II 

Calendar No. 968 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 176 

[Report No. 110–463] 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 1, 2007 

Received 

AUGUST 3, 2007 

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

SEPTEMBER 15, 2008 

Reported by Mr. REID (for Mr. BIDEN), with amendments 

[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic] 

AN ACT 

To authorize the establishment of educational exchange and 

development programs for member countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). 

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 AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Shirley A. Chisholm United States-Caribbean Edu6 cational Exchange Act of 20072008’’. 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
2 

•HR 176 RS

1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

Sec. 3. Findings and sStatement of purpose. 

Sec. 4. Shirley A. Chisholm United States-Caribbean Educational Exchange 

Program. 

Sec. 5. Program to provide educational development assistance for CARICOM 

countries. 

Sec. 6. Administrative provisions. 

Sec. 7. Reporting requirements. 

Sec. 8. Authorization of appropriations. 

3 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

5 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—Except as otherwise pro6 vided, the term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Adminis7 trator of the United States Agency for International 

8 Development. 

9 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT10 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com11 mittees’’ means— 

12 (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 

13 the Committee on Appropriations of the House 

14 of Representatives; and 

15 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

16 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

17 Senate. 

18 (3) CARICOM COUNTRY.—The term ‘‘CARICOM 

19 country’’— 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
3 

•HR 176 RS

1 (A) means a member country of the Carib2 bean Community (CARICOM); but 

3 (B) does not include— 

4 (i) a country having observer status in 

5 CARICOM; or 

6 (ii) a country the government of which 

7 the Secretary of State has determined, for 

8 purposes of section 6(j) of the Export Ad9 ministration Act of 1979 (as continued in 

10 effect pursuant to the International Emer11 gency Economic Powers Act), section 40 of 

12 the Arms Export Control Act, section 

13 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 

14 1961, or any other provision of law, is a 

15 government that has repeatedly provided 

16 support for acts of international terrorism. 

17 (4) SECRETARY.—Except as otherwise provided, 

18 the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of State. 

19 (5) UNITED STATES COOPERATING AGENCY.— 

20 The term ‘‘United States cooperating agency’’ 

21 means— 

22 (A) an accredited institution of higher edu23 cation (as that term is defined in section 101(a) 

24 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

25 1001(a))), including, to the maximum extent 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
4 

•HR 176 RS

1 practicable, an historically Black college or uni2 versity that is a part B institution (as such 

3 term is defined in section 322(2) of the Higher 

4 Educationsuch Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

5 1061(2))) or an Hispanic-serving institution (as 

6 such term is defined in section 502(5) of such 

7 Act (20 U.S.C. 1101a(5))); 

8 (B) a higher education association; 

9 (C) a nongovernmental organization incor10 porated in the United States; or 

11 (D) a consortium consisting of two or more 

12 such institutions, associations, or nongovern13 mental organizations. 

14 SEC. 3. FINDINGS AND STATEMENT OF PURPOSE. 

15 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

16 (1) The United States and CARICOM countries 

17 have enjoyed long-standing friendly relations. 

18 (2) As an important regional partner for trade 

19 and democratic values, the Caribbean region con20 stitutes a ‘‘Third Border’’ of the United States. 

21 (3) The decrease in tourism revenue in the 

22 aftermath of the tragic terrorist attacks on Sep23 tember 11, 2001, had an adverse affect on the Car24 ibbean region. 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
5 

•HR 176 RS

1 (4) According to a 2005 World Bank Report on 

2 the Caribbean region, high rates of unemployment, 

3 particularly youth unemployment, have had severe 

4 implications on poverty and income distributions, as 

5 well as drug trafficking and addiction. 

6 (5) The 2005 World Bank Report also con7 cludes that better synchronization is needed between 

8 curricula in CARICOM countries and the skills 

9 needed in evolving national and regional job markets 

10 and economies. 

11 (6) Caribbean leaders have highlighted the need 

12 for increased educational opportunities for Carib13 bean students in fields that will contribute to and 

14 support an increasingly competitive regional econ15 omy. 

16 (7) Enhancing United States cultural and edu17 cational exchange programs in CARICOM countries 

18 will expand human resources, provide opportunities 

19 that promote economic growth, and improve regional 

20 security. 

21 (8) Many Caribbean leaders studied at the un22 dergraduate or graduate level in the United States 

23 before returning to their respective countries to con24 tribute toward the strengthening of democracy, the 

25 economy, or the provision of social services. 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
6 

•HR 176 RS

1 (9) From 2003 through 2005, 217 Caribbean 

2 leaders participated in exchange programs with the 

3 United States that focused on good governance, 

4 combating drug trafficking, anti-corruption, and 

5 other regional issues of concern. 

6 (10) The Department of State currently admin7 isters public outreach programs that include cul8 tural, academic, and citizen-exchange initiatives in 

9 CARICOM countries through the public affairs sec10 tions at United States embassies with support from 

11 the Office of Public Diplomacy in the Bureau of 

12 Western Hemisphere Affairs. 

13 (11) The Caribbean Center for Excellence in 

14 Teacher Training (C–CETT), a Presidential Initia15 tive funded by the United States Agency for Inter16 national Development and implemented by the Uni17 versity of the West Indies, works to improve the 

18 quality of reading instruction by training classroom 

19 and student teachers in seven countries of the 

20 English-speaking Caribbean. Belize, Jamaica, Gre21 nada, St. Lucia, Guyana, St. Vincent and the Gren22 adines, and Trinidad and Tobago have participated 

23 in the C–CETT as a means to reducing illiteracy in 

24 the most disadvantaged urban and remote rural 

25 areas. 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
7 

•HR 176 RS

1 (12) In Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the 

2 Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, the Cayman Islands, 

3 the Dominican Republic, Dominica, Grenada, Guy4 ana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. 

5 Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, 

6 and Trinidad and Tobago, the Bureau of Edu7 cational and Cultural Affairs of the Department of 

8 State sponsors educational advisors to promote 

9 study in the United States. 

10 (13) In the 2004–2005 academic year, approxi11 mately 14,000 Caribbean students were enrolled in 

12 United States colleges and universities. 

13 (14) Shirley Anita Chisholm, who served as a 

14 member of the United States House of Representa15 tives from 1968 to 1983, had family roots in the 

16 Caribbean nation of Barbados, was a staunch advo17 cate for educational opportunity and access, and in18 creased support for historically Black colleges and 

19 universities and other minority-serving institutions 

20 in the United States. 

21 (b) Statement of Purpose.—The purpose of this Act 

22 is to establish— 

23 (1) an educational exchange program between 

24 the United States and CARICOM countries, to be 

25 known as the ‘‘Shirley A. Chisholm United StatesVerDate Aug 31 2005 01:47 Sep 16, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H176.RS H176

jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
8 

•HR 176 RS

1 Caribbean Educational Exchange Program’’, pursu2 ant to section 4,of this Act to assist in educating 

3 promising students and scholars from CARICOM 

4 countries who will invest the knowledge and experi5 ences they gain in the United States back into the 

6 community of CARICOM countries; and 

7 (2) a program to provide educational develop8 ment assistance for CARICOM countries pursuant 

9 to section 5 of this Act. 

10 SEC. 4. SHIRLEY A. CHISHOLM UNITED STATES-CARIBBEAN 

11 EDUCATIONAL EXCHANGE PROGRAM. 

12 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of State 

13 is authorized to establish an educational exchange pro14 gram between the United States and CARICOM countries, 

15 towhich shall be known as the ‘‘Shirley A. Chisholm 

16 United States-Caribbean Educational Exchange Pro17 gram,’’ under which— 

18 (1) secondary school students from CARICOM 

19 countries will— 

20 (A) attend a public or private secondary 

21 school in the United States; and 

22 (B) participate in activities designed to 

23 promote a greater understanding of the values 

24 and culture of the United States; and 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
9 

•HR 176 RS

1 (C) have the option to live with a United 

2 States host family and experience life in a 

3 United States host community; and 

4 (2) undergraduate students, graduate students, 

5 post-graduate students, and scholars from 

6 CARICOM countries will— 

7 (A) attend a public or private college or 

8 university, including a community college, in 

9 the United States; and 

10 (B) participate in activities designed to 

11 promote a greater understanding of the values 

12 and culture of the United States; and. 

13 (C) have the option to live with a United 

14 States host family and experience life in a 

15 United States host community or live in an on16 campus housing environment. 

17 (b) ELEMENTS OF PROGRAM.—The program author18 ized under subsection (a) shall meet the following require19 ments: 

20 (1) The program will offer scholarships to stu21 dents and scholars based on merit and need. It is 

22 the sense of Congress that scholarships should be of23 fered under the program to students and scholars 

24 who evidence merit, achievement, and strong poten25 tial for the studies such students and scholars wish 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
10 

•HR 176 RS

1 to undertake under the program and 40 percent of 

2 scholarships offered under the program should be 

3 based on financial need. 

4 (2) The program will seek to achieve gender 

5 equality in granting scholarships under the program. 

6 (3) The program will limit participation to— 

7 (A) two years of study for secondary school 

8 students; 

9 (B) four years of study for undergraduate 

10 students; 

11 (C) 30 months of study for graduate stu12 dents; and 

13 (D) one year of study for post-graduate 

14 students and scholars. 

15 (4) For a period of time equal to the period of 

16 time of participation in the program, but not to ex17 ceed 2 years, the program will require participants 

18 who are students and scholars described in sub19 section (a)(2) to— 

20 (A) agree to return to live in a CARICOM 

21 country and maintain residence in such coun22 try, within 6 months of completion of academic 

23 studies; or 

24 (B) agree to obtain employment that di25 rectly benefits the growth, progress, and develVerDate Aug 31 2005 01:47 Sep 16, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H176.RS H176

jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
11 

•HR 176 RS

1 opment of one or more CARICOM countries 

2 and the people of such countries. 

3 (5) The Secretary of State shall have the dis4 cretion tomay waive, shorten the duration, or other5 wise alter the requirements of paragraph (5)(4) in 

6 limited circumstances of hardship, humanitarian 

7 needs, for specific educational purposes, or in fur8 therance of the national interests of the United 

9 States. 

10 (c) ROLE OF UNITED STATES COOPERATING AGEN11 CIES.—The Secretary shall consult with United States co12 operating agencies in developing the program authorized 

13 under subsection (a).and shall make grants The Secretary 

14 is authorized to provide grants to United States cooper15 ating agencies in carrying out the program authorized 

16 under subsection (a). 

17 (d) MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF PROGRAM.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

19 and implement a system to monitor and evaluate the 

20 effectiveness and efficiency of the program author21 ized under subsection (a). In carrying out the sys22 temso doing, the Secretary shall, inter alia, evaluate 

23 the program’s positive or negative effects on brain24 drain from the participating CARICOM countries 

25 and suggest ways in which the program may be imVerDate Aug 31 2005 01:47 Sep 16, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H176.RS H176

jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
12 

•HR 176 RS

1 proved to promote the basic goal of alleviating brain2 drain from the participating CARICOM countries. 

3 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out para4 graph (1), the Secretary shall review on a regular 

5 basis— 

6 (A) financial information relating to the 

7 program; 

8 (B) budget plans for the program; 

9 (C) adjustments to plans established for 

10 the program; 

11 (D) graduation rates of participants in the 

12 program; 

13 (E) the percentage of participants who are 

14 students described in subsection (a)(1) who 

15 pursue higher education; 

16 (F) the percentage of participants who re17 turn to their home country or another 

18 CARICOM country; 

19 (G) the types of careers pursued by par20 ticipants in the program and the extent to 

21 which such careers are linked to the political, 

22 economic, and social development needs of 

23 CARICOM countries; and 

24 (H) the impact of gender, country of ori25 gin, financial need of students, and other relVerDate Aug 31 2005 01:47 Sep 16, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H176.RS H176

jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
13 

•HR 176 RS

1 evant factors on the data collected under sub2 paragraphs (D) through (G). 

3 (e) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con4 gress that the Secretary should seek to work with 

5 CARICOM countries to establish an educational exchange 

6 program under which— 

7 (1) secondary school students from the United 

8 States will attend a public or private equivalent 

9 school in CARICOM countries; and 

10 (2) undergraduate students, graduate students, 

11 post-graduate students, and scholars from the 

12 United States will attend a public or private college 

13 or university in CARICOM countries. 

14 SEC. 5. PROGRAM TO PROVIDE EDUCATIONAL DEVELOP15 MENT ASSISTANCE FOR CARICOM COUN16 TRIES. 

17 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of 

18 State, acting through the Administrator of the United 

19 States Agency for International Development, is author20 ized to establish a program to provide educational develop21 ment assistance for CARICOM countries. 

22 (b) PURPOSE OF PROGRAM.—The purpose of the pro23 gram authorized under subsection (a) is to improve pri24 mary and secondary education in CARICOM countries by 

25 enhancing teacher training, strengthening curriculum and 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
14 

•HR 176 RS

1 instructional materials, and assisting improvements in 

2 school management and public administration of edu3 cation. 

4 (c) ELEMENTS OF PROGRAM.—The program author5 ized under subsection (a) shall extend and expand upon 

6 existing primary and secondary school programs in 

7 CARICOM countries to provide— 

8 (1) teacher-training methods and training in 

9 subject area studies; 

10 (2) classroom and school management; 

11 (3) development and modernization of cur12 riculum and instructional materials; 

13 (4) increased community involvement in school 

14 activities; and 

15 (5) local, regional, and national government pol16 icy planning on the elements described in para17 graphs (1) through (4). 

18 (d) ROLE OF UNITED STATES COOPERATING AGEN19 CIES.—The Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of 

20 Education and, officials of United States cooperating 

21 agencies, and officials of CARICOM countries in developing 

22 the program authorized under subsection (a).and shallThe 

23 Secretary is authorized to make grants to United States 

24 cooperating agencies in carrying out the program author25 ized under subsection (a). 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
15 

•HR 176 RS

1 (e) MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF PROGRAM.— 

2 The Secretary shall establish and implement a system to 

3 monitor and evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of 

4 the program authorized under subsection (a). 

5 (f) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con6 gress that the Secretary should seek to work with 

7 CARICOM countries to establish an educational develop8 ment program under which education in the CARICOM 

9 countries is improved and access to quality education for 

10 children in CARICOM countries is increased. 

11 SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS. 

12 (a) FUNDING FROM PRIVATE SOURCES AND PART13 NERSHIPS WITH OTHER APPROPRIATE ENTITIES.—To 

14 the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary of State 

15 and the Administrator of the United States Agency for 

16 International Development should implement the pro17 grams authorized under sections 4 and 5 of this Act 

18 through utilization of funding from private sources to 

19 maximize the impact of United States funds under this 

20 Act, and through partnerships with appropriate United 

21 States organizations, institutions, and corporations. 

22 (b) AVOIDANCE OF DUPLICATION.—The Secretary 

23 and the Administrator shall consult with the Secretary of 

24 Education to ensure that— 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
16 

•HR 176 RS

1 (1) activities under the programs authorized 

2 under sections 4 and 5 of this Act are not duplica3 tive of other United States educational programs for 

4 CARICOM countries; and 

5 (2) United States cooperating agencies and 

6 partner institutions in CARICOM countries are ac7 credited by national or regional accrediting bodies. 

8 (c) REPORTING UNDER SEVIS.—To the extent nec9 essary, the Secretary shall provide support to United 

10 States cooperating agencies that are participating in the 

11 program authorized under section 4 of this Act in order 

12 to fulfill the requirements for student data reporting 

13 under the Student and Exchange Visitor Information Sys14 tem (SEVIS). 

15 SEC. 7. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

16 (a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 90120 days 

17 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

18 of State shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

19 committees a report on plans to implement the programs 

20 authorized under sections 4 and 5 of this Act. 

21 (b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The report re22 quired by subsection (a) shall include— 

23 (1) with respect to implementation of the pro24 gram authorized under section 4— 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
17 

•HR 176 RS

1 (A) a plan for selecting participants in the 

2 program, including an estimate of the number 

3 of secondary school students, undergraduate 

4 students, graduate students, post-graduate stu5 dents, and scholars from each country, by edu6 cational level, who will be selected as partici7 pants in the program for each fiscal year; 

8 (B) a timeline for selecting United States 

9 cooperating agencies that will assist in imple10 menting the program; 

11 (C) a financial plan that— 

12 (i) identifies budget plans for each 

13 educational level under the program; and 

14 (ii) identifies plans or systems to en15 sure that the costs to public school, college, 

16 and university education under the pro17 gram and the costs to private school, col18 lege, and university education under the 

19 program are reasonably allocated; and 

20 (D) a plan to provide outreach to and link21 ages with schools, colleges and universities, and 

22 nongovernmental organizations in both the 

23 United States and CARICOM countries for im24 plementation of the program; and 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
18 

•HR 176 RS

1 (2) a plan outlining implementation of the pro2 gram authorized under section 5, identifying the ini3 tial countries in which the program will be imple4 mented and a timeline for implementation. 

5 (c) UPDATES OF REPORT.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall submit 

7 to the appropriate congressional committees updates 

8 of the report required by subsection (a) for each fis9 cal year for which amounts are appropriated pursu10 ant to the authorization of appropriations under sec11 tion 8 of this Act. 

12 (2) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—Such updates 

13 shall include the following: 

14 (A) Information on United States cooper15 ating agencies that are selected to assist in im16 plementing the programs authorized under sec17 tions 4 and 5 of this Act. 

18 (B) An analysis of the positive and nega19 tive impacts the program authorized under sec20 tion 4 will have or is having on brain drain 

21 from the participating CARICOM countries. 

22 (C) A description of efforts made by the 

23 Secretary of State, acting throughand the Ad24 ministrator of the United States Agency for 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
19 

•HR 176 RS

1 International Development, to implement the 

2 program authorized under section 5. 

3 (D) A description of the programs estab4 lished in each CARICOM country receiving as5 sistance under the program authorized under 

6 section 5.that provides aSuch description shall 

7 include a detailed explanation of the extent to 

8 which the program and the assistance provided 

9 are contributing to the purpose of the program 

10 described in section 5(b) in the CARICOM 

11 country. 

12 (E) An evaluation of additional educational 

13 development goals in CARICOM countries, 

14 identifying those goals that could be maximized 

15 or achieved with United States assistance 

16 through the program authorized under section 

17 5. In addition to standard or necessary areas of 

18 education review, the evaluation should give at19 tention to factors affecting academic achieve20 ment, attrition, and graduation rates in 

21 CARICOM countries. The evaluation should 

22 suggest ways in which United States assistance 

23 can maximize success factors and address fac24 tors contributing to poor achievement. 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
20 

•HR 176 RS

1 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 To carry out this Act, there are authorized to be ap3 propriated such sums as may be necessary for each of the 

4 fiscal years 2008 through 2012. Amounts appropriated 

5 pursuant to the authorization of appropriations under this 

6 section are in addition to amounts otherwise available for 

7 such purposes. 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS

jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
Calendar No. 968 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 176 

[Report No. 110–463] 

AN ACT 

To authorize the establishment of educational ex-

(CARICOM). countries of the Caribbean Community change and development programs for member 

SEPTEMBER 15, 2008 

Reported with amendments 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS