Coordinator's funds to any school fee waiver program and 
any school food program--even if there is no AIDS component. Instead of 
a focused, results-driven AIDS program, as we have now, the Global AIDS 
Initiative would become just another development assistance program--
business as usual.
  In addition, this bill would establish a new OVC coordinator at 
USAID--a new coordinator whose authorities are poorly defined and whose 
relationship to the Global AIDS Coordinator is confusing at best. These 
kids do not need additional bureaucracy to get help.
  Finally, this bill authorizes contributions to UNICEF for a program 
to reduce the costs of going to school in developing countries. I have 
received several letters from Members of Congress requesting $250 
million for such a program. It's important to understand that UNICEF 
would probably simply transfer funds to foreign governments to offset 
the loss of fees they would normally receive from students. Thus we 
would be creating a new program of cash assistance for foreign 
governments--not something we ought to do unless we know a lot about 
what we would get for our cash, and what accountability we would 
receive from foreign governments.
  The Administration did not request this money, and we do not have it. 
We cannot expect UNICEF to absorb such a directive, and it's frankly 
unfair to authorize a program that we know cannot be funded.
  Serious revisions need to be made to this legislation. I do not 
support it in its current form.
  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in regards to H.R. 4061, the 
Assistance for Orphans and Vulnerable Children Act of 2004, which 
passed the House International Relations Committee by unanimous consent 
on March 31. On May 5 the International Relations Committee filed H. 
Rept. 108-479.
  Because House rules prohibit the addition of co-sponsors to a bill 
once the committee report has been filed, I am not able to formally add 
another Member of Congress as a co-sponsor of this legislation.
  I ask that the Record show that Mr. Frank of Massachusetts is in 
support of my bill and should be considered by this body as a co-
sponsor of H.R. 4061.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of 
H.R. 4061, to amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to provide 
Assistance for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children in Developing 
Countries.

[[Page 12041]]

  This amendment is so crucial in that it provides targeted 
comprehensive assistance to those who definitely cannot help 
themselves.
  Orphans and other vulnerable children are deprived of the single most 
important factor in their lives--their family or their parents.
  By 2010, an estimated 106 million children under age 15 are projected 
to lose one or both parents. Among them, the number of children 
orphaned by HIV/AIDS is expected to jump to more than 25 million.
  These orphans and other vulnerable children now live throughout sub-
Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. Conflict has 
orphaned or separated 1 million children from their families in the 
1990s.
  H.R. 4061 would help communities to ensure that orphans and other 
vulnerable children have a secure and healthy childhood by providing 
essential services, such as basic care, health services including 
treatment for children with HIV/AIDS, mental health care, school food 
programs, and job training.
  Orphans and other vulnerable children are not especially visible 
because millions of children are dispersed over many families, in 
communities where the hardships of individual children are lost from 
sight.
  H.R. 4061 will increase access to needed services, ensure parity for 
orphans and other vulnerable children and build local capacity for 
effective decentralization and targeting of services as well as 
multisectoral coordination among service providers.
  H.R. 4061 would allow for school fees to be waived providing a free 
basic education policy for millions of orphans and vulnerable children, 
many of whom had never enrolled in school or had dropped out because 
they simply could not afford the school fees.
  Due to their status, these children are often most vulnerable and at 
risk of becoming victims of violence, exploitation, trafficking, 
discrimination or other abuses. Unaccompanied girls are at especially 
high risk of sexual abuse.
  Children orphaned by AIDS are themselves particularly vulnerable to 
infection because they often have no one to care for or protect them, 
or any means of earning a living.
  A 2001 report by the International Crisis Group found that ``young 
people with no job, no income, and no family to support them are at 
risk of joining, or being abducted by local militias.''
  A young Sierra Leone youth told an audience at the U.N. Convention on 
the Rights of Children, ``We want a better life. We want peace. We are 
counting on your governments and the UN's continued support for help.''
  H.R. 4061 would provide the help this young boy so desperately needs. 
I urge full passage of this amendment.
  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I commend the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Lee) for this wonderful bill; we look forward to its 
passage; and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Garrett of New Jersey). The question is 
on the motion offered by the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-
Lehtinen) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 
4061, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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