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87–676PDF 2003

INTERNATIONAL DISABILITY AND VICTIMS OF WARFARE AND

CIVIL STRIFE ASSISTANCE ACT OF 2003; VARIOUS SIMPLE

AND CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS; BURMESE FREEDOM AND

DEMOCRACY ACT OF 2003; AND MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE

ACCOUNT AUTHORIZATION AND PEACE CORPS EXPANSION

ACT OF 2003

MARKUP

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON 

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

ON

H.R. 1462, H. Res. 58, H. Res. 177, H. Res. 194,

H. Res. 199, H. Res. 237, H. Res. 242,

H. Res. 264, H. Con. Res. 49, H. Con. Res. 80,

H. Con. Res. 134, H. Con. Res. 154,

H. Con. Res. 169, H. Con. Res. 209, H.R. 2330

and H.R. 2441

JUNE 12, 2003

Serial No. 108–41

Printed for the use of the Committee on International Relations

(

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.house.gov/international—relations 

(II)

COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 

HENRY J. HYDE, Illinois, Chairman 

JAMES A. LEACH, Iowa 

DOUG BEREUTER, Nebraska 

CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey, 

Vice Chairman 

DAN BURTON, Indiana 

ELTON GALLEGLY, California 

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida 

CASS BALLENGER, North Carolina 

DANA ROHRABACHER, California 

EDWARD R. ROYCE, California 

PETER T. KING, New York 

STEVE CHABOT, Ohio 

AMO HOUGHTON, New York 

JOHN M. MCHUGH, New York 

THOMAS G. TANCREDO, Colorado 

RON PAUL, Texas 

NICK SMITH, Michigan 

JOSEPH R. PITTS, Pennsylvania 

JEFF FLAKE, Arizona 

JO ANN DAVIS, Virginia 

MARK GREEN, Wisconsin 

JERRY WELLER, Illinois 

MIKE PENCE, Indiana 

THADDEUS G. MCCOTTER, Michigan 

WILLIAM J. JANKLOW, South Dakota 

KATHERINE HARRIS, Florida 

TOM LANTOS, California 

HOWARD L. BERMAN, California 

GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York 

ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American 

Samoa 

DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey 

ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey 

SHERROD BROWN, Ohio 

BRAD SHERMAN, California 

ROBERT WEXLER, Florida 

ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York 

WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT, Massachusetts 

GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York 

BARBARA LEE, California 

JOSEPH CROWLEY, New York 

JOSEPH M. HOEFFEL, Pennsylvania 

EARL BLUMENAUER, Oregon 

SHELLEY BERKLEY, Nevada 

GRACE F. NAPOLITANO, California 

ADAM B. SCHIFF, California 

DIANE E. WATSON, California 

ADAM SMITH, Washington 

BETTY MCCOLLUM, Minnesota 

CHRIS BELL, Texas 

THOMAS E. MOONEY, SR., Staff Director/General Counsel 

ROBERT R. KING, Democratic Staff Director 

JOCK SCHARFEN, Chief Counsel 

DANIEL FREEMAN, Counsel/Parliamentarian 

LIBERTY DUNN, Staff Associate 

(III)

C O N T E N T S 

Page

MARKUP OF 

H.R. 1462, To authorize assistance for individuals with disabilities in foreign 

countries, including victims of warfare and civil strife, and for other purposes ...................................................................................................................... 2

H. Res. 58, Recognizing the accomplishments of Ignacy Jan Paderewski as 

a musician, composer, statesman, and philanthropist and recognizing the 

11th Anniversary of the return of his remains to Poland ................................ 12

H. Res. 177, Commending the people of the Republic of Kenya for conducting 

free and fair elections, for the peaceful and orderly transfer of power 

in their government, and for the continued success of democracy in their 

nation since that transition, as reported by the Subcommittee on Africa ...... 15

H. Res. 194, Regarding the importance of international efforts to abolish 

slavery and other human rights abuses in the Sudan, as reported by the 

Subcommittee on Africa ....................................................................................... 18

Amendment in the nature of a substitute to H. Res. 199, Calling on the 

Government of the People’s Republic of China immediately and unconditionally to release Dr. Yang Jianli, calling on the President of the United 

States to continue working on behalf of Dr. Yang Jianli for his release, 

and for other purposes, as reported by the Subcommittee on Asia and 

the Pacific, June 10, 2003 .................................................................................... 23

H. Res. 237, Honoring the life and work of Walter Sisulu, a critical leader 

in the movement to free South Africa of apartheid, on the occasion of 

his death ............................................................................................................... 27

H. Res. 242, Expressing the condolences of the House of Representatives 

to the families of the victims of the terrorist suicide bombing attacks 

that occurred on May 16, 2003, in Casablanca, Morocco .................................. 29

H. Res. 264, Expressing sympathy for the victims of the devastating earthquake that struck Algeria on May 21, 2003 ...................................................... 32

H. Con. Res. 49, Expressing the sense of the Congress that the sharp escalation of anti-Semitic violence within many participating States of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is of profound 

concern and efforts should be undertaken to prevent future occurrences ...... 35

H. Con. Res. 80, Expressing the sense of Congress relating to efforts of 

the Peace Parks Foundation in the Republic of South Africa to facilitate 

the establishment and development of transfrontier conservation efforts 

in southern Africa ................................................................................................ 40

H. Con. Res. 134, Acknowledging the deepening relationship between the 

United States and the Republic of Djibouti and recognizing Djibouti’s role 

in combating terrorism ........................................................................................ 43

H. Con. Res. 154, Concerning the transition to democracy in the Republic 

of Burundi ............................................................................................................. 46

H. Con. Res. 169, Expressing the sense of Congress that the United States 

Government should support the human rights and dignity of all persons 

with disabilities by pledging support for the drafting and working toward 

the adoption of a thematic convention on the human rights and dignity 

of persons with disabilities by the United Nations General Assembly to 

augment the existing United Nations human rights system, and for other 

purposes ................................................................................................................ 49

H. Con. Res. 209, Commending the signing of the United States-Adriatic 

Charter, a charter of partnership among the United States, Albania, Croatia, and Macedonia ............................................................................................. 53

Page

IV

H.R. 2330, To sanction the ruling Burmese military junta, to strengthen 

Burma’s democratic forces and support and recognize the National League 

of Democracy as the legitimate representative of the Burmese people, and 

for other purposes ................................................................................................ 57

Amendment to H.R. 2330, offered by the Honorable Tom Lantos, a Representative in Congress from the State of California .................................... 75

Amendment to H.R. 2330, offered by the Honorable Joseph R. Pitts, a 

Representative in Congress from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ...... 76

H.R. 2441, To establish the Millennium Challenge Account to provide increased support for developing countries that have fostered democracy and 

the rule of law, invested in their citizens, and promoted economic freedom; 

to assess the impact and effectiveness of United States economic assistance; 

to authorize the expansion of the Peace Corps; and for other purposes ......... 79

Amendment to H.R. 2441, offered by the Honorable Edward R. Royce, 

a Representative in Congress from the State of California .......................... 169

Amendment to H.R. 2441, offered by the Honorable Barbara Lee, a Representative in Congress from the State of California .................................... 174

Amendment to H.R. 2441, offered by the Honorable Edward R. Royce .......... 177

Amendment to H.R. 2441, offered by the Honorable Donald M. Payne, 

a Representative in Congress from the State of New Jersey ........................ 181

Amendment to H.R. 2441, offered by the Honorable Robert Menendez, 

a Representative in Congress from the State of New Jersey ........................ 185

LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD 

The Honorable Henry J. Hyde, a Representative in Congress from the State 

of Illinois, and Chairman, Committee on International Relations: Prepared 

statement on H.R. 2441 ....................................................................................... 163

The Honorable Tom Lantos: Article dated June 12, 2003 from the Wall 

Street Journal, by Secretary Colin Powell, entitled ‘‘It’s Time to Turn the 

Tables On Burma’s Thugs’’ .................................................................................. 69

APPENDIX 

The Honorable James A. Leach, a Representative in Congress from the State 

of Iowa: Prepared statement on H. R. 2330 ....................................................... 201

The Honorable Doug Bereuter, a Representative in Congress from the State 

of Nebraska: Prepared Statement on H. Con. Res. 209 .................................... 201

The Honorable Ron Paul, a Representative in Congress from the State of 

Texas: Prepared Statement on H.R. 2441 .......................................................... 202

The Honorable Joseph Pitts: Prepared Statement on H. Res. 264 and H.R. 

2330 ....................................................................................................................... 203

The Honorable Jeff Flake, a Representative in Congress from the State of 

Arizona: Letter dated June 19, 2003 from the Honorable Jeff Flake to 

the Honorable Henry J. Hyde ............................................................................. 204

The Honorable Joseph Crowley, a Representative in Congress from the State 

of New York: Prepared Statement on H. Con. Res. 49 ..................................... 205

(1)

INTERNATIONAL DISABILITY AND VICTIMS OF WARFARE 

AND CIVIL STRIFE ASSISTANCE ACT OF 2003; VARIOUS 

SIMPLE AND CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS; BURMESE 

FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY ACT OF 2003; AND MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE ACCOUNT AUTHORIZATION AND PEACE 

CORPS EXPANSION ACT OF 2003

THURSDAY, JUNE 12, 2003

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 

COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, 

Washington, DC. 

The Committee met, pursuant to call, at 10:35 a.m., in Room 

2172, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Henry J. Hyde (Chairman of the Committee) presiding. 

Chairman HYDE. The Committee will come to order. I ask unanimous consent that we may proceed with those present and who 

may immediately attend this hearing. We are short of a quorum for 

proceeding, but with unanimous consent we can. And so without 

objection, the Committee will come to order. And without objection, 

Mr. Menendez resigns from the Subcommittee on International 

Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Human Rights, and Ms. McCollum 

is assigned to that Subcommittee as the most junior Member. 

Without objection, the Chairman is authorized to seek consideration of the following measures under suspension of the rules. Now, 

we have 14 resolutions which are noncontroversial and which have 

been reviewed by the Democratic minority, and they concur with 

the unanimous consent. So I will simply read the numbers of them: 

H.R. 1462, H. Res. 58, H. Res. 177, as reported by the Subcommittee on Africa, H. Res. 194, as reported by the Subcommittee 

on Africa, H. Res. 199, as reported by the Subcommittee on Asia 

and the Pacific, H. Res. 237, H. Res. 242, H. Res. 264, H Con. Res. 

49, H. Con. Res. 80, H. Con. Res. 134, H. Con. Res. 154, H. Con. 

Res. 169, H. Con. Res. 209. Without objection, so ordered. 

[The information referred to follows:]

2

1

I

108TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1462

To authorize assistance for individuals with disabilities in foreign countries,

including victims of warfare and civil strife, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 27, 2003

Mr. LANTOS (for himself, Mr. WOLF, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, Mr. SMITH of New

Jersey, Mr. EVANS, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. PITTS, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. QUINN,

Mr. WEXLER, Mr. CASE, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. SCHIFF,

Mr. OLVER, Mr. HOEFFEL, Ms. MCCOLLUM, and Mr. LANGEVIN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations

A BILL

To authorize assistance for individuals with disabilities in

foreign countries, including victims of warfare and civil

strife, and for other purposes.

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 ‘‘International Dis5 ability and Victims of Warfare and Civil Strife Assistance

6 Act of 2003’’.


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•HR 1462 IH

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find3 ing:

4 (1)(A) According to the International Com5 mittee of the Red Cross, there are tens of millions

6 of landmines in over 60 countries around the world,

7 and it has estimated that as many as 24,000 people

8 are maimed or killed each year by landmines, mostly

9 civilians, resulting in amputations and disabilities of

10 various kinds.

11 (B) While the United States Government in12 vests more than $100,000,000 in mine action pro13 grams annually, including funding for mine aware14 ness and demining training programs, only about

15 ten percent of these funds go to directly aid land16 mine victims.

17 (C) The Patrick Leahy War Victims Fund, ad18 ministered by the United States Agency for Inter19 national Development, has provided essential pros20 thetics and rehabilitation for landmine and other

21 war victims in developing countries who are disabled

22 and has provided long-term sustainable improve23 ments in quality of life for victims of civil strife and

24 warfare, addressing such issues as barrier-free acces25 sibility, reduction of social stigmatization, and in26 creasing economic opportunities.


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•HR 1462 IH

1 (D) Enhanced coordination is needed among

2 Federal agencies that carry out assistance programs

3 in foreign countries for victims of landmines and

4 other victims of civil strife and warfare to make bet5 ter use of interagency expertise and resources.

6 (2) According to a review of Poverty and Dis7 ability commissioned by the World Bank, ‘‘disabled

8 people have lower education and income levels than

9 the rest of the population. They are more likely to

10 have incomes below poverty level than the non-dis11 abled population, and they are less likely to have

12 savings and other assets . . . [t]he links between

13 poverty and disability go two ways—not only does

14 disability add to the risk of poverty, but conditions

15 of poverty add to the risk of disability.’’.

16 (3) Numerous international human rights con17 ventions and declarations recognize the need to pro18 tect the rights of individuals regardless of their sta19 tus, including those individuals with disabilities,

20 through the principles of equality and non-discrimi21 nation.

22 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to author23 ize assistance for individuals with disabilities, including

24 victims of landmines and other victims of civil strife and

25 warfare.


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•HR 1462 IH

1 SEC. 3. INTERNATIONAL DISABILITIES AND WAR VICTIMS

2 ASSISTANCE.

3 The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151

4 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 134 the fol5 lowing:

6 ‘‘SEC. 135. INTERNATIONAL DISABILITIES AND WAR VIC7 TIMS ASSISTANCE.

8 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.—The President is authorized

9 to furnish assistance to individuals with disabilities, in10 cluding victims of civil strife and warfare, in foreign coun11 tries.

12 ‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES.—The programs established pursu13 ant to subsection (a) may include programs, projects, and

14 activities such as the following:

15 ‘‘(1) Development of local capacity to provide

16 medical and rehabilitation services for individuals

17 with disabilities, including victims of civil strife and

18 warfare, in foreign countries, such as—

19 ‘‘(A) support for and training of medical

20 professionals, including surgeons, nurses, and

21 physical therapists, to provide effective emer22 gency and other medical care and for the devel23 opment of training manuals relating to first aid

24 and other medical treatment;

25 ‘‘(B) support for sustainable prosthetic

26 and orthotic services; and


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•HR 1462 IH

1 ‘‘(C) psychological and social rehabilitation

2 of such individuals, together with their families

3 as appropriate, for the reintegration of such in4 dividuals into local communities.

5 ‘‘(2) Support for policy reform and educational

6 efforts related to the needs and abilities of individ7 uals with disabilities, including victims of civil strife

8 and warfare.

9 ‘‘(3) Coordination of programs established pur10 suant to subsection (a) with existing programs for

11 individuals with disabilities, including victims of civil

12 strife and warfare, in foreign countries.

13 ‘‘(4) Support for establishment of appropriate

14 entities in foreign countries to coordinate programs,

15 projects, and activities related to assistance for indi16 viduals with disabilities, including victims of civil

17 strife and warfare.

18 ‘‘(5) Support for primary, secondary, and voca19 tional education, public awareness and training pro20 grams and other activities that help prevent war-re21 lated injuries and assist individuals with disabilities,

22 including victims of civil strife and warfare, with

23 their reintegration into society and their ability to

24 make sustained social and economic contributions to

25 society.


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•HR 1462 IH

1 ‘‘(c) PRIORITY.—To the maximum extent feasible, as2 sistance under this section shall be provided through non3 governmental organizations, and, as appropriate, through

4 governments to establish appropriate norms, standards,

5 and policies related to rehabilitation and issues affecting

6 individuals with disabilities, including victims of civil strife

7 and warfare.

8 ‘‘(d) FUNDING.—Amounts made available to carry

9 out the other provisions of this part (including chapter 4

10 of part II of this Act) and the Support for East European

11 Democracy (SEED) Act of 1989 are authorized to be

12 made available to carry out this section and are authorized

13 to be provided notwithstanding any other provision of

14 law.’’.

15 SEC. 4. RESEARCH, PREVENTION, AND ASSISTANCE RE16 LATED TO INTERNATIONAL DISABILITIES

17 AND LANDMINE AND OTHER WAR VICTIMS.

18 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and

20 Human Services, acting through the Director of the

21 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is

22 authorized—

23 (A) to conduct programs in foreign coun24 tries related to individuals with disabilities, inVerDate Mar 21 2002 16:00 Sep 23, 2003 Jkt 087676 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\FULL\M061203\87676 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL

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•HR 1462 IH

1 cluding victims of landmines and other victims

2 of civil strife and warfare;

3 (B) to provide grants to nongovernmental

4 organizations for the purpose of carrying out

5 research, prevention, public awareness and as6 sistance programs in foreign countries related

7 to individuals with disabilities, including victims

8 of landmines and other victims of civil strife

9 and warfare.

10 (2) APPROVAL OF SECRETARY OF STATE.—Ac11 tivities under programs established pursuant to

12 paragraph (1) may be carried out in foreign coun13 tries only in coordination with the Administrator of

14 the United States Agency for International Develop15 ment, and upon approval for such activities in such

16 countries by the Secretary of State.

17 (b) ACTIVITIES.—Programs established pursuant to

18 subsection (a) may include the following activities:

19 (1) Research on trauma, physical, psychological,

20 and social rehabilitation, and continuing medical

21 care related to individuals with disabilities, including

22 victims of landmines and other victims of civil strife

23 and warfare, including—


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•HR 1462 IH

1 (A) conducting research on psychological

2 and social factors that lead to successful recov3 ery;

4 (B) developing, testing, and evaluating

5 model interventions that reduce post-traumatic

6 stress and promote health and well-being;

7 (C) developing basic instruction tools for

8 initial medical response to traumatic injuries;

9 and

10 (D) developing basic instruction manuals

11 for patients and healthcare providers, including

12 for emergency and follow-up care, proper ampu13 tation procedures, and reconstructive surgery.

14 (2) Facilitation of peer support networks for in15 dividuals with disabilities, including victims of land16 mines and other victims of civil strife and warfare,

17 in foreign countries, including—

18 (A) establishment of organizations at the

19 local level, administered by such individuals, to

20 assess and address the physical, psychological,

21 economic and social rehabilitation and other

22 needs of such individuals, together with their

23 families as appropriate, for the purpose of eco24 nomic and social reintegration into local com25 munities; and


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•HR 1462 IH

1 (B) training related to the implementation

2 of such peer support networks, including train3 ing of outreach workers to assist in the estab4 lishment of organizations such as those de5 scribed in subparagraph (A) and assistance to

6 facilitate the use of the networks by such indi7 viduals.

8 (3) Sharing of expertise from limb-loss and dis9 ability research centers in the United States with

10 similar centers and facilities in war-affected coun11 tries, including promoting increased health for indi12 viduals with limb loss and limb deficiency and epide13 miological research on secondary medical conditions

14 related to limb loss and limb deficiency.

15 (4) Developing a database of best practices to

16 address the needs of the war-related disabled

17 through comprehensive examination of support ac18 tivities related to such disability and access to med19 ical care and supplies.

20 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

21 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of

22 Health and Human Services to carry out this section such

23 sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2003

24 through 2004.


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•HR 1462 IH

1 SEC. 5. EXPERTISE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS

2 AFFAIRS.

3 The Secretary of Veterans Affairs is authorized—

4 (1) to provide advice and expertise on pros5 thetics, orthotics, physical and psychological rehabili6 tation and treatment, and disability assistance to

7 other Federal departments and agencies, including

8 providing for temporary assignment on a non-reim9 bursable basis of appropriate Department of Vet10 erans Affairs personnel, with respect to the imple11 mentation of programs to provide assistance to vic12 tims of landmines and other victims of civil strife

13 and warfare in foreign countries and landmine re14 search and health-related programs, including pro15 grams established pursuant to section 135 of the

16 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (as added by section

17 3 of this Act) and programs established pursuant to

18 section 4 of this Act; and

19 (2) to provide technical assistance to private

20 voluntary organizations on a reimbursable basis with

21 respect to the planning, development, operation, and

22 evaluation of such landmine assistance, research,

23 and prevention programs.

Æ


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IV

108TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. RES. 58

Recognizing the accomplishments of Ignacy Jan Paderewski as a musician,

composer, statesman, and philanthropist and recognizing the 11th Anniversary of the return of his remains to Poland.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 5, 2003

Ms. KAPTUR (for herself, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr.

LANTOS, and Mr. BROWN of Ohio) submitted the following resolution;

which was referred to the Committee on International Relations

RESOLUTION

Recognizing the accomplishments of Ignacy Jan Paderewski

as a musician, composer, statesman, and philanthropist

and recognizing the 11th Anniversary of the return of

his remains to Poland.

Whereas Ignacy Jan Paderewski, born in Poland in 1860,

was a brilliant and popular pianist who performed hundreds of concerts in Europe and the United States during

the late 19th and early 20th centuries;

Whereas Paderewski often donated the proceeds of his concerts to charitable causes;

Whereas, during World War I, Paderewski worked for the

independence of Poland and served as the first Premier

of Poland;


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•HRES 58 IH

Whereas in December 1919, Paderewski resigned as Premier

of Poland, and in 1921 he left politics to return to his

music;

Whereas the German invasion of Poland in 1939 spurred Paderewski to return to political life;

Whereas Paderewski fought against the Nazi dictatorship in

World War II by joining the exiled Polish Government to

mobilize the Polish forces and to urge the United States

to join the Allied Forces;

Whereas Paderewski died in exile in America on June 29,

1941, while war and occupation imperiled all of Europe;

Whereas by the direction of United States President Franklin

D. Roosevelt, Paderewski’s remains were placed along

side America’s honored dead in Arlington National Cemetery, where President Roosevelt said, ‘‘He may lie there

until Poland is free.’’;

Whereas in 1963, United States President John F. Kennedy

honored Paderewski by placing a plaque marking

Paderewski’s remains at the Mast of the Maine at Arlington National Cemetery;

Whereas in 1992, United States President George H.W.

Bush, at the request of Lech Walesa, the first democratically elected President of Poland following World War

II, ordered Paderewski’s remains returned to his native

Poland;

Whereas on June 26, 1992, the remains of Paderewski were

removed from the Mast of the Maine at Arlington National Cemetery, and were returned to Poland on June

29, 1992;


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•HRES 58 IH

Whereas on July 5, 1992, Paderewski’s remains were interred in a crypt at the St. John Cathedral in Warsaw,

Poland; and

Whereas Paderewski wished his heart to be forever enshrined

in America, where his lifelong struggle for democracy and

freedom had its roots and was cultivated, and now his

heart remains at the Shrine of the Czestochowa in

Doylestown, Pennsylvania: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives—

2 (1) recognizes the accomplishments of Ignacy

3 Jan Paderewski as a musician, composer, statesman,

4 and philanthropist; and

5 (2) acknowledges the invaluable efforts of

6 Ignacy Jan Paderewski in forging close Polish-Amer7 ican ties, on the 11th Anniversary of the return of

8 Paderewski’s remains to Poland.

Æ


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IV

[COMMITTEE PRINT]

JUNE 5, 2003

[Showing H. Res. 177 As Reported by the Subcommittee on

Africa]

108TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. RES. 177

Commending the people of the Republic of Kenya for conducting free and

fair elections, for the peaceful and orderly transfer of power in their

government, and for the continued success of democracy in their nation

since that transition.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 3, 2003

Mr. GREEN of Wisconsin submitted the following resolution; which was

referred to the Committee on International Relations

RESOLUTION

Commending the people of the Republic of Kenya for conducting free and fair elections, for the peaceful and orderly transfer of power in their government, and for

the continued success of democracy in their nation since

that transition.

Whereas on December 27, 2002, the Republic of Kenya successfully held presidential, parliamentary, and local elections;


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•HRES 177 IH

Whereas these elections were widely praised by objective

international observers as free and fair;

Whereas the Department of State stated that with these elections the Kenyan people ‘‘have made a strong demonstration of their democratic commitment and established an

important example for the region and for the world’’;

Whereas the European Union stated that ‘‘the overall conduct of the elections constitutes an example for other

countries in the region’’;

Whereas these elections signal a major step forward for Kenyan democracy, particularly when compared with other

elections held in Kenya since it became an independent

state in 1963;

Whereas the transition of power put in motion by these elections culminated on December 30, 2002, when former

President Daniel Toroitich arap Moi peaceably transferred the Kenyan presidency to President Mwai Kibaki;

and

Whereas these elections and the subsequent transfer of power

from leader to leader represent the birth of a successful

new democracy in Kenya: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives—

2 (1) commends the people of the Republic of

3 Kenya for conducting free and fair elections, and the

4 Government of Kenya for its successful completion

5 of a peaceful and orderly transition of power;

6 (2) expresses its desire to see this new democ7 racy in Kenya continue to thrive, as it has in the

8 months following the 2002 elections;


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•HRES 177 IH

1 (3) urges other African countries to look to

2 Kenya as an example of a working democracy in ac3 tion and to follow the example set by the people of

4 Kenya during this recent election process;

5 (4) reaffirms the friendship that exists between

6 the people of the United States and people of Kenya,

7 as two nations bound together by the shared values

8 of democracy;

9 (5) offers its commitment to working to ensure

10 democracy is able to grow and flourish as Kenya

11 moves into the challenging future that lies ahead;

12 and

13 (6) commends the Government of Kenya for its

14 commitment and concrete steps taken—

15 (A) to strengthen democracy, human rights

16 and the rule of law;

17 (B) to combat corruption;

18 (C) to provide free and universal primary

19 education;

20 (D) to fight against HIV/AIDS; and

21 (E) to support the United States in the

22 war on terrorism.

Æ


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IV

[COMMITTEE PRINT]

JUNE 5, 2003

[Showing H. Res. 194 As Reported by the Subcommittee on

Africa]

108TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. RES. 194

Regarding the importance of international efforts to abolish slavery and

other human rights abuses in the Sudan.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 10, 2003

Mr. CAPUANO (for himself, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. WOLF, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr.

FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, and

Mr. WEXLER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to

the Committee on International Relations

RESOLUTION

Regarding the importance of international efforts to abolish

slavery and other human rights abuses in the Sudan.

Whereas the efforts of the government of Khartoum to subjugate the peoples of the southern Sudan have led to the

death of more than 2,000,000 persons and the displacement of another 4,000,000 persons;

Whereas the Department of State’s ‘‘Country Reports on

Human Rights Practices for 2001’’ estimates that between 5,000 and 15,000 Dinka women and children have


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•HRES 194 IH

been abducted during the past 15 years, and that between 10,000 and 12,000 persons remain in captivity;

Whereas credible observers report that some of the abductees

were sold into slavery and others were used as forced

labor or drafted into the military, including children;

Whereas the Department of State’s ‘‘Country Reports on

Human Rights Practices for 2002’’ notes that persons

held in government controlled ‘‘Peace’’ camps for internally displaced persons were reportedly subjected to

forced labor;

Whereas the Special Rapporteur for Sudan to the General

Assembly of the United Nations concluded, on November

4, 2002, that the dire human rights situation in Sudan

had not significantly changed;

Whereas the United States Civilian Protection Monitoring

Team (CPMT) reported in February 2003 that militia allied with the Government of Sudan and supported directly by Government of Sudan troops continued to

abduct civilians in the western Upper Nile region of

Sudan;

Whereas subsequent to the February 2003 report of the Civilian Protection Monitoring Team, the Government of

Sudan restricted the movements of the CPMT and prevented it from carrying out its mandate;

Whereas the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights declares ‘‘[n]o one shall be held in slavery or servitude:

slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their

forms’’;

Whereas numerous human rights organizations, including

Christian Solidarity International, the Center for ReliVerDate Mar 21 2002 16:00 Sep 23, 2003 Jkt 087676 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\FULL\M061203\87676 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL

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•HRES 194 IH

gious Freedom of Freedom House, and the American

Anti-Slavery Group have demanded an end to slavery in

all its forms and, in particular, to the abuses practiced

by the Government of Sudan;

Whereas the National Association for the Advancement of

Colored People adopted, in May 1995, a Resolution to

Combat Modern Day Slavery stating that slavery in

Sudan was an ‘‘irrefutable fact, corroborated by numerous sources,’’ and pledging that ‘‘we will not rest until

these slaves are freed’’;

Whereas the House of Representatives has repeatedly decried

human rights abuses in Sudan and called for the abolition of the slave trade and of chattel slavery in Sudan;

Whereas the House of Representatives committed itself to

practical measures to suppress the slave trade and chattel slavery in the Sudan by the passage, by a vote of

359–8, in the 107th Congress of H.R. 5531, the ‘‘Sudan

Peace Act’’, and the Senate passed a similar measure, S.

180, unanimously;

Whereas the United Nations Commission on Human Rights

conducted its 59th session in Geneva from March 17

through April 25, 2003;

Whereas the head of the United States delegation to the

United Nations Commission on Human Rights,

Ambassaador Jeane Kirkpatrick, declared in her opening

address that ‘‘[t]he Commission has the solemn duty to

speak for those who are denied the right to speak for

themselves’’;

Whereas Human Rights Watch and many other concerned

persons and organizations have called upon the United

Nations Commission on Human Rights to renew the


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•HRES 194 IH

mandate of the Special Rapporteur on human rights for

Sudan, and to condemn gross abuses of human rights

and violations of international humanitarian law by the

Sudanese Government and rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) forces; and

Whereas the United Nations Commission on Human Rights,

by a vote of 26 to 24 with 3 abstentions, refused to classify Sudan as an ‘‘Item 9’’ country, one in which grave

human rights problems justify the appointment of a Special Rapporteur to investigate abuses and to report on

them: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that—

3 (1) slavery, under any circumstances, is an un4 conscionable practice;

5 (2) the subjection inherent in slavery inevitably

6 leads to other abuses, including torture and rape;

7 (3) human rights abuses and slavery in Sudan

8 remain a matter of the most profound concern;

9 (4) the United States must condemn attempts

10 to ignore or condone these outrages;

11 (5) the United States must make clear to all

12 members of the United Nations Commission on

13 Human Rights that the refusal to condemn slavery

14 in Sudan undermines any moral authority that the

15 Commission might seek to exert in other areas;

16 (6) the United States must work to re-classify

17 Sudan as an ‘‘Item 9’’ country, requiring a Special


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•HRES 194 IH

1 Rapporteur at the next session of the United Na2 tions Commission on Human Rights; and

3 (7) the United States should encourage the

4 United Nations to consider reinstating sanctions

5 against Sudan and should urge the European Union,

6 the African Union, and all others who express con7 cern for human freedom and dignity to be engaged

8 in activities that will convince Sudan to abolish slav9 ery and respect human rights.


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H.L.C.

AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE

TO

H. RES. 199

AS REPORTED BY THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON ASIA

AND THE PACIFIC

Strike the preamble and insert the following:

Whereas according to the United States Department of

State’s 2002 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices in China, the Government of the People’s Republic

of China has ‘‘continued to commit numerous and serious

[human rights] abuses’’, including ‘‘instances of . . . arbitrary arrest and detention, lengthy incommunicado detention, and denial of due process’’;

Whereas according to the 2002 Country Reports on Human

Rights Practices in China, ‘‘the country’s criminal procedures were not in compliance with international standards’’, ‘‘the lack of due process in the judicial system remained a serious problem’’, and ‘‘authorities routinely

violated legal protections in the cases of political dissidents’’;

Whereas Dr. Yang Jianli, an internationally renowned scholar, prodemocracy activist, and President of the Foundation for China in the 21st Century, is an alien lawfully

admitted for permanent residence into the United States;

Whereas Dr. Yang Jianli has been detained incommunicado

by the Government of the People’s Republic of China

since April 26, 2002, when he was arrested for reportedly

entering China with false or incomplete identity documents;


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H.L.C.

Whereas according to the United Nations Commission on

Human Rights Resolution 1997/38, ‘‘prolonged incommunicado detention may . . . itself constitute a form of

cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment’’, which is prohibited by international law;

Whereas Dr. Yang Jianli has been deprived of his basic

human rights by being denied access to legal counsel and

contact with his wife and two children (who are United

States citizens), and has also been denied his right to

trial within a reasonable time or to release;

Whereas on May 7, 2003, the United Nations Working

Group on Arbitrary Detention expressed the opinion that

‘‘[t]he non-observance of Mr. Yang Jianli’s right to a fair

trial is of such gravity as to give his deprivation of liberty

an arbitrary character. Therefore, his arrest and detention is arbitrary being in contravention of Article 9 of the

Universal Declaration on Human Rights and of Article 9

of the International Covenant on Civil and Political

Rights’’; and

Whereas the arbitrary imprisonment and the violation of the

human rights of United States citizens and permanent

resident aliens by the Government of the People’s Republic of China are sources of continuing, grave concern to

the House of Representatives: Now, therefore, be it

Strike the resolving clause and insert the following:

1 Resolved, That—

2 (1) the House of Representatives—

3 (A) condemns and deplores the incommuni4 cado detention of Dr. Yang Jianli, and calls for

5 his immediate and unconditional release;


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H.L.C.

1 (B) condemns and deplores the lack of due

2 process afforded to Dr. Yang;

3 (C) strongly urges the Government of the

4 People’s Republic of China to respond to the re5 peated requests by Members of the House of

6 Representatives for information about Dr.

7 Yang’s whereabouts and condition; and

8 (D) strongly urges the Government of the

9 People’s Republic of China to consider the im10 plications for the broader relationship between

11 the United States and the People’s Republic of

12 China of detaining permanent resident aliens of

13 the United States without providing them ac14 cess to legal counsel or family members; and

15 (2) it is the sense of the House of Representa16 tives that the United States—

17 (A) should make the immediate release of

18 Dr. Yang Jianli by the Government of the Peo19 ple’s Republic of China a top concern of United

20 States foreign policy;

21 (B) should continue to make every effort

22 to assist Dr. Yang Jianli and his family while

23 discussions of his release are ongoing;

24 (C) should make it clear to the Govern25 ment of the People’s Republic of China that the


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H.L.C.

1 detention of United States citizens and perma2 nent resident aliens and the infliction of human

3 rights violations on these groups are not in the

4 interest of the Government of the People’s Re5 public of China because they create obstacles to

6 improved bilateral relations and cooperation

7 with the United States; and

8 (D) should reiterate the deep concern of

9 the United States regarding the continued im10 prisonment of Dr. Yang Jianli and other

11 United States citizens and permanent resident

12 aliens whose human rights are being violated,

13 and discuss their legal status and immediate

14 humanitarian needs with the Government of the

15 People’s Republic of China.


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IV

108TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. RES. 237

Honoring the life and work of Walter Sisulu, a critical leader in the movement

to free South Africa of apartheid, on the occasion of his death.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 15, 2003

Ms. LEE (for herself, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. PAYNE, and Mr. MEEKS of New York)

submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee

on International Relations

RESOLUTION

Honoring the life and work of Walter Sisulu, a critical leader

in the movement to free South Africa of apartheid, on

the occasion of his death.

Whereas Walter Sisulu, a critical leader in the movement to

free South Africa of apartheid, died on Monday, May 5,

2003;

Whereas Sisulu helped free both black and white people from

the bondage of segregation while driving home the concept of equality for all;

Whereas Sisulu, along with Nelson Mandela, was imprisoned

for 26 years for his role in seeking true democratic representation in South Africa;

Whereas, in 1910, the Union of South Africa established a

whites only government that limited voting rights and imVerDate Mar 21 2002 16:00 Sep 23, 2003 Jkt 087676 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\FULL\M061203\87676 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL

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•HRES 237 IH

plemented South Africa’s segregation policy, and, in

1948, the National Party won an all-white general election on a campaign promise to introduce a system of

apartheid to totally separate the races;

Whereas opposition to the apartheid system by the black majority was ruthlessly suppressed until 1994, and during

that time Sisulu fought tirelessly against this policy, sacrificing his life to free black South Africans;

Whereas, after the victory over apartheid, Sisulu did not take

a position in the new government but instead worked in

the community to advance the quality of life for the average man and woman that the former government had so

long ignored; and

Whereas Sisulu had a vision of a united and representative

government that serves the needs of all its people, and

dared to dream and worked to build such a united and

representative government: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives honors

2 the life and work of Walter Sisulu, a critical leader in the

3 movement to free South Africa of apartheid, on the occa4 sion of his death.

Æ


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IV

108TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. RES. 242

Expressing the condolences of the House of Representatives to the families

of the victims of the terrorist suicide bombing attacks that occurred

on May 16, 2003, in Casablanca, Morocco.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 20, 2003

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida (for himself, Mr. TANNER, Mr.

ENGLISH, and Mr. JOHN) submitted the following resolution; which was

referred to the Committee on International Relations

RESOLUTION

Expressing the condolences of the House of Representatives

to the families of the victims of the terrorist suicide

bombing attacks that occurred on May 16, 2003, in

Casablanca, Morocco.

Whereas on May 16, 2003, Casablanca, Morocco, was struck

by a series of terrorist suicide bombing attacks that took

the lives of many innocent individuals;

Whereas 42 people died as a result of the terrorist attacks

and more than 100 people were injured;

Whereas Casablanca is a city well-known for its tolerance and

its diverse range of religious and ethnic communities;

Whereas the United States will continue to stand together

with the Kingdom of Morocco against the threat of interVerDate Mar 21 2002 16:00 Sep 23, 2003 Jkt 087676 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\FULL\M061203\87676 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL

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•HRES 242 IH

national terrorism to both our nations and all peace-loving people;

Whereas the United States deeply appreciates the leadership

shown by King Mohamed VI and the Kingdom of Morocco in the international campaign against terrorism;

Whereas Morocco and the United States have engaged in

friendly diplomatic relations since 1786 and Morocco has

proved its commitment to the United States many times

over the past two centuries;

Whereas Morocco, which hosts the largest Voice of America

facility in the world, has chosen the path of diversity and

tolerance; and

Whereas the acts of murder committed on May 16, 2003, in

Casablanca, Morocco, show once again that terrorism respects neither boundaries nor borders: Now, therefore, be

it

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives—

2 (1) offers its condolences and deepest sympathy

3 to the families of the victims of the terrorist suicide

4 bombing attacks that occurred on May 16, 2003, in

5 Casablanca, Morocco, and expresses its hopes for a

6 quick recovery to those individuals who were injured

7 in the attacks;

8 (2) supports the provision of appropriate

9 United States assistance to the people of Morocco in

10 this time of sorrow and grief; and


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•HRES 242 IH

1 (3) calls on the United States Government to

2 continue to work with the Kingdom of Morocco as

3 an ally in the fight against terrorism.

Æ


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1

H.L.C.

.....................................................................

(Original Signature of Member)

108TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. RES. 264

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Mr. LANTOS (for himself, øsee attached list of cosponsors¿) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on

lllllllllllllll

RESOLUTION

Expressing sympathy for the victims of the devastating

earthquake that struck Algeria on May 21, 2003.

Whereas, on the evening of May 21, 2003, a devastating and

deadly earthquake of a magnitude of 6.8 on the Richter

scale with a depth of 6 miles struck northern Algeria,

killing more than 2,260 people, injuring more than

10,000, and leaving more than 200,000 homeless;

Whereas the earthquake of May 21, 2003, has left thousands

of buildings in ruins and has severely disrupted health

services, water supply lines, electricity, and telecommunications in Algeria and affected cities;


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H.L.C.

Whereas severe aftershocks with magnitudes greater than 4.0

have continued to terrify the people of Algeria and hamper rescue efforts;

Whereas the strength, courage, and determination of the

Government and people of Algeria has been displayed

since the earthquake;

Whereas the people of the United States and Algeria share

strong friendship and mutual respect;

Whereas the United States airlifted to the earthquake-affected population 17,000 blankets, 1800 tents, electrical

equipment, water purification kits, and 3 medical supply

kits that will benefit 10,000 people over 3 months;

Whereas the United States has released $50,000 to the Algerian Red Crescent Society for emergency relief supplies;

and

Whereas the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

launched an emergency appeal for humanitarian and relief assistance to address the devastation caused by the

powerful earthquake: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives—

2 (1) expresses its deepest sympathies to the peo3 ple of Algeria and particularly to the families of the

4 victims and the survivors for the tragic losses suf5 fered as a result of the earthquake of May 21, 2003;

6 (2) expresses its support for the people and to

7 the Government of Algeria as they continue their ef8 forts to rebuild their cities and their lives;


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3

H.L.C.

1 (3) expresses support for humanitarian assist2 ance provided by the United States Agency for

3 International Development and other American and

4 international relief organizations;

5 (4) recognizes the important role that is being

6 played by the United States and the international

7 community in providing assistance to alleviate the

8 suffering of the people of Algeria; and

9 (5) encourages a continued commitment by the

10 United States and other countries and international

11 organizations to the rebuilding of the earthquake-af12 fected areas in Algeria.


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IV

108TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 49

Expressing the sense of the Congress that the sharp escalation of antiSemitic violence within many participating States of the Organization

for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is of profound concern

and efforts should be undertaken to prevent future occurrences.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 13, 2003

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. WOLF, Mr. HOYER,

Mr. LANTOS, Mr. WAMP, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. ADERHOLT, and Mr.

HASTINGS of Florida) submitted the following concurrent resolution;

which was referred to the Committee on International Relations

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Congress that the sharp escalation of anti-Semitic violence within many participating

States of the Organization for Security and Cooperation

in Europe (OSCE) is of profound concern and efforts

should be undertaken to prevent future occurrences.

Whereas the expressions of anti-Semitism experienced

throughout the region encompassing the participating

States of the Organization for Security and Cooperation

in Europe (OSCE) have included physical assaults, with

some instances involving weapons or stones, arson of synagogues, and desecration of Jewish cultural sites, such as

cemeteries and statues;


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•HCON 49 IH

Whereas vicious propaganda and violence in many OSCE

States against Jews, foreigners, and others portrayed as

alien have reached alarming levels, in part due to the

dangerous promotion of aggressive nationalism by political figures and others;

Whereas violence and other manifestations of xenophobia and

discrimination can never be justified by political issues or

international developments;

Whereas the Copenhagen Concluding Document adopted by

the OSCE in 1990 was the first international agreement

to condemn anti-Semitic acts, and the OSCE participating States pledged to ‘‘clearly and unequivocally condemn totalitarianism, racial and ethnic hatred, anti–Semitism, xenophobia and discrimination against anyone as

well as persecution on religious and ideological grounds’’;

Whereas the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly at its meeting in

Berlin in July 2002 unanimously adopted a resolution

that, inter alia, called upon participating States to ‘‘ensure aggressive law enforcement by local and national authorities, including thorough investigation of anti-Semitic

criminal acts, apprehension of perpetrators, initiation of

appropriate criminal prosecutions and judicial proceedings’’;

Whereas Decision No. 6 adopted by the OSCE Ministerial

Council at its Tenth Meeting in Porto, Portugal in December 2002 (the ‘‘Porto Ministerial Declaration’’) condemned ‘‘the recent increase in anti-Semitic incidents in

the OSCE area, recognizing the role that the existence of

anti–Semitism has played throughout history as a major

threat to freedom’’;


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•HCON 49 IH

Whereas the Porto Ministerial Declaration also urged ‘‘the

convening of separately designated human dimension

events on issues addressed in this decision, including on

the topics of anti-Semitism, discrimination and racism

and xenophobia’’; and

Whereas on December 10, 2002, at the Washington Parliamentary Forum on Confronting and Combating antiSemitism in the OSCE Region, representatives of the

United States Congress and the German Parliament

agreed to denounce all forms of anti–Semitism and

agreed that ‘‘anti–Semitic bigotry must have no place in

our democratic societies’’: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that—

3 (1) officials of the executive branch and Mem4 bers of Congress should raise the issue of anti-Semi5 tism in their bilateral contacts with other countries

6 and at multilateral fora, including meetings of the

7 Permanent Council of the Organization for Security

8 and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Twelfth

9 Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assem10 bly to be convened in July 2003;

11 (2) participating States of the OSCE should

12 unequivocally condemn anti-Semitism (including vio13 lence against Jews and Jewish cultural sites), racial

14 and ethnic hatred, xenophobia, and discrimination,

15 as well as persecution on religious grounds whenever

16 it occurs;


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•HCON 49 IH

1 (3) participating States of the OSCE should en2 sure effective law enforcement by local and national

3 authorities against criminal acts stemming from

4 anti-Semitism, xenophobia, or racial or ethnic ha5 tred, whether directed at individuals, communities,

6 or property, including thorough investigation and

7 prosecution of such acts;

8 (4) participating States of the OSCE should

9 promote the creation of educational efforts through10 out the region encompassing the participating States

11 of the OSCE to counter anti-Semitic stereotypes and

12 attitudes among younger people, increase Holocaust

13 awareness programs, and help identify the necessary

14 resources to accomplish this goal;

15 (5) legislators in all OSCE participating States

16 should play a leading role in combating anti-Semi17 tism and ensure that the resolution adopted at the

18 2002 meeting of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly

19 in Berlin is followed up by a series of concrete ac20 tions at the national level; and

21 (6) the OSCE should organize a separately des22 ignated human dimension event on anti-Semitism as

23 early as possible in 2003, consistent with the Porto

24 Ministerial Declaration adopted by the OSCE at the


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•HCON 49 IH

1 Tenth Meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council in

2 December 2002.

Æ


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IV

108TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 80

Expressing the sense of Congress relating to efforts of the Peace Parks

Foundation in the Republic of South Africa to facilitate the establishment

and development of transfrontier conservation efforts in southern Africa.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 6, 2003

Mr. BOEHLERT (for himself, Mr. ROYCE, Mr. HOUGHTON, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr.

GILCHREST, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE

JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. SANDERS, Ms. LEE, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr.

CUMMINGS, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, and Mr.

OWENS) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of Congress relating to efforts of the

Peace Parks Foundation in the Republic of South Africa

to facilitate the establishment and development of

transfrontier conservation efforts in southern Africa.

Whereas on February 1, 1997, the Peace Parks Foundation

was established in the Republic of South Africa as a nonprofit company to facilitate the establishment of

transfrontier conservation areas in the Southern African

Development Community (SADC) countries;

Whereas the overall purpose of the Peace Parks Foundation

is to facilitate the establishment and development of


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2

•HCON 80 IH

transfrontier areas involving two or more countries without compromising national sovereignty, and allowing the

free movement of humankind and animals across international borders within the peace park and thereby contributing to economic development, job creation, and

peace and understanding between the countries concerned;

Whereas former South African President Nelson Mandela is

a patron emeritus of the Peace Parks Foundation and

the heads of state of the SADC countries are honorary

patrons of the Foundation;

Whereas the Peace Parks Foundation has received the full

support and endorsement for its efforts and activities

from the heads of state of the SADC countries;

Whereas eight transfrontier conservation areas totaling approximately 232,000 square miles are supported by the

Peace Parks Foundation in the SADC countries; and

Whereas the United States values peace and stability in the

global community, and in particular Africa, and has long

recognized the significance of sustainable economic development and the conservation of biodiversity: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that—

3 (1) the United States should support efforts to

4 facilitate the establishment and development of

5 transfrontier conservation areas in the Southern Af6 rican Development Community (SADC) countries;

7 and


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3

•HCON 80 IH

1 (2) nongovernmental organizations and founda2 tions in the United States should be encouraged to

3 support and promote sustainable economic develop4 ment and benefits through the preservation of wild5 life in peace parks on an expanded and inclusive

6 basis to the benefit of the countries concerned and

7 their people.

Æ


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IV

108TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 134

Acknowledging the deepening relationship between the United States and

the Republic of Djibouti and recognizing Djibouti’s role in combating

terrorism.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 1, 2003

Mr. ROYCE (for himself, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. FLAKE, and Mr. JEFFERSON) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the

Committee on International Relations

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Acknowledging the deepening relationship between the United

States and the Republic of Djibouti and recognizing

Djibouti’s role in combating terrorism.

Whereas the Republic of Djibouti attained independence in

1977 and has since maintained good relations with the

United States;

Whereas Djibouti lies at the junction of the Red Sea and the

Gulf of Aden, a strategic maritime passage;

Whereas during the first Persian Gulf War, Djibouti provided

important assistance to the United States and its coalition partners, including access to its modern ports and

airports;


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2

•HCON 134 IH

Whereas the Republic of Djibouti is a voice of moderation in

the African Union, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, and the Arab League;

Whereas for over a decade, Djibouti has been a force for stability in the conflict-prone Horn of Africa;

Whereas since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001,

Djibouti has been a full and active partner with the

United States in the global war on terrorism;

Whereas Djibouti has hosted United States military forces

for over one year and has allowed United States and

other coalition military forces to conduct extensive training exercises;

Whereas the United States Central Command has chosen

Djibouti as the headquarters of the Combined Joint Task

Force-Horn of Africa, a key anchor of the United States

Central Command’s antiterrorist efforts;

Whereas President Ismail Omar Guelleh of the Republic of

Djibouti visited the United States in January, 2003 to

discuss strengthening bilateral cooperation, economic development, and other issues, and was warmly received by

President George W. Bush and members of his cabinet;

Whereas Djibouti suffers one of the highest infant mortality

rates in Africa;

Whereas the executive branch plans to establish an office of

the United States Agency for International Development

in Djibouti;

Whereas the executive branch recently established a transmission facility in Djibouti to support international

broadcasting by the United States of Arabic language

programs throughout the Middle East; and


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•HCON 134 IH

Whereas Djibouti is a key ally of the United States in a strategically important region: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That the Congress—

3 (1) acknowledges the deepening relationship be4 tween the United States and the Republic of

5 Djibouti;

6 (2) recognizes the support and assistance

7 Djibouti has provided in combating terrorism;

8 (3) applauds the Republic of Djibouti for wel9 coming the presence of United States military forces

10 for training and other purposes; and

11 (4) encourages expanded relations between the

12 United States and the Republic of Djibouti on issues

13 of importance to the two countries, including assist14 ance programs aimed at promoting economic devel15 opment in Djibouti.

Æ


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1

IV

108TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 154

Concerning the transition to democracy in the Republic of Burundi.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 12, 2003

Mr. PAYNE submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred

to the Committee on International Relations

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Concerning the transition to democracy in the Republic of

Burundi.

Whereas more than 100,000 people have died and hundreds

of thousands have been displaced due to the decade-long

civil war in the Republic of Burundi;

Whereas in 2001, 19 political parties from Burundi signed an

historic peace agreement in Arusha, Tanzania, which was

mediated by former South African President Nelson

Mandela;

Whereas in November 2001, a transitional national government for Burundi was established, consisting of representatives from political parties that signed the 2001

peace agreement, with President Pierre Buyoya as interim head of state for the initial 18 months, and current

Vice President Domitien Ndayizeye as successor head of


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•HCON 154 IH

state for the remaining 18 months of the 36-month transition period;

Whereas the Government of South Africa has deployed more

than 600 troops to provide protection for the politicians

who are returning to Burundi and to support of the transitional national government;

Whereas although the formation of the transitional national

government in Burundi offers hope for a permanent

peace, Burundi still faces daunting challenges in the

short-term, such as armed extremist groups which refused to sign the 2001 peace agreement and which continue to terrorize the civilian population and threaten the

stability of the transitional government;

Whereas the Government of Burundi continues to face serious economic problems and a crushing external debt burden; and

Whereas hundreds of thousands of refugees from Burundi remain in desperate conditions in refugee camps in Tanzania and other neighboring countries: Now, therefore, be

it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That Congress—

3 (1) strongly commends the efforts of former

4 South African President Nelson Mandela and others

5 involved in the historic peace agreement for the Re6 public of Burundi that was signed in 2001 in

7 Arusha, Tanzania;


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3

•HCON 154 IH

1 (2) calls on the President to significantly in2 crease development and economic assistance to Bu3 rundi;

4 (3) strongly urges the President to work with

5 Congress to lift restrictions imposed on Burundi

6 shortly after the 1996 coup in Burundi;

7 (4) strongly urges the President, acting through

8 the Administrator of the United States Agency for

9 International Development (USAID), to establish a

10 USAID mission in Burundi;

11 (5) calls on the Administrator of USAID to

12 provide funds in support of demobilization programs

13 and to support efforts designed to bring lasting

14 peace and democracy to Burundi; and

15 (6) strongly urges the international community

16 to assist Burundi in its debt relief efforts, including

17 through the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initia18 tive.

Æ


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1

IV

108TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 169

Expressing the sense of Congress that the United States Government should

support the human rights and dignity of all persons with disabilities

by pledging support for the drafting and working toward the adoption

of a thematic convention on the human rights and dignity of persons

with disabilities by the United Nations General Assembly to augment

the existing United Nations human rights system, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 8, 2003

Mr. LANTOS (for himself, Mr. HYDE, Mr. LANGEVIN, and Mr. RAMSTAD) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the

Committee on International Relations

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of Congress that the United States

Government should support the human rights and dignity

of all persons with disabilities by pledging support for

the drafting and working toward the adoption of a thematic convention on the human rights and dignity of

persons with disabilities by the United Nations General

Assembly to augment the existing United Nations human

rights system, and for other purposes.

Whereas all people are endowed with an inestimable dignity,

which is based on autonomy and self-determination, and

which requires that every person be placed at the center

of all decisions affecting such person, and the inherent


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•HCON 169 IH

equality of all people and the ethical requirement of every

society to honor and sustain the freedom of any individual with appropriate communal support;

Whereas more than 600,000,000 people have a disability;

Whereas more than two-thirds of all persons with disabilities

live in developing countries, and only 2 percent of children with disabilities in the developing world receive any

education or rehabilitation;

Whereas during the last 2 decades, a substantial shift has occurred globally in governmental and nongovernmental institutions from an approach of charity toward persons

with disabilities to the recognition of the inherent universal human rights of persons with disabilities;

Whereas the United Nations has authoritatively endorsed and

helped to advance progress toward realizing the human

rights of persons with disabilities, as exemplified by the

United Nations Standard Rules on the Equalization of

Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities (adopted by

the United Nations General Assembly in Resolution 48/

96 of December 20, 1993), which are monitored by a

United Nations Special Rapporteur;

Whereas because of the slow and uneven progress of ensuring

that persons with disabilities enjoy their universal human

rights in law and in practice, every society and the international community remain challenged to identify and

implement the processes which best protect the dignity of

persons with disabilities and which fully implement their

inherent human rights;

Whereas greater and more rapid progress must be achieved

toward overcoming the relative invisibility of persons with


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3

•HCON 169 IH

disabilities in many societies, national laws, and existing

international human rights instruments; and

Whereas, accordingly, the United Nations General Assembly

in November 2001, adopted an historic resolution to establish an ad hoc committee open to all United Nations

member nations to consider proposals for a comprehensive and integral treaty to protect and promote the rights

and dignity of persons with disabilities: Now, therefore,

be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that—

3 (1) the United States should play a leading role

4 in the drafting of a thematic United Nations conven5 tion that affirms the human rights and dignity of

6 persons with disabilities, and that—

7 (A) is consistent with the spirit of the

8 American with Disabilities Act of 1990, the

9 United States Constitution, and other rights en10 joyed by United States citizens with disabilities;

11 (B) promotes inclusion, independence, po12 litical enfranchisement, and economic self-suffi13 ciency of persons with disabilities as

14 foundational requirements for any free and just

15 society; and

16 (C) provides protections that are at least

17 as strong as the rights that are now recognized


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4

•HCON 169 IH

1 under international human rights law for other

2 vulnerable populations; and

3 (2) the President should instruct the Secretary

4 of State to send to the United Nations Ad Hoc Com5 mittee meetings a United States delegation that in6 cludes individuals with disabilities who are recog7 nized leaders in the United States disability rights

8 movement.

Æ


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1

IV

108TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 209

Commending the signing of the United States-Adriatic Charter, a charter

of partnership among the United States, Albania, Croatia, and Macedonia.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 5, 2003

Mr. ENGEL (for himself, Mr. BEREUTER, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. KIRK, Mrs.

KELLY, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, and Mr. SHIMKUS) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the

Committee on International Relations

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Commending the signing of the United States-Adriatic Charter, a charter of partnership among the United States,

Albania, Croatia, and Macedonia.

Whereas the United States has an enduring interest in the

independence, territorial integrity, and security of Albania, Croatia, and The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and supports their full integration in the community of democratic Euro-Atlantic states;

Whereas Albania, Croatia, and Macedonia have taken clear

and positive steps to advance their integration into Europe by establishing close cooperative relations among

themselves and with their neighbors, as well as their promotion of regional cooperation;


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•HCON 209 IH

Whereas Albania, Croatia, and Macedonia have already contributed to European security and to the peace and security of southeast Europe through the resolution of conflicts in the region and their regional cooperation in the

Southeast Europe Defense Ministerial;

Whereas on May 2, 2003, the United States-Adriatic Charter

was signed in Tirana, Albania, by Secretary of State

Colin Powell, Albanian Foreign Minister Ilir Meta, Croatian Foreign Minister Tonino Picula, and Macedonian

Foreign Minister Ilinka Mitreva;

Whereas the Adriatic Charter affirms the commitment of Albania, Croatia, and Macedonia to the values and principles of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

and to joining the Alliance at the earliest possible time;

Whereas Secretary of State Powell stated that the Adriatic

Charter ‘‘reaffirms our partners’ dedication to work individually, with each other, and with their neighbors to

build a region of strong democracies powered by free

market economies . . . [i]t underscores the importance we

place on their eventual full integration into NATO and

other European institutions . . . [a]nd most importantly,

the Charter promises to strengthen the ties that bind the

peoples of the region to the United States, to one another, and to a common future within the Euro-Atlantic

family’’; and

Whereas 75 commandos of the armed forces of the Republic

of Albania were sent to Iraq as part of the coalition

forces during Operation Iraqi Freedom as a sign of its

commitment to promote international freedom and security: Now, therefore, be it


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3

•HCON 209 IH

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That Congress—

3 (1) strongly supports the United States-Adriatic

4 Charter and commends Albania, Croatia, and Mac5 edonia for their continued efforts to become full6 fledged members of the North Atlantic Treaty Orga7 nization (NATO) and the European Union;

8 (2) urges NATO to invite Albania, Croatia, and

9 Macedonia to join NATO as soon as these countries

10 demonstrate the ability to assume the responsibilities

11 of NATO membership;

12 (3) welcomes and supports the aspirations of

13 Albania, Croatia, and Macedonia to join the Euro14 pean Union at the earliest opportunity;

15 (4) recognizes that Albania, Croatia, and Mac16 edonia are making important strides to bring their

17 economic, military, and political institutions into

18 conformance with the standards of NATO and other

19 Euro-Atlantic institutions; and

20 (5) commends Secretary of State Powell for his

21 personal support of the Adriatic Charter.

Æ


87676m.AAD
56

Chairman HYDE. The next item on the agenda is H.R. 2330, Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003, which I call up for purposes of markup and move its favorable recommendation to the 

House. Without objection, the bill will be considered as read and 

open for amendment at any point. 

[H.R. 2330 follows:]

57

1

I

108TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2330

To sanction the ruling Burmese military junta, to strengthen Burma’s democratic forces and support and recognize the National League of Democracy as the legitimate representative of the Burmese people, and for

other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 4, 2003

Mr. LANTOS (for himself, Mr. KING of New York, Mr. HYDE, Mr. SMITH of

New Jersey, Mr. RANGEL, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr.

ROHRABACHER, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr. PITTS, Mr. LEVIN, Mr.

SOUDER, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. HOEFFEL, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, Mr. ENGEL,

Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. ANDREWS, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr.

OLVER, Mr. FARR, Mr. EVANS, and Mr. ABERCROMBIE) introduced the

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, Financial

Services, and the Judiciary, 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 sanction the ruling Burmese military junta, to strengthen

Burma’s democratic forces and support and recognize

the National League of Democracy as the legitimate

representative of the Burmese people, and for other purposes.

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


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•HR 2330 IH

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Burmese Freedom and

3 Democracy Act of 2003’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

5 Congress makes the following findings:

6 (1) The State Peace and Development Council

7 (SPDC) has failed to transfer power to the National

8 League for Democracy (NLD) whose parliamentar9 ians won an overwhelming victory in the 1990 elec10 tions in Burma.

11 (2) The SPDC has failed to enter into meaning12 ful, political dialogue with the NLD and ethnic mi13 norities and has dismissed the efforts of United Na14 tions Special Envoy Razali bin Ismail to further

15 such dialogue.

16 (3) According to the State Department’s ‘‘Re17 port to the Congress Regarding Conditions in

18 Burma and U.S. Policy Toward Burma’’ dated

19 March 28, 2003, the SPDC has become ‘‘more

20 confrontational’’ in its exchanges with the NLD.

21 (4) On May 30, 2003, the SPDC, threatened by

22 continued support for the NLD throughout Burma,

23 brutally attacked NLD supporters, killed and in24 jured scores of civilians, and arrested democracy ad25 vocate Aung San Suu Kyi and other activists.


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•HR 2330 IH

1 (5) The SPDC continues egregious human

2 rights violations against Burmese citizens, uses rape

3 as a weapon of intimidation and torture against

4 women, and forcibly conscripts child-soldiers for the

5 use in fighting indigenous ethnic groups.

6 (6) The SPDC has demonstrably failed to co7 operate with the United States in stopping the flood

8 of heroin and methamphetamines being grown, re9 fined, manufactured, and transported in areas under

10 the control of the SPDC serving to flood the region

11 and much of the world with these illicit drugs.

12 (7) The SPDC provides safety, security, and

13 engages in business dealings with narcotics traf14 fickers under indictment by United States authori15 ties, and other producers and traffickers of nar16 cotics.

17 (8) The International Labor Organization

18 (ILO), for the first time in its 82-year history,

19 adopted in 2000, a resolution recommending that

20 governments, employers, and workers organizations

21 take appropriate measures to ensure that their rela22 tions with the SPDC do not abet the government23 sponsored system of forced, compulsory, or slave

24 labor in Burma, and that other international bodies

25 reconsider any cooperation they may be engaged in


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•HR 2330 IH

1 with Burma and, if appropriate, cease as soon as

2 possible any activity that could abet the practice of

3 forced, compulsory, or slave labor.

4 (9) The SPDC has integrated the Burmese

5 military and its surrogates into all facets of the

6 economy effectively destroying any free enterprise

7 system.

8 (10) Investment in Burmese companies and

9 purchases from them serve to provide the SPDC

10 with currency that is used to finance its instruments

11 of terror and repression against the Burmese people.

12 (11) On April 15, 2003, the American Apparel

13 and Footwear Association expressed its ‘‘strong sup14 port for a full and immediate ban on U.S. textiles,

15 apparel and footwear imports from Burma’’ and

16 called upon the United States Government to ‘‘im17 pose an outright ban on U.S. imports’’ of these

18 items until Burma demonstrates respect for basic

19 human and labor rights of its citizens.

20 (12) The policy of the United States, as articu21 lated by the President on April 24, 2003, is to offi22 cially recognize the NLD as the legitimate represent23 ative of the Burmese people as determined by the

24 1990 election.


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•HR 2330 IH

1 SEC. 3. BAN AGAINST TRADE THAT SUPPORTS THE MILI2 TARY REGIME OF BURMA.

3 (a) GENERAL BAN.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other

5 provision of law, until such time as the President de6 termines and certifies to Congress that Burma has

7 met the conditions described in paragraph (3), no

8 article may be imported into the United States that

9 is produced, mined, manufactured, grown, or assem10 bled in Burma.

11 (2) BAN ON IMPORTS FROM CERTAIN COMPA12 NIES.—The import restrictions contained in para13 graph (1) shall apply to, among other entities—

14 (A) the SPDC, any ministry of the SPDC,

15 a member of the SPDC or an immediate family

16 member of such member;

17 (B) known narcotics traffickers from

18 Burma or an immediate family member of such

19 narcotics trafficker;

20 (C) the Union of Myanmar Economics

21 Holdings Incorporated (UMEHI) or any com22 pany in which the UMEHI has a fiduciary in23 terest;

24 (D) the Myanmar Economic Corporation

25 (MEC) or any company in which the MEC has

26 a fiduciary interest;


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•HR 2330 IH

1 (E) the Union Solidarity and Development

2 Association (USDA); and

3 (F) any successor entity for the SPDC,

4 UMEHI, MEC, or USDA.

5 (3) CONDITIONS DESCRIBED.—The conditions

6 described in this paragraph are the following:

7 (A) The SPDC has made substantial and

8 measurable progress to end violations of inter9 nationally recognized human rights including

10 rape, and the Secretary of State, after consulta11 tion with the ILO Secretary General and rel12 evant nongovernmental organizations, reports to

13 the appropriate congressional committees that

14 the SPDC no longer systematically violates

15 workers rights, including the use of forced and

16 child labor, and conscription of child-soldiers.

17 (B) The SPDC has made measurable and

18 substantial progress toward implementing a

19 democratic government including—

20 (i) releasing all political prisoners;

21 (ii) allowing freedom of speech and

22 the press;

23 (iii) allowing freedom of association;

24 (iv) permitting the peaceful exercise of

25 religion; and


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•HR 2330 IH

1 (v) bringing to a conclusion an agree2 ment between the SPDC and the demo3 cratic forces led by the NLD and Burma’s

4 ethnic nationalities on the transfer of

5 power to a civilian government accountable

6 to the Burmese people through democratic

7 elections under the rule of law.

8 (C) Pursuant to section 706(2) of the For9 eign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year

10 2003 (Public Law 107–228), Burma has not

11 been designated as a country that has failed de12 monstrably to make substantial efforts to ad13 here to its obligations under international coun14 ternarcotics agreements and to take other effec15 tive counternarcotics measures, including, but

16 not limited to (i) the arrest and extradition of

17 all individuals under indictment in the United

18 States for narcotics trafficking, (ii) concrete

19 and measurable actions to stem the flow of il20 licit drug money into Burma’s banking system

21 and economic enterprises, and (iii) actions to

22 stop the manufacture and export of

23 methamphetamines.

24 (4) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT25 TEES.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘appropriate


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•HR 2330 IH

1 congressional committees’’ means the Committees on

2 Foreign Relations and Appropriations of the Senate

3 and the Committees on International Relations and

4 Appropriations of the House of Representatives.

5 (b) WAIVER AUTHORITIES.—The President may

6 waive the prohibitions described in this section for any or

7 all products imported from Burma to the United States

8 if the President determines and notifies the Committees

9 on Appropriations and Foreign Relations of the Senate

10 and the Committees on Appropriations, International Re11 lations, and Ways and Means of the House of Representa12 tives that to do so is in the national security interest of

13 the United States.

14 (c) DURATION OF TRADE BAN.—The President may

15 terminate the restrictions contained in this Act upon the

16 request of a democratically elected government in Burma,

17 provided that all the conditions in subsection (a)(3) have

18 been met.

19 SEC. 4. FREEZING ASSETS OF THE BURMESE REGIME IN

20 THE UNITED STATES.

21 Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment

22 of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall direct, and

23 promulgate regulations to the same, that any United

24 States financial institution holding funds belonging to the

25 SPDC or the assets of those individuals who hold senior


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•HR 2330 IH

1 positions in the SPDC or its political arm, the Union Soli2 darity Development Association, shall promptly report

3 those assets to the Office of Foreign Assets Control. The

4 Secretary of the Treasury may take such action as may

5 be necessary to secure such assets or funds.

6 SEC. 5. LOANS AT INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITU7 TIONS.

8 The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the

9 United States executive director to each appropriate inter10 national financial institution in which the United States

11 participates, to oppose, and vote against the extension by

12 such institution of any loan or financial or technical assist13 ance to Burma until such time as the conditions described

14 in section 3(a)(3) are met.

15 SEC. 6. EXPANSION OF VISA BAN.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—

17 (1) VISA BAN.—The President is authorized to

18 deny visas and entry to the former and present lead19 ership of the SPDC or the Union Solidarity Develop20 ment Association.

21 (2) UPDATES.—The Secretary of State shall co22 ordinate on a biannual basis with representatives of

23 the European Union to ensure that an individual

24 who is banned from obtaining a visa by the Euro25 pean Union for the reasons described in paragraph


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•HR 2330 IH

1 (1) is also banned from receiving a visa from the

2 United States.

3 (b) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary of State shall post

4 on the Department of State’s website the names of individ5 uals whose entry into the United States is banned under

6 subsection (a).

7 SEC. 7. CONDEMNATION OF THE REGIME AND DISSEMINA8 TION OF INFORMATION.

9 Congress encourages the Secretary of State to high10 light the abysmal record of the SPDC to the international

11 community and use all appropriate fora, including the As12 sociation of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum and

13 Asian Nations Regional Forum, to encourage other states

14 to restrict financial resources to the SPDC and Burmese

15 companies while offering political recognition and support

16 to Burma’s democratic movement including the National

17 League for Democracy and Burma’s ethnic groups.

18 SEC. 8. SUPPORT DEMOCRACY ACTIVISTS IN BURMA.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President is authorized to

20 use all available resources to assist Burmese democracy

21 activists dedicated to nonviolent opposition to the regime

22 in their efforts to promote freedom, democracy, and

23 human rights in Burma, including a listing of constraints

24 on such programming.

25 (b) REPORTS.—


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•HR 2330 IH

1 (1) FIRST REPORT.—Not later than 3 months

2 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec3 retary of State shall provide the Committees on Ap4 propriations and Foreign Relations of the Senate

5 and the Committees on Appropriations and Inter6 national Relations of the House of Representatives

7 a comprehensive report on its short- and long-term

8 programs and activities to support democracy activ9 ists in Burma, including a list of constraints on such

10 programming.

11 (2) REPORT ON RESOURCES.—Not later than 6

12 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the

13 Secretary of State shall provide the Committees on

14 Appropriations and Foreign Relations of the Senate

15 and the Committees on Appropriations and Inter16 national Relations of the House of Representatives

17 a report identifying resources that will be necessary

18 for the reconstruction of Burma, after the SPDC is

19 removed from power, including—

20 (A) the formation of democratic institu21 tions;

22 (B) establishing the rule of law;

23 (C) establishing freedom of the press;


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•HR 2330 IH

1 (D) providing for the successful reintegra2 tion of military officers and personnel into Bur3 mese society; and

4 (E) providing health, educational, and eco5 nomic development.

Æ


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Chairman HYDE. And the Chair yields to Mr. Lantos. 

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Chairman, thank you for scheduling today’s 

markup of the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act, which I introduced last week with your strong support and that of my good 

friend and colleague from New York, Peter King. I also want to express my appreciation to the other 20 Members of the our Committee who have co-sponsored this most important measure. I also 

wish to note, Mr. Chairman, that the measure was unanimously 

approved by the Asia and Pacific Subcommittee on Tuesday of this 

week, and I want to thank Chairman Leach and Ranking Democratic Member Faleomavaega for their strong support. 

Mr. Chairman, rarely does Congress have the opportunity to respond immediately to fast-breaking international developments to 

effect a decisive and dramatic change in U.S. foreign policy. We 

have just such an opportunity now as we consider imposing sanctions on the ruthless military regime in Burma. The history of my 

bill is instructive. I first proposed sanctioning Yangon last year, 

but when the Burmese military regime released from its grip the 

democratic activist and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, a 

woman of extraordinary courage, it appeared that dialogue and national reconciliation in Burma might be possible. But last week, the 

Yangon regime, fearing Aung San Suu Kyi’s rising popularity, 

again jailed her, murdered a number of her fellow freedom fighters, 

and with these actions Burma’s military dictatorship has sunk to 

new lows, securing its place in the world’s rogue’s gallery of chronic 

human rights abusers. 

News from the United Nations that Aung San Suu Kyi was not 

injured in the arrest does not diminish our outrage. The Yangon 

regime has committed itself to destroying all democratic opposition 

in Burma and extending its reign of terror over a captive nation. 

Mr. Chairman, dialogue with the Yangon regime is dead. National reconciliation in Burma is dead. We must adopt a new approach toward Burma today, and that new approach must be a 

strong sanctions regime. In this connection, I want to call all of my 

colleagues’ attention to an editorial in today’s Wall Street Journal

by Secretary of State Colin Powell entitled, ‘‘It is Time to Turn the 

Tables on Burma’s Thugs.’’ I would like that it be included in the 

record. 

Chairman HYDE. Without objection, so ordered. 

[The information referred to follows:]

ARTICLE SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD BY THE HONORABLE TOM LANTOS, A

REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

‘‘IT’S TIME TO TURN THE TABLES ON BURMA’S THUGS’’

BY SECRETARY COLIN L. POWELL

Op-Ed 

Wall Street Journal 

June 12, 2003

United Nations Special Envoy Razali Ismail has just visited Burma and was able 

to bring us news that Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and the leader 

of a peaceful democratic party known as the National League for Democracy, is well 

and unharmed. The thoughts and prayers of free people everywhere have been with 

her these past two weeks. Our fears for her current state of health are now somewhat lessened. 

70

On May 30, her motorcade was attacked by thugs, and then the thugs who run 

the Burmese government placed her under ‘‘protective custody.’’ We can take comfort in the fact that she is well. Unfortunately, the larger process that Ambassador 

Razali and Aung San Suu Kyi have been pursuing—to restore democracy in 

Burma—is failing despite their good will and sincere efforts. It is time to reassess 

our policy toward a military dictatorship that has repeatedly attacked democracy 

and jailed its heroes. 

There is little doubt on the facts. Aung San Suu Kyi’s party won an election in 

1990 and since then has been denied its place in Burmese politics. Her party has 

continued to pursue a peaceful path, despite personal hardships and lengthy periods 

of house arrest or imprisonment for her and her followers. Hundreds of her supporters remain in prison, despite some initial releases and promises by the junta 

to release more. The party’s offices have been closed and their supporters persecuted. Ambassador Razali has pursued every possible opening and worked earnestly to help Burma make a peaceful transition to democracy. Despite initial statements last year, the junta—which shamelessly calls itself the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC)—has now refused his efforts and betrayed its own promises. 

At the end of last month, this rejection manifested itself in violence. After the 

May 30 attack on Aung San Suu Kyi’s convoy, we sent U.S. Embassy officers to the 

scene to gather information. They reported back that the attack was planned in advance. A series of trucks followed her convoy to a remote location, blocked it and 

then unloaded thugs to swarm with fury over the cars of democracy supporters. The 

attackers were brutal and organized; the victims were peaceful and defenseless. The 

explanation by the Burmese military junta of what happened doesn’t hold water. 

The SPDC has not made a credible report of how many people were killed and injured. It was clear to our embassy officers that the members of the junta were responsible for directing and producing this staged riot. 

We have called for a full accounting of what happened that day. We have called 

for Aung San Suu Kyi to be released from confinement of any kind. We have called 

for the release of the other leaders of the National League for Democracy who were 

jailed by the SPDC before and after the attack. We have called for the offices of the 

National League for Democracy to be allowed to reopen. We are in touch with other 

governments who are concerned about the fate of democracy’s leader and the fate 

of democracy in Burma to encourage them, too, to pressure the SPDC. The Bush 

administration agrees with members of Congress, including Sen. Mitch McConnell, 

who has been a leading advocate of democracy in Burma, that the time has come 

to turn up the pressure on the SPDC. 

Here’s what we’ve done so far. The State Department has already extended our 

visa restrictions to include all officials of an organization related to the junta—the 

Union Solidarity and Development Association—and the managers of state-run enterprises so that they and their families can be banned as well. 

The United States already uses our voice and our vote against loans to Burma 

from the World Bank and other international financial institutions. The State Department reports honestly and frankly on the crimes of the SPDC in our reports on 

Human Rights, Trafficking in Persons, Drugs, and International Religious Freedom. 

In all these areas, the junta gets a failing grade. We also speak out frequently and 

strongly in favor of the National League for Democracy, and against the SPDC. I 

will press the case in Cambodia next week when I meet with the leaders of Southeast Asia, despite their traditional reticence to confront a member and neighbor of 

their association, known as Asean. 

Mr. McConnell has introduced the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act in the 

Senate; Reps. Henry Hyde and Tom Lantos have introduced a similar bill in the 

House. We support the goals and intent of the bills and are working with the sponsors on an appropriate set of new steps. Those who follow this issue will know that 

our support for legislation is in fact a change in the position of this administration 

and previous ones as well. Simply put, the attack on Ms. Suu Kyi’s convoy and the 

utter failure of the junta to accept efforts at peaceful change cannot be the last word 

on the matter. The junta that oppresses democracy inside Burma must find that its 

actions will not be allowed to stand. 

There are a number of measures that should now be taken, many of them in the 

proposed legislation. It’s time to freeze the financial assets of the SPDC. It’s time 

to ban remittances to Burma so that the SPDC cannot benefit from the foreign exchange. With legislation, we can, and should, place restrictions on travel-related 

transactions that benefit the SPDC and its supporters. We also should further limit 

commerce with Burma that enriches the junta’s generals. Of course, we would need 

to ensure consistency with our World Trade Organization and other international 

obligations. Any legislation will need to be carefully crafted to take into account our 

71

WTO obligations and the president’s need for waiver authority, but we should act 

now. 

By attacking Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters, the Burmese junta has finally and definitively rejected the efforts of the outside world to bring Burma back 

into the international community. Indeed, their refusal of the work of Ambassador 

Razali and of the rights of Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters could not be clearer. Our response must be equally clear if the thugs who now rule Burma are to understand that their failure to restore democracy will only bring more and more pressure against them and their supporters.

Mr. LANTOS. Our legislation imposes a range of severe sanctions 

on Burma, Mr. Chairman, including an end to all trade, the freezing of Burmese assets in the United States, codification of the prohibition of international financial institution lending to Burma, expansion of Burmese visa ban, and support for Burma’s democratic 

activists led by Aung San Suu Kyi. Our legislation is strong and 

it is comprehensive, but the desperate situation calls for just such 

a powerful piece of legislation. 

With the approval of this bill, Congress will have a direct impact 

on the pocketbooks of Burmese generals who run Burma’s factories 

while suppressing democracy in that country. The international 

community must follow our lead to have a far-reaching impact on 

Burma’s military junta. The Europeans, already tough on Burma, 

must adopt import sanctions. The Thais and the Chinese must stop 

their efforts to develop cozy economic and political relations with 

the Burmese dictatorship, and they must recognize that national 

reconciliation cannot happen as long as the current military regime 

is in power. 

Mr. Chairman, I urge all of my colleagues to approve this legislation, and I earnestly hope that the leadership of the House will 

permit a swift consideration on the Floor. I also urge all of our colleagues in the Senate to follow suit. Each day the United States 

and the international community fails to act is a day Aung San 

Suu Kyi continues to rot in a Burmese jail along with the democratic hope in Burma she embodies. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman HYDE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I mean, I hope not 

in my lifetime. 

Mr. LANTOS. I accept your good wishes, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman HYDE. The gentleman from Pennsylvania, Mr. Pitts. 

Mr. PITTS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I strongly support H.R. 

2330, the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act, and am offering 

an amendment to increase the findings, particularly to highlight 

the ethnic cleansing in which the ruling dictatorship is involved. I 

traveled to the Thai-Burma border in January, met with numerous 

NGOs and refugee groups, victims groups, and government officials. Numerous reports by NGOs and media, the State Department, the U.N., and other governments show that the SPDC has 

committed horrifying human rights abuses against its citizens. 

One of the most heart wrenching aspects of our trip was visiting 

an orphanage and listening to the stories about the tragedy of 

these young lives. One little 8-year-old boy who could not even 

smile, had lost both parents. He was trafficked across the border 

to Thailand. Somehow he escaped from his owners and reached the 

safety of the refugee camps. To hear the stories of these children 

and people, to see the victims of those who have been killed and 

72

wounded by the SPDC and to see their suffering is just tragic. The 

dictatorship should, I concur, release Aung San Suu Kyi from detention and engage in dialogue with the ethnic minorities. I urge 

adoption of the amendments and the bill. 

Thank you. 

Chairman HYDE. Thank you, Mr. Pitts. 

Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman HYDE. Mr. Payne. 

Mr. PAYNE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I too stand in strong support of this amendment and deplore in the strongest possible terms 

the May 30th nationwide crackdown in Burma, which is consistent 

with what has been going on there for decades. The attack by 

armed goons supported by the Burma’s military regime on the 1991 

Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi is an insult and an 

offense to all freedom-loving peoples around the world. Even worse, 

it is reported that several of her supporters have been brutally 

killed. 

When I traveled to Burma several years ago, I had the opportunity to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi, and I was certainly impressed by her staunch commitment to freedom and her refusal to 

yield to unremitting government pressure. The people in Burma 

work for no salaries. They go to Thailand to work for a dollar a day 

in horrible situations, so you can imagine how bad it is in Burma. 

Youngsters demonstrated several years ago and were given 15-year 

prison terms for having a peaceful demonstration. I wrote and 

spoke to the Second Secretary on my visit there, the second in command, the military command, and asked that relief be given to 

these young people, but to date I have not heard of any of the 

sentencings being commuted. 

I was also very proud to hear that Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a 

man that I have known and admired, has called for the international community to immediately impose sanctions on Burma’s 

regime. I urge the United States to cooperate promptly in this regard. Failure to act decisively would be to miss an opportunity to 

reaffirm our support for liberty and justice in Burma. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back the balance of my time. 

Chairman HYDE. The Chair recognizes Mr. Rohrabacher. 

Mr. ROHRABACHER. Thank you very much. I would like to congratulate the Chair and Mr. Lantos for this legislation. This speaks 

to the heart and soul of the United States of America, because 

Burma has absolutely no strategic interests for the United States. 

And it can be argued that our operation in Iraq to help free those 

people from that gangster had something to do with our own national security. It cannot be argued that in the case with Burma. 

So why should we stand tall now? To let the rest of the world know 

that we are serious about liberty and justice for all, that we do believe in human rights, and that even when it has nothing to do 

with our national security, we are going to stand with those people 

who are oppressed. 

The Burmese dictatorship has been in power. They used to call 

themselves the SCLORC, which I thought was actually a fitting 

name. They changed their name to some benevolently sounding 

title now; I will continue to call them the SLORC. They have now 

changed the name of their country from Burma to Myanmar. That 

73

is okay. When we get rid of the dictatorship, if the people want to 

be called the citizens of Myanmar, we will do that. Until then, I 

will refer to it as Burma. 

But the only thing that these dictators have done over these 

many, many decades, has brought their people tyranny. They have 

created a land where drugs are about the only thing that are produced. Let us not forget that this dictatorship has overseen the production of more heroin than in any other country of the world, although the actual production now in Afghanistan, I might add, is 

at an alarming rate at this moment. And the dictators of Burma 

have brought tyranny and misery to their people at a country that 

used to be the bread basket of Asia, and now their people are eating insects. I was there several years ago, met with Aung San Suu 

Kyi, who was in detention, and I couldn’t help but notice on the 

streets that the people were eating insects. 

As I say, this bill reaffirms our commitment to democracy. And 

if there is, however, a national security interest that ties us to the 

people of Burma, let us recognize what the dictatorship is doing in 

Burma. They are making Burma a vassal state of Communist 

China. The Communist Chinese have pumped billions of dollars 

worth of weaponry into Burma. That is how they have managed to 

maintain their control of those people. In return, China is raping 

the natural resources of that country; all the way from their 

teakwood, to their gems, and the other minerals in this very 

wealthy country. Instead of wealth, the people are living in abject 

poverty. 

So today, I am very proud to join with Tom Lantos, who over the 

years has been so active in this issue, and call on our colleagues 

and on the people of the United States to stand with the oppressed 

people in Burma and for democracy and human rights. 

Thank you very much. 

Chairman HYDE. The gentleman from American Samoa, Mr. 

Faleomavaega. 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I want to 

thank you and Mr. Lantos for your support and sponsorship of this 

proposed legislation. I want to say that it is an honor for me to say 

that we favorably reported this bill out of our Subcommittee on 

Asia and the Pacific, the gentleman from Iowa and myself, and 

want to commend you both for bringing this to the attention of the 

Members of the Committee. 

Mr. Chairman, I think the time has run out. I recall 5 years ago 

I had the privilege of meeting with some of the foreign officials of 

the ASEAN countries, and we kept asking them what should we 

do with the situation in Burma, whom they recognize as a member 

of the ASEAN Association. They said, well, you have to be patient 

with these people. You have to work with them and gradually work 

with them about democracy. 

Well, Mr. Chairman, I think the time has come now that we need 

to call a spade a spade. This country has not in any way provided 

any form of democratization, and I think it is time that we need 

to put sanctions on the government of Burma and let them know 

that our Nation stands firm not only for Miss Kyi, but for all the 

freedom loving people in that country that earnestly needs our assistance. And I sincerely hope my colleagues will support our recVerDate Mar 21 2002 16:00 Sep 23, 2003 Jkt 087676 PO 00000 Frm 00077 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 F:\WORK\FULL\M061203\87676 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL
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ommendation, at least my recommendation, that this bill be reported favorably to the Floor of the House. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman HYDE. Thank you. 

Mr. Blumenauer, the gentleman from Oregon. 

Mr. BLUMENAUER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate what 

you and Mr. Lantos are doing, bringing this forward at a particularly difficult time for this troubled country. Like many of my colleagues, one of my most memorable moments was spending an 

afternoon with Aung San Suu Kyi and my family. I am convinced 

that we do a lot of work in this Committee, Mr. Chairman, on monumental issues. This is a time where this legislation can make a 

big difference in terms of the world stage and in terms of mobilizing what Congress can do. And I would hope that each of us, as 

Members of the Committee, do not just support the legislation, cosponsor it, and speak in behalf of it, but also use it as an opportunity in our own communities to be able to put some leverage. 

There are opportunities dealing with Thailand just this month 

where we can make a difference. 

I take modest exception—it almost never happens with my friend 

Mr. Rohrabacher. But I do think that this impacts our national interest. We have seen what has happened with the destabilization 

of the drug traffic. But this is truly a rogue nation in a troubled 

part of the world, and if we cannot use our power to unite world 

opinion against an outlaw regime, and when we have a woman who 

is truly a beacon of democracy, I think that this is a failure on our 

part in terms of international diplomacy. 

So I salute what you are doing now, but I hope that we take this 

to heart. The stars are aligned, I think, where we can really make 

a difference, not with military might, but with the tools of diplomacy, of moral suasion, of economic impact, and with the tremendous investment that we have made in Southeast Asia, where we 

can make a difference. And the United States needs to do this for 

our own interests in Southeast Asia. So I appreciate what you are 

doing, but I hope that we could individually redouble our efforts to 

make the most of this opportunity. 

Chairman HYDE. Thank you. We have two amendments at the 

desk, both of which have been distributed to everyone, one from 

Mr. Lantos, one from Mr. Pitts. They are perfectly acceptable. And 

by unanimous consent, the Chair moves that they be adopted. 

Without objection, so ordered. 

[The information referred to follows:]

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AMENDMENT TO H.R. 2330

OFFERED BY MR. LANTOS

Page 8, line 12, strike ‘‘security’’.

Page 9, line 23, strike ‘‘ensure’’ and all that follows

through line 2, on page 10 and insert the following:

1 allow officials of the United States and the European

2 Union to ensure a high degree of coordination of lists of

3 individuals banned from obtaining a visa by the European

4 Union for the reason described in paragraph (1) and those

5 banned from receiving a visa from the United States.


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AMENDMENT TO H.R. 2330

OFFERED BY MR. PITTS

Page 3, insert the following after line 5 and redesignate the succeeding paragraphs accordingly:

1 (6) The SPDC is engaged in ethnic cleansing

2 against minorities within Burma, including the

3 Karen, Karenni, and Shan people, which constitutes

4 a crime against humanity and has directly led to

5 more than 600,000 internally displaced people living

6 within Burma and more than 130,000 people from

7 Burma living in refugee camps along the Thai8 Burma border.

9 (7) The ethnic cleansing campaign of the SPDC

10 is in sharp contrast to the traditional peaceful coex11 istence in Burma of Buddhists, Muslims, Christians,

12 and people of traditional beliefs.

Page 4, add the following after line 24:

13 (15) The United States must work closely with

14 other nations, including Thailand, a close ally of the

15 United States, to highlight attention to the SPDC’s

16 systematic abuses of human rights in Burma, to en17 sure that nongovernmental organizations promoting

18 human rights and political freedom in Burma are al19 lowed to operate freely and without harassment, and


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1 to craft a multilateral sanctions regime against

2 Burma in order to pressure the SPDC to meet the

3 conditions identified in section 3(a)(3) of this Act.


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Chairman HYDE. The Chair notes the presence of a reporting 

quorum, and the Chair suggests that all statements that the Members might have on this issue by unanimous consent may be placed 

in the record. 

The question occurs on the motion to report the bill, H.R. 2330, 

favorably, as amended. All in favor say aye. Opposed, nay. The 

ayes have it. The motion to report favorably is adopted. 

Without objection, the Chairman is authorized to move to go to 

conference pursuant to House Rule 22. Without objection, the bill 

will be reported favorably to the House in the form of a single 

amendment in the nature of a substitute incorporating the amendments adopted here today. 

Without objection, all Members may insert statements into the 

record on the bills which we agreed to, the 14 bills we agreed to 

by unanimous consent. 

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman HYDE. Mr. Lantos. 

Mr. LANTOS. I just want to express my deep appreciation to all 

of my colleagues for their very eloquent and powerful statements. 

Chairman HYDE. Thank you. 

Pursuant to notice, I now call up H.R. 2441, the Millennium 

Challenge Account Authorization and Peace Corps Expansion Act 

of 2003. For purposes of markup, I move its favorable recommendation to the House. Without objection, the bill will be considered as 

read and open for amendment at any point. 

[H.R. 2441 follows:]

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.....................................................................

(Original Signature of Member)

108TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. ll

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Mr. HYDE (for himself, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. GREEN of Wisconsin, Ms. HARRIS,

Ms. LEE, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. LAHOOD, and Mr. JANKLOW) introduced

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on

lllllllllllllll

A BILL

To establish the Millennium Challenge Account to provide

increased support for developing countries that have fostered democracy and the rule of law, invested in their

citizens, and promoted economic freedom; to assess the

impact and effectiveness of United States economic assistance; to authorize the expansion of the Peace Corps;

and for other purposes.

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

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

3 ‘‘Millennium Challenge Account Authorization and Peace

4 Corps Expansion Act of 2003’’.

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

6 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

DIVISION A—MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE ACCOUNT

TITLE I—GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 101. Definitions.

Sec. 102. Sunset.

TITLE II—MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE ASSISTANCE

Sec. 201. Findings; statement of policy.

Sec. 202. Authorization of assistance.

Sec. 203. Eligibility and related requirements.

Sec. 204. Millennium Challenge Compact.

Sec. 205. Suspension and termination of assistance.

Sec. 206. Annual report.

Sec. 207. Authorization of appropriations; related authorities.

TITLE III—MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION

Sec. 301. Millennium Challenge Corporation.

Sec. 302. Chief Executive Officer.

Sec. 303. Board of Directors.

Sec. 304. Interagency coordination.

Sec. 305. Powers of the Corporation; related provisions.

Sec. 306. Transparency and accountability of the Corporation.

Sec. 307. Detail of personnel to the Corporation; other authorities and limitations.

Sec. 308. Millennium Challenge Advisory Council.

Sec. 309. Enhancing data collection and monitoring and evaluation capabilities.

TITLE IV—PROVISIONS RELATING TO UNITED STATES ECONOMIC

ASSISTANCE

Sec. 401. Definition.

Sec. 402. Framework for assistance.

Sec. 403. Report relating to impact and effectiveness of assistance.

DIVISION B—REAUTHORIZATION AND EXPANSION OF THE PEACE

CORPS

TITLE X—GENERAL PROVISIONS


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Sec. 1001. Definitions.

Sec. 1002. Findings.

TITLE XI—AMENDMENTS TO PEACE CORPS ACT; RELATED

PROVISIONS

Sec. 1101. Advancing the goals of the Peace Corps.

Sec. 1102. Reports and consultations.

Sec. 1103. Special volunteer recruitment and placement for certain countries.

Sec. 1104. Global Infectious Diseases Initiative; coordination of HIV/AIDS activities.

Sec. 1105. Peace Corps National Advisory Council.

Sec. 1106. Readjustment allowances.

Sec. 1107. Programs and projects of returned Peace Corps volunteers and

former staff.

Sec. 1108. Declaration of policy.

Sec. 1109. Authorization of appropriations.

1 DIVISION A—MILLENNIUM

2 CHALLENGE ACCOUNT

3 TITLE I—GENERAL PROVISIONS

4 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS.

5 In this division:

6 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT7 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com8 mittees’’ means—

9 (A) the Committee on International Rela10 tions and the Committee on Appropriations of

11 the House of Representatives; and

12 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations

13 and the Committee on Appropriations of the

14 Senate.

15 (2) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the

16 Board of Directors of the Corporation established

17 pursuant to section 303 of this Act.


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1 (3) COMPACT.—The term ‘‘Compact’’ means

2 the Millennium Challenge Compact described in sec3 tion 204 of this Act.

4 (4) CORPORATION.—The term ‘‘Corporation’’

5 means the Millennium Challenge Corporation estab6 lished under section 301 of this Act.

7 (5) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means the

8 Millennium Challenge Advisory Council established

9 under section 308 of this Act.

10 (6) MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS.—The

11 term ‘‘Millennium Development Goals’’ means the

12 key objectives described in the United Nations Mil13 lennium Declaration, as contained in United Nations

14 General Assembly Resolution 55/2 (September

15 2000), which aim to eradicate extreme poverty and

16 hunger, achieve universal primary education, pro17 mote gender equality and empower women, reduce

18 child mortality, improve maternal health, combat

19 HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other infectious diseases,

20 ensure environmental sustainability, and develop a

21 global partnership for development.

22 SEC. 102. SUNSET.

23 All authorities under this division (other than title

24 IV) shall terminate on October 1, 2007.


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1 TITLE II—MILLENNIUM

2 CHALLENGE ASSISTANCE

3 SEC. 201. FINDINGS; STATEMENT OF POLICY.

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

5 (1) A principal objective of United States for6 eign assistance programs, as stated in section 101 of

7 the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, is the ‘‘encour8 agement and sustained support of the people of de9 veloping countries in their efforts to acquire the

10 knowledge and resources essential to development

11 and to build the economic, political, and social insti12 tutions which will improve the quality of their lives’’.

13 (2) The expanding acceptance of free trade and

14 open markets and the spread of democracy and the

15 rule of law have brought a better way of life to an

16 increasing number of people in the world.

17 (3) Inequalities between men and women under18 mine development and poverty-reduction efforts in

19 fundamental ways. A woman’s limited access to re20 sources and restrictions on the exercise of her rights,

21 including the right to participate in social and polit22 ical processes, disables her from maximizing her con23 tribution to her family’s health, education, and gen24 eral well-being.


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1 (4) On March 14, 2002, the President noted

2 the successes of development assistance programs:

3 ‘‘The advances of free markets and trade and de4 mocracy and rule of law have brought prosperity to

5 an ever-widening circle of people in this world. Dur6 ing our lifetime, per capita income in the poorest

7 countries has nearly doubled. Illiteracy has been cut

8 by one-third, giving more children a chance to learn.

9 Infant mortality has been almost halved, giving more

10 children a chance to live.’’.

11 (5) Development is neither an easy process nor

12 a linear one. There are successes and there are fail13 ures. Today, too many people are still living in pov14 erty, disease has eroded many of the economic and

15 social gains of previous decades, and many countries

16 have not adopted policies, for a variety of reasons,

17 that would enable them to compete in an open and

18 equitable international economic system.

19 (6) More countries and more people will be able

20 to participate in and benefit from the opportunities

21 afforded by the global economy if the following con22 ditions for sound and sustainable economic develop23 ment are met:

24 (A) SECURITY.—Security is necessary for

25 economic development. Persistent poverty and


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1 oppression can lead to hopelessness, despair,

2 and to failed states that become havens for ter3 rorists.

4 (B) POLICIES THAT SUPPORT BROAD5 BASED ECONOMIC GROWTH.—Successful long6 term development can only occur through

7 broad-based economic growth that enables the

8 poor to increase their incomes and have access

9 to productive resources and services so that

10 they can lead lives of decency, dignity, and

11 hope.

12 (C) DEMOCRACY AND THE RULE OF

13 LAW.—Democratic development, political plu14 ralism, and respect for internationally recog15 nized human rights are intrinsically linked to

16 economic and social progress. The ability of

17 people to participate in the economic and polit18 ical processes affecting their lives is essential to

19 sustained growth. The rule of law and a com20 mitment to fight corruption is also critical to

21 the development of a prosperous society.

22 (D) INVESTMENTS IN PEOPLE.—Economic

23 growth and democracy can be sustained only if

24 both men and women have the basic tools and

25 capabilities that foster the opportunity for parVerDate Mar 21 2002 16:00 Sep 23, 2003 Jkt 087676 PO 00000 Frm 00089 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 F:\WORK\FULL\M061203\87676 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL

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1 ticipation in the economic, social, and political

2 life of their countries. Successful development

3 of countries requires citizens who are literate,

4 healthy, and prepared and able to work.

5 (7) Economic assistance programs authorized

6 under part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961,

7 as administered by the United States Agency for

8 International Development and other Federal agen9 cies, are of critical importance in assisting countries

10 to be in a position to maximize the effectiveness of

11 assistance authorized by this title.

12 (8) It is in the national interest of the United

13 States to help those countries that are implementing

14 the economic and political reforms necessary for de15 velopment to occur.

16 (9) On March 14, 2002, the President stated

17 that the ‘‘growing divide between wealth and pov18 erty, between opportunity and misery, is both a chal19 lenge to our compassion and a source of instability

20 . . . [w]e must confront it . . . [w]e must include

21 every African, every Asian, every Latin American,

22 every Muslim, in an expanding circle of develop23 ment.’’.

24 (10) The President has pledged that funds re25 quested for the Millennium Challenge Account shall


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1 be in addition to, and not a substitute for, existing

2 development and humanitarian programs.

3 (11) Development assistance alone is not suffi4 cient to stimulate economic growth and development.

5 Assistance has been shown to have a positive impact

6 on growth and development in developing countries

7 with sound policies and institutions. If countries

8 have poor policies and institutions, however, it is

9 highly unlikely that assistance will have a net posi10 tive effect.

11 (12) Economic development, and the achieve12 ment of the Millennium Development Goals, must be

13 a shared responsibility between donor and recipient

14 countries.

15 (b) STATEMENT OF POLICY REGARDING A NEW

16 COMPACT FOR GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT.—It is, therefore,

17 the policy of the United States to support a new compact

18 for global development that—

19 (1) increases support by donor countries to

20 those developing countries that are fostering democ21 racy and the rule of law, investing in their people,

22 and promoting economic freedom for all their people;

23 (2) recognizes, however, that it is the devel24 oping countries themselves that are primarily re25 sponsible for the achievement of those goals;


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1 (3) seeks to coordinate the disparate develop2 ment assistance policies of donor countries, and to

3 harmonize the trade and finance policies of donor

4 countries with their respective development assist5 ance programs; and

6 (4) aims to reduce poverty by significantly in7 creasing the economic growth trajectory of bene8 ficiary countries through investing in the productive

9 potential of the people of such countries.

10 SEC. 202. AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE.

11 (a) ASSISTANCE.—The President, acting through the

12 Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Challenge Cor13 poration, is authorized to provide assistance to eligible

14 countries to support policies and programs that advance

15 the progress of such countries in achieving lasting eco16 nomic growth and poverty reduction and are in further17 ance of the purposes of this title.

18 (b) PRINCIPAL OBJECTIVES.—Assistance provided

19 under subsection (a) should advance a country’s progress

20 toward promoting the following principal objectives:

21 (1) FOSTERING DEMOCRATIC SOCIETIES,

22 HUMAN RIGHTS, AND THE RULE OF LAW.—The as23 sistance should promote—

24 (A) political, social, and economic plu25 ralism;


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1 (B) respect for the rule of law;

2 (C) anti-corruption initiatives and law en3 forcement;

4 (D) development of institutions of demo5 cratic governance, including electoral and legis6 lative processes;

7 (E) transparent and accountable public ad8 ministration at all levels of government;

9 (F) a fair, competent, and independent ju10 diciary; and

11 (G) a free and independent media.

12 (2) FOSTERING INVESTMENT IN EDUCATION

13 AND HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE AND SYSTEMS.—

14 The assistance should foster improved educational

15 opportunities and health conditions, particularly for

16 women and children, including through—

17 (A) support for programs and personnel

18 that promote broad-based primary education,

19 including through the development of academic

20 curricula, by making available textbooks and

21 other educational materials, and through appro22 priate use of technology;

23 (B) support for programs to strengthen

24 and build institutions, including primary health


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1 care systems, infrastructure, facilities, and per2 sonnel that provide quality health care;

3 (C) support for improved systems for the

4 delivery of healthy water and sanitation serv5 ices; and

6 (D) support for programs that reduce child

7 mortality (including those programs that com8 bat HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and other

9 infectious diseases, consistent with sections

10 104(c), 104A, 104B, and 104C of the Foreign

11 Assistance Act of 1961).

12 (3) PROMOTING ECONOMIC FREEDOM, BROAD13 BASED ECONOMIC GROWTH, AND FOSTERING FREE

14 MARKET SYSTEMS.—The assistance should foster the

15 institutions and conditions needed to promote free

16 market systems, trade, and investment, including—

17 (A) the reform and restructuring of bank18 ing and financial systems, including by allowing

19 foreign competition in the banking and financial

20 sectors, where appropriate;

21 (B) the development of transparent and ef22 ficient commercial codes and reduction in the

23 regulatory burden on business;

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1 erty rights, including through the adoption and

2 effective enforcement of intellectual property

3 treaties or international agreements;

4 (D) support for market-based policies that

5 support increased agricultural production;

6 (E) a strong commitment to sound mone7 tary and budgetary policies;

8 (F) the development of small businesses,

9 private cooperatives, credit unions, and trade

10 and labor unions;

11 (G) the protection of internationally recog12 nized workers’ rights; and

13 (H) the capacity of eligible countries to

14 ameliorate damage to the environment and re15 spect other environmental standards.

16 SEC. 203. ELIGIBILITY AND RELATED REQUIREMENTS.

17 (a) ASSISTANCE FOR LOW INCOME COUNTRIES.—

18 (1) FISCAL YEAR 2004.—A country shall be eli19 gible to receive assistance under section 202 for fis20 cal year 2004 if—

21 (A) the country is eligible for assistance

22 from the International Development Associa23 tion, and the per capita income of the country

24 is equal to or less than the historical ceiling of

25 the International Development Association for


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1 that year, as defined by the International Bank

2 for Reconstruction and Development;

3 (B) subject to paragraph (3), the country

4 is not ineligible to receive United States eco5 nomic assistance by reason of the application of

6 section 116, 490, or 620A of the Foreign As7 sistance Act of 1961, or by reason of the appli8 cation of any other provision of law; and

9 (C) the Chief Executive Officer of the Cor10 poration determines that the country has dem11 onstrated a commitment to—

12 (i) bolster democracy, human rights,

13 good governance and the rule of law;

14 (ii) invest in the health and education

15 of its citizens; and

16 (iii) promote sound economic policies

17 that promote economic freedom and oppor18 tunity.

19 (2) FISCAL YEARS 2005 AND 2006.—A country

20 shall be eligible to receive assistance under section

21 202 for fiscal years 2005 and 2006 if—

22 (A) the per capita income of the country is

23 equal to or less than the historical ceiling of the

24 International Development Association for the

25 fiscal year involved, as defined by the InterVerDate Mar 21 2002 16:00 Sep 23, 2003 Jkt 087676 PO 00000 Frm 00096 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 F:\WORK\FULL\M061203\87676 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL

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1 national Bank for Reconstruction and Develop2 ment;

3 (B) the country meets the requirements of

4 paragraph (1)(B); and

5 (C) the country meets the requirements of

6 clauses (i) through (iii) of paragraph (1)(C), as

7 determined by the Chief Executive Officer.

8 (3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—For the pur9 poses of determining whether a country is eligible

10 for receiving assistance under section 202 pursuant

11 to paragraph (1)(B), the exercise by the President,

12 the Secretary of State, or any other officer or em13 ployee of the United States of any waiver or suspen14 sion of any provision of law referred to in such para15 graph shall not be construed as satisfying the re16 quirement of such paragraph.

17 (b) ASSISTANCE FOR LOWER MIDDLE INCOME

18 COUNTRIES.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to countries de20 scribed in subsection (a), a country shall be eligible

21 to receive assistance under section 202 for fiscal

22 year 2006 if the country—

23 (A) is classified as a lower middle income

24 country in the then most recent edition of the

25 World Development Report for Reconstruction


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1 and Development published by the International

2 Bank for Reconstruction and Development;

3 (B) meets the requirements of subsection

4 (a)(1)(B); and

5 (C) meets the requirements of clauses (i)

6 through (iii) of subsection (a)(1)(C), as deter7 mined by the Chief Executive Officer.

8 (2) LIMITATION.—The total amount of assist9 ance provided to countries under this subsection for

10 fiscal year 2006 may not exceed 20 percent of the

11 total amount of assistance provided to all countries

12 under section 202 for fiscal year 2006.

13 (c) ASSISTANCE FOR SELECTED LOW INCOME COUN14 TRIES.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—A country shall be eligible to

16 receive assistance for any of fiscal years 2004

17 through 2006 solely for the purpose of becoming eli18 gible to receive assistance under subsection (a) if the

19 country—

20 (A) meets the requirements of paragraphs

21 (1)(B) and (2)(A) of subsection (a);

22 (B) demonstrates a commitment to meet23 ing the requirements of clauses (i) through (iii)

24 of subsection (a)(1)(C), as determined by the

25 Chief Executive Officer; but


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1 (C) fails to meet the eligibility criteria nec2 essary to receive assistance under section 202,

3 as established under subsection (e).

4 (2) ADMINISTRATION.—Assistance for countries

5 eligible by reason of the application of this sub6 section shall be provided through the United States

7 Agency for International Development.

8 (3) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—Of the amount

9 authorized to be appropriated under section 207(a)

10 for a fiscal year, not more than 15 percent of such

11 amount is authorized to be appropriated to the

12 President for the fiscal year to carry out this sub13 section.

14 (d) GENERAL AUTHORITY TO DETERMINE ELIGI15 BILITY.—

16 (1) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—The Chief Execu17 tive Officer shall determine whether or not a country

18 is eligible to receive assistance under section 202.

19 (2) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—Not later

20 than 7 days after making a determination of eligi21 bility for a country under paragraph (1), the Chief

22 Executive Officer shall provide notice thereof to the

23 appropriate congressional committees. Such notice

24 shall include a certification of the determination of

25 the Chief Executive Officer that the country meets


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1 the requirements of clauses (i) through (iii) of sub2 section (a)(1)(C) in accordance with such subsection,

3 subsection (a)(2)(C), subsection (b)(1)(C), or sub4 section (c)(1)(B), as the case may be.

5 (e) ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.—

6 (1) INITIAL CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGY.—At

7 soon as practicable after the date of the enactment

8 of this Act, but not later than 30 days prior to mak9 ing any determination of eligibility for a country

10 under this section, the Chief Executive Officer—

11 (A) shall consult in-person with the appro12 priate congressional committees with respect to

13 the establishment of eligibility criteria and

14 methodology that the Chief Executive Officer

15 proposes to use for purposes of determining eli16 gibility under this section;

17 (B) shall establish such eligibility criteria

18 and methodology; and

19 (C) shall prepare and transmit to such

20 committees a written report that contains such

21 eligibility criteria and methodology.

22 (2) REVISIONS TO CRITERIA AND METHOD23 OLOGY.—If the Chief Executive Officer proposes to

24 use revised or different criteria from the criteria de25 scribed in paragraph (1) in making a determination


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1 of eligibility for a country under this section, then,

2 not later than 15 days prior to making such deter3 mination, the Chief Executive Officer shall consult

4 in-person with the appropriate congressional com5 mittees with respect to such revised or different cri6 teria and methodology in accordance with paragraph

7 (1)(A) and shall prepare and transmit a written re8 port in accordance with paragraph (1)(C).

9 (f) FORM OF ASSISTANCE; RECIPIENTS.—

10 (1) FORM OF ASSISTANCE.—Assistance pro11 vided under section 202 for a country shall be pro12 vided to one or more of the entities described in

13 paragraph (2) on a nonrepayable basis and in ac14 cordance with a fair, open, and competitive selection

15 process that results in the awarding of such assist16 ance on a merit basis using selection criteria that

17 are made public by the Corporation in advance and

18 are otherwise in accordance with standard and cus19 tomary best practices for the provision of similar

20 types of assistance.

21 (2) RECIPIENTS.—The entities referred to in

22 paragraph (1) are the following:

23 (A) The national government of the coun24 try.


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1 (B) Regional or local governmental units

2 of the country.

3 (C) Nongovernmental organizations, in4 cluding for-profit, not-for-profit, and voluntary

5 organizations.

6 (D) International organizations and trust

7 funds.

8 (g) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—The Chief Ex9 ecutive Officer may not make any grant or enter into any

10 contract for assistance for a country under section 202

11 that exceeds $5,000,000 until 15 days after the date on

12 which the Chief Executive Officer provides notification of

13 the proposed grant or contract to the appropriate congres14 sional committees in accordance with the procedures appli15 cable to reprogramming notifications under section 634A

16 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.

17 SEC. 204. MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE COMPACT.

18 (a) COMPACT.—The President, acting through the

19 Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation, may provide

20 assistance to an eligible country under section 202 only

21 if the country enters into a contract with the United

22 States, to be known as a ‘‘Millennium Challenge Com23 pact’’, that establishes a multi-year plan for achieving

24 shared development objectives in furtherance of the pur25 poses of this title, and only if the President, acting


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1 through the Chief Executive Officer, provides to Congress

2 notice regarding such Compact pursuant to subsection (h).

3 (b) ELEMENTS.—The Compact shall take into ac4 count the national development strategy of the eligible

5 country and shall contain—

6 (1) the specific objectives that the country and

7 the United States expect to achieve;

8 (2) the responsibilities of the country and the

9 United States in the achievement of such objectives;

10 (3) regular benchmarks to measure, where ap11 propriate, progress toward achieving such objectives;

12 (4) an identification of the intended bene13 ficiaries, disaggregated by income level, gender, and

14 age, to the maximum extent practicable;

15 (5) a multi-year financial plan, including the es16 timated amount of contributions by the Corporation

17 and the country and proposed mechanisms to imple18 ment the plan and provide oversight, that describes

19 how the requirements of paragraphs (1) through (4)

20 will be met, including identifying the role of civil so21 ciety in the achievement of such requirements;

22 (6) where appropriate, a description of the re23 sponsibility of other donors in the achievement of

24 such objectives; and


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1 (7) a plan to ensure appropriate fiscal account2 ability for the use of assistance provided under sec3 tion 202.

4 (c) DEFINITION.—In subsection (b), the term ‘‘na5 tional development strategy’’ means any strategy to

6 achieve market-driven economic growth that has been de7 veloped by the government of the country in consultation

8 with a wide variety of civic participation, including non9 governmental organizations, private and voluntary organi10 zations, academia, women and student organizations, local

11 trade and labor unions, and the business community.

12 (d) ADDITIONAL PROVISION RELATING TO PROHIBI13 TION ON TAXATION.—In addition to the elements de14 scribed in subsection (b), each Compact shall contain a

15 provision that states that assistance provided by the

16 United States under the Compact shall be exempt from

17 taxation by the government of the eligible country.

18 (e) LOCAL INPUT.—In entering into a Compact, the

19 United States and the eligible country—

20 (1) shall take into account the local-level per21 spectives of the rural and urban poor in the eligible

22 country; and

23 (2) should consult with private and voluntary

24 organizations, the business community, and other

25 donors, in the eligible country.


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1 (f) CONSULTATION.—During any discussions with a

2 country for the purpose of entering into a Compact with

3 the country, officials of the Corporation participating in

4 such discussions shall, at a minimum, consult with appro5 priate officials of the United States Agency for Inter6 national Development, particularly with those officials re7 sponsible for the appropriate region or country on develop8 ment issues related to the Compact.

9 (g) COORDINATION WITH OTHER DONORS.—To the

10 maximum extent feasible, activities undertaken to achieve

11 the objectives of the Compact shall be undertaken in co12 ordination with the assistance activities of other donors.

13 (h) CONGRESSIONAL AND PUBLIC NOTIFICATION.—

14 Not later than 15 days prior to entering into a Compact

15 with an eligible country, the President, acting through the

16 Chief Executive Officer—

17 (1) shall consult in-person with the appropriate

18 congressional committees with respect to the pro19 posed Compact;

20 (2) shall provide notification of the proposed

21 Compact to the appropriate congressional commit22 tees in accordance with the procedures applicable to

23 reprogramming notifications under section 634A of

24 the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961;


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1 (3) shall prepare and transmit to such commit2 tees a written report that contains a detailed sum3 mary of the proposed Compact and a copy of the full

4 text of the Compact; and

5 (4) shall publish such detailed summary and

6 full text of the proposed Compact in the Federal

7 Register and on the Internet website of the Corpora8 tion.

9 (i) ASSISTANCE FOR DEVELOPMENT OF COMPACT.—

10 Notwithstanding subsection (a), the Chief Executive Offi11 cer may enter into contracts or make grants for any eligi12 ble country for the purpose of facilitating the development

13 of the Compact between the United States and the coun14 try.

15 SEC. 205. SUSPENSION AND TERMINATION OF ASSISTANCE.

16 (a) SUSPENSION OF ASSISTANCE.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall suspend

18 assistance in whole or in part for a country under

19 this title if the President determines that—

20 (A) the country is engaged in activities

21 which are contrary to the national security in22 terests of the United States;

23 (B) the elected head of state of the country

24 or any member of the country’s highest judicial

25 tribunal has been removed from that office or


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1 forcibly detained through extra-constitutional

2 processes; or

3 (C) the country has failed to adhere to its

4 responsibilities under the Compact.

5 (2) REINSTATEMENT.—The President may re6 instate assistance for a country under this title only

7 if the President determines that the country has

8 demonstrated a commitment to correcting each con9 dition for which assistance was suspended under

10 paragraph (1).

11 (3) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—A suspen12 sion of assistance under paragraph (1), or a rein13 statement of assistance under paragraph (2), shall

14 be effective beginning 15 days after the date on

15 which the President transmits to the appropriate

16 congressional committees a report that contains the

17 determination of the President under paragraph (1)

18 or paragraph (2), as the case may be.

19 (b) TERMINATION OF ASSISTANCE.—

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President, acting

21 through the Chief Executive Officer of the Corpora22 tion, shall terminate all assistance for a country

23 under this title if the President determines that the

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1 sponsibilities under the Compact or has significantly

2 failed to meet the requirements of this title.

3 (2) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—A termi4 nation of assistance under paragraph (1) shall be ef5 fective beginning 15 days after the date on which

6 the President, acting through the Chief Executive

7 Officer, provides notification of the proposed termi8 nation of assistance to the congressional committees

9 specified in section 634A(a) of the Foreign Assist10 ance Act of 1961 in accordance with the procedures

11 applicable to reprogramming notifications under that

12 section.

13 SEC. 206. ANNUAL REPORT.

14 (a) REPORT.—Not later than April 1, 2005, and not

15 later than April 1 of each year thereafter, the Chief Exec16 utive Officer of the Corporation shall prepare and trans17 mit to the appropriate congressional committees a report

18 on the implementation of this title for the preceding year.

19 (b) CONTENTS.—The report shall include the fol20 lowing:

21 (1) A description and assessment of the eligi22 bility criteria and methodology utilized by the Chief

23 Executive Officer to determine eligibility for each

24 country under section 203.


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1 (2) A description of the agreed upon measures

2 of progress contained in each Compact.

3 (3)(A) An analysis, on a country-by-country,

4 project-by-project basis, of the impact of assistance

5 provided under this title on the economic develop6 ment of each country.

7 (B) For each country, the analysis shall—

8 (i) to the maximum extent possible, be

9 done on a sector-by-sector basis, gender basis,

10 and per capita income basis, and identify trends

11 within each of these bases;

12 (ii) identify economic policy reforms condu13 cive to economic development that are sup14 ported by assistance provided under this title;

15 (iii) describe, in quantified terms to the ex16 tent practicable, the progress made in achieving

17 assistance objectives for the country;

18 (iv) describe the amount and nature of eco19 nomic assistance provided by other major do20 nors which further the purposes of this title;

21 and

22 (v) discuss the commitment and contribu23 tion of the country to achieving the assistance

24 objectives contained in its Compact.


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1 SEC. 207. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; RELATED

2 AUTHORITIES.

3 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

4 are authorized to be appropriated to the President, acting

5 through the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation,

6 to carry out this division (other than title IV)

7 $1,300,000,000 for fiscal year 2004, $3,000,000,000 for

8 fiscal year 2005, and $5,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2006.

9 (b) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITIES.—Amounts appro10 priated pursuant to the authorization of appropriations

11 under subsection (a)—

12 (1) may be referred to as the ‘‘Millennium

13 Challenge Account’’;

14 (2) are authorized to remain available until ex15 pended; and

16 (3) are in addition to amounts otherwise avail17 able for such purposes.

18 TITLE III—MILLENNIUM

19 CHALLENGE CORPORATION

20 SEC. 301. MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION.

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established in

22 the executive branch a corporation to be known as the

23 ‘‘Millennium Challenge Corporation’’ that shall be respon24 sible for carrying out title II.


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1 (b) GOVERNMENT CORPORATION.—The Corporation

2 shall be a Government corporation, as defined in section

3 103 of title 5, United States Code.

4 SEC. 302. CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER.

5 (a) APPOINTMENT.—The Corporation shall be head6 ed by an individual who shall serve as Chief Executive Of7 ficer of the Corporation, who shall be appointed by the

8 President, by and with the advice and consent of the Sen9 ate.

10 (b) COMPENSATION AND RANK.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chief Executive Officer

12 shall be compensated at the rate provided for level

13 II of the Executive Schedule under section 5313 of

14 title 5, United States Code, and shall have the equiv15 alent rank of Deputy Secretary.

16 (2) AMENDMENT.—Section 5313 of title 5,

17 United States Code, is amended by adding at the

18 end the following:

19 ‘‘Chief Executive Officer, Millennium Challenge

20 Corporation.’’.

21 (c) AUTHORITIES AND DUTIES.—The Chief Execu22 tive Officer shall exercise the powers and discharge the

23 duties of the Corporation and any other duties, as con24 ferred on the Chief Executive Officer by the President.


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1 (d) AUTHORITY TO APPOINT OFFICERS.—The Chief

2 Executive Officer shall appoint all officers of the Corpora3 tion.

4 SEC. 303. BOARD OF DIRECTORS.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—There shall be in the Corporation

6 a Board of Directors.

7 (b) DUTIES.—The Board may prescribe, amend, and

8 repeal bylaws, rules, regulations, and procedures gov9 erning the manner in which the business of the Corpora10 tion may be conducted and in which the powers granted

11 to it by law may be exercised.

12 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall consist of—

14 (A) the Secretary of State, the Secretary

15 of Treasury, the Administrator of the United

16 States Agency for International Development,

17 the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation,

18 and the United States Trade Representative;

19 and

20 (B) four other individuals who shall be ap21 pointed by the President, by and with the ad22 vice and consent of the Senate, of which—

23 (i) one individual shall be appointed

24 from among a list of individuals submitted


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H.L.C.

1 by the majority leader of the House of

2 Representatives;

3 (ii) one individual shall be appointed

4 from among a list of individuals submitted

5 by the minority leader of the House of

6 Representatives;

7 (iii) one individual shall be appointed

8 from among a list of individuals submitted

9 by the majority leader of the Senate; and

10 (iv) one individual shall be appointed

11 from among a list of individuals submitted

12 by the minority leader of the Senate.

13 (2) EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS.—In addition to

14 members of the Board described in paragraph (1),

15 the Director of the Office of Management and Budg16 et, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the

17 Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the Direc18 tor of the Trade and Development Agency, and the

19 Director of the Peace Corps shall be non-voting

20 members, ex officio, of the Board.

21 (d) TERMS.—

22 (1) OFFICERS OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.—

23 Each member of the Board described in paragraphs

24 (1)(A) and (2) of subsection (c) shall serve for a

25 term that is concurrent with the term of service of


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1 the individual’s position as an officer within the

2 other Federal department or agency.

3 (2) OTHER MEMBERS.—Each member of the

4 Board described in subsection (c)(1)(B) shall be ap5 pointed for a term of 3 years and may be re6 appointed for a term of an additional 2 years.

7 (3) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Board shall

8 be filled in the manner in which the original appoint9 ment was made.

10 (e) CHAIRPERSON.—The Secretary of State shall

11 serve as the Chairperson of the Board.

12 (f) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the

13 Board shall constitute a quorum, which shall include at

14 least one member of the Board described in subsection

15 (c)(1)(B).

16 (g) MEETINGS.—The Board shall meet at the call of

17 the Chairperson.

18 (h) COMPENSATION.—

19 (1) OFFICERS OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.—

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—A member of the Board

21 described in paragraphs (1)(A) and (2) of sub22 section (c) may not receive additional pay, al23 lowances, or benefits by reason of their service

24 on the Board.


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1 (B) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each such mem2 ber of the Board shall receive travel expenses,

3 including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in ac4 cordance with applicable provisions under sub5 chapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States

6 Code.

7 (2) OTHER MEMBERS.—

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

9 paragraph (2), a member of the Board de10 scribed in subsection (c)(1)(B)—

11 (i) shall be paid compensation out of

12 funds made available for the purposes of

13 this title at the daily equivalent of the

14 highest rate payable under section 5332 of

15 title 5, United States Code, for each day

16 (including travel time) during which the

17 member is engaged in the actual perform18 ance of duties as a member of the Board;

19 and

20 (ii) while away from the member’s

21 home or regular place of business on nec22 essary travel, as determined by the Chief

23 Executive Officer, in the actual perform24 ance of duties as a member of the Board,

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1 portation expenses in the same manner as

2 is provided under subchapter I of chapter

3 57 of title 5, United States Code.

4 (B) LIMITATION.—A member of the Coun5 cil may not be paid compensation under sub6 paragraph (A)(i) for more than thirty days in

7 any calendar year.

8 SEC. 304. INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.

9 In carrying out the functions described in this title,

10 and consistent with section 101 of the National Security

11 Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 402), the President shall ensure

12 coordination of assistance authorized under title II with

13 foreign economic assistance programs and activities car14 ried out by other Federal departments and agencies.

15 SEC. 305. POWERS OF THE CORPORATION; RELATED PROVI16 SIONS.

17 (a) POWERS.—The Corporation—

18 (1) may adopt, alter, and use a corporate seal,

19 which shall be judicially noticed;

20 (2) may prescribe, amend, and repeal such

21 rules, regulations, and procedures as are necessary

22 for carrying out the functions of the Corporation

23 and all Compacts;

24 (3) may make and perform such contracts,

25 grants, and other agreements with any individual,


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1 corporation, or other private or public entity, how2 ever designated and wherever situated, as may be

3 necessary for carrying out the functions of the Cor4 poration;

5 (4) may determine and prescribe the manner in

6 which its obligations shall be incurred and its ex7 penses allowed and paid, including expenses for rep8 resentation not exceeding $95,000 in any fiscal year;

9 (5) may lease, purchase, or otherwise acquire,

10 own, hold, improve, use or otherwise deal in and

11 with such property (real, personal, or mixed) or any

12 interest therein, wherever situated, as may be nec13 essary for carrying out the functions of the Corpora14 tion;

15 (6) may accept gifts or donations of services or

16 of property (real, personal, or mixed), tangible or in17 tangible, in furtherance of the purposes of this divi18 sion;

19 (7) may hire or obtain passenger motor vehi20 cles;

21 (8) may use the United States mails in the

22 same manner and on the same conditions as the Ex23 ecutive departments (as defined in section 101 of

24 title 5, United States Code);


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1 (9) may, with the consent of any Executive

2 agency (as defined in section 105 of title 5, United

3 States Code), use the information, services, facilities,

4 and personnel of that agency on a full or partial re5 imbursement in carrying out the purposes of this di6 vision; and

7 (10) may sue and be sued, complain, and de8 fend, in its corporate name in any court of com9 petent jurisdiction.

10 (b) OFFICES.—

11 (1) PRINCIPAL OFFICE.—The Corporation shall

12 maintain its principal office in the metropolitan area

13 of Washington, District of Columbia.

14 (2) OTHER OFFICES.—The Corporation may es15 tablish other offices in any place or places outside

16 the United States in which the Corporation may

17 carry out any or all of its operations and business.

18 (c) COOPERATION WITH OTHER FEDERAL DEPART19 MENTS AND AGENCIES.—In order to avoid unnecessary

20 expense and duplication of functions, efforts, and activities

21 between the Corporation and other Federal departments

22 and agencies the Chief Executive Officer, or the Chief Ex23 ecutive Officer’s designee—

24 (1)(A) shall consult, to the maximum extent

25 practicable, with the Administrator of the United


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1 States Agency for International Development, or the

2 Administrator’s designee, in order to coordinate the

3 activities of the Corporation and the Agency for

4 International Development; and

5 (B) shall consult with the heads of other de6 partments and agencies to ensure similar coordina7 tion of activities;

8 (2)(A) shall ensure proper coordination of ac9 tivities of the Corporation with the provision of de10 velopment assistance of relevant international finan11 cial institutions, including the International Bank

12 for Reconstruction and Development, the Inter13 national Monetary Fund, and the regional multilat14 eral development banks; and

15 (B) shall provide to each United States Execu16 tive Director (or other United States representative)

17 to the relevant international financial institutions a

18 copy of each proposed Compact between the United

19 States and an eligible country and a copy of each

20 such final Compact.

21 (d) POSITIONS WITH FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS.—

22 When approved by the Corporation, in furtherance of its

23 purposes, employees of the Corporation (including individ24 uals detailed to the Corporation) may accept and hold of25 fices or positions to which no compensation is attached


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1 with governments or governmental agencies of foreign

2 countries or with international organizations.

3 SEC. 306. TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY OF THE

4 CORPORATION.

5 The Corporation and its officers and employees shall

6 be subject to the provisions of section 552 of title 5,

7 United States Code (relating to freedom of information).

8 SEC. 307. DETAIL OF PERSONNEL TO THE CORPORATION;

9 OTHER AUTHORITIES AND LIMITATIONS.

10 (a) DETAIL OF PERSONNEL.—Upon request of the

11 Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation, the head of

12 an agency may detail any employee of such agency to the

13 Corporation on a fully or partially reimbursable basis. Any

14 employee so detailed remains, for the purpose of pre15 serving such employee’s allowances, privileges, rights, se16 niority, and other benefits, an employee of the agency

17 from which detailed.

18 (b) LIMITATION ON TOTAL SERVICE.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para20 graph (2), no individual may serve in or under the

21 Corporation (whether as an employee of the Cor22 poration, a detailee to the Corporation, or a com23 bination thereof) for a total period exceeding 5

24 years.

25 (2) EXCEPTIONS.—


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1 (A) EXTENSION AUTHORITY.—The Chief

2 Executive Officer may extend the 5-year period

3 under paragraph (1) for up to an additional 3

4 years, in the case of any particular individual,

5 if the Chief Executive Officer determines that

6 such extension is essential to the achievement of

7 the purposes of this division.

8 (B) OFFICERS.—Nothing in this sub9 section shall limit the period for which an indi10 vidual may serve as an officer of the Corpora11 tion appointed pursuant to section 302(d) nor

12 shall any period of service as such an officer be

13 taken into account for purposes of applying this

14 subsection.

15 (c) REEMPLOYMENT RIGHTS.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—An employee of an agency

17 who is serving under a career or career conditional

18 appointment (or the equivalent), and who, with the

19 consent of the head of such agency, transfers to the

20 Corporation, is entitled to be reemployed in such em21 ployee’s former position or a position of like senior22 ity, status, and pay in such agency, if such

23 employee—

24 (A) is separated from the Corporation—


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1 (i) by reason of the application of sub2 section (b); or

3 (ii) for any other reason, other than

4 misconduct, neglect of duty, or malfea5 sance; and

6 (B) applies for reemployment not later

7 than 90 days after the date of separation from

8 the Corporation.

9 (2) SPECIFIC RIGHTS.—An employee who satis10 fies paragraph (1) is entitled to be reemployed (in

11 accordance with such paragraph) within 30 days

12 after applying for reemployment and, on reemploy13 ment, is entitled to at least the rate of basic pay to

14 which such employee would have been entitled had

15 such employee never transferred.

16 (d) BASIC PAY.—The Chief Executive Officer may fix

17 the rate of basic pay of employees of the Corporation with18 out regard to the provisions of—

19 (1) chapter 51 of title 5, United States Code

20 (relating to the classification of positions), and

21 (2) subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title

22 (relating to General Schedule pay rates),

23 except that no employee of the Corporation may receive

24 a rate of basic pay that exceeds the rate for level II of

25 the Executive Schedule under section 5313 of such title.


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1 (e) ASSIGNMENT TO UNITED STATES EMBASSIES.—

2 An employee of the Corporation, including an individual

3 detailed to or contracted by the Corporation, may be as4 signed to a United States diplomatic mission or consular

5 post, or United States Agency for International Develop6 ment field mission.

7 (f) PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES.—The Secretary of

8 State shall seek to ensure that an employee of the Cor9 poration, including an individual detailed to or contracted

10 by the Corporation, and the members of the family of such

11 employee, while the employee is performing duties in any

12 country or place outside the United States, enjoy the privi13 leges and immunities that are enjoyed by a member of

14 the Foreign Service, or the family of a member of the For15 eign Service, as appropriate, of comparable rank and sal16 ary of such employee, if such employee or a member of

17 the family of such employee is not a national of or perma18 nently resident in such country or place.

19 (g) RESPONSIBILITY OF CHIEF OF MISSION.—An

20 employee of the Corporation, including an individual de21 tailed to or contracted by the Corporation, and a member

22 of the family of such employee, shall be subject to section

23 207 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 3927)

24 in the same manner as United States Government employ25 ees while the employee is performing duties in any country


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1 or place outside the United States if such employee or

2 member of the family of such employee is not a national

3 of or permanently resident in such country or place.

4 (h) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Corporation may allo6 cate or transfer to the United States Agency for

7 International Development or any other agency any

8 part of any funds available for carrying out the pur9 poses of this division. Such funds shall be available

10 for obligation and expenditure for the purposes for

11 which authorized, in accordance with authority

12 granted in this title or under authority governing the

13 activities of the agencies of the United States Gov14 ernment to which such funds are allocated or trans15 ferred.

16 (2) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—The

17 Chief Executive Officer shall notify the appropriate

18 congressional committees not later than 15 days

19 prior to a transfer of funds under paragraph (1)

20 that exceeds $5,000,000.

21 (3) USE OF SERVICES.—For carrying out the

22 purposes of this division, the Corporation may utilize

23 the services and facilities of, or procure commodities

24 from, any agency under such terms and conditions


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1 as may be agreed to by the head of the agency and

2 the Corporation.

3 (i) FUNDING LIMITATION.—Of the funds allocated

4 under subsection (h) in any fiscal year, not more than 7

5 percent of such funds may be used for administrative ex6 penses.

7 (j) OTHER AUTHORITIES.—Except to the extent in8 consistent with the provisions of this division, the adminis9 trative authorities under chapters 1 and 2 of part III of

10 the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 shall apply to the pro11 vision of assistance under this division to the same extent

12 and in the same manner as such authorities apply to the

13 provision of economic assistance under part I of such Act.

14 (k) APPLICABILITY OF GOVERNMENT CORPORATION

15 CONTROL ACT.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Corporation shall be

17 subject to the provisions of chapter 91 of subtitle VI

18 of title 31, United States Code, except that the Cor19 poration shall not be authorized to issue obligations

20 or offer obligations to the public.

21 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

22 9101(3) of title 31, United States Code, is amended

23 by adding at the end the following:

24 ‘‘(Q) the Millennium Challenge Corpora25 tion.’’


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1 (l) INSPECTOR GENERAL.—

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Inspector General of

3 the United States Agency for International Develop4 ment shall serve as Inspector General of the Cor5 poration, and, in acting in such capacity, may con6 duct reviews, investigations, and inspections of all

7 aspects of the operations and activities of the Cor8 poration.

9 (2) AUTHORITY OF THE BOARD.—In carrying

10 out its responsibilities under this subsection, the In11 spector General shall report to the Board of Direc12 tors.

13 (3) REIMBURSEMENT.—The Corporation shall

14 reimburse the United States Agency for Inter15 national Development for all expenses incurred by

16 the Inspector General in connection with the Inspec17 tor General’s responsibilities under this subsection.

18 (m) COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General

20 shall conduct audits, evaluations, and investigations

21 of the Corporation.

22 (2) SCOPE.—The activities and financial trans23 actions of the Corporation for any fiscal year during

24 which Federal funds are available to finance any

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1 tigated, or audited by the Comptroller General in ac2 cordance with such rules and regulations as may be

3 prescribed by the Comptroller General.

4 (3) ACCESS AND RECORDS.—Any evaluation, in5 vestigation, or audit shall be conducted at the place

6 or places where pertinent information of the Cor7 poration is normally kept. The representatives of the

8 General Accounting Office shall have access to all

9 books, accounts, financial records, reports, files, and

10 other papers or property belonging to or in use by

11 the Corporation and necessary to facilitate the eval12 uation, investigation, or audit; and full facilities for

13 verifying transactions with the balances and securi14 ties held by depositories, fiscal agents, and

15 custodians shall be afforded to such representatives.

16 All such books, accounts, financial records, reports,

17 files, and other papers or property of the Corpora18 tion shall remain in the possession and custody of

19 the Corporation throughout the period beginning on

20 the date such possession or custody commences and

21 ending three years after such date, but the General

22 Accounting Office may require the retention of such

23 books, accounts, financial records, reports, files, pa24 pers, or property for a longer period under section

25 3523(c) of title 31, United States Code.


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1 (4) REPORT.—A report of such audit, evalua2 tion, or investigation shall be made by the Comp3 troller General to the appropriate congressional com4 mittees and to the President, together with such rec5 ommendations with respect thereto as the Comp6 troller General shall deem advisable.

7 (n) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—

8 (1) the term ‘‘agency’’ means an Executive

9 agency, as defined by section 105 of title 5, United

10 States Code; and

11 (2) the term ‘‘detail’’ means the assignment or

12 loan of an employee, without a change of position,

13 from the agency by which such employee is employed

14 to the Corporation.

15 SEC. 308. MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE ADVISORY COUNCIL.

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established in

17 the executive branch an advisory council to the Corpora18 tion to be known as the Millennium Challenge Advisory

19 Council.

20 (b) FUNCTIONS.—

21 (1) GENERAL FUNCTIONS.—The Council shall

22 advise and consult with the Chief Executive Officer

23 of the Corporation and the Board of Directors with

24 respect to policies and programs designed to further

25 the purposes of this division and shall periodically


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1 report to the Congress with respect to the activities

2 of the Corporation. In addition, the Council shall re3 view on an annual basis the criteria and method4 ology used to determine eligibility of countries for

5 assistance under title II and make recommendations

6 to the Chief Executive Officer and the Board to im7 prove the effectiveness of such criteria and method8 ology in order to achieve the purposes of this divi9 sion.

10 (2) ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONS.—Members of the

11 Council shall (subject to subsection (d)(1)) conduct

12 on-site inspections, and make examinations, of the

13 activities of the Corporation in the United States

14 and in other countries in order to—

15 (A) evaluate the accomplishments of the

16 Corporation;

17 (B) assess the potential capabilities and

18 the future role of the Corporation;

19 (C) make recommendations to the Chief

20 Executive Officer, the Board of Directors, and

21 Congress, for the purpose of guiding the future

22 direction of the Corporation and of helping to

23 ensure that the purposes and programs of the

24 Corporation are carried out in ways that are ec25 onomical, efficient, responsive to changing


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1 needs in developing countries and to changing

2 relationships among people, and in accordance

3 with law;

4 (D) make such other evaluations, assess5 ments, and recommendations as the Council

6 considers appropriate.

7 (3) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—The Council may

8 provide for public participation in its activities, con9 sistent with section 552b of title 5, United States

10 Code.

11 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Council shall consist of

13 seven individuals, who shall be appointed by the

14 Chief Executive Officer, and who shall be broadly

15 representative of nongovernmental entities with ex16 pertise and interest in international trade and eco17 nomic development, including business and business

18 associations, trade and labor unions, private and vol19 untary organizations, foundations, public policy or20 ganizations, academia, and other entities as the

21 Chief Executive Officer determines appropriate.

22 (2) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—No member

23 appointed under paragraph (1) may be an officer or

24 employee of the United States Government.

25 (d) COMPENSATION.—


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para2 graph (2), a member of the Council—

3 (A) shall be paid compensation out of

4 funds made available for the purposes of this

5 title at the daily equivalent of the highest rate

6 payable under section 5332 of title 5, United

7 States Code, for each day (including travel

8 time) during which the member is engaged in

9 the actual performance of duties as a member

10 of the Council; and

11 (B) while away from the member’s home

12 or regular place of business on necessary travel,

13 as determined by the Chief Executive Officer, in

14 the actual performance of duties as a member

15 of the Council, shall be paid per diem, travel,

16 and transportation expenses in the same man17 ner as is provided under subchapter I of chap18 ter 57 of title 5, United States Code.

19 (2) LIMITATION.—A member of the Council

20 may not be paid compensation under paragraph

21 (1)(A) for more than thirty days in any calendar

22 year.

23 (e) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the

24 Council shall constitute a quorum for the purposes of

25 transacting any business.


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1 (f) FINANCIAL INTERESTS OF MEMBERS.—A member

2 of the Council shall disclose to the Chairperson of the

3 Council and the Chief Executive Officer of the existence

4 of any direct or indirect financial interest of that member

5 in any particular matter before the Council and may not

6 vote or otherwise participate as a Council member with

7 respect to that particular matter.

8 (g) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chief Executive Officer

9 shall designate one of the members of the Council as

10 Chairperson, who shall serve in that capacity for a term

11 of two years. The Chief Executive Officer may renew the

12 term of the member appointed as Chairperson under the

13 preceding sentence.

14 (h) MEETINGS, BYLAWS, AND REGULATIONS.—

15 (1) MEETINGS.—The Council shall hold a reg16 ular meeting during each calendar quarter and shall

17 meet at the call of the President, the Chief Execu18 tive Officer, the Chairperson of the Board, the

19 Chairperson of the Council, or two members of the

20 Council.

21 (2) BYLAWS AND REGULATIONS.—The Council

22 shall prescribe such bylaws and regulations as it

23 considers necessary to carry out its functions. Such

24 bylaws and regulations shall include procedures for

25 fixing the time and place of meetings, giving or


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1 waiving of notice of meetings, and keeping of min2 utes of meetings.

3 (i) REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT, CHIEF EXECUTIVE

4 OFFICER, AND BOARD.—

5 (1) REPORT.—Not later than January 1, 2005,

6 and not later than January 1 of each year thereafter

7 that the Corporation is in existence, the Council

8 shall submit to the President, the Chief Executive

9 Officer, and the Board a report on its views on the

10 programs and activities of the Corporation.

11 (2) CONTENTS.—Each report shall contain a

12 summary of the advice and recommendations pro13 vided by the Council to the Chief Executive Officer

14 and the Board during the period covered by the re15 port and such recommendations (including rec16 ommendations for administrative or legislative ac17 tion) as the Council considers appropriate to make

18 to the Congress.

19 (3) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—Not later

20 than 90 days after receiving each such report, the

21 Chief Executive Officer shall transmit to Congress a

22 copy of the report, together with any comments con23 cerning the report that the Chief Executive Officer

24 considers appropriate.


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1 (j) ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANCE.—The Chief Exec2 utive Officer shall make available to the Council such per3 sonnel, administrative support services, and technical as4 sistance as are necessary to carry out its functions effec5 tively.

6 (k) TERMINATION.—Section 14(a)(2)(B) of the Fed7 eral Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.; relating to

8 the termination of advisory committees) shall not apply

9 to the Council. Notwithstanding section 102 of this Act,

10 the authorities of the Council shall terminate on December

11 31, 2007.

12 SEC. 309. ENHANCING DATA COLLECTION AND MONI13 TORING AND EVALUATION CAPABILITIES.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President, acting through the

15 Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation, is authorized

16 to provide assistance (through grant, contract, and, where

17 applicable, in coordination with appropriate international

18 organizations) to appropriate nongovernmental organiza19 tions in order to assist the Corporation to improve the

20 quality and accuracy of the criteria that are utilized to

21 determine a country’s eligibility for assistance under title

22 II.

23 (b) USE OF ASSISTANCE.—Assistance provided under

24 subsection (a) may be used to facilitate—


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1 (1) data collection and research which are di2 rectly related to the eligibility criteria used under

3 section 203, particularly as the criteria relate to

4 women and children;

5 (2) the monitoring and evaluation capabilities

6 of recipients under section 203(f); and

7 (3) the strengthening of the trade index to ac8 cess data on actual trade barriers.

9 (c) LIMITATION.—Not more than $10,000,000 of the

10 amount made available to carry out this division for a fis11 cal year may be made available to carry out this section.

12 TITLE IV—PROVISIONS RELAT13 ING TO UNITED STATES ECO14 NOMIC ASSISTANCE

15 SEC. 401. DEFINITION.

16 In this title, the term ‘‘United States economic assist17 ance’’ means any bilateral economic assistance, from any

18 budget functional category, that is provided by any depart19 ment or agency of the United States to a foreign country,

20 including such assistance that is intended—

21 (A) to assist the development and economic

22 advancement of friendly foreign countries and

23 peoples, including assistance provided under

24 title II (relating to the Millennium Challenge

25 Account);


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1 (B) to promote the freedom, aspirations, or

2 sustenance of friendly peoples under oppressive

3 rule by unfriendly governments;

4 (C) to promote international trade and for5 eign direct investment as a means of aiding eco6 nomic growth;

7 (D) to save lives and alleviate suffering of

8 foreign peoples during or following war, natural

9 disaster, or complex crisis;

10 (E) to assist in recovery and rehabilitation

11 of countries or peoples following disaster or

12 war;

13 (F) to protect refugees and promote dura14 ble solutions to aid refugees;

15 (G) to promote sound environmental prac16 tices;

17 (H) to assist in development of democratic

18 institutions and good governance by the people

19 of foreign countries;

20 (I) to promote peace and reconciliation or

21 prevention of conflict;

22 (J) to improve the technical capacities of

23 governments to reduce production of and de24 mand for illicit narcotics; and


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1 (K) to otherwise promote through bilateral

2 foreign economic assistance the national objec3 tives of the United States.

4 SEC. 402. FRAMEWORK FOR ASSISTANCE.

5 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con6 gress that a coherent framework for United States eco7 nomic assistance should be established in accordance with

8 this section.

9 (b) ELEMENTS.—The framework described in sub10 section (a) includes the following elements:

11 (1) The United States Agency for International

12 Development, under the direction and foreign policy

13 guidance of the Secretary of State, should be respon14 sible for—

15 (A) providing assistance to countries that

16 face natural and man-made disasters in order

17 to provide humanitarian relief to the peoples of

18 such countries, in coordination with refugee

19 programs administered by the Department of

20 State;

21 (B) providing assistance to countries that

22 are suffering from conflicts or are in post-con23 flict situations in order to provide humanitarian

24 relief, transition assistance, and reconstruction

25 assistance;


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1 (C) providing assistance to help moderate2 to-poorly performing countries achieve develop3 ment progress in the areas described in part I

4 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, includ5 ing progress toward becoming eligible for assist6 ance under this title, and to promote inter7 national health worldwide, as well as assisting

8 in the development of country and regional de9 velopment strategies;

10 (D) addressing transnational problems,

11 such as environmental degradation, food insecu12 rity, and health problems; and

13 (E) assisting other Federal departments

14 and agencies, including the Corporation estab15 lished under title III, to carry out assistance ac16 tivities abroad, including providing technical as17 sistance and advice to such departments and

18 agencies, coordinating its assistance programs

19 with such departments and agencies, and using

20 its field offices to help implement such assist21 ance.

22 (2) The Corporation established under title III

23 should provide assistance to countries that have

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1 ing in the health and educations of their people, and

2 to promoting sound economic policies that foster

3 economic opportunity for their people.

4 (3) The Department of State should be respon5 sible for allocating security assistance to support key

6 foreign policy objectives of the United States and

7 shall administer assistance in such areas as non-pro8 liferation, anti-terrorism, counter-narcotics, and re9 lief for refugees.

10 (4) Other Federal departments and agencies

11 with expertise in international development-related

12 activities, such as the Overseas Private Investment

13 Corporation, the Trade and Development Agency,

14 the Department of Agriculture, the Department of

15 Health and Human Services, and the Centers for

16 Disease Control and Prevention, to the extent such

17 departments and agencies have the authority to

18 carry out development-related programs, and in co19 ordination with the Department of State and the

20 United States Agency for International Develop21 ment, should provide expertise in specific technical

22 areas and shall provide assistance, including assist23 ance provided with funds made available from the

24 Corporation to assist United States Government

25 international development activities.


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1 SEC. 403. REPORT RELATING TO IMPACT AND EFFECTIVE2 NESS OF ASSISTANCE.

3 (a) REPORT.—Not later than December 31, 2004,

4 and December 31 of each third year thereafter, the Presi5 dent shall transmit to Congress a report which analyzes,

6 on a country-by-country basis, the impact and effective7 ness of United States economic assistance furnished under

8 the framework established in section 402 to each country

9 during the preceding three fiscal years. The report shall

10 include the following for each recipient country:

11 (1) An analysis of the impact of United States

12 economic assistance during the preceding three fiscal

13 years on economic development in that country, with

14 a discussion of the United States interests that were

15 served by the assistance. This analysis shall be done

16 on a sector-by-sector basis to the extent possible and

17 shall identify any economic policy reforms which

18 were promoted by the assistance. This analysis

19 shall—

20 (A) include a description, quantified to the

21 extent practicable, of the specific objectives the

22 United States sought to achieve in providing

23 economic assistance for that country, and

24 (B) specify the extent to which those objec25 tives were not achieved, with an explanation of

26 why they were not achieved.


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1 (2) A description of the amount and nature of

2 economic assistance provided by other donors during

3 the preceding three fiscal years, set forth by develop4 ment sector to the extent possible.

5 (3) A discussion of the commitment of the host

6 government to addressing the country’s needs in

7 each development sector, including a description of

8 the resources devoted by that government to each

9 development sector during the preceding three fiscal

10 years.

11 (4) A description of the trends, both favorable

12 and unfavorable, in each development sector.

13 (5) Statistical and other information necessary

14 to evaluate the impact and effectiveness of United

15 States economic assistance on development in the

16 country.

17 (6) A comparison of the analysis provided in

18 the report with relevant analyses by international fi19 nancial institutions, other international organiza20 tions, other donor countries, or nongovernmental or21 ganizations.

22 (b) LISTING OF MOST AND LEAST SUCCESSFUL AS23 SISTANCE PROGRAMS.—The report required by this sec24 tion shall identify—


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1 (1) each country in which United States eco2 nomic assistance has been most successful, as indi3 cated by the extent to which the specific objectives

4 the United States sought to achieve in providing the

5 assistance for the country, as referred to in sub6 section (a)(1)(A), were achieved; and

7 (2) each country in which United States eco8 nomic assistance has been least successful, as indi9 cated by the extent to which the specific objectives

10 the United States sought to achieve in providing the

11 assistance for the country, as referred to in sub12 section (a)(1)(A), were not achieved.

13 For each country listed pursuant to paragraph (2), the

14 report shall explain why the assistance was not more suc15 cessful and shall specify what the United States has done

16 as a result.

17 (d) DE MINIMUS EXCEPTION.—Information under

18 subsections (a) and (b) for a fiscal year shall not be re19 quired with respect to a country for which United States

20 economic assistance for the country for the fiscal year is

21 less than $5,000,000.


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1 DIVISION B—REAUTHORIZATION

2 AND EXPANSION OF THE

3 PEACE CORPS

4 TITLE X—GENERAL PROVISIONS

5 SEC. 1001. DEFINITIONS.

6 In this division:

7 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT8 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com9 mittees’’ means the Committee on International Re10 lations of the House of Representatives and the

11 Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.

12 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means

13 the Director of the Peace Corps.

14 (3) HOST COUNTRY.—The term ‘‘host country’’

15 means a country whose government has invited the

16 Peace Corps to establish a Peace Corps program

17 within the territory of the country.

18 (4) PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER.—The term

19 ‘‘Peace Corps volunteer’’ means a volunteer or a vol20 unteer leader under the Peace Corps Act.

21 (5) RETURNED PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER.—

22 The term ‘‘returned Peace Corps volunteer’’ means

23 a person who has been certified by the Director as

24 having served satisfactorily as a Peace Corps volun25 teer.


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1 SEC. 1002. FINDINGS.

2 Congress makes the following findings:

3 (1) The Peace Corps was established in 1961 to

4 promote world peace and friendship through the

5 service abroad of volunteers who are United States

6 citizens. The spirit of service and commitment to

7 helping others is a fundamental component of de8 mocracy.

9 (2) Since its establishment, more than 168,000

10 volunteers have served in the Peace Corps in 136

11 countries throughout the world.

12 (3) The three goals codified in the Peace Corps

13 Act which have guided the Peace Corps and its vol14 unteers over the years, can work in concert to pro15 mote global acceptance of the principles of inter16 national peace and nonviolent coexistence among

17 peoples of diverse cultures and systems of govern18 ment.

19 (4) The Peace Corps has sought to fulfill three

20 goals—to help people in developing countries meet

21 basic needs, promote understanding abroad of the

22 values and ideals of the United States, and promote

23 an understanding of other peoples by the people of

24 the United States.

25 (5) After more than 40 years of operation, the

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1 national service organization dedicated to promoting

2 grassroots development by working with families and

3 communities to improve health care for children, ex4 pand agricultural production, teach in schools, fight

5 infectious diseases, protect the environment, and ini6 tiate small business opportunities.

7 (6) The Peace Corps remains committed to

8 sending well trained and well supported Peace Corps

9 volunteers overseas to promote international peace,

10 cross-cultural awareness, and mutual understanding

11 between the United States and other countries.

12 (7) The Peace Corps is an independent agency,

13 and, therefore, no Peace Corps personnel or volun14 teers should be used to accomplish any goal other

15 than the goals established by the Peace Corps Act.

16 (8) The Crisis Corps has been an effective tool

17 in harnessing the skills and talents of returned

18 Peace Corps volunteers and should be expanded, to

19 the maximum extent practicable, to utilize the talent

20 of returned Peace Corps volunteers.

21 (9) In fiscal year 2003, the Peace Corps is op22 erating with an annual budget of $295,000,000 in

23 70 countries, with more than 7,000 Peace Corps vol24 unteers.


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1 (10) There is deep misunderstanding and mis2 information in many parts of the world, particularly

3 in countries with substantial Muslim populations,

4 with respect to United States values and ideals. A

5 new or expanded Peace Corps presence in such

6 places could foster better understanding between the

7 people of the United States and such countries.

8 (11) Congress has declared, and the Peace

9 Corps Act provides, that the Peace Corps shall

10 maintain, to the maximum extent practicable and

11 appropriate, a volunteer corps of at least 10,000 in12 dividuals.

13 (12) President George W. Bush has called for

14 the doubling of the number of Peace Corps volun15 teers in service.

16 (13) Any expansion of the Peace Corps should

17 not jeopardize the quality of the Peace Corps volun18 teer experience and, therefore, necessitates, among

19 other things, an appropriate increase in field and

20 headquarters support staff.

21 (14) In order to ensure that the proposed ex22 pansion of the Peace Corps preserves the integrity of

23 the program and the security of volunteers, the inte24 grated Planning and Budget System supported by


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1 the Office of Planning and Policy Analysis should

2 continue its focus on strategic planning.

3 (15) A streamlined, bipartisan Peace Corps Na4 tional Advisory Council composed of distinguished

5 returned Peace Corps volunteers, former Peace

6 Corps staff, and other individuals with diverse back7 grounds and expertise can be a source of ideas and

8 suggestions that may be useful to the Director of the

9 Peace Corps as the Director discharges the duties

10 and responsibilities as head of the agency.

11 TITLE XI—AMENDMENTS TO

12 PEACE CORPS ACT; RELATED

13 PROVISIONS

14 SEC. 1101. ADVANCING THE GOALS OF THE PEACE CORPS.

15 (a) RECRUITMENT OF VOLUNTEERS.—Section 2A of

16 the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2501–1) is amended by

17 adding at the end the following new sentence: ‘‘As an inde18 pendent agency, the Peace Corps shall be responsible for

19 recruiting all of its volunteers.’’.

20 (b) DETAILS AND ASSIGNMENTS.—Section 5(g) of

21 the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2504(g)) is amended by

22 striking ‘‘Provided, That’’ and inserting ‘‘Provided, That

23 such detail or assignment furthers the fulfillment of Peace

24 Corps’ development and public diplomacy goals as de25 scribed in section 2: Provided further, That’’.


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1 SEC. 1102. REPORTS AND CONSULTATIONS.

2 (a) ANNUAL REPORTS; CONSULTATIONS ON NEW

3 INITIATIVES.—Section 11 of the Peace Corps Act (22

4 U.S.C. 2510) is amended by striking the section heading

5 and the text of section 11 and inserting the following:

6 ‘‘SEC. 11. ANNUAL REPORTS; CONSULTATIONS ON NEW INI7 TIATIVES.

8 ‘‘(a) ANNUAL REPORTS.—The Director shall trans9 mit to Congress, at least once in each fiscal year, a report

10 on operations under this Act. Each report shall contain

11 information—

12 ‘‘(1) describing efforts undertaken to improve

13 coordination of activities of the Peace Corps with ac14 tivities of international voluntary service organiza15 tions, such as the United Nations volunteer pro16 gram, and of host country voluntary service organi17 zations, including—

18 ‘‘(A) a description of the purpose and

19 scope of any development project which the

20 Peace Corps undertook during the preceding

21 fiscal year as a joint venture with any such

22 international or host country voluntary service

23 organizations; and

24 ‘‘(B) recommendations for improving co25 ordination of development projects between the


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1 Peace Corps and any such international or host

2 country voluntary service organizations;

3 ‘‘(2) describing—

4 ‘‘(A) any major new initiatives that the

5 Peace Corps has under review for the upcoming

6 fiscal year, and any major initiatives that were

7 undertaken in the previous fiscal year that were

8 not included in prior reports to the Congress;

9 ‘‘(B) the rationale for undertaking such

10 new initiatives;

11 ‘‘(C) an estimate of the cost of such initia12 tives; and

13 ‘‘(D) the impact on the safety of volun14 teers;

15 ‘‘(3) describing in detail the Peace Corps plans,

16 including budgetary plans, to have 14,000 volunteers

17 in service by 2007 while maintaining the quality of

18 the volunteer experience, ensuring the safety and se19 curity of all volunteers, and providing for appro20 priate administrative and other support; and

21 ‘‘(4) describing standard security procedures for

22 any country in which the Peace Corps operates pro23 grams or is considering doing so, as well as any spe24 cial security procedures contemplated because of

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1 sessing whether security conditions would be

2 enhanced—

3 ‘‘(A) by co-locating volunteers with inter4 national or local nongovernmental organiza5 tions; or

6 ‘‘(B) with the placement of multiple volun7 teers in one location.

8 ‘‘(b) CONSULTATIONS ON NEW INITIATIVES.—The

9 Director of the Peace Corps shall consult with the appro10 priate congressional committees with respect to any major

11 new initiatives not previously discussed in the latest an12 nual report submitted to Congress under subsection (a)

13 or in budget presentations. Whenever possible, such con14 sultations should take place prior to the initiation of such

15 initiatives, or as soon as practicable thereafter.’’.

16 (b) ONE–TIME REPORT ON STUDENT LOAN FOR17 GIVENESS PROGRAMS.—Not later than 30 days after the

18 date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall submit

19 to the appropriate congressional committees a report—

20 (1) describing the student loan forgiveness pro21 grams currently available to Peace Corps volunteers

22 upon completion of their service;

23 (2) comparing such programs with other Gov24 ernment-sponsored student loan forgiveness pro25 grams; and


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1 (3) recommending any additional student loan

2 forgiveness programs which could attract more ap3 plications from low- and middle-income individuals

4 who are carrying considerable student-loan debt bur5 dens.

6 (c) ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS ON THE FED7 ERAL EQUAL OPPORTUNITY RECRUITMENT PROGRAM

8 (FEORP).—Not later than 90 days after the date of en9 actment of this Act and annually thereafter, the Director

10 shall report on the progress of the Peace Corps in recruit11 ing historically underrepresented groups. The Director

12 shall prepare this report in accordance with section 7201

13 of title 5, United States Code, and subpart B of part 720

14 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations.

15 (d) REPORT ON MAINTAINING THE INTEGRITY OF

16 THE MEDICAL SCREENING AND MEDICAL PLACEMENT

17 COORDINATION PROCESSES.—Not later than 120 days

18 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall

19 prepare and submit to the appropriate congressional com20 mittees a report that—

21 (1) describes the medical screening procedures

22 and standards of the Office of Medical Services/

23 Screening Unit of the Peace Corps to determine

24 whether an applicant for Peace Corps service has

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1 riod, or is not medically, including psychologically,

2 qualified to serve in the Peace Corps as a volunteer;

3 (2) describes the procedures and criteria for

4 matching applicants for Peace Corps service with a

5 host country to ensure that the applicant, reasonable

6 accommodations notwithstanding, can complete at

7 least two years of volunteer service without interrup8 tion to host country national projects due to foresee9 able medical conditions; and

10 (3) with respect to each of fiscal years 2000

11 through 2002 and the first six months of fiscal year

12 2003, states the number of—

13 (A) medical screenings conducted;

14 (B) applicants who have received world15 wide clearance, limited clearance, deferral peri16 ods, and medical disqualifications to serve;

17 (C) Peace Corps volunteers who the agency

18 has had to separate from service due to the dis19 covery of undisclosed medical information; and

20 (D) Peace Corps volunteers who have ter21 minated their service early due to medical, in22 cluding psychological, reasons.


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1 SEC. 1103. SPECIAL VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT AND

2 PLACEMENT FOR CERTAIN COUNTRIES.

3 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after the date

4 of enactment of this Act, the Director shall submit to the

5 appropriate congressional committees a report that—

6 (1) describes the recruitment strategies to be

7 employed by the Peace Corps to recruit and train

8 volunteers with the appropriate language skills and

9 interest in serving in host countries; and

10 (2) lists the countries that the Director has de11 termined should be priorities for special recruitment

12 and placement of Peace Corps volunteers.

13 (b) USE OF RETURNED PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEERS

14 AND FORMER STAFF.—The Director is authorized and

15 strongly urged to utilize the services of returned Peace

16 Corps volunteers and former Peace Corps staff who have

17 relevant language and cultural experience and may have

18 served previously in countries with substantial Muslim

19 populations, in order to open or reopen Peace Corps pro20 grams in such countries.

21 SEC. 1104. GLOBAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES INITIATIVE; CO22 ORDINATION OF HIV/AIDS ACTIVITIES.

23 (a) INITIATIVE.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director, in cooperation

25 with international public health experts, such as the

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1 tional Institutes of Health, the World Health Orga2 nization, the Pan American Health Organization,

3 and local public health officials, shall expand the

4 Peace Corps’ program of training for Peace Corps

5 volunteers in the areas of education, prevention, and

6 treatment of infectious diseases which are prevalent

7 in host countries in order to ensure that the Peace

8 Corps increases its contribution to the global cam9 paign against such diseases.

10 (2) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—Activities for

11 the education, prevention, and treatment of infec12 tious diseases in host countries by the Peace Corps

13 shall be undertaken in a manner that is consistent

14 with activities authorized under sections 104(c),

15 104A, 104B, and 104C of the Foreign Assistance

16 Act of 1961.

17 (b) COORDINATION OF HIV/AIDS ACTIVITIES.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director should des19 ignate an officer or employee of the Peace Corps

20 who is located in the United States to coordinate all

21 HIV/AIDS activities within the Peace Corps. Such

22 individual may be an individual who is an officer or

23 employee of the Peace Corps on the date of the en24 actment of this Act.


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1 (2) FIELD COORDINATION.—In addition to the

2 position established under paragraph (1), the Direc3 tor should designate an individual within each coun4 try in sub-Saharan Africa, the Western Hemisphere,

5 and Asia in which Peace Corps volunteers carry out

6 HIV/AIDS activities to coordinate all such activities

7 of the Peace Corps in such countries.

8 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

9 (1) AIDS.—The term ‘‘AIDS’’ means the ac10 quired immune deficiency syndrome.

11 (2) HIV.—The term ‘‘HIV’’ means the human

12 immunodeficiency virus, the pathogen that causes

13 AIDS.

14 (3) HIV/AIDS.—The term ‘‘HIV/AIDS’’

15 means, with respect to an individual, an individual

16 who is infected with HIV or living with AIDS.

17 (4) INFECTIOUS DISEASES.—The term ‘‘infec18 tious diseases’’ means HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and

19 malaria.

20 SEC. 1105. PEACE CORPS NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL.

21 Section 12 of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C. 2511;

22 relating to the Peace Corps National Advisory Council)

23 is amended—

24 (1) in subsection (b)(2)—


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1 (A) in subparagraph (C), by striking

2 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon;

3 (B) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as

4 subparagraph (E); and

5 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (C)

6 the following:

7 ‘‘(D) make recommendations for utilizing the

8 expertise of returned Peace Corps volunteers and

9 former Peace Corps staff in fulfilling the goals of

10 the Peace Corps; and’’;

11 (2) in subsection (c)(2)—

12 (A) in subparagraph (A)—

13 (i) in the first sentence—

14 (I) by striking ‘‘fifteen’’ and in15 serting ‘‘eleven’’; and

16 (II) by striking ‘‘President, by

17 and with the advice and consent of

18 the Senate’’ and inserting ‘‘Director

19 of the Peace Corps’’;

20 (ii) by striking the second sentence

21 and inserting the following: ‘‘Six of the

22 members shall be former Peace Corps vol23 unteers, at least one of whom shall have

24 been a former staff member abroad or in

25 the Washington headquarters, and not


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1 more than six shall be members of the

2 same political party.’’;

3 (B) by striking subparagraph (B);

4 (C) by amending subparagraph (D) to read

5 as follows:

6 ‘‘(D) The members of the Council shall be appointed

7 to 2-year terms.’’;

8 (D) in subparagraph (H), by striking

9 ‘‘nine’’ and inserting ‘‘seven’’;

10 (E) in subparagraph (I), by striking

11 ‘‘President shall nominate’’ and inserting ‘‘Di12 rector shall appoint’’; and

13 (F) by redesignating subparagraphs (C),

14 (D), (E), (F), (G), (H), and (I) as subpara15 graphs (B), (C), (D), (E), (F), (G), and (H),

16 respectively; and

17 (3) by amending subsection (g) to read as fol18 lows:

19 ‘‘(g) CHAIR.—The Director shall designate one of the

20 voting members of the Council as Chair, who shall serve

21 in that capacity for a term of two years. The Director may

22 renew the term of a voting member appointed as Chair

23 under the preceding sentence.’’.

24 SEC. 1106. READJUSTMENT ALLOWANCES.

25 The Peace Corps Act is amended—


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1 (1) in section 5(c) (22 U.S.C. 2504(c)), by

2 striking ‘‘$125 for each month of satisfactory serv3 ice’’ and inserting ‘‘$275 for each month of satisfac4 tory service during fiscal year 2004 and $300 for

5 each month of satisfactory service thereafter’’; and

6 (2) in section 6(1) (22 U.S.C. 2505(1)), by

7 striking ‘‘$125 for each month of satisfactory serv8 ice’’ and inserting ‘‘$275 for each month of satisfac9 tory service during fiscal year 2004 and $300 for

10 each month of satisfactory service thereafter’’.

11 SEC. 1107. PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS OF RETURNED

12 PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEERS AND FORMER

13 STAFF.

14 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to pro15 vide support for returned Peace Corps volunteers to de16 velop and carry out programs and projects to promote the

17 objectives of the Peace Corps Act, as set forth in section

18 2(a) of that Act (22 U.S.C. 2501(a)).

19 (b) GRANTS TO CERTAIN NONPROFIT CORPORA20 TIONS.—

21 (1) GRANT AUTHORITY.—

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—To carry out the pur23 pose of this section, and subject to the avail24 ability of appropriations, the Director may

25 award grants on a competitive basis to private


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1 nonprofit corporations for the purpose of ena2 bling returned Peace Corps volunteers to use

3 their knowledge and expertise to develop and

4 carry out the programs and projects described

5 in paragraph (2).

6 (B) DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY AND

7 TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—The Director may dele8 gate the authority to award grants under sub9 paragraph (A) and may transfer funds author10 ized under this section subject to the notifica11 tion procedures of section 634A of the Foreign

12 Assistance Act of 1961 to the Chief Executive

13 Officer of the Corporation for National and

14 Community Service (referred to in this section

15 as the ‘‘Corporation’’).

16 (2) PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS.—Such pro17 grams and projects may include—

18 (A) educational programs designed to en19 rich the knowledge and interest of elementary

20 school and secondary school students in the ge21 ography and cultures of other countries where

22 the volunteers have served;

23 (B) projects that involve partnerships with

24 local libraries to enhance community knowledge

25 about other peoples and countries; and


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1 (C) audio-visual projects that utilize mate2 rials collected by the volunteers during their

3 service that would be of educational value to

4 communities.

5 (3) ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANTS.—To be eligible

6 to compete for grants under this section, a nonprofit

7 corporation shall have a board of directors composed

8 of returned Peace Corps volunteers and former

9 Peace Corps staff with a background in community

10 service, education, or health. If the grants are made

11 by the Corporation, the nonprofit corporation shall

12 meet all appropriate Corporation management re13 quirements, as determined by the Corporation.

14 (c) GRANT REQUIREMENTS.—Such grants shall be

15 made pursuant to a grant agreement between the Peace

16 Corps or the Corporation and the nonprofit corporation

17 that requires that—

18 (1) the grant funds will only be used to support

19 programs and projects described in subsection (a)

20 pursuant to proposals submitted by returned Peace

21 Corps volunteers (either individually or cooperatively

22 with other returned volunteers);

23 (2) the nonprofit corporation will give consider24 ation to funding individual programs or projects by


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1 returned Peace Corps volunteers, in amounts of not

2 more than $50,000, under this section;

3 (3) not more than 20 percent of the grant

4 funds made available to the nonprofit corporation

5 will be used for the salaries, overhead, or other ad6 ministrative expenses of the nonprofit corporation;

7 (4) the nonprofit corporation will not receive

8 grant funds for programs or projects under this sec9 tion for a third or subsequent year unless the non10 profit corporation makes available, to carry out the

11 programs or projects during that year, non-Federal

12 contributions—

13 (A) in an amount not less than $2 for

14 every $3 of Federal funds provided through the

15 grant; and

16 (B) provided directly or through donations

17 from private entities, in cash or in kind, fairly

18 evaluated, including plant, equipment, or serv19 ices; and

20 (5) the nonprofit corporation shall manage,

21 monitor, and submit reports to the Peace Corps or

22 the Corporation, as the case may be, on each pro23 gram or project for which the nonprofit corporation

24 receives a grant under this section.


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1 (d) STATUS OF THE FUND.—Nothing in this section

2 shall be construed to make any nonprofit corporation sup3 ported under this section an agency or establishment of

4 the Federal Government or to make the members of the

5 board of directors or any officer or employee of such non6 profit corporation an officer or employee of the United

7 States.

8 (e) FACTORS IN AWARDING GRANTS.—In deter9 mining the number of nonprofit corporations to receive

10 grants under this section for any fiscal year, the Peace

11 Corps or the Corporation—

12 (1) shall take into consideration the need to

13 minimize overhead costs that direct resources from

14 the funding of programs and projects; and

15 (2) shall seek to ensure a broad geographical

16 distribution of grants for programs and projects

17 under this section.

18 (f) CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT.—Grant recipients

19 under this section shall be subject to the appropriate over20 sight procedures of Congress.

21 (g) FUNDING.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be

23 appropriated to carry out this section up to

24 $10,000,000. Such sum shall be in addition to funds


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1 made available to the Peace Corps under this divi2 sion.

3 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated pur4 suant to paragraph (1) are authorized to remain

5 available until expended.

6 (h) CRISIS CORPS.—

7 (1) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—Congress states

8 that the Crisis Corps has been an effective tool in

9 harnessing the skills and talents of returned Peace

10 Corps volunteers.

11 (2) INCREASE IN NUMBER OF CRISIS CORPS AS12 SIGNMENTS.—The Director, in consultation with the

13 governments of host countries and appropriate non14 governmental organizations, shall increase the num15 ber of available Crisis Corps assignments for re16 turned Peace Corps volunteers to at least 120 as17 signments in fiscal year 2004, 140 assignments in

18 fiscal year 2005, 160 assignments in fiscal year

19 2006, and 165 assignments in fiscal year 2007.

20 SEC. 1108. DECLARATION OF POLICY.

21 Congress declares its support for the goal announced

22 by President Bush of doubling the number of Peace Corps

23 volunteers to 14,000 by 2007 and supports the funding

24 levels necessary to accomplish this growth.


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1 SEC. 1109. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 Section 3(b)(1) of the Peace Corps Act (22 U.S.C.

3 2502(b)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘and $365,000,000

4 fiscal year 2003’’ and inserting ‘‘$365,000,000 for fiscal

5 year 2003, $366,868,000 for fiscal year 2004,

6 $411,800,000 for fiscal year 2005, $455,930,000 for fis7 cal year 2006, and $499,400,000 for fiscal year 2007’’.


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Chairman HYDE. The Chair yields himself 5 minutes for purposes of a statement. 

Today, the Committee will consider the Millennium Challenge 

Account Authorization and Peace Corps Expansion Act of 2003. My 

remarks this morning will be centered on the Millennium Challenge Account, an initiative based on the revolutionary idea that 

countries must be accountable for their actions, be responsible for 

developing and advancing their own plans and progress, and must 

show results in order to receive economic assistance from the 

American taxpayers. 

The Millennium Challenge Account was developed and advanced 

by a President willing to take a risk with a bold new idea. However, demanding accountability from our foreign aid programs is 

not such a new idea. In the past and most recently in the 107th 

Congress, I introduced a bill, the Foreign Aid Effectiveness Act, 

which required the President to describe the actual results of U.S. 

foreign assistance relative to the goals, and identify the most and 

least successful foreign assistance programs. Elements of this initiative are incorporated into the bill which we are considering this 

morning. 

In March 2002, President Bush announced his intention to create 

a new development assistance program called the Millennium 

Challenge Account—the MCA. The program, if authorized, will be 

above and beyond existing aid, and will distribute U.S. economic 

aid to developing countries that are determined to govern justly, invest in their people, and encourage economic freedom. We are here 

today to debate and report a bipartisan bill that authorizes the 

President’s proposal. 

In March, the Committee held a hearing on the proposal and 

heard from three Administration witnesses on the proposed structure and organization of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, 

the new organization proposed to manage MCA assistance. Members also heard testimony and had the opportunity to question witnesses from respected charities such as ‘‘Save the Children’’ and 

‘‘Bread for the World,’’ as well as experts from the Heritage Foundation and the Center for Global Development on eligibility criteria 

for the MCA. 

At that hearing, our witnesses did not dispute that many U.S. 

aid programs have not achieved desired results over the years. 

Some assistance has allowed corrupt leaders to amass personal fortunes and remain in power beyond the will of the citizenry. Other 

aid has allowed leaders and governments to abdicate responsibility 

for effective governance and pursue detrimental, self-destructive, or 

personally self-enriching policies with little results to show in the 

end. 

The mixed results of the past should not lead us to turn our 

backs on the developing world—just the opposite. Now is the time 

for American leadership and for America to recognize and help 

those countries that respect the rights of citizens, promote democracy, and encourage economic freedom and prosperity. However, we 

need to demonstrate what works and what does not. And we need 

to hold accountable those governments and leaders who do not 

choose the right path of reform. 

162

The President’s proposal is a serious attempt to address the concern that existing U.S. development assistance programs have had 

mixed results over the years and, in many cases, have failed to 

achieve stated goals. The President’s proposal—a new type of foreign aid based on performance and accountability—is a step in the 

right direction and is supported by the Heritage Foundation, the 

Wall Street Journal, and other organizations that have previously 

characterized foreign assistance as inefficient and ineffective. 

To alleviate concerns that he may be abandoning the people of 

the developing world who live under governments that do not meet 

such standards, the President has made clear his intention that the 

MCA will not replace existing development assistance programs 

nor subtract from their budgets. To fund the MCA, the President 

has proposed an additional $5 billion to the current development 

assistance budget of $10 billion, phased in over a 3-year period. 

The President’s fiscal year 2004 budget requests $1.3 billion for the 

first year of the initiative, and his proposal calls for MCA funding 

to increase to $3.3 billion in fiscal year 2005 and $5 billion in fiscal 

year 2006. The Administration forwarded its proposed MCA authorizing bill to Congress in February, and I have been working 

with Mr. Lantos, the Administration, and other Members of the 

Committee and of Congress to devise a compromise bill that will 

accomplish this goal. 

As we report the MCA authorization bill today, our overriding 

principle should be to ensure success of this initiative from the 

start, demand results from its endeavors, and receive value for taxpayer dollars. President Bush announced that the MCA has a separate and distinct development assistance program that will be 

available only to countries which meet three criteria: They must 

display good governance, invest in the health and education of 

their people, and enact sound policies which promote economic freedom. 

The United States must be more selective in aid distribution if 

the assistance is to be effective and a positive contribution to development. As proposed by the President and endorsed in the legislation before you today, MCA assistance will reward only those recipients who willingly adopt good policies and institutions. Of the 

70 or so countries currently eligible for development assistance, it 

is possible that only 10 countries will meet the strict criteria stipulated by the President and endorsed in this bill. At the funding levels proposed, this may mean a very high level of assistance for 

MCA-eligible countries. The Administration believes this will create a competition among cusp countries which may accelerate reforms and the adoption of good policies. I endorse this approach. 

The President’s proposal for a Millennium Challenge Account deserves the support of Congress. We should embrace the idea of increasing U.S. economic assistance but only to those countries that 

demonstrate a commitment to human rights, democratic ideals and 

practices, and investments in people. Reporting out a Millennium 

Challenge Account bill and working to support final passage of an 

act through Congress in 2003 is one of the most important priorities of this Committee, and I am pleased to open today’s meeting 

of the Committee by recognizing my good friend and colleague Tom 

Lantos for any remarks he may wish to make. 

163

[The prepared statement of Mr. Hyde follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE HENRY J. HYDE, A REPRESENTATIVE IN

CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, AND CHAIRMAN, COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

H.R. 2441

Good morning and welcome to this scheduled meeting of the Committee on International Relations. Today the Committee will consider the Millennium Challenge 

Account Authorization and Peace Corps Expansion Act of 2003. My remarks this 

morning will be centered on the Millennium Challenge Account, an initiative based 

on the revolutionary idea that countries must be accountable for their actions, be 

responsible for developing and advancing their own plans of progress, and must 

show results in order to receive economic assistance from the American taxpayer. 

The Millennium Challenge Account was developed and advanced by a President 

who is willing to take a risk with a bold new idea. Actually, demanding accountability from our foreign aid programs is not such a new idea. In the past, and most 

recently in the 107th Congress, I introduced a bill, the Foreign Aid Effectiveness 

Act, which required the President to describe the actual results of U.S. foreign assistance relative to the goals, and identify the most and least successful foreign assistance programs. Elements of this initiative are incorporated into the bill which 

we are considering this morning. 

In March 2002, President Bush announced his intention to create a new development assistance program called the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA). The program, if authorized by Congress, will be above and beyond existing aid and will distribute U.S. economic aid to developing countries that are determined to govern 

justly, invest in their people and encourage economic freedom. We are here today 

to debate and report a bipartisan bill that authorizes the President’s proposal. 

In March, the Committee held a hearing on the Administration’s proposal, and 

heard from three administration witnesses on the proposed structure and organization of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the new organization proposed to 

manage MCA assistance. Members also heard testimony and had the opportunity 

to question witnesses from the respected charities, ‘‘Save the Children’’ and ‘‘Bread 

for the World,’’ as well as experts from the Heritage Foundation and the Center for 

Global Development on eligibility criteria for the MCA. 

At that hearing, our witnesses did not dispute that many U.S. aid programs have 

not achieved desired results over the years. Some assistance has allowed corrupt 

leaders to amass personal fortunes and remain in power beyond the will of the citizenry. Other aid has allowed leaders and governments to abdicate responsibility for 

effective governance and pursue detrimental, self-destructive, or personally self-enriching policies, with little results to show in the end. The mixed results of the past 

should not lead us to turn our backs on the developing world—just the opposite. 

Now is the time for American leadership and for America to recognize and help, 

those countries that respect the rights of citizens, promote democracy, and encourage economic freedom and prosperity. However, we need to demonstrate what 

works, and what doesn’t. And we need to hold accountable those governments and 

leaders who do not choose the right path of reform. 

The President’s proposal is a serious attempt to address the concern that existing 

U.S. development assistance programs have had mixed results over the years, and 

in many cases have failed to achieve stated goals. The President’s proposal—a new 

type of foreign aid based on performance and accountability of recipient nations—

is a step in the right direction, and is supported by the Heritage Foundation, the 

Wall Street Journal, and other organizations that have previously characterized foreign assistance as inefficient and ineffective. 

To alleviate concerns that he may be abandoning the people of the developing 

world who live under governments that do not meet such standards, the President 

has made clear his intention that the MCA will not replace existing development 

assistance programs or subtract from their budgets. To fund the MCA, the President 

has proposed an additional $5 billion to the current development assistance budget 

of $10 billion, phased in over a three-year period. The President’s FY 2004 budget 

requests $1.3 billion for the first year of the initiative, and his proposal calls for 

MCA funding to increase to $3.3 billion in FY 2005 and $5 billion in FY 2006. The 

Administration forwarded its proposed MCA authorizing bill to Congress in February, and I have been working with Mr. Lantos, the Administration, and other 

Members of the Committee and of Congress to devise a compromise bill that will 

accomplish this goal. 

164

As we report an MCA authorization bill today, our overriding principle should be 

to ensure success of this initiative from the start, demand results from its endeavors, and receive value for taxpayer dollars. President Bush announced that the 

MCA, as a separate and distinct development assistance program, will be available 

only to countries which meet three criteria: they must display good governance, invest in the health and education of their people, and enact sound policies which promote economic freedom. 

The United States must be more selective in aid distribution if the assistance is 

to be effective and a positive contributor to development. As proposed by the President and endorsed in the legislation before you today, MCA assistance will reward 

only those recipients who willingly adopt good policies and institutions. Of the 70 

or so countries currently eligible for development assistance, it is possible that only 

ten countries will meet the strict criteria stipulated by the President and endorsed 

in this bill. At the funding levels proposed, this may mean a very high level of assistance for MCA-eligible countries. The Administration believes that this will create a competition among ‘‘cusp’’ countries which may accelerate reforms and the 

adoption of good policies. I endorse this approach. 

The President’s proposal for a Millennium Challenge Account deserves the support of the Congress. We should embrace the idea of increasing U.S. economic assistance but only to those countries that demonstrate a commitment to human rights, 

democratic ideals and practices, and investment in people. Reporting out a Millennium Challenge Account bill and working to support final passage of an Act through 

Congress in 2003 is one of the most important priorities of this Committee, and I 

am pleased to open today’s meeting of the Committee by recognizing my good friend 

and colleague, Tom Lantos, for any remarks he may wish to make.

Mr. LANTOS. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. Chairman, first I commend you for your most serious and 

successful effort in bringing the Millennium Challenge Account legislation before our Committee today, and I want to thank you personally and your staff for the extraordinary bipartisanship that you 

have demonstrated throughout our lengthy deliberations. This is 

the second time this year we have met on this important issue, testifying to your leadership and to your commitment to the cause of 

international development and the reduction of poverty globally. 

As I said at our March hearing, the Millennium Challenge Account as conceived by the President and crafted by this Committee 

marks the beginning of a revolution in United States international 

development assistance. By recognizing the importance of democratic rule, good governance, and human rights, in achieving sustainable levels of economic growth, and social development, the 

MCA creates the political and economic linkages critical to reducing poverty and achieving progress. 

At the same time, Mr. Chairman, the MCA removes the Cold 

War era strategic calculus from the development assistance equation. Each potential recipient of our assistance is to be judged on 

its own merits based on their commitment to progress and our commitment to the political, economic, social, and humanitarian value 

of development assistance. 

Finally, Mr. Chairman, the MCA implicitly endorses a critical aspect of our approach to combating international terrorism. Although the Administration hasn’t focused on this point, modern 

terrorism of the kind that struck our Nation on September 11th is 

fueled in part by the desperation and hopelessness that pervades 

much of the developing world. The MCA provides new hope and, 

as such, represents a powerful antidote to terrorism and other 

forms of violent conflict that have stalled the developing world. 

There are many powerful reasons to support this legislation, not 

the least of which is its contribution to defeating international terrorism and strife. 

165

As we have learned recently from our experience with SARS, 

HIV/AIDS, Ebola, West Nile virus, Monkeypox, and other diseases, 

our world is much too small to ignore the threats that often emanate from less developed regions. 

Mr. Chairman, when we last considered this subject, I expressed 

a range of concerns about various aspects of the Administration’s 

initial proposal. I am pleased to say today that the bill before us, 

painstakingly crafted with meticulous care and in a bipartisan 

fashion by the Committee’s Republican and Democratic staffs, has 

addressed satisfactorily every one of my earlier concerns and the 

bill before us has my strong support. 

The Administration’s initial proposal relegated USAID, the most 

capable agency within the U.S. Government in administering international assistance, to a bit part in managing this massive account. 

Our bipartisan bill restores USAID to its rightful role by providing 

its administrator with a seat and a vote on the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s board of directors. Together with the interagency coordination our bill requires, this improvement promises to 

strengthen the MCA considerably. 

Our bipartisan bill also addresses my earlier concerns about the 

rigid application of strict eligibility criteria. By mandating Congressional and civil society consultations on the finalization of criteria, 

by providing for an annual reevaluation process, and by authorizing limited assistance to those countries on the cusp of eligibility, 

our legislation safeguards against the inherent arbitrary nature of 

mechanically selecting qualified states. 

Mr. Chairman, the MCA represents a giant step in the right direction, one that has been long overdue. I hope that by approving 

this historic measure on a bipartisan basis we will bury the taboo 

that has characterized foreign assistance in Congress, especially 

since 1994. 

Historically, the United States has ranked near the bottom of the 

list in foreign assistance per capita of all industrialized nations. 

Now, I am very mindful of the enormous sums we spend for a global security umbrella. Yet the MCA will now go a long way toward 

erasing our national embarrassment of being the last in number in 

providing foreign assistance per capita. We will still not reach the 

per capita levels of development assistance of Denmark, of Norway, 

or of the Netherlands, but this measure marks a new beginning. 

Our work is not complete with today’s vote, however, and it can be 

easily undone. If the President and the majority in Congress will 

fail to fully fund this initiative, as I have reason to believe that 

they might, approval today could be a Pyrrhic legislative victory 

and a sizeable setback for our national security at the hands of tax 

cut-induced fiscal constraints. Already, Mr. Chairman, there are reports that the appropriations allocations for this year will significantly reduce U.S. foreign aid funding, which includes funding for 

this all important initiative. 

Mr. Chairman, as I have said before, while the massive tax cuts 

that this Congress and the President have enacted will provide 

enormous benefits to the wealthiest in our country, they are forcing 

our Nation to cut back on essential and necessary spending both 

for domestic programs and such foreign assistance programs as we 

incorporate in MCA. 

166

I call on President Bush and I call on the majority in this Congress to maintain our core development programs at this year’s 

level and to fund fully this new initiative. The President said that 

MCA would be, and I quote, ‘‘new money,’’ and I expect him to keep 

his word. 

Mr. Chairman, allow me to conclude by addressing the reauthorization of the Peace Corps, which is also included in this legislation. It is fitting that we consider the MCA and the Peace Corps 

jointly, because both are critical to enhancing U.S. International 

development assistance. Since President Kennedy first deployed 

the Peace Corps in 1961, the program’s 168,000 volunteers have 

made an immeasurable contribution to reducing poverty and promoting American values literally all over the globe. Reauthorizing 

this inspirational initiative is clearly in our national interests and 

in the interests of reducing poverty and restoring hope worldwide. 

Two of our colleagues deserve recognition for bringing the Peace 

Corps reauthorization before us. Ms. Betty McCollum, who recently 

joined us on this Committee, and Sam Farr, a former Peace Corps 

volunteer himself, were instrumental in crafting this bill and I am 

deeply indebted to both of them. 

Mr. Chairman, today we will take the first steps toward reauthorizing the Peace Corps and setting the Millennium Challenge 

Account on the path to passage. Both initiatives offer the best hope 

to defeat international poverty and international terrorism. I 

strongly urge all of my colleagues to support this carefully crafted 

bipartisan bill. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Mr. Chairman, move to strike the 

last word. 

Chairman HYDE. The gentleman from New Jersey, Mr. Smith. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I just want to congratulate you and Mr. Lantos on drafting an outstanding bill. In reading the text very carefully, I was concerned that the human rights provisions might not 

be strong enough. But now I appreciate your assurance that we 

will have report language that would make it abundantly clear that 

we do not want to be rewarding human rights violators just because other criteria articulated in the bill may have been met so 

that we inadvertently enable those who abuse other people. 

I speak particularly of countries like Vietnam and Georgia, just 

to name two. Yesterday the Republic of Georgia went on the Tier 

III for egregious violators of those who traffic in human persons. 

They are now at risk, and certainly if they do not make immediate 

changes they ought to be censored by the Administration pursuant 

to the act, the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act. 

It is very clear that that is prescribed in the bill and President 

Bush I believe will do that. They, looking at the basic criteria in 

the Millennium Challenge Account, probably could have gotten 

funding unless we make it very clear what we mean. 

Vietnam is another country. I think my colleagues are well 

aware of the fact that in the area of religious persecution there has 

been a significant deterioration of respect for religious belief by the 

government of Vietnam. Hundreds of churches in the Central Highlands have been closed, shut down. There have been what we call 

167

coerced renunciations of faith. They have been happening with increasing frequency, these events where people are beaten and tortured until they renounce their faith. In most instances it is a faith 

in Christ that they are forced to renounce. 

There are about 40 Christian leaders that have disappeared 

since July. We are demanding that there be an investigation, and 

those who have either abducted or killed or whatever happened to 

those 40 religious leaders be held to account; and, hopefully, those 

who are perhaps incarcerated or in some torture chamber somewhere will be released. 

And then, of course, there is the case of Father Lee. Here is a 

man who provided testimony to the International Commission on 

Religious Freedom here in this country, here in this capital, only 

to find that his written submission got him a prison sentence and 

got him abducted by the government officials. That is outrageous. 

A government that wants to do business or claims it wants to do 

business with the United States is so grossly mistreating its own 

people. But, again, I appreciate the Chairman’s agreement to put 

good strong report language in so that it is made crystal clear that 

we do not want to enable and empower human rights abusers. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman HYDE. Thank you, Mr. Smith. 

The gentlelady from Minnesota, Ms. McCollum. 

Ms. MCCOLLUM. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move to strike the 

last word. 

I would like to ask for your help as this bill progresses in making 

sure that, as part of the criteria, we look at sustainable development. In the hearing that we had yesterday, and in some of the 

work that I have done in learning more about how to work with 

countries to make them more sustainable so that they can stand 

up and be an active part of the global economy, I am finding that 

the USAID, as well as other U.S. organizations quite often look at 

environmental hazards that might be looming out on a project. And 

I will give you an example of one that I learned about that happened in Peru. 

They were looking at adding more cattle to an area to increase 

not only profitability for individual ranchers in the area, but to provide more protein for people who live there. They did not think it 

out as clearly and as carefully as they should have. When they 

went in with the cattle, with some of the grazing, they created a 

breeding ground for malaria, and increased the malaria around in 

that area. By doing some sustainable planning and having that 

being part of any development that we are looking in, we are also 

putting dollars into the Millennium Challenge Account. I think we 

can create win-win solutions for people to be more economically 

independent and to make sure that we have healthy populations. 

And so, Mr. Chair, I look to working with you and Mr. Lantos and 

the staff as this progresses farther to incorporate language that is 

currently used by many of our agencies into the Millennium Account. And if I could have your help with that and your guidance, 

I would appreciate that. 

Chairman HYDE. You have our assurances. 

The gentleman from California, Mr. Royce. 

168

Mr. ROYCE. Thank you. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at 

the desk. 

Chairman HYDE. The Clerk will report the amendment. 

The CLERK. Amendment offered by Mr. Royce. In title 11 of Division B of the bill, redesignate section 1109. 

[The information referred to follows:]

169

1

H.L.C.

AMENDMENT TO H.R. ll

OFFERED BY MR. ROYCE

(Millennium Challenge Account Authorization and Peace

Corps Expansion Act of 2003)

In title XI of division B of the bill—

(1) redesignate section 1109 as section 1110;

and

(2) insert after section 1108 the following new

section (and make all necessary technical and conforming amendments):

1 SEC. 1109. PEACE CORPS IN SIERRA LEONE.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find3 ings:

4 (1) Peace Corps service to Sierra Leone was

5 suspended in 1994 due to a brutal civil war between

6 the government and the Revolutionary United Front

7 (RUF).

8 (2) Backed by British military intervention and

9 a United Nations peacekeeping operation, govern10 ment authority has been reestablished throughout

11 the country and ‘‘free and fair’’ national elections

12 took place in May 2002.

13 (3) Sierra Leone is a majority Muslim country.

14 (4) The Peace Corps has given the safety and

15 security of its volunteers high priority.


87676p.AAB
170

2

H.L.C.

1 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con2 gress that the Peace Corps should return its program to

3 Sierra Leone as soon as security conditions are consistent

4 with the safety and security of its volunteers.


87676p.AAC
171

Chairman HYDE. Without objection, further reading of the bill is 

dispensed with, and the gentleman is recognized for 5 minutes in 

support of his amendment. 

Mr. ROYCE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am going to be very 

brief. I am pleased to see that this legislation today includes the 

Peace Corps Expansion Act and this particular amendment expresses the sense of Congress that the Peace Corps should return 

to Sierra Leone as soon as security conditions permit. And let me 

explain the reason for this. 

Mayhem and murder occurred in Sierra Leone, where we saw 

tens of thousands of people forcibly amputated or killed, two million displaced, that was spread by the Revolutionary United Front 

backed by Charles Taylor, the Liberian warlord. That process has 

ended, and last week U.N. Special Prosecutor Dave Crane rightly 

issued an indictment against Taylor to bring this human rights 

abuser to justice. 

And in May of last year Sierra Leone held free and fair elections. 

Well, because of this brutal conflict, the Peace Corps was forced in 

1994 to terminate its program in Sierra Leone after a long tradition of service there. As a matter of fact, from 1962 to 1994, 6,000 

Peace Corps volunteers served in Sierra Leone, focusing on education and health and agricultural programs, and that is a legacy 

that is worth reviving. And we have a request from some of the 

amputees from a village where the Sierra Leone Peace Corps operation participated, and these victims of forced amputation have 

asked if the Peace Corps could come back to Sierra Leone. 

That is the intent of this amendment, and I will yield back the 

balance of my time. 

Chairman HYDE. Mr. Lantos. 

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Chairman, I want to salute my friend from 

California for an excellent amendment. We strongly support the 

amendment, and just want to add that no country deserves more 

strongly our support than the ravaged country of Sierra Leone, and 

the gentleman from California is making a noble contribution to 

this bill. 

Chairman HYDE. Is there further discussion? 

Mr. PAUL. Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman HYDE. Mr. Paul. 

Mr. PAUL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move to strike the last 

word. 

Chairman HYDE. The gentleman is recognized for 5 minutes. 

Mr. PAUL. Mr. Chairman, I don’t have a strong feeling one way 

or the other on this amendment, but I would like to make a couple 

of comments on the bill itself because it seems like there is fairly 

strong agreement that this is a good bill and will pass easily. I 

would like to point out a few points—make a few points that 

should make us reconsider the way we do business here. 

This country is not in as good financial shape as some of us must 

believe. Somebody put a figure out the other day that our total obligations in this country now is $43 trillion if you add up everything 

we are obligated to do for everybody that is living today. And the 

net asset value of everything that we have in the country is $40 

trillion. So, technically, we are bankrupt. Our debt, our national 

debt is going up now over $500 billion a year. And it just seems 

172

like to add on another $9 billion of foreign aid and think nothing 

of it, it is almost like we are in denial and that this will continue 

forever, that deficits mean nothing, that all we need is a Federal 

Reserve to print the money and everything is going to be okay. 

Our economy is very weak. I think there are some serious problems out there, and it is more the tone that bothers me that there 

is no cost to this. I mean, just add another program. 

Quite frankly, I think the odds of programs like this doing much 

good aren’t all that good. Usually they backfire. There are usually 

unintended consequences. And, to me, it is rather sad that we are 

not more conservative in the way we spend the people’s money. 

When you spend $9 billion, it has to come from somewhere and it 

comes out of the economy, and it usually hurts the very people that 

so many on the other side are always trying to help. 

This does affect medical care and it does effect education, and yet 

we seem to ignore that. And those who propose this seem to grab 

the moral high ground of all the good things that we are going to 

do, but the good intentions really doesn’t qualify for the moral high 

ground because there is another moral issue involved. There is a 

cost to this, and the cost has to be borne by some invisible person 

out there and that is a burden, and it is collected and transferred 

by force. 

So there is a moral issue on who pays that is totally ignored on 

every program that we pass in this Congress. 

In spite of all this, I am basically an optimist, and I believe—

and I always want to believe in the positive things. Now, it is a 

real challenge to come up with something positive for me about this 

piece of legislation, but I have decided there has to be something 

positive, and my idea is that we should strive for a free society, a 

limited government, one where we strictly follow the Constitution. 

We now manage in an unmanageable way the welfare-warfare 

state. I don’t think it is going to continue. I think it will end. 

Maybe then those of us who believe in the strict adherence to the 

Constitution, limited government and individual liberty will have 

an opportunity to present our views to promote that cause. 

And I yield back. 

Chairman HYDE. The Chair announces there are three votes 

pending on the Floor: The previous question, the rule, and the 

Journal. 

The question occurs on the Royce amendment. All those in favor 

say aye. Opposed, nay. The ayes have it, and the amendment is 

agreed to. 

We will stand in recess until 1 p.m. I urge you to return at 1 

p.m. We have some very important amendments ahead of us. 1 

p.m. Thank you. 

[Whereupon, at 11:30 a.m., the Committee was recessed, to reconvene at 1 p.m., this same day.] 

Chairman HYDE. The Committee will come to order. The Chair 

notes the presence of a working quorum. 

When the Committee recessed, we were considering the bill H.R. 

2441, the Millennium Challenge Account. No amendment was 

pending, and the Chair recognizes the gentlelady from California 

Ms. Lee. 

Ms. LEE. I have an amendment at the desk. 

173

Chairman HYDE. The clerk will report the amendment. 

The CLERK. Amendment offered by Ms. Lee. In title 2 of division 

A of the bill——

Chairman HYDE. Without objection, further reading of the 

amendment will be dispensed with, and the gentlelady is recognized for 5 minutes in support of her amendment. 

[The information referred to follows:]

174

1

H.L.C.

AMENDMENT TO H.R. ll

OFFERED BY MS. LEE

(Millennium Challenge Account Authorization and Peace

Corps Expansion Act of 2003)

In title II of division A of the bill—

(1) redesignate section 207 as section 208; and

(2) insert after section 206 the following new

section (and make all appropriate technical and conforming amendments):

1 SEC. 207. PARTICIPATION OF CERTAIN UNITED STATES

2 BUSINESSES.

3 (a) PARTICIPATION.—To the maximum extent prac4 ticable, the President, acting through the Chief Executive

5 Officer, shall ensure that United States small, minority6 owned, and disadvantaged business enterprises fully par7 ticipate in the provision of goods and services that are fi8 nanced with funds made available under this subtitle.

9 (b) REPORT.—The Chief Executive Officer shall pre10 pare and submit to the appropriate congressional commit11 tees an annual report that contains a description of the

12 extent to which the requirement of subsection (a) has been

13 met for the preceding year.


87676q.AAB
175

Ms. LEE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

First of all, I would like to start by thanking yourself and Mr. 

Lantos for the effort that you and your staffs have put in into ensuring that this bill will make a real difference in the world, and 

I am convinced that, given the very diligent work over the last couple of months, that is, in fact, what will happen. 

I particularly want to commend you for the exemplary way in 

which it integrates best practices regarding the very strong connection between women’s development, women’s empowerment and 

the real effectiveness of the development dollar. This bill provides 

sound guidance to the MCC on implementing the principle of women’s full participation in development. I want to thank you both for 

your commitment to this issue. I believe that we also can apply 

similar best practices to the United States side of this equation. 

The bulk of this assistance money, of course, will be distributed to 

the recipient countries, and rightfully so, but some of this money 

will also go to American companies. 

My amendment to this bill seeks to extend, where practicable, to 

ensure that United States small, minority, and women-owned businesses fully participate in the provision of goods and services financed with funds made available through the MCA. The amendment also calls for an annual report on the extent of the participation of such businesses. Small and disadvantaged businesses, 

women-owned businesses, represent a vital economic engine in our 

country, yet too often they have little chance to participate in foreign assistance programs. 

This amendment would only apply, once again, to the funds 

spent with U.S. companies within the United States. Yesterday in 

his testimony before the Financial Services Committee, Under Secretary of State Alan Larson said,

‘‘We expect United States development expertise, including the 

experience of United States profit and nonprofit sectors, in establishing transparent, financial, accountable, effective activities, and all of these would be engaged through the MCA.’’

He said,

‘‘We expect as well to see local for-profit and nonprofit entities 

working side by side with the governments and other United 

States participants.’’

Secretary Larson went on to say that the MCC staff would rely 

heavily on contracted services for monitoring, evaluation and many 

other services. So the intent of this amendment is to ensure that 

small businesses and minority and women-owned business enterprises have the opportunity to participate as part of this United 

States private sector activity. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for your assistance. I want to thank 

the staff and Mr. Lantos. I want to thank Shannon Smith on my 

staff, who has worked very diligently to help us bring forth an 

amendment which I hope both sides can support. Thank you, and 

I yield the balance of my time. 

Chairman HYDE. Thank you. 

I want to tell the gentlelady that we are very pleased to accept 

her amendment. It mandates the conduct that they ought to be folVerDate Mar 21 2002 16:00 Sep 23, 2003 Jkt 087676 PO 00000 Frm 00179 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 F:\WORK\FULL\M061203\87676 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL
176

lowing anyway, and it is a good amendment, and we are happy to 

accept it, and I yield to my friend Mr. Lantos. 

Mr. LANTOS. Just 10 seconds. I want to commend my friend and 

colleague for proposing an eminently reasonable amendment, and 

I think all of us on our side are delighted to join her in supporting. 

Chairman HYDE. The question occurs on the amendment offered 

by the gentlelady from California. All in favor, say aye. 

Opposed, nay. 

The ayes have it, and the amendment is agreed to. 

And the Chair recognizes Mr. Royce. 

Mr. ROYCE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have an amendment at 

the desk and——

Chairman HYDE. Clerk will report the amendment. 

The CLERK. Amendment offered by Mr. Royce. Page 52, strike 

line 12 and all that follows through line 11——

Chairman HYDE. Without objection, further reading of the 

amendment is dispensed with, and the gentleman is recognized for 

5 minutes in support of his amendment. 

[The information referred to follows:] 

177

1

H.L.C.

AMENDMENT TO H.R. ll

OFFERED BY MR. ROYCE

(Millennium Challenge Account Authorization and Peace

Corps Expansion Act of 2003)

Page 52, strike line 12 and all that follows through

line 11 on page 53 and insert the following (and conform

the table of contents accordingly):

1 SEC. 309. MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE SEED GRANTS.

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

3 (1) Many countries in the developing world lack

4 the academic and public policy advocacy base essen5 tial to attaining the principal objectives of the Mil6 lennium Challenge Account.

7 (2) Because of widespread government repres8 sion of free speech and poverty, the countries of Af9 rica in particular suffer an acute shortage of non10 governmental organizations which effectively study

11 and promote the principal objectives of the Millen12 nium Challenge Account.

13 (3) The Millennium Challenge Account will

14 struggle to reach its goals unless countries in the de15 veloping world possess a home grown intellectual

16 commitment and culture of advocacy aimed at pro17 moting its principal objectives.


87676r.AAB
178


87676b.eps
179

Mr. ROYCE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Now, this amendment strikes the $10 million that is authorized 

to enhance data collection for the Millennium Challenge Accounts 

by funding instead nongovernmental organizations. And I would 

make the point that Millennium Challenge Account criteria have 

been heavily studied by nongovernmental organizations. In fact, we 

have a cottage industry that has emerged, and that is good, that 

has studied and analyzed MCA criteria before the legislation has 

even passed. In fact, a quick check shows that there are 30 U.S. 

groups and think tanks, mostly Washington-based, that have studied the MCA proposal, and I don’t think there will be any shortage 

of efforts to study and analyze and improve MCA criteria after it 

is actually up and running. 

As our Secretary of State recently wrote in promoting this legislation, 3 billion of the world’s population are living on $2 a day. 

And I don’t know why we should fund with $10 million groups that 

have shown already that they have the means to analyze MCA. 

What I do know is that because of widespread government repression of free speech and poverty, the nations of Africa in particular 

suffer an acute shortage of nongovernmental organizations that effectively study and promote the principle objectives of the Millennium Challenge Account. And the Millennium Challenge Account 

will struggle to reach its goals unless developing-world countries 

possess a home-grown intellectual commitment and a culture of advocacy aimed at promoting these same objectives. 

So this amendment shifts the $10 million for data collection to 

what I propose to be Millennium Challenge Seed Grants in support 

of nongovernmental organizations, including universities and independent foundations and other organizations in low-income and 

lower middle-income countries which are undertaking research, 

education and advocacy efforts aimed at promoting democratic societies, human rights, the rule of law, improved educational opportunities and health conditions particularly for women and children 

and economic freedom; in other words, the very goals of the Millennium Challenge Account. So helping grow local support for the values we are embracing in this bill will, in my view, be a far greater 

bang for the buck than funding data collection, so I ask my colleagues for their support for this amendment. 

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman HYDE. The gentleman from California Mr. Lantos. 

Mr. LANTOS. I think my friend from California is proposing a rational amendment, and I urge my colleagues to vote for it. 

Chairman HYDE. Thank the gentleman. 

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman HYDE. Ms. Watson. 

Ms. WATSON. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

I, too, want to strongly support this amendment by Congressman 

Royce. It is very important, and on line 8, he talks about the rule 

of law. I would hope that in countries that are eligible, we could 

assist them in holding a conference on the rule of law. If any one 

of our projects is not successful, it is because they have not supported the rule of law and abandoned the law when they want to 

get whatever it is accomplished. 

180

So I want to commend Congressman Royce—I think I see him 

down at the end—for including among these other provisions the 

rule of law, and maybe we want to think beyond as to how we can 

get them to sponsor a forum on the rule of law. 

Chairman HYDE. Thank the gentlelady. 

Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman HYDE. Mr. Payne. 

Mr. PAYNE. I will be very brief. I would like to offer my support 

to this amendment from the Chairman of the African Subcommittee. I think it makes a lot of sense, and I think it would assist many of the NGOs, who do outstanding work every day to utilize their capabilities, more so than looking for other groups that 

would be doing the same thing. So I urge support of their amendment. 

Chairman HYDE. Thank the gentleman. 

I want to add my name to those who support this excellent 

amendment. It improves the bill. It moves funding to indigenous 

organizations where such development is sorely needed. 

And if there is no further discussion, the question occurs on the 

Royce amendment. All those in favor, say aye. 

Opposed, nay. 

The ayes have it, and the amendment is agreed to. 

The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey Mr. Payne. 

Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk. 

Chairman HYDE. Clerk will report the amendment. 

The CLERK. Amendment offered by Mr. Payne. Page 21, line 3, 

strike ‘‘the compact’’ and insert the following. 

Chairman HYDE. Without objection, further reading of the 

amendment is dispensed with, and the gentleman is recognized for 

5 minutes in support of his amendment. 

[The information referred to follows:]

181


87676y.eps
182

Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Chairman, let me say that when the Millennium 

Challenge Account was announced several years ago, there was a 

goal by many of us who were hoping that 50 percent of the fund 

could be set aside for Africa. As we moved forward, we found that 

this sort of a quota was not acceptable, even though 39 of the 81 

IDA countries are in Africa, even though 300 million people in Africa live on less than $1 a day, and 39 countries have people living 

under $460 a year. So we were willing then to say there is no need 

in fighting that fight, even though we thought it was a very noble 

battle. 

The lower-income countries were brought into the MCA account 

in the third year, as we know. Incidentally, currently over 40 percent of development assistance today as we speak go to lower-income countries currently, almost half of development assistance. So 

the poorest of the poor really are not benefiting even in our foreign 

assistance programs as we see it today. 

Be that as it may, I do have an amendment. Since lower income—lower middle-income countries are added, I would simply 

like to say that many proponents of the lower- and middle-income 

countries argue that there are large pockets of poverty in these 

countries, and that is true. However, data shows that lower- and 

middle-income countries as a whole have significant greater resources to finance their development, including access to larger 

flows of private capital and the ability to generate domestic revenue. And as I mentioned, 40 percent of current development assistance goes to the Colombias, the Jordans, the Egypts, et cetera, 

although depending on the country, the amount may be more or 

less in different countries. For instance, South Africa, who may already be spending a great deal on development in education, for example, may have less additional funds to contribute to this end. 

South Africa and Namibia also have significant percentages of their 

population who live in poverty, and their per capita income is more 

a reflection of the inequity in the distribution of wealth in those 

countries. 

So there are a number of complicated issues that we do have in 

the whole search to have these funds be used most expeditiously. 

If the MCA is to include lower- and middle-income countries, there 

should be a requirement that the qualifying countries in the lower 

middle-income category match MCA resources or, first of all, do not 

diminish what they are currently putting into programs of this nature that makes them qualify. But secondly, there should be a 

match, not dollar for dollar, but there should be an additional 

amount that should go if they are in the 20 percent, which will 

qualify in the third year. It is less complicated than I am saying 

it evidently, believe me. 

So the actual amount over and above what they currently spend 

would be negotiated by the country and the MCC within this compact. This would provide an incentive to lower- and middle-income 

countries to allocate more domestic spending for development purposes and adopt better policies, and would ultimately provide 

greater country ownership. Such a requirement would help ensure 

sustainability of the development, financing lower- and middle-income countries in a shorter duration as local resources could be 

used over a shorter period of time to replace donor resources. 

183

What we are saying is, regardless, that the amount would be negotiated that the lower- and middle-income countries would simply 

be added to do—one, not take away from their current spending, 

but also, add a bit to this. So I would just urge support of the 

amendment. And with that, I yield back. 

Chairman HYDE. The gentleman from Wisconsin, Mr. Green. 

Mr. GREEN. Move to strike the last word. 

Chairman HYDE. The gentleman is recognized. 

Mr. GREEN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

I think one of the dangers that we have today is adding inflexible 

restrictions to the compact process. I don’t believe this amendment 

does that. I think this amendment is appropriate because it makes 

the suggestion to the CEO that they should take into account such 

things, and, where appropriate, they should look for a home country contribution, which I think makes eminent sense, and I think 

it is an excellent amendment, and I support the gentleman’s work. 

Chairman HYDE. Thank the gentleman. 

Mr. Lantos. 

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Chairman, I want to commend my friend from 

New Jersey, and I think it is an excellent amendment, and I urge 

all my colleagues to vote for it. 

Chairman HYDE. I am pleased to support this amendment. It requires the government of a recipient lower middle-income country 

to provide the same level of commitment from their own resources 

in investing in its people in 2006 as it did in 2005. It has been negotiated with both sides and is certainly acceptable. 

And I thought I heard Mr. Faleomavaega seeking attention. 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I support the 

amendment. But by way of definition, I am trying to determine at 

least in going through the provisions of the proposed legislation, 

what is a lower middle-income country? Does this equate to the 

same as the least developed country by definition, or are we on an 

entirely different measurement standard here? I am trying to 

gauge the extent of the gentleman’s amendment. What does it 

make reference to, least developed countries, or are we measuring 

them in terms of per capita income growth? I am trying to get a 

clear picture. 

Chairman HYDE. You sit very close to Mr. Payne and ask him 

to answer your question. Just lean over and ask him. 

Mr. PAYNE. The lower-income countries are in the third year. 

First year is IDA countries. Second year is $1,435, which is what 

the per capita income is. And the lower middle-income countries is 

$2,475 annually—2,975 annually. So that is the lower middle-income countries, which in the poorest of the poor, is a pretty good 

level of standard. So that is the lower middle-income. 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. I thank the gentleman. I want to make sure 

we are at that standard. When you put the word ‘‘middle,’’ is it 

middle class, lower middle class. 

Mr. PAYNE. The upper lower class. 

Chairman HYDE. The question occurs on the amendment offered 

by the gentleman from New Jersey. All in favor, say aye. 

Opposed, nay. 

The ayes have it, and the amendment is agreed to. 

184

The Chair recognizes Mr. Menendez for purposes of an amendment. 

Mr. MENENDEZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have amendment 1 

at the desk. 

Chairman HYDE. The clerk will report the amendment. 

The CLERK. Amendment offered by Mr. Menendez. In section 

203(b)(1) of the bill, strike ‘‘for fiscal year 2006’’ and——

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Chairman, I ask that the amendment be 

considered as read. 

Chairman HYDE. Without objection, the amendment will be considered as read. 

[The information referred to follows:] 

185

1

H.L.C.

AMENDMENT TO H.R. ll

OFFERED BY MR. MENENDEZ

(Millennium Challenge Account Authorization and Peace

Corps Expansion Act of 2003)

In section 203(b)(1) of the bill, strike ‘‘for fiscal

year 2006’’ and insert ‘‘for fiscal years 2004 through

2006’’.


87676s.AAB
186

Chairman HYDE. And the gentleman is recognized for 5 minutes 

in support of his amendment. 

Mr. MENENDEZ. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. Chairman, what I seek to do through this amendment, for 

what the whole spirit of the Millennium Challenge Account is 

about, but particularly for Latin America and the Caribbean, as we 

would say in Spanish, which simply means, whether in Spanish or 

English, that the Millennium Challenge Account does not benefit 

the great majority of the Western Hemisphere’s poorest citizens, 

and that is a shame. And that is why I am offering this amendment, because it would make already under the bill’s proposals eligible nations, at least eligible by income, nations that would only 

qualify for assistance 3 years after passage to qualify on the first 

year. 

The Millennium Challenge Account was launched in Monterrey, 

Mexico, to much fanfare. Our hemispheric neighbors at the time responded with great interest and even excitement, which I hasten 

to add is not the most frequent response in the hemisphere to U.S. 

Initiatives. This initiative was launched in Mexico, but the reality 

is it won’t touch those in Chiapas, but even more importantly, it 

will never touch the great majority of the region’s poorest of the 

poor, and that goes against the grain of what the bill purports to 

do, and that is precisely why I offer this amendment. 

According to CRS, if this bill were to pass without my amendment, in the first year after it passes, the following hemispheric 

countries are the only potential—and I underline potential—recipients under the MCA: Bolivia, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras and Nicaragua. Of those, probably only Bolivia, Honduras and Nicaragua 

would pass the eligibility criteria, according to various experts. The 

net benefit for all of Latin America and the Caribbean, 3 out of 34 

democracies and not many poor people may benefit. 

Contrast that with the reality of poverty in the hemisphere. Two 

hundred million citizens in Latin America and the Caribbean earn 

under $2 a day. That would equal to $730 per capita annually. One 

hundred million Latin American and Caribbean citizens live on less 

than $1 a day. That would equal $365 per capita annually. 

Both of these levels are well below the 1,435 threshold in this bill 

in years 1 and 2, and yet these poorest of the poor in the hemisphere would not qualify for assistance under the MCA. In fact, experts tell us that even after the third year, in the best case scenario, only 15 to 25 million of the 200 million poorest of the poor 

in the region would qualify for the MCA, and I believe that is fundamentally mistaken. And if you add to that fact, on page 16 of the 

bill under paragraph 2, the limitation of assistance provided to 

countries in that third year not exceeding 20 percent, there is a 

further constraint. 

The other reality is that the MCA ignores the fact that Latin 

America and Caribbean nations have the worst distribution of income in the world. So while we talk of an average, what good is 

that if that overwhelming amount of that average is in the hands 

of the few? 

The highly renowned President of the Inter-American Development Bank, Enrique Iglesias, was in my office recently. He said 

something very interesting, and I would hope that those who look 

187

to free trade to improve the lot of those in the developing world and 

in this hemisphere through the FTAA would consider what he had 

to say. He said we have so far lost the debate, but people of Latin 

America and the Caribbean believe that the economic reforms of 

the 1990s, which were necessary and vitally important, are detrimental to their interests and their livelihoods. In their view, neither a market economy nor democracy delivers the goods. 

Let us take a look at the turmoil in Venezuela or Bolivia or Argentina, and you will come to understand the widespread disaffection and cynicism throughout the hemisphere toward what is the 

Washington consensus, that economic and political forums are critical steps on the road to prosperity. 

We believe in those forums. We need to make the people of the 

hemisphere believe it as well. If you vote for the Menendez amendment, you will add the following hemispheric countries as potential 

recipients: Belize, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Paraguay, Peru, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, 

and Suriname. Several countries from other regions would qualify 

as well. Now many of these nations may not be eligible in the end 

under the political and economic eligibility criteria in the bill. In 

fact, perhaps only five hemispheric nations may pass the eligibility 

criteria right away, but that is precisely what is novel about the 

MCA. It provides developing nations with the incentive to enact reforms and earn development assistance under the funds. 

So, Mr. Chairman, I see my time is close. Let me just simply say 

if we want to support Latin America and the hemisphere, and if 

we want to care about illegal immigration to this country (people 

who leave their countries because of either civil war or economic 

unrest have a direct impact on the United States), if we want to 

stem the tied of narcotics production, we need to give people other 

sustainable development opportunities. If we want to stem the tide 

of biodiversity that is being threatened within our hemisphere, if 

we want to eradicate some of the health problems we are seeing 

along our own border, we need to make sure that Latin America 

is truly part of this opportunity. That is what my amendment does, 

and I would urge passage of it. 

Chairman HYDE. The gentlelady from Florida Ms. Harris. 

Ms. HARRIS. I am not quite ready to speak yet. 

Chairman HYDE. The Chair recognizes himself for—Mr. 

Menendez’s amendment would make assistance available to all 

countries earning a per capita national income of less than $2,975. 

This amendment would significantly disrupt the compromise upon 

which this bill is based, eligibility based on income. The bill, with 

White House support, authorizes millennium assistance in 2004 

and 2005 only for the poorest countries, those earning less than 

$1,435 per year. While the Menendez amendment is based on the 

idea of promoting more assistance for people in Latin and South 

America, the result of this amendment will be middle-income countries like Russia and Turkey becoming eligible. Only two additional 

countries in this hemisphere would meet this revised criteria. 

The Administration vigorously opposes this bill if this amendment were adopted. This amendment is opposed by the widest possible assemblage of interests imaginable, from Bono of the rock 

188

bank U2, to Condoleezza Rice, to the United States Conference of 

Catholic Bishops. It is pretty broad. 

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Chairman, did Bono sing a tune to that effect? 

Chairman HYDE. No. He is a salsa man. 

Mr. MENENDEZ. I do not think that is the sensitivity you want 

to have. 

Chairman HYDE. Well, I like the salsa. 

Mr. Lantos and I worked for weeks, if not months, to develop the 

compromised bill that you see before you. This plan sets aside the 

Millennium Challenge Account assistance for the poorest countries 

in 2004 and 2005 and opens up eligibility for lower middle-income 

countries in 2006. The formula contained in this bill has the support of not only the White House, but of the NGO community, including InterAction and its members, Catholic Relief Services, 

Bread for the World, and other such organizations. 

The Menendez amendment will not accomplish its stated goal. 

Only two additional Latin American countries would be eligible for 

MCA assistance. Unfortunately, other middle-income countries 

around the world less in need of MCA assistance would benefit. 

Low-income countries have much greater needs, and if they meet 

the other criteria proposed by the Administration, we will be helping more people on the road to human development and economic 

growth. 

For instance, the infant mortality rate in low-income countries is 

69 per 1,000 live births, but in lower middle-income countries, it 

is only 27 per 1,000 live births. Life expectancy in low-income countries is 56 years, whereas in lower middle-income countries like 

Turkey, the average life expectancy is 70 years. 

The lower middle-income countries that would gain eligibility 

through the Menendez amendment already have better access to 

other financial resources to fund their development needs. Low-income countries receive less private capital, have much less capacity 

to raise tax revenue, and are able to save only half as much as 

lower- and middle-income countries. Low-income countries have 

fewer options. 

I urge my colleagues to oppose the Menendez amendment. 

Mr. DELAHUNT. Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman HYDE. Mr. Delahunt. 

Mr. DELAHUNT. I thank the Chair for giving me the time, and I 

want to urge support for the amendment by the Ranking Member 

of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee. And I applaud him for 

his persistence and his commitment to the Caribbean, Central 

America, and South America, and I think he demonstrates what 

the problem is. 

In his statement he indicated that the worst distribution of income in the world is in Latin America. So I think that is an important fact for this Committee to consider. You know, averages can 

be dangerous. I am sure that if Mr. Bono and U2 were here, they 

would most likely raise the average income considerably of all of 

us present here. 

You know, the truth is that there have been Administration after 

Administration, both Republican and Democrat, that have pledged 

that they would focus on Latin America, and unfortunately that 

189

promise has not been kept, including the current Administration. 

And what bothers me is that when we speak of Latin American 

policy in the hemisphere, it seems to be restricted to advocacy for 

a free trade area of the Americas. But that is not good enough. 

That is not going to do it. 

When you look across the landscape of Latin America, you see 

political instability, you see extraordinary disparity between have 

and have-nots, again, like Mr. Menendez suggested, unlike anywhere else in the world. This is our neighborhood. Instability and 

poverty has implications for our national security that are extraordinary. Peru, for example. One now sees President Toledo’s approval ratings declining to—I think the last time I saw them published was around 12 or 13 percent, and yet the GDP is up, but 

it is not being allocated throughout the entire society. Argentina, 

we witnessed the evaporation of a middle class in that particular 

country. Paraguay a single-party state with democracy that certainly is not flourishing. 

You can’t have real free trade without the rule of law in democratic institutions, and that is why Mr. Menendez and myself and 

the Chair of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee Mr. Ballenger 

have been working on this concept that we call a school for democracy in the Americas, to provide a permanent year-round facility 

for civilian leaders from the hemisphere to hopefully nurture and 

strengthen those key democratic institutions like an independent 

judiciary and a healthy legislative body. But you can’t have free 

trade when people are living in such dire poverty that they do not 

have the capital to be consumers, when they do not have access to 

education and health care and opportunities and allow them to concentrate on something other than simply survival. And that is what 

the Menendez’s amendment is all about. 

So I would hope and urge the Members of the Committee to support this very enlightened amendment. 

Mr. MENENDEZ. Would the gentleman yield? 

Mr. DELAHUNT. I yield. 

Mr. MENENDEZ. I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his 

support, and I would just add to put in perspective, all of the countries that the distinguished Chairman mentioned are ultimately 

going to be eligible in the third year. My amendment only makes 

eight countries, when you look at all of the criteria that these countries must meet, eligible in the first year. Of those eight, two already would be eligible in the second year. 

So we have to put this in context. All of the countries mentioned 

by the Chair are going to be eligible in the third year. Only eight 

are going to be eligible under my amendment in the first year, two 

which are already eligible in the second year. 

So the reality is what we want to do is send a signal to Latin 

American countries that, in fact, there is a real opportunity if you 

get your act together and meet all of the political——

Chairman HYDE. The gentleman’s time has expired. 

The Chair wants to announce that about 2:15 there will be another vote, and following the vote, if past its prologue, we will not 

reassemble, and I would like to move this bill by 2:15, so I ask for 

brevity on behalf of those who wish to speak. 

And the Chair has Mr. Royce of California. 

190

Mr. ROYCE. Thank you, and I will be brief, Mr. Chairman. 

I reluctantly speak in opposition to the Menendez amendment. I 

would like to say that I have had the privilege of working closely 

with Mr. Menendez, who served as the Ranking Member on the Africa Subcommittee a few Congresses ago, and we traveled throughout Africa. And I appreciate his commitment to the continent, and 

I appreciate his focus on our deep interest in this hemisphere. And 

he has made some excellent points. But there is no getting around 

the fact that the way in which this legislation has been drafted 

does work to the benefit of the poorest of the poor countries, primarily African countries, and with this amendment we would be 

changing that. And my concern is that the Millennium Challenge 

Account pie can only be sliced so many times. 

Congress, working with the current Administration and working 

with the Clinton Administration, have taken some very positive 

steps to address Africa’s many ills, such as HIV/AIDS legislation 

and trade legislation, but so much more needs to be done, and the 

grim realty is that Africa is teetering on the edge of a descent into 

profound chaos. It is in crisis in a way that other sections of the 

world, as bad as things may be, just aren’t. The world recognizes 

this. Unless we act decisively and now, I am afraid that large parts 

of the African continent will experience human suffering and disease and warfare and environmental degradation beyond our belief, 

and that will be a disaster for Africans, and it will be harmful to 

our many interests on the continent. And that is why, again, I reluctantly oppose Mr. Menendez’s amendment and ask that it be defeated. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman HYDE. The gentlelady from Florida Ms. Harris. 

Ms. HARRIS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

It looks like there may not be support for this amendment, but 

I would just ask the Chair and Congress and the White House to 

reconsider at some point in the near future the opportunity that 

Mr. Menendez’s amendment would create within this hemisphere. 

We have such a vast income distribution, particularly in Latin 

America and the Caribbean. These people are living in abject poverty that is created by that extraordinary income distribution. But 

coupled with Congressman Payne’s good amendment, if, indeed, 

Mr. Menendez’s amendment had passed, the accountability would 

have been tremendously increased mandating the wealth from 

those—more wealthy. The income distribution would be vested and 

matched by our MCA commitment, so there would have been an 

extraordinary opportunity. I think governing justly and investing 

in people and the economic freedoms would have been a preeminent influence unlike any other we could have had in Latin 

America and the Caribbean with a very quick response time. 

So I think that you said the countries in Africa are experiencing 

difficulty with their vast poverty, but I think if you look at some 

of the concerns that have been occurring throughout the nations in 

Latin America, if we don’t act quickly and provide the kind of opportunities and goals and objectives with that strong pay-back (particularly with the doubling of the MCA grant, because it would 

have been an investment, from Mr. Payne’s amendment), I think 

we could see great promise. I hope that something will be done in 

191

the future with a very strong concentration on Latin America and 

the Caribbean. 

Chairman HYDE. Thank the gentlelady. 

The gentlelady from California Mrs. Napolitano. 

Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and I associate my remarks with Ms. Harris. She makes a very good point, specifically 

when you look—and I will be very brief—that we have for neighbors the South American countries. We are not neighbors with Russia or any of the other countries. We have been wanting to make 

sure that we stop the influx of ‘‘illegal aliens.’’ If we are able to 

help them increase their income, they may be able to stay in their 

own country. And if we do not begin by passing the Menendez 

amendment, at least so they can begin to become aware of what 

they need to bring themselves up to, then we are not doing our job 

in bringing our partners in the Western Hemisphere to our table. 

So I support and hope that everybody else will vote for the 

Menendez amendment. 

Chairman HYDE. Mr. Green of Wisconsin. 

Mr. GREEN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

I think what this debate points out is despite the fact that this 

is obviously a great sum of money that is behind the Millennium 

Challenge Account, in terms of the need it is not. It is a limited 

resource. And, unfortunately, given those limited resources, we 

have little choice but to target them to countries of greatest need, 

not based on geography, but literally based upon greatest economic 

need. Obviously there are reporting requirements in here and a review process, and I think as this Millennium Challenge Account 

and the MCC moves forward, there will be opportunities to finetune and change programs. 

I would also point out that an unfortunate effect of my good 

friend and colleague Mr. Menendez’s amendment would be that you 

would make immediately eligible the lower middle-income nations 

without a cap, and then in the third year there would suddenly be 

a cap. That is probably not what Mr. Menendez intended, but it 

would create an unfortunate——

Mr. MENENDEZ. Would the gentleman yield? Just on two of your 

points for your consideration, number one, 100 million Latin American citizens are living underneath $1 a day are, certainly among 

the poorest of the poor, and 200 million living under $2 a day. 

Under your cap imagine what happens to those countries when 

they get to finally kick in if they met the other criteria. 

Mr. GREEN. Reclaiming your time. Your comments are well 

taken, but that points out how far even worst off are in other 

lands. The poverty needs around the globe are so great. 

Finally, in the limited time I have left, I want to, from a fiscal 

conservative standpoint, encourage my colleagues who are fiscal 

conservatives to support this legislation. This is, as Mr. Lantos has 

suggested, the beginning of a revolution. This is how we want to 

do foreign assistance: Accountability, reinforcement, positive incentives, emphasizing the very values that I think every single person 

on this Committee believes in. This is foreign assistance at its best. 

Chairman HYDE. Mr. Faleomavaega. 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

192

As a Member of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, I will 

be very quick about this. I think the gentleman from New Jersey 

made some very pointed issues here concerning the problems we 

have with Latin America. The bottom line, Mr. Chairman, some 49 

million indigenous Indians live worst off than the poorest of the 

poor, if we are defining the poorest of the poor. And I believe what 

Mr. Menendez is trying to bring to our attention, with all due respect, and all the hard work of the Chairman and Our Ranking 

Member have tried to achieve this agreement with the Administration and the White House, but I just want to bring this out to the 

fact that Latin America is one of the worst situations that we are 

under, and I sincerely hope that maybe on another occasion we will 

be able to resolve this situation that Mr. Menendez has brought to 

the attention of the Members. 

Chairman HYDE. As they say in the talk shows, the last word 

will be Mr. Lantos. 

Mr. LANTOS. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 

This debate reminds me of Sophie’s Choice. The arguments that 

my good friend from New Jersey raises and my good friend from 

Massachusetts raises are very powerful arguments, and I certainly 

have no countervailing arguments, except two. The first relates to 

the income distribution issue which has been raised. It is not our 

fault that income distribution in many Latin American countries is 

appalling. The countries are not nearly as poor as the poorest of 

the poor countries that the Millennium Challenge Account is aimed 

at. It is an appalling income distribution. It is a rotten social system in many cases, and we cannot correct those. Those countries 

will have to correct them. 

I know that my good friend from New Jersey, Mr. Menendez, is 

offering this amendment in a spirit of goodwill and compassion, 

and he has advocated for many years on behalf of the Western 

Hemisphere. He has taught all of us on this Committee and in 

Congress a great deal, and we deeply respect him, but I think the 

purpose of the Millennium Challenge Account is, in fact, geared to 

the poorest of the poor, and the present criteria that the Chairman 

and I negotiated are designed to achieve those objectives. 

If I may just add one more word. One of the reasons why this 

Committee has probably achieved more than any other Committee 

is that both on the Republican and Democratic side, we are bound 

by our word. We have reached a delicately crafted compromise between the Chairman and myself, and I reluctantly and painfully 

find it necessary to oppose the Menendez amendment and ask my 

colleagues to vote against it. 

Chairman HYDE. The question occurs on the amendment offered 

by the gentleman from New Jersey, and the clerk will call the roll. 

The CLERK. Mr. Leach. 

Mr. LEACH. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Leach votes no. 

Mr. Bereuter. 

Mr. BEREUTER. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Bereuter votes no. 

Mr. Smith of New Jersey? 

[No response.] 

The CLERK. Mr. Burton. 

193

[No response.] 

The CLERK. Mr. Gallegly? 

[No response.] 

The CLERK. Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. 

[No response.] 

The CLERK. Mr. Ballenger. 

Mr. BALLENGER. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Ballenger votes no. 

Mr. Rohrabacher. 

Mr. ROHRABACHER. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Rohrabacher votes no. 

Mr. Royce. 

Mr. ROYCE. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Royce votes no. 

Mr. King? 

[No response.] 

The CLERK. Mr. Chabot. 

Mr. CHABOT. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Chabot votes no. 

Mr. Houghton. 

Mr. HOUGHTON. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Houghton votes no. 

Mr. McHugh? 

[No response.] 

The CLERK. Mr. Tancredo. 

Mr. TANCREDO. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Tancredo votes no. 

Mr. Paul. 

Mr. PAUL. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Paul votes no. 

Mr. Smith of Michigan. 

Mr. SMITH OF MICHIGAN. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Smith of Michigan votes no. 

Mr. Pitts? 

[No response.] 

The CLERK. Mr. Flake? 

[No response.] 

The CLERK. Mrs. Davis. 

Mrs. DAVIS. No. 

The CLERK. Mrs. Davis votes no. 

Mr. Green. 

Mr. GREEN. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Green votes no. 

Mr. Weller. 

Mr. WELLER. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Weller votes no. 

Mr. Pence. 

Mr. PENCE. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Pence votes no. 

Mr. McCotter. 

Mr. MCCOTTER. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. McCotter votes no. 

Mr. Janklow. 

Mr. JANKLOW. No. 

194

The CLERK. Mr. Janklow votes no. 

Ms. Harris. 

Ms. HARRIS. Pass. 

The CLERK. Ms. Harris passes. 

Mr. Lantos. 

Mr. LANTOS. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Lantos votes no. 

Mr. Berman. 

Mr. BERMAN. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Berman votes no. 

Mr. Ackerman? 

[No response.] 

The CLERK. Mr. Faleomavaega. 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Faleomavaega votes no. 

Mr. Payne. 

Mr. PAYNE. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Payne votes no. 

Mr. Menendez. 

Mr. MENENDEZ. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mr. Menendez votes aye. 

Mr. Brown? 

[No response.] 

The CLERK. Mr. Sherman? 

[No response.] 

The CLERK. Mr. Wexler. 

Mr. WEXLER. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mr. Wexler votes aye. 

Mr. Engel. 

Mr. ENGEL. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mr. Engel votes aye. 

Mr. Delahunt. 

Mr. DELAHUNT. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mr. Delahunt votes aye. 

Mr. Meeks? 

[No response.] 

The CLERK. Ms. Lee. 

Ms. LEE. No. 

The CLERK. Ms. Lee votes no. 

Mr. Crowley. 

Mr. CROWLEY. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mr. Crowley votes aye. 

Mr. Hoeffel. 

Mr. HOEFFEL. Yes. 

The CLERK. Mr. Hoeffel votes aye. 

Mr. Blumenauer? 

[No response.] 

The CLERK. Ms. Berkley. 

Ms. BERKLEY. Yes. 

The CLERK. Ms. Berkley votes yes. 

Mrs. Napolitano. 

Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mrs. Napolitano votes aye. 

Mr. Schiff. 

195

Mr. SCHIFF. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mr. Schiff votes aye. 

Ms. Watson? 

[No response.] 

The CLERK. Mr. Smith? 

[No response.] 

The CLERK. Ms. McCollum. 

Ms. MCCOLLUM. No. 

The CLERK. Ms. McCollum votes no. 

Mr. Bell. 

Mr. BELL. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mr. Bell votes aye. 

Chairman Hyde. 

Chairman HYDE. No. 

The CLERK. Chairman Hyde votes no. 

Mr. Blumenauer. 

Mr. BLUMENAUER. How am I recorded? 

The CLERK. Mr. Blumenauer is not recorded. 

Mr. BLUMENAUER. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Blumenauer votes no. 

Chairman HYDE. Clerk will report. 

The CLERK. On this vote there are 10 yeses and 24 noes. 

Chairman HYDE. And the amendment is not agreed to. 

The question occurs on the motion to report the bill H.R.——

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Chairman, I have a second amendment at 

the desk, but I will refrain if I could be recognized in the final moment. 

Chairman HYDE. That is certainly a happy deal, and I recognize 

you—as distinguished from a Happy Meal. 

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Chairman, the second amendment would 

have moved this to at least—I do hope that Members of the Committee will have an opportunity—I appreciate my distinguished 

Ranking Member telling me that for a decade that I have been sitting on this Committee, we have educated Members of the Committee as to what is happening in Latin America and the need, but 

for a decade we have been unable to get this Committee’s attention 

to focus. We are not responsible for disparities just as we are not 

responsible for the poor as well, but there are poor throughout this 

hemisphere. Nearly 50 percent of the people in this hemisphere live 

below the poverty level. At the end of the day, when we are right 

there with our neighbors on immigration, on health care, on biodiversity, on a variety of drug interdiction and free trade issues, we 

have to address this hemisphere’s needs. 

Mr. DELAHUNT. Would my friend yield?

I want to echo the sentiments expressed by Mr. Menendez. I 

think it has been for 10 years that the gentleman from New Jersey 

has put forth the concept of a trust fund for the Americas. We are 

now working on—as I indicated earlier, on this school of democracy 

for the Americas. And I do hope that at some point in time both 

of these concepts become proposals that will be considered by the 

Full Committee, because the truth is, Mr. Chairman, we are running out of time when it comes to Latin America. 

I yield back. 

196

Chairman HYDE. The Chair would like to say that he agrees with 

Mr. Menendez and Mr. Delahunt. I think Latin America is a critical area of the globe, very important to us. We will devote attention to it, focus to it, but this is not the bill, but we will. And your 

lessons are well learned. 

Question occurs on the motion to report the bill H.R. 2441 favorably as amended. All in favor, say aye. 

Opposed, no. 

The ayes have it. 

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Chairman, I request a recorded vote. 

Chairman HYDE. There is a vote pending. 

The CLERK. Mr. Leach. 

Mr. LEACH. Yes. 

The CLERK. Mr. Leach votes yes. 

Mr. Bereuter. 

Mr. BEREUTER. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mr. Bereuter votes aye. 

Mr. Smith of New Jersey? 

[No response.] 

The CLERK. Mr. Burton? 

[No response.] 

The CLERK. Mr. Gallegly? 

[No response.] 

The CLERK. Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. 

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Yes. 

The CLERK. Ms. Ros-Lehtinen votes aye. 

Mr. Ballenger? 

Mr. BALLENGER. Yes. 

The CLERK. Mr. Ballenger votes aye. 

Mr. Rohrabacher. 

Mr. ROHRABACHER. Yes. 

The CLERK. Mr. Rohrabacher votes aye. 

Mr. Royce. 

Mr. ROYCE. Yes. 

The CLERK. Mr. Royce votes aye. 

Mr. King? 

[No response.] 

The CLERK. Mr. Chabot. 

Mr. CHABOT. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Chabot votes no. 

Mr. Houghton. 

Mr. HOUGHTON. Yes. 

The CLERK. Mr. Houghton votes aye. 

Mr. McHugh? 

[No response.] 

The CLERK. Mr. Tancredo? 

[No response.] 

The CLERK. Mr. Paul. 

Mr. PAUL. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Paul votes no. 

Mr. Smith of Michigan. 

Mr. SMITH OF MICHIGAN. No. 

The CLERK. Mr. Smith of Michigan votes no. 

Mr. Pitts? 

197

[No response.] 

The CLERK. Mr. Flake. 

[No response.] 

The CLERK. Mrs. Davis. 

Mrs. DAVIS. No. 

The CLERK. Mrs. Davis votes no. 

Mr. Green. 

Mr. GREEN. Yes. 

The CLERK. Mr. Green votes aye. 

Mr. Weller. 

Mr. WELLER. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mr. Weller votes aye. 

Mr. Pence. 

Mr. PENCE. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mr. Pence votes aye. 

Mr. McCotter. 

Mr. MCCOTTER. Yes. 

The CLERK. Mr. McCotter votes aye. 

Mr. Janklow. 

Mr. JANKLOW. Yes. 

The CLERK. Mr. Janklow votes yes. 

Ms. Harris. 

Ms. HARRIS. Yes. 

The CLERK. Ms. Harris votes aye. 

Mr. Lantos. 

Mr. LANTOS. Yes. 

The CLERK. Mr. Lantos votes aye. 

Mr. Berman? 

[No response.] 

The CLERK. Mr. Ackerman? 

[No response.] 

The CLERK. Mr. Faleomavaega? 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Yes. 

The CLERK. Mr. Faleomavaega votes aye. 

Mr. Payne. 

Mr. PAYNE. Yes. 

The CLERK. Mr. Payne votes aye. 

Mr. Menendez. 

Mr. MENENDEZ. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mr. Menendez votes aye. 

Mr. Brown? 

[No response.] 

The CLERK. Mr. Sherman? 

[No response.] 

The CLERK. Mr. Wexler. 

Mr. WEXLER. Yes. 

The CLERK. Mr. Wexler votes aye. 

Mr. Engel. 

Mr. ENGEL. Yes. 

The CLERK. Mr. Engel votes aye. 

Mr. Delahunt. 

Mr. DELAHUNT. Yes. 

The CLERK. Mr. Delahunt votes aye. 

Mr. Meeks? 

198

[No response.] 

The CLERK. Ms. Lee. 

Ms. LEE. Yes. 

The CLERK. Ms. Lee votes aye. 

Mr. Crowley. 

Mr. CROWLEY. Yes. 

The CLERK. Mr. Crowley votes aye. 

Mr. Hoeffel. 

Mr. HOEFFEL. Yes. 

The CLERK. Mr. Hoeffel votes aye. 

Mr. Blumenauer. 

Mr. BLUMENAUER. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mr. Blumenauer votes aye. 

Ms. Berkley. 

Ms. BERKLEY. Yes. 

The CLERK. Ms. Berkley votes aye. 

Mrs. Napolitano. 

Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Yes. 

The CLERK. Mrs. Napolitano votes aye. 

Mr. Schiff. 

Mr. SCHIFF. Aye. 

The CLERK. Mr. Schiff votes aye. 

Ms. Watson? 

[No response.] 

The CLERK. Mr. Smith of Washington? 

[No response.] 

The CLERK. Ms. McCollum. 

Ms. MCCOLLUM. Yes. 

The CLERK. Ms. McCollum votes aye. 

Mr. Bell. 

Mr. BELL. Yes. 

The CLERK. Mr. Bell votes aye. 

Chairman Hyde. 

Chairman HYDE. Yes. 

The CLERK. Chairman Hyde votes aye. 

Chairman HYDE. Mr. Brown? 

Mr. BROWN. Votes yes. 

The CLERK. Mr. Brown votes yes. 

Chairman HYDE. Clerk will report. 

The CLERK. On this vote, 31 yeas and 4 noes. 

Chairman HYDE. And the motion is adopted. 

Without objection, the Chairman is authorized to move to go to 

conference pursuant to House rule 22. Without objection, the bill 

will be reported favorably to the House in the form of a single 

amendment in the nature of a substitute incorporating the amendments adopted here today. 

And the Chair recognizes Mr. Menendez. 

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Chairman, thank you for the courtesy. 

I want to recognize a longstanding staff member of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere—the Democratic Staff Director is leaving us. He served with me for over half a decade and 

also served in the State Department and in the Department of Defense. He is moving on to the private sector, and I wanted to publicly thank him on behalf of all the people of the hemisphere for 

199

which he has done so much work, Pedro Pablo Permuy. Good luck 

to you. 

Chairman HYDE. On that happy note, the Committee stands adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 2:15 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.] 

(201)

A P P E N D I X 

MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING RECORD

PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE JAMES A. LEACH, A REPRESENTATIVE IN

CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF IOWA

H.R. 2330

Thank you , Mr. Chairman. I am pleased to support this important and timely 

initiative. As Members may be aware, on June 10 the Subcommittee considered and 

favorably reported to the full committee without amendment H.R. 2330, the ‘‘Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003.’’

At the outset, let me note on behalf of the Subcommittee that although this measure has been cosponsored by many Members of this Committee, including Chairman 

Hyde and the distinguished ranking Member of the full committee, Mr. Lantos, 

none of us takes lightly a decision to impose sanctions on another country. 

In the case of Burma, however, over the last several months the U.S. has watched 

with growing frustration and dismay as prospects for political change have withered 

away in the face of the ruling military regime’s determination to maintain an iron 

grip on power. 

We are all of course pleased at the news that the UN Special Envoy for Burma 

was allowed to see Aung San Suu Kyi and that she is apparently in ‘‘feisty spirits’’ 

and credible health. 

However, the brutal attack by the regime’s henchmen on Daw Suu’s traveling 

party, the broader crackdown against pro-democracy forces, and the vastly diminished prospects for a democratic transition leave the U.S. with no option but to reassess its already limited relationship with the Government of Burma. 

While economic sanctions are seldom successful, the long train of abuses perpetrated by Burma’s military regime leaves the U.S. and other members of the 

international community—most particularly, Burma’s neighbors in ASEAN—with 

no ethical or political alternative but to embrace the full range of diplomatic and 

economic policy options, including sanctions, to help bring about a restoration of democracy and national reconciliation in Burma. I urge the adoption of the legislation. 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE DOUG BEREUTER, A REPRESENTATIVE IN

CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEBRASKA

H. CON. RES. 209

The resolution before us expresses the support of the Congress for the Adriatic 

Charter, and it was unanimously approved by the Subcommittee on Europe yesterday. 

The charter was signed on May 2, 2003, in the Albanian capital of Tirana by Secretary of State Powell and the foreign ministers of Albania, Croatia, and the former 

Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the three remaining NATO aspirant nations, 

which were not invited to begin accession negotiations with the Alliance at the 2002 

Prague Summit. 

I thank my colleague, the distinguished gentleman from New York, Mr. Engel, for 

authoring this legislation and for working with the subcommittee staff and me. 

Mr. Engel has long been a champion of Albania in this House, and the Adriatic 

Charter represents one more step for Albania, as well as for Croatia and Macedonia, 

in their journey toward full membership in Euro-Atlantic institutions like NATO 

and the European Union. 

The Adriatic Charter pledges the United States to support efforts by Albania, Croatia and Macedonia to join NATO and other Euro-Atlantic institutions. In this 

202

agreement, the three aspirant nations commit themselves to accelerate their democratic reforms, protect human rights, implement market-oriented economic policies, 

and enhance their mutual cooperation. 

Under the Adriatic Charter, the United States and these three countries pledge 

to consult whenever the security of one of them is threatened. For their part, the 

aspirant countries promise to continue defense reforms and undertake steps to enhance border security, so they can contribute to regional stability. 

Some of the language in the Adriatic Charter might look familiar. Indeed, this 

document was based on the successful Baltic Charter, which was signed in 1998 

with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Five years ago, few observers would have been 

so bold as to predict that those three countries, occupied for 50 years by the Soviet 

Union, would be poised to join NATO and the EU next year. 

The Baltic Charter signified an American commitment to help those three countries in their successful efforts join NATO and the EU. Today, the Adriatic Charter 

holds the potential of helping Albania, Croatia and Macedonia achieve the same 

goals. 

I would like to recognize the efforts of Secretary of State Powell and of our diplomats working in the European and Eurasian bureau of the State Department for 

their initiative in crafting the Adriatic Charter. As NATO prepares to admit seven 

new countries next year, it is important that the three remaining candidate countries not be forgotten. NATO’s door remains open to all who are willing and able 

to assume the responsibilities of membership, and it is important that the Congress 

assert that it is the achievements of Albania, Croatia and Macedonia that will determine when their aspirations for accession will be realized. 

The Adriatic Charter is also one more step toward President Bush’s goal of a Europe whole and free from the Baltic to the Black Sea. I commend and congratulate 

the people of Albania, Croatia and Macedonia for their initiative and progress, and 

I urge approval of this resolution. 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE RON PAUL, A REPRESENTATIVE IN

CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF TEXAS

H.R. 2441

Mr. Chairman, I strongly oppose this legislation. It increases our foreign aid by 

50 percent at a time when Americans are increasingly feeling the pain of a troubled 

economy, when unemployment continues to rise, and when our federal deficit continues to spiral out of control. It is always immoral to take money from the American taxpayer and send it overseas, but it is particularly immoral in these difficult 

economic times. 

This massive new aid program pretends to be a completely new approach to the 

‘‘old way’’ of giving foreign aid, which even supporters agree has not produced the 

results envisioned. The truth is that this is just more of the same. There are new 

criteria to make a country eligible for this aid. There are several tests that a country must pass to be eligible. On the surface it looks like a more results-oriented approach. But just below the surface this legislation is the same old foreign aid game: 

billions of dollars to corrupt and inept regimes, social engineering, and meddling in 

the internal affairs of other countries. 

The program seeks to funnel US aid money into countries that are pursuing 

sound economic policies, including respect for private property and a market economy. But sending millions of dollars into an economy in the process of reform will 

not help that economy. On the contrary: these millions will actually mask areas 

where an economy is inefficient and unproductive. This assistance will slow down 

necessary reform by providing a hidden subsidy to sectors of the economy in need 

of reform/restructuring. We thus do no favors for the recipient country in the long 

term with this harmful approach. 

One of the criteria to determine whether a country is eligible for this aid is whether the government of that country is spending enough money on health care and 

education. Are we rewarding countries for pursuing the same failed socialist policies 

that have led them down the road to poverty in the first place? If nothing else, 

hasn’t the history of the 20th century shown us that socialism does not work? Does 

socialized medicine work anywhere? Ask Canadians, who routinely cross the border 

from their socialized system to our relatively free-market system to get decent 

healthcare. Yet these are some of the main criteria for eligibility. 

Other goals and criteria are likewise troubling. This new aid program seeks to 

‘‘foster economic and social pluralism.’’ This sounds like rewarding a heavy governmental hand in social and economic development. Also, it seeks to impose interVerDate Mar 21 2002 16:00 Sep 23, 2003 Jkt 087676 PO 00000 Frm 00206 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6621 F:\WORK\FULL\M061203\87676 HINTREL1 PsN: SHIRL
203

national standards of workers rights on recipient countries regardless of whether 

this may actually harm the economies in transition and the very workers we are 

seeking to assist. Interestingly, it also seeks to ‘‘promote foreign competition’’ in the 

banking and financial sectors of the recipient countries. Further, the bill states that 

the aid will ‘‘improve the technical capacities of governments to reduce production 

of and demand for illicit narcotics.’’ What this means, we know, is more money for 

our failed drug war. 

The background materials provided by the Committee were very useful and 

should provide a cautionary tale. ‘‘. . . [M]any US aid programs have not achieved 

results over the years,’’ the materials inform us. ‘‘Some assistance has allowed corrupt leaders to amass personal fortunes and remain in power beyond the will of the 

citizenry . . . Other assistance has gone to consultants or middlemen with no results to show in the end.’’ But in light of the admitted failure of our aid programs 

in the past, the Committee background paper illogically continues, ‘‘These failures 

of the past should not lead us to turn our backs on the developing world—just the 

opposite.’’ Am I to understand that the solution to a failed policy is to pursue that 

same policy to an even greater degree? Does that make sense? And to top it off, 

there will be not even a penny of reduction in our old aid programs, which all admit 

are not working! 

Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to join me in opposing this wasteful and destructive legislation. 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE JOSEPH R. PITTS, A REPRESENTATIVE IN

CONGRESS FROM THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA

H. RES. 264

Mr. Chairman, I stand in strong support of H. Res. 264 expressing sympathy for 

the victims of the devastating earthquake in Algeria on May 21, 2003

Natural disasters, such as earthquakes, can wreak havoc in a community or nation. 

At times like these, it is vital to come to the support and aid of our friends. 

I am pleased that our nation has assisted the Algerians in the emergency phase 

of their response to the earthquake and I encourage our government to support the 

Algerians as they seek to their rebuild homes and communities. 

Algeria is an important partner and friend of the United States in many respects, 

not the least of which is in the war against terror—the Algerians have experienced 

the horrors of terrorism in their own land for many years. 

I urge my colleagues to support this Resolution. 

H.R. 2330

Mr. Chairman, I strongly support H. R. 2330, the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003 and would like to offer an amendment to increase the findings of 

the legislation to highlight the ethnic cleansing in which the ruling military dictatorship is involved. 

Numerous reports by NGOs, the media, the State Department, the United Nations and other governments show that the SPDC has committed horrifying human 

rights abuses against its citizens. 

The military regime is guilty of ethnic cleansing, systematic rape, forced porterage, destruction of homes, villages and food sources, the use of human land mine 

sweepers, and the detention of over 1200 political prisoners. 

In Article 2 of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the 

Crime of Genocide, genocide is defined as ‘‘any of the following acts committed with 

intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, 

as such: (a) Killing members of the group; (b) Causing serious bodily or mental 

harm to members of the group; (c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions 

of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.’’

I know some might be reticent to use the term, but according to the international 

definition of genocide, the SPDC is engaged in genocide against the ethnic peoples 

of Burma. 

I traveled to the Thai-Burma border in January and met with NGOs, refugees, 

and government officials. 

One of the most heart-wrenching aspects of my visit was a visit to an orphanage. 

There we listened to stories about the tragedy in these young lives. 

204

One group of four children, the oldest was 12, had lost their father; their mother 

could not take care of them so she brought them to the orphanage. 

An eight-year-old boy, who could not smile, had lost both parents, was then trafficked across the border to Thailand, somehow escaped from his ‘‘owners,’’ and 

reached the safety of the refugee camps. 

It is heartbreaking to know that many children, including the orphans, have had 

to watch family or community members be killed by the SPDC, be wounded or killed 

by landmine explosions, be raped, or even burned alive. 

The suffering of the people of Burma has gone on too long. 

Sadly, the international community has shown little willingness to vigorously address the issues facing the people of Burma, but H. R. 2330 is an important step 

to directly impact the situation in the country. 

I demand that the dictatorship release Aung San Suu Kyi from detention. 

I also demand that the dictatorship of Burma immediately engage in a tri-partite 

dialogue with the National League for Democracy and the ethnic minorities. 

Only when the rights of the NLD and the ethnic minorities are recognized and 

protected will there be peace in Burma. 

I urge the government of Thailand to refrain from cracking down and even deporting individuals and groups helping the Burmese people. Just yesterday I received 

a call that one of the most effective humanitarian workers along the Thai-Burma 

border may be deported. 

NGOs are NOT the enemy. Rather than cracking down on people who provide assistance so the refugees can survive, the Thai leadership should seriously reconsider 

its relationship with the thugs in Rangoon. 

I urge my colleagues to support the legislation and my amendment. 


87676a.eps
205

PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE JOSEPH CROWLEY, A REPRESENTATIVE IN

CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW YORK

H. CON. RES. 49

Mr. Chairman, I strongly support this resolution, and I urge my colleagues to do 

so as well. I also want to thank the gentleman from New Jersey, Chris Smith, for 

sponsoring this crucial legislation. 

I am very aware of the danger of being inactive about the threat of anti-Semitism. 

It was anti-Semitism that was responsible for the horrors of the Holocaust, the most 

horrible crime committed against the Jewish people ever. 

As Members of Congress, we have a special responsibility that this is never going 

to happen again. Wherever anti-Semitism is emerging, we have to be aware and 

take the necessary steps to counter this threat. 

And sadly, I have to say here today that nearly sixty years after the end of World 

War II, anti-Semitism in Europe, in many of the OSCE member states, is on the 

rise again. Anti-Semitism is spreading across Europe, the states of the Caucasus 

and Central Asia. Once again, we witness evil propaganda, physical attacks against 

Jews, the burning of Jewish sites as well as the desecration of synagogues. We must 

not stand aside and ignore this grave escalation of anti-Semitic violence. Neither 

must we ignore the hatred stirred by skinheads and other neo-fascist groups 

throughout the OSCE region. We have to make sure that the seeds of intolerance 

will never again be sown across Europe and Asia. 

This resolution addresses this threat. It particularly calls on administration officials and Members of Congress to focus on anti-Semitism in their bilateral and multilateral meetings. It calls upon OSCE member states to swiftly and effectively bring 

anti-Semitists and other racists to justice. Finally, but most importantly, Mr. Chairman, this resolution calls upon participating OSCE states to focus on educational 

endeavors to fight anti-Semitic stereotypes, and to increase Holocaust awareness. 

The best weapon in our battle against anti-Semitism is education, especially of children and young people. 

I also like to point out that this piece of legislation is similar to a resolution I 

introduced last year. House Resolution 393 also addresses the anti-Semitic threat 

in the OSCE region and urges European governments to provide security and safety 

of the Jewish communities, to prosecute and punish perpetrators of anti-Semitic violence, and to cultivate a climate in which all forms of anti-Semitism are rejected. 

I was proud that my colleagues in Congress joined me in sending this message to 

the European Union, but we must go further. Anti-Semitism continues to fester not 

only in Western Europe, but throughout Eastern Europe and into the Former Soviet 

Union and the Caucuses. This resolution is the right follow up to my legislation 

passed last Congress. 

Mr. Chairman, the threat of anti-Semitism is looming large and our fight against 

it is far from over but I believe that recognizing this problem and taking action is 

critical. House Resolution 49 is just doing that as it takes essential steps to ban the 

problem of anti-Semitism forever from this earth. I thus urge all of my colleagues 

to strongly support this resolution. Thank you.

Æ