I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3175

To implement measures to help alleviate the poor living conditions in Africa. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 30, 2005

Mr. MCDERMOTT (for himself, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. MCCOLLUM of 

Minnesota, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. MCNULTY, Mrs. 

CHRISTENSEN, Mr. MEEKS of New York, and Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each 

case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 

the committee concerned 

A BILL

To implement measures to help alleviate the poor living 

conditions in Africa.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Answer Africa’s Call 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 
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1 (1) African poverty and stagnation are the 

2 greatest tragedy of our time and demand a forceful 

3 response by the United States. 

4 (2) The world, especially the United States, is 

5 awash with wealth on a scale that has never been 

6 seen in human history. 

7 (3) We live in a world where new medicines and 

8 medical techniques have eradicated many of the dis9 eases and ailments that plagued the rich world. 

10 (4) In Africa, some 4,000,000 children under 

11 the age of five die each year, two-thirds of them 

12 from illnesses that cost very little to treat; malaria 

13 is the biggest single killer of African children, and 

14 half of those deaths could be avoided if the parents 

15 of these children had access to diagnosis and drugs 

16 that cost little more than $1 per dose. 

17 (5) We live in a world where scientists can map 

18 the human genome and have the technology to clone 

19 a human being. 

20 (6) In Africa, we allow more than 250,000 

21 women die each year from complications in preg22 nancy or childbirth. 

23 (7) We live in a world where the Internet in the 

24 blink of an eye can transfer more information than 

25 any human brain could hold. 
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1 (8) In Africa each day, some 40,000,000 chil2 dren are not able to go to school. 

3 (9) We live in a world which, faced by one of 

4 the most devastating diseases ever seen, AIDS, has 

5 developed the antiretroviral drugs to control its ad6 vance. 

7 (10) In Africa, where 25,000,000 people are in8 fected with AIDS, antiretroviral drugs are not made 

9 generally available; as a result, 2,000,000 people will 

10 die of AIDS in 2005. 

11 (11) We live in a world where rich nations 

12 spend as much as the entire income of all the people 

13 in Africa subsidizing the unnecessary production of 

14 unwanted food, in an amount of almost 

15 $1,000,000,000 each day. 

16 (12) In Africa, hunger is a key factor in more 

17 deaths than those caused by all of the continent’s in18 fectious diseases combined. 

19 (13) We live in a world where every cow in Eu20 rope receives almost $2 each day in government sub21 sidies. 

22 (14) In Africa the average daily income is ap23 proximately $1. 
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1 (15) The contrast between the lives led by those 

2 who live in rich countries and those of poor people 

3 in Africa is the greatest scandal of our age. 

4 (16) One in six children in Africa dies before 

5 reaching the age of 5. 

6 (17) Two-thirds of all the African children who 

7 die under the age of 5 could be saved by low-cost 

8 treatments such as vitamin A, and a tenth of all the 

9 diseases suffered by African children are caused by 

10 intestinal worms that infect 200,000,000 people and 

11 could be treated for just 25 cents per child. 

12 (18) More than 300,000,000 Africans—42 per13 cent of Africa’s population—still do not have access 

14 to safe water, and 60 percent do not have access to 

15 basic sanitation. 

16 (19) 62 percent of all people aged 15–24 years 

17 who live with HIV are found in Africa. 

18 (20) Africa had 43,000,000 orphans in 2003, of 

19 which AIDS was responsible for 12,000,000. 

20 (21) In Zambia, 71 percent of child prostitutes 

21 are orphans. 

22 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

23 The Congress supports implementing the rec24 ommendations of the Commission for Africa, which call 

25 for rich nations to increase foreign assistance to Africa, 
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1 provide debt relief, eliminate trade distorting agricultural 

2 subsidies, and remove insidious trade barriers that impede 

3 economic opportunity in sub-Saharan Africa. 

4 SEC. 4. IMPOSITION OF INDIVIDUAL INCOME TAX SUR5 CHARGE TO FUND INTERNATIONAL FINANCE 

6 FACILITY. 

7 (a) IMPOSITION OF TAX.—Section 1 of the Internal 

8 Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to imposition of tax on 

9 individuals) is amended by adding at the end the following 

10 new subsection: 

11 ‘‘(j) ADDITIONAL INCOME TAX.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the adjusted gross in13 come of an individual exceeds the threshold amount, 

14 the tax imposed by this section (determined without 

15 regard to this subsection) shall be increased by an 

16 amount equal to 0.8 percent of so much of the ad17 justed gross income as exceeds the threshold 

18 amount. 

19 ‘‘(2) THRESHOLD AMOUNTS.—For purposes of 

20 this subsection, the term ‘threshold amount’ 

21 means—

22 ‘‘(A) $1,000,000 in the case of a joint re23 turn, and 

24 ‘‘(B) $500,000 in the case of any other re25 turn. 
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1 ‘‘(3) TAX NOT TO APPLY TO ESTATES AND

2 TRUSTS.—This subsection shall not apply to an es3 tate or trust. 

4 ‘‘(4) TERMINATION.—This subsection shall not 

5 apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 

6 2010.’’. 

7 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF UNITED STATES INTER8 NATIONAL FINANCE FACILITY TRUST FUND.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter A of chapter 98 

10 of such Code (relating to trust fund code) is amend11 ed by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 9511. UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL FINANCE FA13 CILITY TRUST FUND. 

14 ‘‘(a) CREATION OF TRUST FUND.—There is estab15 lished in the Treasury of the United States a trust fund 

16 to be known as the ‘United States International Finance 

17 Facility Trust Fund’ (referred to in this section as the 

18 ‘Trust Fund’), consisting of such amounts as may be ap19 propriated or credited to the Trust Fund as provided in 

20 this section or section 9602(b). 

21 ‘‘(b) TRANSFERS TO TRUST FUND.—There is hereby 

22 appropriated to the Trust Fund an amount equivalent to 

23 the increase in revenues received in the Treasury as the 

24 result of the surtax imposed under section 1(j). 
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1 ‘‘(c) DISTRIBUTION OF AMOUNTS IN TRUST FUND.—

2 Amounts in the Trust Fund shall be available without fur3 ther appropriation to make expenditures in connection 

4 with United States commitments to the International Fi5 nance Facility.’’. 

6 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of 

7 sections for subchapter A of chapter 98 of such 

8 Code is amended by adding at the end the following:

‘‘Sec. 9511. United States International Finance Facility Trust Fund.’’.

9 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

10 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

11 December 31, 2005. 

12 (d) SECTION 15 NOT TO APPLY.—The amendment 

13 made by subsection (a) shall not be treated as a change 

14 in a rate of tax for purposes of section 15 of the Internal 

15 Revenue Code of 1986. 

16 SEC. 5. MODIFICATIONS TO PREFERENTIAL TRADE TREAT17 MENT FOR PRODUCTS OF SUB-SAHARAN AF18 RICAN COUNTRIES. 

19 (a) REMOVAL OF AGRICULTURE TARIFF-RATE

20 QUOTA LIMITATION; AGRICULTURAL SAFEGUARD.—Sec21 tion 503(b) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2463(b)) 

22 is amended by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the 

23 following: 

24 ‘‘(3) AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No quantity of an ag2 ricultural product subject to a tariff-rate quota 

3 that exceeds the in-quota amount shall be eligi4 ble for duty-free treatment under this title, ex5 cept as provided in subparagraph (B). 

6 ‘‘(B) IMPORTS FROM COUNTRIES DES7 IGNATED UNDER SECTION 506A.—Subparagraph 

8 (A) shall not apply to over-quota imports of ag9 ricultural products subject to a tariff-rate quota 

10 that are the growth, product, or manufacture of 

11 a country designated as a beneficiary sub-Saha12 ran African country under section 506A(a)(1). 

13 ‘‘(4) SAFEGUARD FOR AGRICULTURAL PROD14 UCTS.—

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The President shall 

16 assess a duty, in the amount prescribed under 

17 subparagraph (B), on over-quota imports of any 

18 agricultural product described in paragraph 

19 (3)(B) for which preferential treatment is 

20 claimed, if the President determines that the 

21 unit import price of the product when it enters 

22 the United States, determined on an F.O.B. 

23 basis, is less than the annual trigger price de24 termined in accordance with subparagraph (D). 
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1 ‘‘(B) CALCULATION OF ADDITIONAL DU2 TIES.—The amount of the additional duty as3 sessed under this subsection shall be deter4 mined as follows: 

5 ‘‘(i) If the difference between the unit 

6 import price and the trigger price is less 

7 than, or equal to, 10 percent of the trigger 

8 price, no additional duty shall be imposed. 

9 ‘‘(ii) If the difference between the unit 

10 import price and the trigger price is great11 er than 10 percent, but less than or equal 

12 to 40 percent, of the trigger price, the ad13 ditional duty shall be equal to 30 percent 

14 of the difference between the preferential 

15 tariff rate and the column 1 general rate 

16 of duty imposed under the HTS on like ar17 ticles at the time the additional duty is im18 posed. 

19 ‘‘(iii) If the difference between the 

20 unit import price and the trigger price is 

21 greater than 40 percent, but less than or 

22 equal to 60 percent, of the trigger price, 

23 the additional duty shall be equal to 50 

24 percent of the difference between the pref25 erential tariff rate and the column 1 gen-
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1 eral rate of duty imposed under the HTS 

2 on like articles at the time the additional 

3 duty is imposed. 

4 ‘‘(iv) If the difference between the 

5 unit import price and the trigger price is 

6 greater than 60 percent, but less than or 

7 equal to 75 percent, of the trigger price, 

8 the additional duty shall be equal to 70 

9 percent of the difference between the pref10 erential tariff rate and the column 1 gen11 eral rate of duty imposed under the HTS 

12 on like articles at the time the additional 

13 duty is imposed. 

14 ‘‘(v) If the difference between the unit 

15 import price and the trigger price is great16 er than 75 percent of the trigger price, the 

17 additional duty shall be equal to 100 per18 cent of the difference between the pref19 erential tariff rate and the column 1 gen20 eral rate of duty imposed under the HTS 

21 on like articles at the time the additional 

22 duty is imposed. 

23 ‘‘(C) EXCEPTIONS.—No additional duty 

24 under this paragraph shall be assessed on an 

25 agricultural product if, at the time of entry into 
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1 the customs territory of the United States, the 

2 product is subject to import relief under chap3 ter 1 of title II of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 

4 U.S.C. 2251 et seq.). 

5 ‘‘(D) CALCULATION OF TRIGGER PRICE.—

6 (i) Not later than 60 days after the date of the 

7 enactment of the Answer Africa’s Call Act, and 

8 annually thereafter, the President shall, in con9 sultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, es10 tablish the annual trigger price for each over11 quota agricultural product described in para12 graph (3)(B), and shall publish such prices in 

13 the Federal Register. The President shall estab14 lish the trigger price for a product at a level not 

15 below the 3-year average import price for that 

16 product. 

17 ‘‘(ii) Not later than 30 days before pub18 lishing the trigger prices in the Federal Reg19 ister under clause (i), the President shall notify 

20 and consult with the Committees on Ways and 

21 Means and Agriculture of the House of Rep22 resentatives and the Committees on Finance 

23 and Agriculture of the Senate on the proposed 

24 trigger prices. 
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1 ‘‘(E) NOTICE TO COUNTRY CONCERNED.—

2 Not later than 60 days after the President first 

3 assesses additional duties under this paragraph 

4 on over-quota imports of agricultural products 

5 described in paragraph (3)(B), the President 

6 shall notify the beneficiary sub-Saharan African 

7 country where the product was grown, manufac8 tured, or produced, in writing of such action 

9 and shall provide to the country data sup10 porting the assessment of the additional duties. 

11 ‘‘(F) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 

12 ‘‘(i) F.O.B.—The term ‘F.O.B.’ 

13 means free on board, regardless of the 

14 mode of transportation, at the point of di15 rect shipment by the seller to the buyer. 

16 ‘‘(ii) HTS.—The term ‘HTS’ means 

17 the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 

18 United States. 

19 ‘‘(iii) UNIT IMPORT PRICE.—The term 

20 ‘unit import price’ means the price ex21 pressed in dollars per kilogram.’’. 

22 (b) SHORT SUPPLY PROVISIONS.—Section 112(b)(5) 

23 of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 

24 3721(b)(5)) is amended—
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1 (1) by amending subparagraph (A) to read as 

2 follows: 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Articles that are both 

4 cut (or knit-to-shape) and sewn or otherwise as5 sembled in one or more beneficiary sub-Saharan 

6 African countries—

7 ‘‘(i) from fabric or yarn which need 

8 not be originating under General Note 

9 12(t) of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule 

10 of the United States for the apparel article 

11 to qualify as originating under that Note; 

12 or 

13 ‘‘(ii) from fabric or yarn which—

14 ‘‘(I) is the component that deter15 mines the classification of the articles 

16 under the Harmonized Tariff Sched17 ule of the United States; 

18 ‘‘(II) is not commercially avail19 able; and 

20 ‘‘(III) which the President pro21 claims as eligible for use under this 

22 paragraph without regard to where 

23 the fabric or yarn is formed pursuant 

24 to the procedures set forth in sub25 paragraph (B).’’; and 
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1 (2) in subparagraph (B), in the matter pre2 ceding clause (i), by striking ‘‘not described in sub3 paragraph (A)’’ and inserting ‘‘and thus eligible for 

4 use in the production of cut components or knit-to5 shape components described in subparagraph 

6 (A)(ii)’’. 

7 (c) USER DEVELOPED BENEFICIARY SUB-SAHARAN

8 AFRICAN COUNTRIES.—Section 112(b)(3)(B) of the Afri9 can Growth and Opportunity Act (19 U.S.C. 

10 3721(b)(3)(B)) is amended—

11 (1) in clause (ii)—

12 (A) in subclause (II), by inserting ‘‘and’’ 

13 after the semicolon; and 

14 (B) by striking subclauses (III) and (IV) 

15 and inserting the following: 

16 ‘‘(III) 2.9285 percent for the 1-

17 year period beginning October 2, 

18 2005, and for each 1-year period 

19 thereafter through September 30, 

20 2015.’’; 

21 (2) in clause (iii)—

22 (A) in subclause (II), by striking ‘‘and’’; 

23 (B) in subclause (III), by striking the pe24 riod and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
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1 (C) by adding after subclause (III) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(IV) Mauritius, except that the 

4 applicable percentage with respect to 

5 Mauritius shall be 5 percent of the 

6 applicable percentage described in 

7 clause (ii)(III).’’; and 

8 (3) by striking clause (iv).

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